Feast of
the Holy Name of Jesus

Luke 2:21 "...Et vocatum est Nomen eius IESUS"
("And His Name was called JESUS")

Psalm 90:14 "Because he hoped in me I will deliver him:
I will protect him because he hath known My Name."

Zacharias 10:12 "I will strengthen them in the Lord,
and they shall walk in His Name, saith the Lord."

Apocalypse 3:8 "I know thy works. Behold, I have given before thee a door opened, which no man can shut: because thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied My Name."

Apocalypse 15:4 "Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and magnify Thy Name?..."

Blessed be the most holy Name of Jesus without end!

January Devotion: The Holy Name of Jesus

The month of January is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. This feast is also celebrated on January 3. Here is an explanation of the devotion.

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has associated entire months to special devotions. The devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus has been traditionally associated with the month of January, due to its celebration on January 3. The name Jesus was given to the Holy Child at God's command (Luke 1:31). The Holy Name is all-powerful because of the Person who bears it; we honor it because of the command of Christ, that we should pray in His Name and because it reminds us of all the blessings we receive through our Holy Redeemer. Hence St. Paul was able to write to the Philippians: ". . . at the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth" (Phil. 2:10). By means of this devotion we also make amends for improper use of the Holy Name.

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

Prayer/Hymn in Honor of the Most Holy Name of Jesus - Iesu, Dulcis Memoria

Iesu, Dulcis Memoria is a celebrated 12th century hymn attributed to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), Doctor Mellifluus. The entire hymn has some 42 to 53 stanzas depending upon the manuscript. Parts of this hymn were used for the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, which was formerly celebrated on the Sunday between the Circumcision and Epiphany, or failing such a Sunday, on January 2. The part below was used at Vespers. In the liturgical revisions of Vatican II, the feast was deleted, though a votive Mass to the Holy Name of Jesus had been retained for devotional use. With the release of the revised Roman Missal in March 2002, the feast was restored as an optional memorial on January 3.

Jesus, the very thought of Thee
With sweetness fills the breast!
Yet sweeter far Thy face to see
And in Thy presence rest.

No voice can sing, no heart can frame,
Nor can the memory find,
A sweeter sound than Jesus' name,
The Savior of mankind.

O hope of every contrite heart!
0 joy of all the meek!
To those who fall, how kind Thou art!
How good to those who seek!

But what to those who find? Ah! this
Nor tongue nor pen can show
The love of Jesus, what it is,
None but His loved ones know.

Jesus! our only hope be Thou,
As Thou our prize shalt be;
In Thee be all our glory now,
And through eternity. Amen.

---Roman Breviary

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

O 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.

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

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Phil:2:10-11

The Most Holy Name
The Power of Jesus’ Name
What does IHS stand for? The meaning of the Holy Name of Jesus [Catholic Caucus]
Litany Of The Holy Name of Jesus
Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus
Jesus, The Name above all Names
Devotion to the Holy Name (of Jesus) [Catholic Caucus]
Lessons In Iconography : The Chi Rho - Christ
St. Francis de Sales on the Most Holy Name of Jesus (Excerpt from a Sermon) (Catholic Caucus)
St. Francis de Sales on the Most Holy Name of Jesus (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)

St. Bernard on the Most Holy Name of Jesus [Ecumenical]
Saving the day in His Holy Name: St. Genevieve gets a reprieve [Catholic Caucus]
The Holy Name of Jesus
Holy Name of Jesus [San Bernadino of Siena] Ecumenical
The Holy Name of Jesus
Devotion to the Holy Name [of Jesus]
The Name of Jesus: Its Power in Our Lives
The Holy Name of Jesus
Devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus
The Holy Name of Jesus

Philippians 2
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

January, 2019

The Holy Father's Prayer Intention

Evangelization – Religious Minorities in Asia, That Christians and other religious minorities in Asian countries, may be able to practice their faith in full freedom.

