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
The Name of Jesus: Its Power in Our Lives
The Holy Name of Jesus
From: Hebrews 12:4-7, 11-15
The Example of Christ (Continuation)
[4] In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the
point of shedding your blood.
Perseverance in Affliction
[5] And have you forgotten the exhortation which addresses you as sons?
-- "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage
when you are punished by him. [6] For the Lord disciplines him whom he
loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." [7] It is for discipline that
you have to endure. God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom
his father does not discipline?
[11] For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it
yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Striving for Peace; Purity; Reverent Worship
[12] Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, [13]
and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out
of joint but rather be healed. [14] Strive for peace with all men, and for the
holiness without which no one will see the Lord. [15] See to it that no one fail
to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" spring up and cause
trouble, and by it the many become defiled.
Commentary:
4-13. Following Christ's example, Christians should struggle to avoid sin; they
should put up with tribulation and persecution because if such adversity arises
it means that the Lord permits it for our good. The letter's tone of encourage-
ment seems to change here to one of reproach. It is as if the writer were saying,
"Christ gave his life for your sins, contending even to the point of dying for you;
how is it that you do not put up with suffering, out of love for him? It is true that
you are being persecuted: God is disciplining you as a Father disciplines his
children. But you are children of God and therefore your attitude should be one
of abandonment to his will even when it seems hard. That is the way a Father
brings up his children." The main point is that the only important thing is fidelity
to God, and that the sin of apostasy is the greatest of all misfortunes. "Don't
forget, my son, that for you on earth there is but one evil, which you must fear
and avoid with the grace of God: sin" (St J. Escriva, "The Way", 386).
5-11. Suffering, the sacred writer teaches, is a sign of God's paternal love for
us; it proves that we really are his children.
This teaching is supported by the quotation from Proverbs 3: 12, taken from a
long discourse in which a father exhorts his son to acquire true wisdom. In the
present passage the father is identified with God and we with the sons whom
he is addressing.
By being incorporated into Christ through Baptism a person becomes a child
of God: this is the very basis of the Christian life and it should be a source of
serenity and peace in every difficulty we meet in the course of life. The term
"discipline" which appears so much in this assage does not convey the full
richness of the original Greek word, "paideia", which has to do with the educa-
tional upbringing of child by parent, of pupil by teacher, and also the punishment
meted out in this context. Here the focus is largely on the second aspect. How-
ever, it should be remembered that in ancient times education and instruction
always involved the idea of punishment. God, therefore, should not be seen as
a cruel or pitiless father, but as a good father who brings up his children in an
affectionate yet firm way. Adversity and suffering are a sign that this divine tea-
ching method is at work: God uses them to educate us and discipline us. "You
suffer in this present life, which is a dream, a short dream. Rejoice, because
your Father-God loves you so much, and if you put no obstacles in his way,
after this bad dream he will give you a good awakening" (J. Escriva, "The Way",
692). If we were illegitimate child- ren he would not bother to educateus; but
because we are true sons he disciplines us, to make us worthy of bearing his
name. "Everything that comes to us from God," an ancient ecclesiastical writer
reminds us, "and that we initially see as beneficial or disadvantageous, is sent
to us by a father who is full of tenderness and by the wisest of physicians, with
our good in mind" (Cassian, "Collationes", VII, 28).
When the soul has this kind of attitude, that is, when the trials the Lords sends
are willingly accepted, "with peaceful fruit of righteousness" and it yields fruit of
holiness which fills it with peace: "Jesus prays in the garden: "Pater mi" (Mt
26:39), "Abba, Pater!" (Mk 14:36). God is my Father, even though he may send
me suffering. He loves me tenderly, even while wounding me. Jesus suffers, to
ulfill the Will of the Father.... And I, who also wish to fulfill the most holy Will of
God, following in the footsteps of the Master, can I complain if I too meet suf-
fering as my traveling companion?
