Speak the name, Jesus, slowly, quietly and reverently, and you will gain a moment of peace and reflection.  It’s as if in one monent, all that Jesus is fills us with love, comfort and hope.  Blessed John Newman speaks to this eloquently, “To holy people, the very name of Jesus is a name to feed upon, a name to transport. His name can raise the dead and transfigure and beautify the living.” – Blessed John Henry Newman.

Also known as Cardinal Newman (1801-1890), he founded the Catholic University of Ireland (now University College, Dublin) and was a noted author in the church. Pope Benedict XVI beatified Newman in 2010, and his canonization is pending.

A well-known beautiful passage in the Gospels is Jesus’ reference to the vine and the branches.  We appreciate these words in the gift of life it evokes.  Our life, now and eternal, depend on our union with Him.  St. Cyril of Alexandria, an early Church father, speaks to this in his notable reflection.

“The Lord calls himself the vine and those united to him branches (John 15:5) in order to teach us how much we shall benefit from our union with him, and how important it is for us to remain in his love. By receiving the Holy Spirit, who is the bond of union between us and Christ our Savior, those who are joined to him, as branches are to a vine, share in his own nature.”

“On the part of those who come to the vine, their union with him depends upon a deliberate act of the will; on his part, the union is effected by grace. Because we had good will, we made the act of faith that brought us to Christ, and received from him the dignity of adoptive sonship that made us his own kinsmen, according to the words of Saint Paul: He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.”

St. Cyril of Alexandria, referred to as a “doctor of the church,” wrote these words in 331-334.

“Just as the sun’s rays in springtime cause the buds on the branches of the trees to sprout and open up, so the radiance that streams forth from Christ’s resurrection gives strength and meaning to every human hope, to every expectation, wish and plan.  Hence the entire cosmos is rejoicing today, caught up in the springtime of humanity, which gives voice to creation’s silent hymn of praise.  The Easter Alleluia, resounding in the Church as she makes her pilgrim way through the world, expresses the silent exultation of the universe and above all the longing of every human soul that is sincerely open to God, giving thanks to him for his infinite goodness, beauty and truth.”  – Pope Benedict XVI

“The observance of Lent reminds us that, in the end, we all stand before Christ and give an accounting of our lives. From that perspective, I ask lay Catholics and others of good will to step back and understand what is happening to our country as the Church is despoiled of her institutions and as freedom of conscience and of religion become a memory from a happier past. The suffering being imposed on the Church and on society now is not a voluntary penance. We should both work and pray to be delivered from it.”  – Francis Cardinal George, OMI, Catholic New World, 2/26/2012