Holy Name, Litany of the
Holy Name, Litany of the
Commonly known as the Litany of the Holy Name. This litany is quite old and quite common. It came into being at the time of the great preachers of the glory and the power of the Holy Name of Jesus, Bernardine of Siena and John Capistrano. It was probably written by one of these, perhaps by both, in collaboration. Pope Sixtus V granted an indulgence for its recitation as early as 1585 or 1586. The present form was approved by Pope Pius IX in 1862; and Pope Leo XIII extended the privileges of this litany to the universal Church. In form it follows closely that of the Litany of Loreto. It is often used at evening services in many churches.
Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus
LORD, have mercy on us Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Jesus, hear us.
Jesus, graciously hear us. God, the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Jesus, Son of the living God, have mercy on us.
Jesus, splendor of the Father, have mercy on us.
Jesus, brightness of eternal light, have mercy on us.
Jesus, king of glory, have mercy on us.
Jesus, the sun of justice, have mercy on us.
Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary, have mercy on us.
Jesus, amiable, have mercy on us.
Jesus, admirable, have mercy on us.
Jesus, the powerful God, have mercy on us.
Jesus, father of the world to come, have mercy on us.
Jesus, angel of the great council, have mercy on us.
Jesus, most powerful, have mercy on us.
Jesus, most patient, have mercy on us.
Jesus, most obedient, have mercy on us.
Jesus, meek and humble of heart, have mercy on us.
Jesus, lover of chastity, have mercy on us.
Jesus, lover of us, have mercy on us.
Jesus, God of peace, have mercy on us.
Jesus, author of life, have mercy on us.
Jesus, model of all virtues, have mercy on us.
Jesus, zealous for souls, have mercy on us.
Jesus, our God, have mercy on us.
Jesus, our refuge, have mercy on us.
Jesus, father of the poor, have mercy on us.
Jesus, treasure of the faithful, have mercy on us.
Jesus, good shepherd, have mercy on us.
Jesus, true light, have mercy on us.
Jesus, eternal wisdom, have mercy on us.
Jesus, infinite goodness, have mercy on us.
Jesus, our way and our life, have mercy on us.
Jesus, joy of angels, have mercy on us.
Jesus, king of patriarchs, have mercy on us.
Jesus, master of apostles, have mercy on us.
Jesus, teacher of the evangelists, have mercy on us.
Jesus, strength of martyrs , have mercy on us.
Jesus, light of confessors, have mercy on us.
Jesus, purity of virgins, have mercy on us.
Jesus, crown of all saints, have mercy on us.
Be merciful, Spare us, O Jesus.
Be merciful, Graciously hear us, O Jesus
From all evil, deliver us, O Jesus.
From all sin, deliver us, O Jesus.
From Thy wrath, deliver us, O Jesus.
From the snares of the devil, deliver us, O Jesus.
From the spirit of fornication, deliver us, O Jesus.
From eternal death, deliver us, O Jesus.
From a neglect of Thy inspirations, deliver us, O Jesus.
By the mystery of Thy holy Incarnation, deliver us, O Jesus.
By Thy nativity, deliver us, O Jesus.
By Thy infancy, deliver us, O Jesus.
By Thy most divine life, have mercy on us.
By Thy labors, have mercy on us.
By Thy agony and passion, have mercy on us.
By Thy cross and dereliction, have mercy on us.
By Thy languors, have mercy on us.
By Thy death and burial, have mercy on us.
By Thy resurrection, have mercy on us.
By Thy ascension, have mercy on us.
By Thy institution of the Most Holy Eucharist, deliver us, O Jesus.
By Thy joys, deliver us, O Jesus.
By Thy glory, deliver us, O Jesus.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Spare us,O Jesus!
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Hear us, O Jesus!
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us, O Jesus!
Jesus, hear us. Jesus, graciously hear us.
Let us pray. O, LORD Jesus Christ, Who has said, ‘Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you!’ mercifully attend to our supplications and grant us the gift of your divine charity, that we may ever love you with our whole heart and never desist from Thy praise. Give us, O Lord, a perpetual respect and love of Thy holy name; for you never cease to govern those whom you instruct in the solidity of Thy love. Who lives and reigns, one God, world without end. Amen.
