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When the human mind makes bold to speak of the Name of Jesus, and of its praise, it finds itself deficient; the tongue cleaves to the palate of the mouth and all speech dries up. Indeed, this Name is so great, so much more profound than the very oceans, that no human intellect is fully capable of expounding it; this is why Saint Isidore says “the spoken Name is like a well of wisdom that makes things known to us”. Now it is the nature of names to specify that which is named, and the Name of Jesus instructs us in an incomprehensible manner. Who is able to explain the incomprehensible? Is it possible to reveal the infinite? And what man can possibly express in mere words the meaning of the Incarnation—God-man? This is what David the prophet expresses when he says to the Lord in Psalm 48: “according to Thy Name O Lord, so also is Thy praise”, which is to say that the very Name itself is Thou, a giving praise O Lord. But who is able to explain this—The Name—which thing in and of itself gives praise to God? Who can be found so full of grace and virtue as to proclaim this praise in an appropriate manner? Absolutely no one, unless his lips be “circumcised”. Thus it was that when Isaiah (6) was raised up in the contemplation of the vision of the King of Glory, before speaking of Jesus whom he referred to as Emmanuel, and before speaking of the Virginal Conception, acknowledged his speech to be unworthy. It was only after he experienced the mystery of the Seraphim, after he felt the burning coal upon his lips and was purged and spiritually circumcised, that he announced the Virginal Conception and the Name of the Son, disclosing to us in these t p things, a most sacred mystery. Come, therefore, O Jesus Christ, minister of our spiritual circumcision, touch my lips, take away my iniquity, purge my affections, illuminate my mind, eliminate my imperfections, move my tongue and make my speech and action such that, for the glory of Thy Name, it may burst forth with the burning heat of Thy charity, mixed with the flame of Thy piety. Grant that I might taste the great sweetness of Thy Name not merely on my lips, but even more that I might find refreshment and delight from it in my interior soul. For just as water gushing forth from a fountain forms at first a gentle and narrow stream that murmurs softly and sweetly, but later grows into a broad and deep river, so also the Name of Jesus seems at first to be a small sound, a phrase easily spoken, but is at the same time pregnant with meaning and overflows with a superabundance of ineffable grace. All that God has ordained for the salvation of mankind is encompassed and comprehended in the Name of Jesus. The Name is variously translated by Saint Jerome as “Savior”, “Deliverer”, “Benefactor”, “Salvation” and “He who saves us from sin, delivers us from evil and confers on us both grace and an abundance of glory”. He is proclaimed “Savior” first of all because it is He who saves us from sin: as the angel declared unto Joseph (Matt. 2): “and His Name shall be called Jesus, and He shall save His people from their sins”. Second, He is so proclaimed because He frees us from our enemies to whom we are subject; as Zaccharias (Luke 1) says: “He saves us from our enemies and from the hand of those who hate us”. Third, He is called the “fullness of salvation” because He confers on us grace. Thus it is that David, who had lost that salvation by sinning, says in Psalm 51: “give us the joy of Thy salvation”. Fourth, He is called “Salvator” because of the abundance of His glory, and hence Jacob says in Genesis (49): “I await thy salvation O Lord”, which is to say, the glory already promised. All this and much more that is lofty and stupendous is encompassed mysteriously in the blessed Name of Jesus.
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