Catholic Caucus: Holy Name Society [Pledge]

Holy Name Society - Pledge [used as prayer] - and Devotion to the Holy Name ^

[topher]

Holy Name Pledge

Blessed be God. Blessed be His Holy Name. Blessed be Jesus Christ true God and true Man. Blessed be the name of Jesus. I believe O Jesus. That Thou are the Christ. The Son of the Living God. I proclaim my love. For the Vicar of Christ on Earth. I believe all that as sacred truths Which the Holy Catholic Church Believes and teaches. I promise to give good example By the regular practice Of my faith. In honor of His Divine Name I pledge myself against perjury Blasphemy, profanity and obscene speech. I pledge my loyalty To the flag of my country. And to the God given principles Of freedom, justice and happiness. For which it stands. I pledge my support To all lawful authority I dedicate my manhood To the honor of the Sacred Name of Jesus And beg that He will keep the faithful To these pledges Until Death. Amen.

[Vanity by poster Topher:]

Though this is a PLEDGE, it is found as a PRAYER in some MISSALS, i.e., Celebrating the Eucharist, Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN 56321

There is a prayer page at the website for the Holy Name:

Prayers and Devotions -- http://www.nomensanctum.org/Web%20Pages/Prayers%20&%20Devotions/prayer_home.htm

The Jesus PrayerMany religious cultures use litanies as a method of praying. The word "litany" literally means, "petition" - or "rogation" in Latin. Litanies are made to be repeated; single or like phrases recited, sometimes chanted over and over again ("re-petition") so that the person praying is caught up in the prayer itself. During the recitation of the Divine Praises, for example, the celebrant says, "Blessed be the name of Jesus," which is echoed by the faithful.

The Orthodox call this "prayer of the heart" - prayer that fills the entire consciousness; spontaneously offered by the whole being and not forced by only the lips or the intellect. If recited continually and with perseverance and recollection, the heart and intellect become one and the prayer in a sense offers itself. The constant repetition of the name Jesus or "Invocation of the Name" is now known as simply, The Jesus Prayer.

"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner" - this drawn from the publican's prayer from the parable in Luke's gospel (Lk18:13). The Catechism (CCC:2667) has this to say about the prayer: "By it the heart is opened to human wretchedness and the Savior's mercy."

We could do well by acknowledging our human weakness in imitation of the faith and humility of blind Bartimaeus as he similarly called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!" and when asked what he wished, replied simply: "Lord, that I may see." (Mk 10:46-52)

Bowing Head at Hearing the Holy NameThe custom of bowing the head at the mention of His Name was formally written into law at the Second Council of Lyons, A.D. 1274, convened by Pope Gregory X:

"Those who assemble in church should extol with an act of special reverence that Name which is above every Name, than which no other under Heaven has been given to people, in which believers must be saved, the Name, that is, of Jesus Christ, Who will save His people from their sins. Each should fulfill in himself that which is written for all, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow; whenever that glorious Name is recalled, especially during the sacred Mysteries of the Mass, everyone should bow the knees of his heart, which he can do even by a bow of his head."

the Holy Name of Jesus - Indulgence From Apostolic times, the Church has professed that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:10). Through the particular efforts of St. Bernardine of Siena, devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus was promoted through the inscription of the monogram of the Holy Name (IHS) and the addition of the name Jesus to the Hail Mary. In 1597, Pope Sixtus V first granted an indulgence for the uttering of the phrase used so often by the present Holy Father and included among the pious invocations of the current Enchiridion Indulgentiarum. "Praised be Jesus Christ!"

Prayer Petitions to most Holy nameO Divine Jesus, Thou hast promised that anything we ask of the Eternal Father in Thy name shall be granted.

O Eternal Father, in the name of Jesus, for the love of Jesus, in fulfillment of this promise, and because Jesus has said it, grant us our petitions for the sake of Jesus, Thy Divine Son. Amen.

Source: The Prayer Book by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954

[Vanity Comment by Topher:]

I find problems with the pledge, as the word happiness is something that can be a source of sin in our lives.

For example, I might be happy this weekend if I go out and get drunk (the sin of gluttony). Or I might be happy this weekend if I find a friend and have sex with that person (sins of lust, adultery, or fornication and possibly sodomy).

I might be happy watching a good movie filled with foul language, violence and sex.

Additionally, if I pledge loyalty to my country and it is not the United States, then countries like China oppress religion and have laws that are serious sins.

[topher]

Basically, I came across what I thought was a prayer in a daily missal at a church I go. This prayer is actually a pledge.

I have problems with the pledge -- as pledging blind loyalty to your country is bad.

I think pledging loyalty should be separate from the Holy Name Devotion.

There is nothing wrong pledging loyalty to a country that is free of corruption and has instruments to free it of corruption.

And I have no problems in PRAYING for my country -- especially bad countries such as China, Zimbabwe, Iran, etc., need prayer.

Finally, God does not promise us happiness in this life. To me, in the context of this pledge, happiness is almost a MASONIC or FREE MASON thing, and not a Christian thing.

From my perspective, having happiness might be sin or lead me into the state of sin.

[topher]

Basically, the Holy Name Prayer starts out as a form of the Divine Praises, (i.e., Blessed be God; Blessed be His Holy Name, etc), but then it goes off on a tangent about ones country and the ambiguity of the word happiness as part of that.

I just have a problem with this pledge, and I have another problem with the pledge appearing as a prayer for people to use in a Daily Prayer Book...