January 3 2024 - Holy Name of Jesus

According to the Mosaic Law, on the 8th day, young baby boys were to undergo circumcision and given their name. Now in many cultures, a child is given a name at the time of birth, chosen by his parents. But for the Jews, the naming of the child was delayed until the child became a member of the Jewish people through circumcision. Only after he entered into that sacred bond with God, invested in the covenant between God and his people, would the child be named.

There is something so powerful and beautiful in that custom. Your name signifies your identity, your deepest self. You don’t really have an identity if you don’t have a name. And the Jews believed that you don’t have a name—you don’t have an identity—until you entered into relationship with God and into the human race as a member of the Jewish people through the shedding of your life blood. Unless you have shed your own blood for your people and for your God you don’t really have a name or an identity or a people.

Jesus: what a perfect name for the Christ Child. For in Hebrew, the name of Jesus—Yeshua—means Yahweh saves, or God saves. No name has better fit a child in all of history. He is God and Savior. He is God who saves. As the angel told Joseph, “you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

And that perfect name, that name given by heaven itself, is as St. Paul writes to the Philippians, “the name above every other name.” It is the name given to us by God, so that we may call upon him. 

The holy name of Jesus is uttered in prayer by holy devout souls, it is evoked for strength by martyrs at their time of death and all those asking God’s aid in carrying their own crosses. By the name of Jesus, demons are scattered, which is why the demons revel in the fact that the holy name of Jesus is blasphemed in so many corners of our culture—in movies and television, on the internet, as an expletive. 

When you hear his name blasphemed, it is praiseworthy to make the sign of the cross in reparation. If you are in the company of someone who blasphemes his name, it is certainly appropriate to request that they stop blaspheming his name in your presence. 

In one sermon on the Holy Name, St. Bernadine said, “Glorious name, gracious name, name of love and of power! Through you sins are forgiven, through you enemies are vanquished, through you the sick are freed from their illness, through you those suffering in trials are made strong and cheerful. You bring honor to those who believe, you teach those who preach, you give strength to the toiler, you sustain the weary” 

When I am waiting in line at a doctor’s office or grocery store, I like to slowly and simply recite the name of Jesus, to quiet the mind down enough where only the name of Jesus fills it. It’s a beautiful, simple, yet powerful way of praying, encouraged by the saints.

May this Christmas feast of the Holy Name help us believe in Jesus’s name, treat the name of Jesus with reverence, give us conviction in to invoke Jesus’ name in our prayer, live in communion with the Holy Name of Jesus, proclaim Jesus’ name to the ends of the earth, and willingly suffer, like the apostles, for the sake of the name. For the glory of God and salvation of souls. 

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We bring forth now our prayers of petitions.

For the conversion of all those who have turned their hearts from Christ, for those who have fallen into serious sin, for a strengthening of all of the faithful in virtue. And That God may bring the faithless to believe in His Son and increase the faith of those struggling to believe.

For Christians who are persecuted throughout the world, especially those who face martyrdom, that they may have a faith that is constant and pure.

For those oppressed by hunger, sickness or loneliness, that through the mystery of the Nativity of Christ, they may find relief in both mind and body. 

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

Ferial Day of Christmastide 2021 (EF) - Monday - Grace made visible

Between the great Feast of Christmas and the Epiphany, Christmastide finds the Church reflecting upon the mission and identity of the Christ child.

Yesterday, on the Christmas Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, we reflected upon the meaning of his name. The name of Our Lord, “Jesus”, the name announced by the angel, means “God Saves”. Jesus is God and Savior. He is the God who saves.

On this ferial day, we read in our epistle, St. Paul reflecting upon the identity and mission of Christ. Paul writes to titus that the grace of God has appeared. Jesus, the Lord, is the grace of God made visible.

Mercy has a name, mercy has a face, mercy has a heart, as Pope Benedict XVI has said. And through Jesus, who is the love, mercy, and grace of God made visible, salvation is offered to all, Jew and Gentile alike.  Jesus is truly God and savior.

