“You should be holier.” The priest’s words hit hard. “If you receive ‘the Holy One of God’ daily in the Holy Eucharist, then holiness should ooze from your life.” I was convicted.
So writes Jeremy Priest, Director of the Office of Worship for the Diocese of Lansing, upon the Feast of Saint Bernadine of Siena (1380 – 1444), one of the great Franciscan missionaries and preachers of Renaissance Italy. Jeremy continues:
Bernardine preached the power of the name of Jesus: “When a fire is lit to clear a field, it burns off all the dry and useless weeds and thorns. When the sun rises and darkness is dispelled, robbers, night-prowlers and burglars hide away.”
Saint Bernadine of Siena has sometimes been credited with composing the Anima Christi, though it was probably around a full century before him, nevertheless, this 15th century Franciscan priest’s great love for the Holy Name of Jesus no doubt drew him to this prayer:
Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, inebriate me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O good Jesus, hear me. Within thy wounds, hide me. Suffer me not to be separated from the. From the malignant enemy, defend me. At the hour of my death, call me, And bid me come to thee, That with they saints I may praise thee, Forever and ever. Amen.
My family has adopted the practice of praying this prayer together at the end of every Mass. We pray for all the graces of giving ourselves and receiving Jesus in Holy Communion can come into each one of us and from each of us to all that we meet.
As Saint Bernardine of Siena says, when we bring the Holy Name of Jesus to others, “infidelity is consumed, false beliefs flee away, and the truth appears like a great candle lighting the whole world with its brilliant flame” (alt.).
Holiness is a gift that we receive from the Lord God, but it is also a task. Let’s let one of Saint Bernardine’s favorite prayers light the way of holiness before us: Soul of Christ, sanctify me…