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Holy Name, Litany of the
An old and popular form of prayer in honour of the Name of Jesus. The author is not known. Probably Binterim (Denkwürdigkeiten, IV, I, 597) is correct in ascribing it to the celebrated preachers of the Holy Name, Saints Bernardine of Siena and John Capistran, at the beginning of the fifteenth century. At the request of the Carmelites, Pope Sixtus V (1585-90) granted an indulgence of 300 days for its recitation (Samson, “Die Allerheiligen Litanei”, Paderborn, 1894, 14). Though this was an implied recognition of the litany, requests made in 1640, 1642, and 1662, for formal approval were rejected. In 1862 Pius IX approved one of the formularies in use, and attached an indulgence of 300 days for the faithful of the dioceses whose bishops had made special application. Leo XIII (16 Jan., 1886) extended the privilege to the entire world (Beringer, “Die Ablässe”, Paderborn, 1900, 142).
This litany is arranged on the plan of the Litany of Loreto, and begins with the invocation of the Holy Trinity. The first part enumerates a list of praises referring to Jesus as God and as man. Remembering the blessing bestowed on Peter’s confession (Matthew 16:16), we call Jesus, “Son of the Living God”, “Splendour of the Father”, and “Brightness of Eternal Light” (the true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world — John 1:9). He is the “King of Glory” (Ps. xxiii, 10), the “Sun of Justice, rising for them that fear the name of the Lord” (Malachi 4:2). But, lest this splendour and glory make us fear, we turn to Jesus in His humanity, and appeal to him as “Son of the Virgin Mary”, and, as such, “amiable” and “admirable”; and, though annihilating Himself in taking the form of a servant (Phil., ii, 7), He is still the “mighty God”, “Father of the world to come”, “Angel of the great counsel” (Isaiah 9:6). Again, though “most powerful”, he has become for us “most patient” (led as a sheep to the slaughter — Acts 8:32), “most obedient” (even to the death of the cross — Phil., ii, 8), “meek and humble of heart” (Matthew 11:29). He is the “Lover of chastity” and “Lover of us”, blessing the clean of heart (Matthew 5:8), and proving His love for us by giving His life to procure that peace which the angels announced (Luke 2:14) and life everlasting, whence He is “God of peace” and “Author of life”. During His sojourn on earth He was, and is to-day, “Model of virtues” and “zealous for souls”, “our God” and “our refuge”; He is “Father of the poor” and “Treasure of the faithful”, the “Good Shepherd” Who lays down His life for His sheep (John 10:11); He is the “True Light”, “Eternal Wisdom”, “Infinite Goodness”, “our Way and our Life” (John 14:6); He is the “Joy of Angels” and “King of Patriarchs”. Through Him all have obtained the knowledge and strength to accomplish God’s designs, for He is “Master of Apostles”, “Teacher of Evangelists”, “Strength of Martyrs”, “Light of Confessors”, “Purity of Virgins”, and “Crown of all Saints”. After again calling for mercy and the granting of our prayers, we, in the second part of the litany, beg Jesus to deliver us from all evil that would keep us from the attainment of our last end, from sin and the wrath of God, the snares of the devil and the spirit of uncleanness, from eternal death and the neglect of His inspirations. We adjure Him by the mystery of His holy Incarnation, His nativity and infancy, His most Divine life and labours, His agony and Passion, His Cross and dereliction, His languor, His Death and burial, His Resurrection and Ascension, His joys and Glory. (Where sanctioned by the bishop, the invocation “Through Thine institution of the most holy Eucharist” may be added after “Through Thine Ascension” — S.R.C., 8 Feb., 1905). The litany closes with the triple invocation of the Lamb of God, the petition, “Jesus hear us”, “Jesus graciously hear us”, and two prayers.
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See under LITANY; also Theol. prakt. Quartalschrift (1893), 97; (1902), 300, 521.
FRANCIS MERSHMAN Transcribed by Douglas J. Potter Dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IXCopyright © 1910 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, CensorImprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York