Is the phrase "for Jesus’ sake" compatible with Catholic theology?
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Catholics do not at all reject the notion that there are merits which are Christ's alone. As God, all merits are His. And, there is certainly Catholic theological tradition regarding sanctification and "meriting" salvation only insofar as we are grafted onto the Vine, which is Christ.
There are direct examples of a petitionary prayer being made for the sake of Christ Jesus in the Catholic tradition. One prayer that comes to mind is the Divine Mercy Chaplet, wherein those praying ask God to have mercy on the whole world "for the sake of [Christ's] sorrowful passion."
Now, I'm not certain if Catholics should say that this sort of thought is foundational to all of our prayer. Indeed, prayer is more than merely petitionary, and this thought seems to only make sense in the context of petitionary prayer. But it is certainly the case that Catholics can ask the Father for good things for the sake of Christ, since we are one Body with Him, so long as we are not in mortal sin.
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Is the phrase "for Jesus’ sake" compatible with Catholic theology?
The short answer is: Absolutely.
But all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Christ; and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. -2 Corinthians 5:18
Although not a rather popular expression within Catholic piety, there is nothing wrong with this phrase. My personal thinking is that it is not rather popular in Catholic circles because some individuals employ the term in a somewhat derogatory way. Theologically, it is quite sound.
This reminds of the old Benedictine motto: Ut in omnibus glorificetur Deus. If St. Benedict encouraged his monks to do everything for the greater glory of God”. After all, Jesus is the second person of the Most Holy Trinity and if we employ this phrase for the greater glory of Jesus, it is equally given to the Sacred Trinity though Christ.
While addressing the subject of Marian apparitions, St. John Henry Cardinal Newman states that ”the glories of Mary are for the sake of Jesus!”
For a healthy, well-balanced Marian spirituality, I recommend three aphorisms of St. John Henry Cardinal Newman:
I recollect one saying among others of my confessor, a Jesuit Father, one of the holiest, most prudent men I ever knew. He said that we could not love the Blessed Virgin too much, if we loved Our Lord a great deal more.2
As then these ideas of her [Mary’s] sanctity and dignity gradually penetrated the mind of Christendom, so did that of her intercessory power follow close upon them and with them.
This simply is the point which I shall insist on—disputable indeed by aliens from the Church but most clear to her children, that the glories of Mary are for the sake of Jesus; and that we praise and bless her as the first of creatures, that we may duly confess Him as our sole Creator.
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