Posted on 08/09/2010 9:12:27 AM PDT by Salvation
Our Lady learned how she was to name her Child from the Archangel Gabriel:
... and St. Joseph heard it from an angel in a dream:
Then, when He was circumcised on the 8th day after His Nativity, He received the Holy Name:
And what of it? St. Peter sums it up after he healed the lame man and was then asked by the high priest, "By what power, or by what name, have you done this?":
When we say the Name "Jesus" (or "Iesus," "Iesu," "Yeshua," etc.) consciously, with deep reverence, we are re-realizing the core Truth of the holy Faith: "God Saves" -- and all gratitude and humility are summoned. Say that Holy Name, ponder it, feel it in your mouth and in your heart! "IESUS -- GOD SAVES!" When you pronounce it, know its meaning and humble yourself before it; feel in your heart how you are addressing and referring to Lord Christ. "IESUS -- SAVIOR!"
This Catholic attitude of deep respect toward the Holy Name is exactly as it should be according to Sacred Scripture:
It is "in His Name" that the Gentiles shall hope (Matthew 12:21); "in the Name of Jesus Christ" that the Apostles baptized (Acts 2:38), healed (Acts 3:6, 16), cast out demons (Acts 16:18), preached (Acts 9:27), and anointed (James 5:14); it is "by the Name" of Jesus that signs and wonders were seen (Acts 4:30).
Formalized devotion to the Holy Name is the fruit of the work of St. Bernardine of Siena, A.D. 1380-1444, the Franciscan who reformed his Order and preached fiery sermons all over Italy. An excerpt from one:
During these very popular sermons, he would hold up for veneration the monogram of Christ's Name -- the letters "IHS" (or "JHS") -- surrounded by rays. This ancient monogram is a Latinization of the Greek monograms for Iesous Christos, "IH XP" and "IC XC," and it became even more popularized after St. Bernardine encouraged a playing card maker in Bologna -- a man whose business had been ruined because of the Saint's preaching against gambling -- to make holy cards depicting it instead of making his usual fare. St. Bernardine's apostleship of the Holy Name was carried on by St. John Capistran, A.D. 1385-1456, and to them both is attributed the Litany of the Holy Name. Because of the influence of St. Bernardine's work, the Name "Jesus" was added to the Hail Mary prayer, and the Feast of the Holy Name was later added to the calendar (celebrated on the 1st Sunday of the year, or 2 January if this Sunday falls on the 1st, 6th, or 7th). The office of this Mass was written by Bernardine dei Busti, and it makes use of the beautiful 12th century hymn, Iesu Dulcis Memoria which speaks of His Name and was written by another who had devotion to it, St. Bernard of Clairvaux (A.D. 1090-1153). The entire month of January is devoted to the worship of the Holy Name and to Christ's Divine Childhood.
The Chaplet of the Holy Name is prayed on a 33 bead chaplet (3 decades of 1 large bead followed by ten small beads). 33-bead "rosaries" or 33-knot "chotki" of the Eastern tradition can be used for this devotion. To pray the Chaplet of the Holy Name: Make an Act of Contrition (i.e., pray this prayer earnestly): O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee and I detest all my sins because of Thy just punishments, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen. And pray: Incline unto my aid, O God. O Lord, make haste to help me. First Decade: On the first large bead: Second Decade: On the second large bead: Third Decade: On the third large bead:
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It is indeed surprising to see how few people still bow their heads at the mention of His Name.
My mom always bowed her head; she also used to make the sign of the cross whenever she passed a Catholic Church and whenever she heard an ambulance siren.
I try to do the same.
My mom always bowed her head; she also used to make the sign of the cross whenever she passed a Catholic Church and whenever she heard an ambulance siren.
&&&
I was taught exactly the same, and I also do these things.
The Most Holy Name of Jesus
optional memorial
January 3rd
Christ, Man of Sorrows - school of Jan Mostaert (post-1510) oil on panel
Copyright © National Gallery, London. Used with permission
From apostolic times, the Church has professed that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil 2:10-11). Through the particular efforts of St. Bernardine of Siena, devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus was promoted through the inscription of the monogram of the Holy Name (IHS) and the addition of the name of Jesus to the Hail Mary. Pope Sixtus V first granted an indulgence for the uttering of the phrase used so often by the present Holy Father, John Paul II and included among the pious invocations of the current Enchiridion Indulgentiarum: "Praised be Jesus Christ!"
Source: Daily Roman Missal, Edited by Rev. James Socías, Midwest Theological Forum, Chicago, Illinois ©2003
Collect:
Lord, may we honor the Holy Name of Jesus
enjoy His friendship in this life
and be filled with eternal joy in His Kingdom,
where He lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.
First Reading: Philippians 2:1-11
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Gospel Reading: Luke 2:21-24
And at the end of eight days, when He was circumcised, He was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord") and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons."
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