'If you should ever reach the stronghold of pure prayer, do not accept the knowledge of created things which is presented to you at that moment by the enemy, lest you lose what is greater. For it is better to shoot at him from above with the arrows of prayer, cooped up as he is down below, then to parley with him as he offers us the knowledge he has plundered, and tries to tear us away from this prayer which defeats him.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary . . .

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary . . .

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

"Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)

"Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb"
(Lk 1:42).

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3716904/posts?page=2

Saint of the Day — Saint Basil the Great

St. Basil the Great on "Ad Orientem"
ST BASIL THE GREAT, CONFESSOR, ARCHBISHOP OF CAESAREA—329-379 A.D.
St. Basil
On St. Basil
Synaxis of The Three Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, & John Chrysostom, Jan.30
THE EARLY CHURCH AND ABORTION: THE WITNESS OF BASIL OF CAESAREA
St Basil The Great (329-379)
Saint Basil the Great "Orator of Orthodoxy"

Information: St. Basil the Great

Feast Day: January 2

Born: 329 at Caesarea, Asia Minor (modern Turkey)

Died: 14 June 379

Patron of: Cappadocia, Hospital administrators, Reformers, Monks, Education, Exorcism, Liturgists

Information: St. Gregory Nazianzen

Feast Day: January 2

Born: 325, Arianzum, Cappadocia

Died: January 25, 389, Arianzum, Cappadocia

Major Shrine: Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George in the Fanar

CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Wednesday, January 2

Liturgical Color: White

St. Therese of Lisieux was born on this day in 1873.
Known as the Little Flower, she had total love and
devotion to the Child Jesus and demonstrated how
small acts of everyday life could be offered to Him.

Catholic Culture

Christmas: January 2nd

Memorials of St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, bishops and doctors

MASS READINGS

January 02, 2019 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

O God, who were pleased to give light to your Church by the example and teaching of the Bishops Saints Basil and Gregory, grant, we pray, that in humility we may learn your truth and practice it faithfully in charity. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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Old Calendar: Holy Name of Jesus

Today the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, bishops and doctors. This is the ninth day of the Christmas season.

St. Basil was a brilliant student born of a Christian family in Caesarea, Cappadocia (Turkey). For some years, he followed the monastic way of life. He vigorously fought the Arian heresy. He became Bishop of Caesarea in 370. The monks of the Eastern Church today still follow the monastic rules which he set down.

St. Gregory was also from Cappadocia. A friend of Basil, he too followed the monastic way of life for some years. He was ordained priest and in 381 became Bishop of Constantinople. It was during this period when the Arian heresy was at its height. He was called "The Theologian" because of his great learning and talent for oratory.

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite St. Basil is celebrated on June 14 and St. Gregory on May 9. Today is the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, which is celebrated on January 3 in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite today is the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. In a Motu Proprio dated October 23, 1913, Pope St. Pius X moved this Feast to the Sunday between January 2-5, or January 2 if none of these days is a Sunday.

St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen - Day Nine
Although New Year's Day is not celebrated by the Church, this day has been observed as a holy day of obligation since early times due to the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Each family and country has different traditional foods to eat on New Year's Day, with lentils being the main superstition: ill luck befalling those who do not eat lentils at the beginning of the year.

New Year's is a day of traditional hospitality, visiting and good cheer, mostly with a secular view, but there is no reason that this day, too, could not be sanctified in Christ.

Day Nine activity (Blessing of the Bread of St. Basil)
Day Nine recipe (St. Basil's Day Bread)

St. Basil
St. Basil was born about 330, the oldest of four sons; three of his brothers became bishops, one of whom was St. Gregory of Nyssa. His pious grandmother Macrina exercised a great influence upon his religious education: "Never shall I forget the deep impression that the words and example of this venerable woman made upon my soul." Between St. Basil and St. Gregory of Nazianzen an intimate friendship existed from youth to old age. Of Western monasticism St. Benedict was the father and founder, of Eastern monasticism, St. Basil.

