Video Transcript

Edmund: Oh. Forgot the name tag. You ever at a party and you introduce yourself, and people go “Oh, I know a Kevin!”  Can either be a good thing or a bad thing. Me, Edmund, people always think of Edmund from Chronicles of Narnia. Which is a cool book series; cool couple of movies. But Edmund DID betray everyone. 

Being associated with someone else’s name can be either a good or bad thing, but can you imagine someone who is so GOOD and controversial that being associated with His name might get yourself killed? Well, this is actually the case with Jesus and the martyrs. And you can actually learn something from the martyrs; about how to live your life today. In fact, Jesus teaches us in the Lord’s Prayer— in a way—how to live like the martyrs every day of our lives. So today, let’s talk about that in God’s name. 

We often forget that being associated with God’s name used to have severe consequences of life or death. For example, in the early days of the Church when Christianity was outlawed by the Roman Empire. See back then, to believe in the name “Jesus Christ” so much so that you would call yourself a “Christ”-ian at a time meant that there was a very high chance you could be killed. And there are even some parts of the world today where that’s still the case.

So I have to admit that as a kid, I kinda heard about the martyrs but I didn’t really appreciate them until college when I started reading Church history and really understanding what these saints were doing. The martyrs—particularly in the early Church—were really courageous witnesses of standing up for the name of Jesus Christ. And to refuse to denounce Him, and to even stand up against authorities and an entire Roman empire. 

And over time, I started thinking about “Man, in my own life, I don’t really have this huge consequence if I chose not to honor God’s name. So what excuses do I have?” 

See, in these first few centuries after Christ—when Christianity is outlawed—to proclaim Jesus as Lord was a direct offense and rejection of the Roman Emperor, and the Roman gods, and their authority. So these Christians faced the threat of imprisonment, torture—even death—if they did not denounce the name of Jesus Christ. 

One saint I particularly admire is St. Polycarp of Smyrna. He was a bishop and actually a disciple of John the Apostle. He was arrested and brought before the Roman authorities, and he was urged to denounce Jesus Christ and his faith. All he had to do was say a few words and swear by the Emperor. But Polycarp refused, saying this: “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?” And he was later burned at the stake by the Roman authorities. And it’s said that miraculously the flames didn’t harm him, so they were forced to kill him by a sword.

I mean, this is such an inspiring witness by a bishop and a leader of the Christian faithful. And to stand up against the Roman authorities—all out of faithfulness—to the name of Jesus Christ. 

So in the Lord’s Prayer, what do we mean when we pray “hallowed be thy name?” Well, the Catechism explains in paragraph 2807: “The term ‘to hallow’ is to be understood here not primarily in its causative sense (only God hallows, makes holy), but above all in an evaluative sense: to recognize as holy, to treat in a holy way… 

…But this petition is here taught to us by Jesus as an optative [that word means a wish or a hope]: a petition, a desire, and an expectation in which God and man are involved.” 

So the Catechism explains that we’re not causing God’s name to be holy, but we are saying it’s holy. And we are praying and wishing for it to be so. And the martyrs didn’t just pray this; they actually upheld this with their lives. Do we live lives worthy of God’s name, even if a consequence like death isn’t necessarily a danger for us?

The Catechism goes on to explain in 2814 “The sanctification of his name among the nations depends inseparably on our life and our prayer.”

And here’s the thing: martyrs are not just suddenly capable of this. The martyrs also have been made in the little moments throughout their lives when they’re given a choice to either be faithful to God’s name—to honor it and hallow it in their life and their prayer—or to choose to turn against God. 

And we’re given this same choice every day in these little moments; to either live in a way that honors God’s name or to be tempted to live in a way that does not. So how else can we learn to live this out with our whole lives; to really pray this with our heart?

Well, first, it is realizing that we can only do this through the help of God’s grace. But there are also some things we can do to start practicing relying on God’s grace in these little moments, and to start small. 

Okay, so what are some practicals we can start doing? Well, one of the practicals we can start doing is just building an awareness of the name of God; the name of Jesus. Trying to cultivate more of an awareness of these names helps us build an awareness of these little moments where we might be tempted to dishonor God. 

St. Teresa of Avila was known for her deep prayer life and often spoke of the importance of the name of Jesus in prayer. And for Saint Teresa, just simply invoking the name of Jesus was a way of centering herself in God’s presence. And it was an invitation for her to enter into deeper communion with Him.

You can try making it a habit of making the sign of the cross a few more times throughout your day and really praying “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen;” reminding yourself to do everything in a way that honors God’s name.

We also have this cool little moment during the Creed at Mass. When we say the name of Jesus—praying together out loud—we can just bow briefly; reminding ourselves to live and pray in a way that honors Jesus’ name. 

You could even incorporate this into your own private prayer. For the next week—when you’re praying and you say the name “Jesus”—we can just bow briefly or lower your head briefly and see if that doesn’t start changing the way you’re thinking of the name of Jesus. 

Another idea is really simply to just pray the name “Jesus.” Just take one or two minutes right at the beginning of your prayer to just slowly repeat the name “Jesus;” inviting Him to be more present to you and to give you grace and strength.

The saints throughout history are a witness to us of the way their life and their prayer honored God’s name. When they prayed the Lord’s Prayer, they really prayed it from their heart and meant it when they said “Our Father, who art in heaven. Hallowed be your name.” 

Jesus taught us these words. And we’re called to make this prayer—these words—our own. Not just in prayer, but in the little moments of our lives. And prayer to our Father is our prayer if it’s prayed in the name of Jesus.