What’s in a Name?

By Scott Ferrier, MJ • Phoenix, AZ

Miles Jesu is an Ecclesial Family of Consecrated Life. Although our official name is “Sons and Daughters of the Immaculate Heart of Our Lady of the Epiphany,” we are commonly and universally known as “Miles Jesu.” 

Most of us have been asked before “what is a Miles Jesu?” or “what does that mean?” We should be equipped to explain it to them with the right reasons when they ask. Miles Jesu, in Latin, means Soldier of Jesus. Being a Soldier of Jesus does not imply that we are in any way militaristic or aggressive; nor must we ever, as Christians, impose our faith upon others or attempt to ‘convert them by the sword’! 

But — make no mistake — we are soldiers in a spiritual battle. It first began with the fall from grace by Adam and Eve in the ancient garden, after which the Lord God spoke to the deceitful serpent: “I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel” (Gen. 3.15). This battle is for souls — our own and that of others who are in the world. Our weapons are prayer and our efforts to lead a holy life. In the simplest of terms, we are not aggressors, but defenders — defenders of the holy Faith. We strive daily to live by that faith, which for us is “the whole armor of God,” in order that we are able to “stand against the schemes of the devil” (Eph 6:11).

When we say we are Soldiers of Jesus, we are purposely calling attention to an existing, supernatural reality within us. The sacrament of Confirmation, says Saint Thomas, conforms the Christian to Christ in the mystery of his baptism. When we are anointed with the “oil of gladness” (chrism oil) at our post-baptismal Confirmation, we are sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit. 

This sacrament signifies and imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual mark, a permanent “character”, which is the sign that Jesus Christ has marked us with the seal of His Spirit, clothing us with power from on high, so that we may be His witness (Council of Trent). Confirmation is our total belonging to Christ and our enrollment in His service. It gives each of us a special strength to spread and defend the faith by word and action, to confess Him boldly, and to never be ashamed of the Cross—a “soldier of Christ.”

By the power of this sacrament, we receive, among many other things, a promise of protection in the great eschatological trial to come.