As bishop, Basil was a courageous and heroic champion of the Catholic faith against the Arian heresy. In 372 Emperor Valens sent Modestus, the prefect, to Cappadocia to introduce Arianism as the state religion. Modestus approached the holy bishop, upbraided him for his teaching, and threatened despoliation, exile, martyrdom, and death. To these words of the Byzantine despot, Basil replied with the peace of divine faith: "Is that all? Nothing of what you mentioned touches me. We possess nothing, we can be robbed of nothing. Exile will be impossible, since everywhere on God's earth I am at home. Torments cannot afflict me, for I have no body. And death is welcome, for it will bring me more quickly to God. To a great extent I am already dead; for a long time I have been hastening to the grave." Astonished, the prefect remarked: "Till today no one has ever spoken to me so courageously." "Perhaps," rejoined Basil, "you have never before met a bishop." Modestus hastened back to Valens. "Emperor," he said, "we are bested by this leader of the Church. He is too strong for threats, too firm for words, too clever for persuasion."

Basil was a strong character, a burning lamp during his time. But as the fire from this lamp illumined and warmed the world, it consumed itself; as the saint's spiritual stature grew, his body wasted away, and at the early age of forty-nine his appearance was that of an old man. In every phase of ecclesiastical activity he showed superior talent and zeal. He was a great theologian, a powerful preacher, a gifted writer, the author of two rules for monastic life, a reformer of the Oriental liturgy. He died in 379, hardly forty-nine years old, yet so emaciated that only skin and bones remained, as though he had stayed alive in soul alone.

Patron: Cappadocia; hospital administrators; reformers; Russia.

Symbols: Supernatural fire, often with a dove present.

St. Gregory Nazianzen
Gregory, surnamed the "Theologian" by the Greeks, was born at Nazianz in Cappadocia in 339. He was one of the "Three Lights of the Church from Cappadocia." To his mother, St. Nonna, is due the foundation for his saintly life as an adult. He was educated at the most famous schools of his time - Caesarea, Alexandria, Athens. At Athens he formed that storied bond of friendship with St. Basil which was still flaming with all the fervor of youthful enthusiasm when he delivered the funeral oration at the grave of his friend in 381.

Gregory was baptized in 360, and for a while lived the quiet life of a hermit. In 372 he was consecrated bishop by St. Basil. At the urgent wish of Gregory, his father and bishop of Nazianz, he assisted him in the care of souls. In 381 he accepted the see of Constantinople, but grieved by the constant controversies retired again to the quiet life he cherished so highly and dedicated himself entirely to contemplation.

During his life span the pendulum was continually swinging back and forth between contemplation and the active ministry. He longed for solitude, but the exigencies of the times called him repeatedly to do pastoral work and to participate in the ecclesiastical movements of the day. He was unquestionably one of the greatest orators of Christian antiquity; his many and great accomplishments were due in great measure to his exceptional eloquence. His writings have merited for him the title of "Doctor of the Church."

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.

The Word Among Us

Meditation: 1 John 2:22-28

Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops

And now, children, remain in him. (1 John 2:28)

Lord, you know that I want to remain in you. I want to stay close to you at all times. But you also know that I don’t always do it. I often get distracted. I don’t think to call on you when I’m in trouble. Sometimes I get so busy that I forget about you. So I’m asking you to help me. I do not know what this new year holds, what joys I will experience or what sorrows and challenges I will face. But in everything I want you by my side.

Lord, help me to remain in your love. It’s your love that gives meaning to my life and fills me with thanksgiving. Knowing that I am precious in your eyes helps keep me from getting discouraged—especially when I face my weaknesses and failings. I need to remain in your love, Lord, because without it, I cannot love the people you have put in my life. I want to love them as you love me, even those I find hard to love.

Help me to remain in your strength, Lord. Teach me to look to your grace every morning as I start a new day. Thank you for offering me your grace to help me care for my family and accomplish the work you have given me. Your strength buoys me up when I am struggling and gives me the ability to press on when I feel weak.

Lord, help me to remain in your joy. I want to show the world the kind of trust and freedom that come from a relationship with you. I want my disposition to attract people to you. So give me your joy, not only in good times, but also when life becomes difficult.

