I. JESUS
430 Jesus means in Hebrew: "God saves." At the
annunciation, the angel Gabriel gave him the name Jesus as his proper name,
which expresses both his identity and his mission. Since God alone can forgive
sins, it is God who, in Jesus his eternal Son made man, "will save his people
from their sins". in Jesus, God recapitulates all of his history of salvation on
behalf of men.
431 In the history of salvation God was not
content to deliver Israel "out of the house of bondage" by bringing them out of
Egypt. He also saves them from their sin. Because sin is always an offence
against God, only he can forgive it. For this reason Israel, becoming more and
more aware of the universality of sin, will no longer be able to seek salvation
except by invoking the name of the Redeemer God.
432 The name "Jesus" signifies that the very name
of God is present in the person of his Son, made man for the universal and
definitive redemption from sins. It is the divine name that alone brings
salvation, and henceforth all can invoke his name, for Jesus united himself to
all men through his Incarnation, so that "there is no other name under heaven
given among men by which we must be saved."
433 The name of the Savior God was invoked only
once in the year by the high priest in atonement for the sins of Israel, after
he had sprinkled the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies with the sacrificial
blood. The mercy seat was the place of God's presence. When St. Paul speaks of
Jesus whom "God put forward as an expiation by his blood", he means that in
Christ's humanity "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself."
434 Jesus' Resurrection glorifies the name of the
Savior God, for from that time on it is the name of Jesus that fully manifests
the supreme power of the "name which is above every name". The evil spirits fear
his name; in his name his disciples perform miracles, for the Father grants all
they ask in this name.
435 The name
of Jesus is at the heart of Christian prayer. All liturgical prayers conclude
with the words "through our Lord Jesus Christ". The Hail Mary reaches
its high point in the words "blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus." The
Eastern prayer of the heart, the Jesus Prayer, says: "Lord Jesus
Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Many Christians, such as St.
Joan of Arc, have died with the one word "Jesus" on their lips.
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