Year of Faith - The Saints - St. Bernadine of Siena (Franciscan Priest)

Saint Bernadine of Siena on the Holy Name of Jesus  (Feast Day - 20th May)

The Name of Jesus is the refuge of the penitent sinner, a refuge full of meekness in which majesty effaces itself, tenderness becomes sweeter, Divine mercy appears in Its grandeur. The Name of God is awesome; in it is found the ardor of the flame which consumes, the wrath which chastises, the weight which crushes; but all these things have been tempered in the wellspring of mercy by Jesus Christ Who was smitten with love for us in the womb of the Virgin Mary. There, that ardor has lost its violence, that wrath has become forbearance, that overwhelming weight has become light . . . "O my God," exclaims the Prophet, "say to my soul: I am thy salvation." [Psalm 34: 3] May Thy Name be heard by my ears; Thy voice is full of sweetness and Thy face full of beauty.

The Name of Jesus is the banner of combatants . . . We have three kinds of enemies: the world, the flesh and the devil. If the devil rises up against you, do not be afraid, but lift the banner of salvation against him by invoking Jesus. "In My Name," He says, "cast out devils." [Mark 16: 17] The Prophet says, "Holy and awesome is His Name." [Psalm 110: 9] Holy for the Angels, awesome for the devils and the godless. The flesh makes you feel its attacks? Well, in sorrow, may the Name of Jesus find place in your heart, may it rise from there to your lips, and by the light of that Name, every cloud shall scatter, serenity shall reappear. You have fallen into crime? Despair gets hold of you? 

Who, then, shall invoke that Name of life without breathing at once? Who, then, in the presence of that saving Name has not felt hardness of heart, dullness and laziness of soul disappear? Who, then, seeing his tears dry up, has not shed more abundant ones, wept sweeter ones, after invoking that Name? Nothing can halt the transport of wrath, nothing can contain the puffing up of pride, nothing can heal the wound of envy, nothing can resist the surge of sensuality, nothing can extinguish the flame of pleasure, nothing can temper the thirst of avarice, nothing can consume the rust of every dishonor like the Name of Jesus . . . The world declares itself against you; by a secret judgment of God, you are shipwrecked in the middle of the sea; you are exposed to its dangers; upon your path you find overflowing rivers, threatening enemies, ably hatched betrayals, thunder and lightning, ruination, accidents, unexpected fires? 

Invoke the Name of salvation, and may your heart and your mouth both call upon Jesus, hope in the help of the Most High. He Himself has said, "He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in distress." [Psalm 90: 15] "I will deliver him; I will set him on high because he acknowledges My Name." [Psalm 90: 14] Indeed, "the Name of the Lord is a strong tower; the just man runs to it and is safe."