Lord, again and again you open your arms to me, inviting me to remain in you. There’s no other place I’d rather be. So when I fail to come to you, gently remind me that you are eagerly awaiting my return. Come, Jesus, and hide me in the shadow of your wings each day of this new year.

“Father, thank you for sending your Son to abide with me this year.”

Psalm 98:1-4
John 1:19-28

Daily Gospel Commentary

Blessed Guerric of Igny (c.1080-1157)
Cistercian abbot
4th Sermon for Advent (SC 166, p.134)

"The voice of one crying out in the desert"

Brethren, before anything else we ought to reflect on the grace of solitude, the blessedness of the desert, which from the beginning of this time of salvation, has deserved to be consecrated to the peacefulness of the saints. Indeed, the desert was made holy for us by the voice of John, he who cried out in the desert, who preached there and administered the baptism of repentance. Even before him, the greatest of the prophets had always made a friend of solitude as being something that assisted the Spirit. However, an incomparably greater grace of holiness became attached to this place when Jesus followed John there. Before preaching to the repentant in his turn, Jesus considered he ought to prepare a place in which to receive them; he went into the desert for forty days so as to consecrate a new life in this renewed location… and this, not so much for his own sake as for those who would dwell in the desert afterwards.

So then, if you have decided on the desert, remain there and wait for him who will save you from your feebleness of spirit and the tempest… The Lord will satisfy there you who have followed him even more wonderfully than he satisfied the crowd who followed him into it (Lk 4:42) … At that very moment you imagine him to have long forsaken you, even then, mindful of his goodness, he will come to console you and will say: “I remember you, moved with pity for your youth and your first love, when you followed me in the desert,” (Jer 2:2). The Lord will turn your desert into a paradise of delights, while you will proclaim (like the prophet) that the glory of Lebanon has been given to him, the beauty of Carmel and Sharon (Is Is 35:2)… Then, from the fullness of your heart your hymn of praise will rise: “Let them give thanks to the Lord for his wondrous deeds to the children of men! He has satisfied the longing soul and filled the hungry soul with good things,” (Ps 107 [106]:8).

Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for January 2, 2019:

Little gestures go a long way: buying your spouse’s favorite treat, complimenting him or her, and so on. These are all simple ways of re-affirming your love and strengthening your bond with each other.

Regnum Christi

January 2, 2019 – Aspiring to Humility

02 Jan 2019

Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church

John 1: 19-28

This is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, “Who are you?” He admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, “I am not the Christ.” So they asked him, “What are you then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?” He said: “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.” Some Pharisees were also sent. They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, I believe that you are the Son of God who came into this world to save us because you love us. Your Incarnation fills me with hope. The only response I can give is to love you with all my heart, soul, strength and mind.

Petition: Jesus, help me to learn from St. John the Baptist how to bring others to you.

1. Making Jesus Known: The next few days have readings on John the Baptist. These lead up to this Sunday’s feast of the Epiphany, which celebrates the manifestation of Jesus to the world. Tradition has linked several similar events to Epiphany. Although the first one is the coming of the Magi to Bethlehem, Christ’s Baptism in the Jordan is also a key moment of revelation — of epiphany — of Jesus’ mission and divinity. Thus, although the Baptism of the Lord has its own feast day a week after Epiphany, the two events have a common result: They make known the truth of Jesus. A first question we need to ask ourselves is: What am I, a believer in Christ, doing to make the truth of Jesus known to others?

2. The Power of Humility: In this reading, John the Baptist demonstrates the attitude fundamental to making Christ known: humility. John the Baptist had the chance to be considered the Messiah, the Christ. True, eventually the deception would become known, but for a while he could have had all of Israel at his feet. All too often today, people give in to temptation and compromise their principles to get glory and power for a day — think of businessmen who inflate their company’s profits, or scientists who fake their results. Their inevitable downfall is tragic. St. John the Baptist knows that the only way he can serve God and fulfill his mission in life is to direct all glory to God and none to himself, never presuming to be more than he is. We, too, can live as true Christians and make Jesus present to others only if we put aside our own pride and vanity.

