The Power of Jesus' Name

There are many beautiful and powerful devotions in the Church which Jesus founded - the Roman Catholic Church. One of the oldest is to frequently pray the Holy Name of Jesus. Many Saints have experienced the power of devoutly, reverently praying the Name of Our Saviour while filling their minds with thoughts of Jesus and their hearts with love for Him.

St. Edmund, for example, was actually shown how much God truly desires us to invoke His Holy Name. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury when England was Catholic. He died in 1240 AD and was canonized a mere six years later. Once, while Edmund was alone, he met a young Boy. The Boy asked if Edmund knew His Name. When our Saint answered that he did not know it, the Child said, "look at Me and you will see Who I am". Edmund did as he was asked and read on the little Boy's forehead, in letters of gold, the words 'Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.'

"Fear not, Edmund, for I am Jesus Christ, your Lord, and I shall be your defender here while you live." Edmund fell down humbly and gave thanks to God for His mercy and goodness. Then the beautiful Boy said, "Every time you go to bed, and also when you arise from it, make the Sign of the Cross and, while you are doing so, say these words: 'Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, Son of God, have mercy on me!' Pray these words while remembering My Passion." Then Edmund was told that if he did this, the devil would never have power to overcome him and he would be protected from a sudden and unprovided- for-death. The same reward would be given to all who did likewise. Then the Boy disappeared.

One night, as Saint Edmund attempted to do as Jesus had requested, the devil immediately made his arm paralyzed, unable to move. Edmund calmly, lovingly, said the prayer that Jesus had taught him and the devil fled in terror, leaving him unharmed.

Another form of this devotion is to mark the letters ‘INRI’ on your forehead while saying the words given to Saint Edmund. The ‘INRI’ stands for 'Jesus Nazarenus, Rex Judaeorum' ('Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews'. This was written on a board, in Latin, Greek and Hebrew, and placed over Jesus when He was crucified. Latin has no ‘J’ letter and so the letter ‘I’ is used in place of the ‘J’. That is why, it is ‘INRI’ and not ‘JNRJ’).

St. Alphonsus Liguori - a great bishop, Doctor of the Church and Saint - strongly recommends both of these devotions.