The Jesus Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ,
have mercy on me,
a sinner.

Also called the “Prayer of the Heart” the Jesus prayer consists simply of uttering the single word “Jesus” or “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.” 

 

This simple, repetitive prayer goes back to the early Desert Fathers who would repeat the prayer either aloud or silently while keeping count on small stones or beads.  It can be used in any situation and at any place.  It can be said out loud or silently with your heart. The most widely accepted form of the prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner” reflects the biblical understanding that the name of God is sacred and that its invocation implies a direct meeting with the divine. 

Dr. Peter Kreeft, on praying the Jesus prayer wrote: “There is only one prerequisite, one presupposition: that you are a Christian. If you have faith in Christ, hope in Christ, and love of Christ, you can pray the most powerful prayer in the world, because you have real contact with the greatest power in the universe: Christ himself, who assured us, in his last words to his apostles, that “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Mt 28:18).It is also the simplest of all prayers. It is not one of the many “methods”, because it bypasses methods and cuts right to the heart of practicing God’s presence, which is the essence of prayer, the secret of which has been given to us by God the Father. The secret is simply God the Son, God incarnate, the Lord Jesus.” 

 

The Catechism on Prayer to Jesus:

 

 

To pray “Jesus” is to invoke him and to call him within us. His name is the only one that contains the presence it signifies. Jesus is the Risen One, and whoever invokes the name of Jesus is welcoming the Son of God who loved him and who gave himself up for him. This simple invocation of faith developed in the tradition of prayer under many forms in East and West. The most usual formulation, transmitted by the spiritual writers of the Sinai, Syria, and Mt. Athos, is the invocation, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners.” It combines the Christological hymn of Philippians 2:6–11 with the cry of the publican and the blind men begging for light. By it the heart is opened to human wretchedness and the Savior’s mercy. The invocation of the holy name of Jesus is the simplest way of praying always. When the holy name is repeated often by a humbly attentive heart, the prayer is not lost by heaping up empty phrases, but holds fast to the word and “brings forth fruit with patience.” This prayer is possible “at all times” because it is not one occupation among others but the only occupation: that of loving God, which animates and transfigures every action in Christ Jesus.

 

 

The name of Jesus is at the heart of Christian prayer. All liturgical prayers conclude with the words “through our Lord Jesus Christ”. The Hail Mary reaches its high point in the words “blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus”. The Jesus Prayer, says: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Many Christians, such as Joan of Arc, have died with the one word “Jesus” on their lips. The most usual formulation, transmitted by the spiritual writers of the Sinai, Syria, and Mt. Athos, is the invocation: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners.”

 

 

(From the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Part four, paragraphs 2665-2669)

 
 
 
 

Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus

January 3

 The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus is historically associated with the Presentation in the Temple (Luke 2:22-40), when, according to Jewish law, on the 8th day after his birth, a male child was circumcised and received his name, becoming a full member of God’s covenant people.  The name ‘Jesus’ means ‘God Saves’.  It is the name that the angel instructed St. Joseph to name the holy child when he told him to not be afraid and to take Mary as his wife (Matthew 1:21).  The Gospel provides for us the beginnings of the Christology of the name of Jesus; affirming Jesus as saviour and emphasizing that the choice of the name was based on a heavenly command.  

From the earliest times, Christians have invoked the Holy name of Jesus and have believed in the saving power in the name of Jesus.  In the letters of St. Paul, reverence for the name of Jesus is emphasized: “ That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth and under the earth.” (Philippians 2:10) And in the Letter to the Romans, Paul writes of the salvific nature of the Holy name by stating that those who “call on the name of the Lord” will be saved.  

The power of the name of Jesus is also mentioned in the Gospels and is stressed in the Gospel of John when Jesus states: “If you ask the Father anything in my name he will give it to you.”  So powerful is this understanding and reverence of name of Jesus, that even today, many of our prayers will conclude with the words: “Through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Devotion to and veneration of the IHS monogram, derived from the first three letters in the Greek word for Jesus, ΙΗΣΟΥΣ also dates back to the early days of Christianity.  Official recognition of the Holy Name was made at the Council of Lyons in 1274 and popular devotions developed and increased through the Middle Ages. 

In the 16th century, the Jesuits made the IHS monogram the emblem of their society, by adding a cross over the H and by showing three nails underneath it.  Constructed in Rome in 1568 the Church of the Gesù, formally called Chiesa del Santissimo Nome de Gesù (the Church of the Most Holy Name of Jesus) is the Mother Church of the order. 

We honour the Name of Jesus, because the Name of Jesus reminds us of all the blessings and graces we receive through our Redeemer and Lord.  When we call on the name of Jesus, we are brought into His presence – into proximity with the mercy of His saving love.