3. Living Love: What really makes John the Baptist’s message effective is that he doesn’t just preach his message; he is his message. He preaches penance, but first he lives it, going out into the desert and living an ascetic life. He baptizes with water, but first he gets into the water. If we want to make Jesus known to others, we first have to know him ourselves. We cannot preach the essence of the Gospel, the message of love, if we don’t live love in our daily lives. We can’t criticize, judge others, and always “look out for number one” (where “one” is ourselves) and still hope to be an effective apostle of Christ. However, if with the help of God’s grace, we do our best to put love into action, then words will hardly be necessary. Our example alone will change people’s lives.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, when I look at myself and my life, I see that too often I have been selfish, focused on what I enjoy and on what I want. Help me to love you above all things. Help me want to make you known by living love, even at the cost of my own pride and comfort.

Resolution: I will make an extra effort today to show through my actions what it means to love Christ and one another.

Homily of the Day

January 2, 2019

Born in Caesarea, Cappadocia (Turkey) in 329, St. Basil followed the monastic way of life. He vigorously fought the Asian heresy. A powerful preacher, he declared: “We possess nothing and we can be robbed of nothing. Exile will be impossible, since everywhere on God’s earth, I am at home. Torments cannot afflict me, for I have no body. And death is welcome, for it will bring me more quickly to God. To a great extent I am already dead; for a long time I have been hastening to the grave.” Basil became Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia and died in 379 at the early age of 45.

Born in the same year (329), St. Gregory of Nazianzen was a friend of Basil, and also followed the monastic way of life for many years. He became Patriarch of Constantinople and was a great theologian, defending the Catholic faith against the Asian heresy. He died in 389.

These two saints, bishops, outstanding theologians and doctors of the Church, prepare the way for the coming of the Lord in our hearts. They recognized his coming and even today exhort us to make our paths straight, to believe in the Good News, that the Lord comes really to rescue us, to redeem us from our poverty, our frustrations and our situations of death.

One Bread, One Body

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All Issues > Volume 35, Issue 1

<< Wednesday, January 2, 2019 >>

St. Basil the Great

1 John 2:22-28
View Readings

Psalm 98:1-4

John 1:19-28
Similar Reflections

REMAIN WITH JESUS (SEE MK 14:34)

"Remain in [Jesus]." �1 John 2:27

During Advent, we opened our hearts to be ready to receive Jesus. We grew ever closer to Him. After the world-changing, calendar-defining, cosmos-altering birth of Jesus, we flocked to Church to receive Jesus in a deeper way at Christmas. Now it is more than a week past Christmas. Numerous people are packing away the ornaments and taking down the Christmas tree, even though the Christmas season still has another week liturgically. Today's first reading from 1 John challenges us to "remain in" Jesus (1 Jn 2:27) rather than packing Him away until next Advent.

The worst possible condition for a human being is to not remain in Jesus after having truly received Him. "When men have fled a polluted world by recognizing the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and then are caught up and overcome in pollution once more, their last condition is worse than their first. It would have been better for them not to have recognized the road to holiness than to have turned their backs on the holy law handed on to them, once they had known it" (2 Pt 2:20-21).

Scripture reveals to us that it is possible to lose our faith and "fall away from [our] sincere and complete devotion to Christ" (2 Cor 11:3). Therefore, beg the Lord for the grace to always "remain in Him" (1 Jn 2:28). In this last week of the Christmas season, don't discard Jesus along with the wrapping paper. Worship Him with the wise men and women of all ages (see Mt 2:11). "If what you heard from the beginning does remain in your hearts, then you in turn will remain in the Son and in the Father" (1 Jn 2:24).

Prayer: Father, give me the grace to "turn now ten times the more to seek" You (Bar 4:28).

Promise: "He Himself made us a promise and the promise is no less than this: eternal life." —1 Jn 2:25

Praise: St. Gregory wrote of St. Basil, "We shared the same lodging, the same table, the same desires, the same God."

Big brothers love their newborn siblings.