God, You appointed Your only-begotten Son to be the Savior of mankind,
and You commanded His Name to be called Jesus. Mercifully grant that
we may enjoy the vision of Him in heaven, whose holy Name we venerate
on earth. Through the same Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Faith in Jesus and in the power of His Holy Name is the greatest
spiritual force in the world today. It is a source of joy and
inspiration in our youth; of strength in our manhood, when only His
Holy Name and His grace can enable us to overcome temptation; of hope,
consolation, and confidence at the hour of our death, when more than
ever before, we realize that the meaning of Jesus is "Lord, the
Savior." We should bow in reverence to His Name and submission to
His Holy Will.
Among the Jews a male child received his name at the rite of
circumcision. On the day that the Divine Infant was circumcised, He
received the Name of Jesus, which signifies Savior, and which had
given Him by the Angel before he was conceived.
The angel Gabriel said to May, "Do not fear, Mary. You have found
favor with God. You shall conceive and bear a Son and give Him the
Name Jesus. Great will be His dignity and He will be called Son of the
Most High" (Luke 1:30-31).
The Angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said to him,
"Joseph, son of David, have no fear about taking Mary as your
wife. It is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived this Child. She
is to have a Son and You are to name Him Jesus because he will save
His people from their sins" (Mathew 1:20-21).
Jesus taught the disciples to present their petitions to the Eternal
Father in His Name. "I give you My assurance, whatever you ask
the Father, He will give you in My name. Until now you have not asked
for anything in My Name. Ask you shall receive, that your joy may be
full" (John 16:23-24). Jesus assured them that by reason of the
merits of His redemption, the power of such prayer would be
irresistible.
But the greatness of that power would depend largely on their loyalty
to and love for Him. Since those who love Jesus remain in Him, prayer
offered in His Name is, as it were, His own.
In His last discourse with His Apostles He said, "I go to the
Father, and whatever you ask in My Name I will do, so as to glorify
the Father in the Son. Anything you ask Me in My Name I will do"
(John 14:12-13). Our Lord's words are a consolation and encouragement
to persevere in prayer. It is good to know on His own testimony that
our heavenly Father never grows weary of listening to our petitions.
Jesus also assures us that he will grant our prayers if we ask in His
Name.
But we must never forget that God may refuse our request, not because
He does not love us, He may refuse our request either because what we
ask may be harmful to us, or because He has good reason for delaying
to grant our petition, or because He desires that we should ask it
more urgently. We should submissively adore the wisdom of our God if
He altogether withholds the favor we implore.
