We bless the name of Jesus because we love him. We are also called to bless his name to make up for people who are indifferent and use his name in vain. Finally, we bless the name of Jesus to atone for those who choose to blaspheme his holy name, which means to damage it and curse it.
The name of Jesus has power in every language spoken by mankind. There are many ways to say his holy name in many languages. What matters most is not the language you use to speak his name, but rather the way you speak it and the love you speak it with. Jesus’ name comes from the Hebrew word for Joshua or Yehoshuah and it means God is salvation or God will save. When Christ was crucified the inscription on his cross written in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew said, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”
Jesus Christ is a name above all names.
The image pictured above includes an icon that represents the name of Jesus. You may have seen it before in an old church or on a prayer card. The icon is an image with the letters IHS engraved in it, and a cross rising up from the letter H. This image with IHS often includes three nails, the ones that pierced our Lord’s two hands and his feet. The IHS are made up of the Greek letters: iota (I), eta (H), and sigma (S), and they represent an abbreviation of Iesous, the Greek word for the name of Jesus. Also known as a Christogram, it was first used on coins of Justinian II in the 7th and 8th centuries.
The Church encourages us to bless the name of Jesus and show our love for him; every year on January 3 we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. On this day we publicly recognize the power our Lord’s name has over dominions, powers, and principalities of darkness in the world and we recite the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus.
And the Catechism also teaches us that every blessing praises God and prays for his gifts. For this reason the Church gives blessings by invoking the name of Jesus, often while making the sign of the cross [Catechism 1671].
The name Jesus signifies that the very name of God is present in the person of his Son, made man for the universal and definitive redemption from sins. It is the divine name that alone brings salvation, and henceforth all can invoke his name, for Jesus united himself to all men through his Incarnation, so that “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” ,[Acts 4:12].
We Bless the Name of Jesus out of Love
When we bless the name of Jesus it is an act of love; we recognize with gratitude the price he paid for our salvation. The quickest way to grow your love for Christ is to get into the habit of blessing his holy name daily and offering gratitude for his loving presence in your life. When you bless the name of Jesus regularly, you will benefit greatly because this actually increases the grace you receive from God.
Let me explain this principle.
We are only able to love by the grace of God who is the source of all love in the universe. God has sealed us in Baptism with the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to us as a first installment of God’s salvific promise to make available every messianic benefit we are capable of receiving through belief in Jesus Christ. We bless the name of Jesus because he has redeemed us by his blood and forgiven our transgressions, opening us up to grace [Ephesians 1:7-14]. It is our duty to bless God. It is right and just that we bless the holy name of Jesus, the name above all names because he suffered, died, was buried, and rose again in glory, and feeds us to save us from eternal damnation.
When we choose to bless the name of Jesus in our daily prayer lives we grow our love for him through reciprocal grace. What is reciprocal grace? It is grace that is given by God during our prayer time. Reciprocal grace occurs when we actively participate in our relationship with God. When we bless the name of Jesus in prayer, our words of love, reverence, and gratitude are given back to God as an act of love. This actually deepens the connection we have with Jesus. By blessing the name of Jesus, we offer a mutual exchange of love and favor instead of just passively receiving a one-sided gift from God either by his providence or through the intercession of another Christian.
So if you struggle with a lack of personal love and connection with Christ then you ought to begin the habit of blessing his holy name every single day and even throughout the day as you complete various activities. Make your blessing a short ejaculatory prayer from your heart that comes spontaneously as you move through your day. Saint Padre Pio called them arrow prayers because they would pierce God’s heart so much that he would have to answer them. If you begin to do this your love for God will grow and deepen through reciprocal grace.
Now let’s take a moment and continue reading from the second chapter of Philippians. In our last meditation on the Incarnation of Christ we looked at verses 1-8. Today we will continue the chapter, this time focusing on verses 9 through 11. Take a few moments to prayerfully read the following verses. Pause over a word or phrase that catches your attention. When you are finished, take a moment to bless the name of Jesus out of love for him from your heart
Catechetical Meditation of "Blessed be the Name of Jesus”
Bless the Name of Jesus, Name Above all Names
Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Christ went down into the depths of death so that “the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live” [John 5:25].
Jesus, “the Author of life,” by dying destroyed “him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and [delivered] all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage” [Hebrews 2:14-15].
Henceforth the risen Christ holds “the keys of Death and Hades,” so that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth” [Revelation 1:18, Philippians 2:10].
Now let’s contemplate the name of Jesus in Matthew 1. Slowly meditate on this passage, reflecting on what “the name of Jesus” means. Take your time. Pause over a word or phrase that speaks to your heart. Reread the passage again, and then ask God to give you the grace to desire to bless him and praise him from your heart. If you’d like to write your own blessing in your own words, take a moment to journal.
Catechetical Meditation of "Blessed be the Name of Jesus”
The Birth of Jesus
Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Let us Pray:
Now that we understand the catechetical meaning of “Blessed be the name of Jesus”, let’s bless the name of Jesus in prayer.
The 3rd Catechetical Meditation of the Divine Praises prayer
Let Us Bless the Name of Jesus
Jesus Christ, I praise you and I bless your holy name because it is right and just. When I say your name and I remember your sacrifice for my salvation it moves my heart. I bless your name, Jesus because I know you love me and will save me from my sin. I honor and praise your holy name because my heart is full of gratitude. You alone have the power to free me from the devil’s grip. Your name has power over everything on the earth, under the earth, and in heaven. I bless you with all my heart and offer you adoration and praise. I thank you for the power of your holy name to protect me from evil. I bless you with my very life in service to your Kingdom. AMEN.
In Conclusion:
By blessing the name of Jesus we grow our love for him through reciprocal grace. The easiest way to show our gratitude to Jesus is by offering ejaculatory prayers of praise throughout the day that come from our hearts and are in our own words. In this way, we develop an attitude of gratitude and naturally come to love Jesus more over time.
We pray “Blessed be the name of Jesus” because it is right and just, and also because we want to make reparations for those who take the Lord’s name in vain, those who blaspheme his holy name, and those who use his words and speak his name to spread falsehoods. Our blessings are also a loving effort to compensate for those who, through hatred toward God, curse the holy name of Jesus.
We remember the words that Jesus tenderly spoke from the Cross when he said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” [Luke 23:34].