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Month of January: Dedicated to the Most Holy Name of Jesus:
01 January 2020
“She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” Matthew 1:21
The month of January is dedicated to the Most Holy Name of Jesus. Though the feast is celebrated on January 03, the Church dedicates the whole month to honouring the Most Holy Name of Jesus. This month we also celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Feast of Epiphany and Baptism of the Lord.
The name ‘Jesus’ meaning ‘God Saves’ was given by Almighty God Himself, through the angel Gabriel, to Joseph and Mary before his birth. Jesus saved us from our sins through his total obedience to the will of God, even to the point of death on the cross. And so, as St. Paul writes
“Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” Philippians 2:9-11.
Since the early ages, the name of Jesus has been greatly revered above all names and given utmost honor in the Church. This is also testified to in the various events and verses recorded in the Scriptures through the Letters and Acts of the Apostles where we read about the Apostles who went about preaching, performing miracles, healing the sick, casting demons and proclaiming the salvation and power in the Name of Jesus to one and all.
Though the Scriptures and the Church, since its inception, believed in the power in the Name of Jesus and greatly revered it, a true devotion to the Most Holy Name of Jesus came into being only in the 15th Century through the Franciscan priest St. Bernardine of Siene and his disciple St. John of Capistrano. St. Bernardine used the devotion to the Most Holy name as a way of overcoming bitter and often bloody class struggles and family rivalries that were rampant in Italy at that time. During his sermons he would display a monogram on a tablet that contained the first three letters ‘IHS’ in gold letters of the Greek spelling of the name ‘Jesus’ surrounded by rays. The faithful were asked to adore the monogram as a representation of the divine power of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. There were several miracles reported during these adorations and soon the devotion gained popularity. However, it was seen by some as a heretical practice which led to St. Bernardine being summoned before the Papal Council in 1427. After making his representation before the Papal Council, the Holy Pope Martin V, instead of rebuking this practice, endorsed it and also participated in a procession to propagate the devotion. He later insisted on including the crucifix in the monogram and so a crucifix was added to the top of the letter ‘H’. In 1530, Pope Clement V approved an Office of the Holy Name for the Franciscans. In 1721, Pope Innocent XIII extended this feast to the entire Church.
The Litany to the Most Holy Name of Jesus was written by St. Bernardine of Siena and his disciple St. John of Capistrano. The litany was approved by Pope Sixtus V in 1585 and was approved for public recitation by Pope Leo XIII in 1886. St. Bernardine is also attributed to have added the name of Jesus to the Ave Maria. In addition to prayers, several Popes honoured the Holy Name by introducing customs and granting indulgences on invoking the Holy Name of Jesus with due reverence.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us in Para 6664 “There is no other way of Christian Prayer than Christ. Whether our prayer is communal or personal, vocal or interior, it has access to the Father only if we pray “in the name” of Jesus. The sacred humanity of Jesus is therefore the way by which the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray to God our Father."
May we come to realise the power of this precious gift of the Almighty Father to us and adore, worship, seek and honor the Most Holy Name of Jesus.