"It will be a sure sign of my sonship, because God is treating me as he treated
his own divine Son. Then I, as he did, will be able to groan and weep alone in
my Gethsemani; but, as I lie prostrate on the ground, acknowledging my nothing-
ness, there will rise up to the Lord a cry from the depths of my soul: "Pater mi,
Abba, Pater,... fiat!" (St J. Escriva, "The Way of the Cross", I, 1).
12-13. This exhortation follows logically from the previous one. It seems to evoke
the world of athletic competition referred to at the beginning of the chapter. Verse
12 is like a shout of encouragement to a runner who is beginning to flag in the
middle of a race.
The author uses a quotation from Isaiah (Is 35:3) in which drooping hands and
weak knees indicate moral decline (cf. 2 Sam 2:7; 4:1; Jer 47:3). He then goes
on to use words from Proverbs 4:26 to encourage right living: "make straight steps
with your feet": if the Christian perseveres in his efforts even if he is somewhat
"lame", that is, even if he is someone whose faith is weak and is in danger of
apostasy, he will be able to return to fitness in spite of everything.
However, this exhortation can be taken as addressed not only to those who need
to mend their ways but also to Christians in general, who should be exemplary
and never in any way be a stumbling-block to their weaker brethren.
14. These words echo what our Lord says in the Sermon on the Mount: "Bles-
sed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God". Jesus promises
those who promote peace that they will be sons of God and therefore share in
God's inner life, which makes man holy. The Apostles and disciples of the Lord
often repeat this teaching (cf. Jas 3:18; Rom 12:18; 1 Pet 3:11). Being at peace
with God, which comes from docility to his plans (v. 11), necessarily leads one
to foster and maintain peace with others. Peace with God and with one's neighbor
is inseparable from the search for holiness. Christ brings about the fulfillment of
the ancient promises which foretold a flowering of peace and righteousness in
the messianic times (cf. Ps 72:3; 85:1 1-12; Is 9:7; etc.).
"Holiness": it is not just a matter of avoiding sin. one needs to cultivate virtue and
to desire to attain holiness with the help of grace. Holiness or Christian perfection
is the common goal of all Christ's disciples. Salvation and holiness are really one
and the same thing, for only saints can obtain entry into the presence of God:
only those who are holy can see the Holy One.
"You must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5:48). These words
of our Lord are always echoing through the Church; today more than ever. "Today,
once again, I set myself this goal and I also remind you and all mankind: this is
God's will for us, that we be saints.
"In order to bring peace, genuine peace, to souls; in order to transform the earth
and to seek God our Lord in the world and through the things of the world perso-
nal sanctity is indispensable" (St J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 294).
15. Theodoret-comments on this passage as follows: "Do not be concerned
only about yourselves; rather let each of you look after the other; strengthen the
waverer and assist him who needs your helping hand" ("Interpretatio Ep. ad Hae-
breos, ad loc."). A Christian needs to be concerned not only about his own soul,
his own salvation; on his conscience should also lie the salvation of his brothers
and sisters in the faith. He should be like a gardener who cares for his plants and
makes sure no weeds or diseases spread through his garden. In the Old Testa-
ment, the man who denies his faith is described as a root bearing poisonous and
bitter fruit (cf. Deut 29:18). Anyone who is indifferent to a brother's nfidelity
endangers those around him, for bad example can spread like an epidemic. This
passage is reminiscent of St Paul's reproach to the Corinthians: "Do you not
know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?" (1 Cor 5:6).
Hence the need to be ever vigilant to ensure that no one through his own fault
loses the gifts God has given him; "the true apostle is on the lookout for occa-
sions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers to draw them towards
the faith, or to the faithful to instruct them, strengthen them, incite them to a
more fervent life; 'for Christ's love urges us on' (2 Cor 5:14), and in the hearts
of all should the Apostle's words find echo: 'Woe to me if I do not preach the
Gospel' (1 Cor 9:16)" (Vatican II, "Apostolicam Actuositatem", 6).
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.
Reprinted with permission from from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers,
the U.S. publishers.