St. Paul then goes on to explain how salvation involves us being trained to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly. In the face of God’s overwhelming goodness and mercy and grace made visible by Jesus, we are to respond by rejecting all that is godless. Aware of God’s love for us, we respond by engaging in training. Like an athlete or soldier trains, we are to train our minds, bodies, and souls to reject what is worldly and godless. And this might be difficult for a good many of us, for the worldly and godless is deeply ingrained in us. So great effort is to be exerted, suffering is to be endured, to be trained in grace. 

But we willingly do so in order to live in a pleasing manner for the one born for us as savior.

St. Paul then mentions temperance, justice, and devotion, specifically. These three virtues regulate how we deal with the created things of the world, how we deal with other people, and how we relate to God. By temperance, we are to practice self-control in moderating our use of the goods of the earth. By justice, we regulate our relationships with others, treating people with the respect, patience, and generosity owed to them. And by devotion, or piety, we give to God what belongs to God—worship and obedience and prayer and faithfulness in our God-given mission to evangelize.

On the feast of Epiphany, we find Magi from the east, bringing gifts to the newborn King gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. This reading from St. Paul to Titus is a beautiful prelude to the Epiphany, hinting at the fact that the Lord desires more than these physical gifts, the one in whom grace has been made visible desires his grace to be made visible in us, that the  gift of grace may fill our lives, transforming them, delivering them, purifying them, sanctifying them, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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 A reading from the epistle of St. Paul to Titus

Brethren: For the grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good. Say these things. Exhort and correct with all authority: in Christ Jesus our Lord.

A continuation of the holy Gospel according to St. Luke

At that time, when eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Holy Name of Jesus 2022 - The name above every other name

 

The liturgical feast of the Holy Name of Jesus is a fairly recent addition to the liturgical calendar, going back just to the 15th century. St. Bernadine of Siena, Italian priest and Franciscan missionary, saw a growing irreverence toward Christianity, toward Christ. So he began to spread understanding and love for Jesus by teaching people to revere his Holy Name.

St. Bernadine took the first three letters of Jesus’ name in Greek, iota, eta, sigma, which look like the English alphabet letters IHS, and encouraged people to place those letters in their churches, homes, and public buildings.

Today’s memorial is rightly celebrated in proximity to Christmas, for on the 8th day of his earthly life, Our Lord was taken by Mary and Joseph to the Jerusalem Temple where he was circumcised and named. His name was not chosen frivolously, it was given to Joseph by heaven itself, and no name has better fit a child in all of history. For the name of Jesus signifies his identity and mission perfectly. Jesus means “God Saves”. He is God and Savior. He is God who saves.

In that magnificent passage from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians, that the name of Jesus is the name above all other names. St. Peter says in the book of acts, that “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

St. Bernard of Clairvaux said, “The Name of Jesus is Light, and Food, and Medicine. It is Light, when it is preached to us; it is Food, when we think upon it; it is the Medicine that soothes our pains when we invoke it.”

St. Anthony of Padua compared the use of Jesus’ name to oil. Just as “oil has five properties — it floats on the surface of any liquid, it softens hard things, it sweetens bitter things, it is a source of light and provides nourishment for the body — [so] the name Jesus has similar properties: it excels every other name, it softens the hardest of hearts, it sweetens the most bitter experiences, it enlightens our hearts and nourishes our souls.”

May this Christmas feast of the Holy Name help us believe in Jesus’s name, treat the name of Jesus with reverence, give us conviction in to invoke Jesus’ name in our prayer, live in communion with the Holy Name of Jesus, proclaim Jesus’ name to the ends of the earth, and willingly suffer, like the apostles, for the sake of the name, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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We bring forth now our prayers of petitions.

For the conversion of all those who have turned their hearts from Christ, for those who have fallen into serious sin, for a strengthening of all of the faithful in virtue. And That God may bring the faithless to believe in His Son and increase the faith of those struggling to believe.

In reparation for all blasphemy, especially blasphemous and impious use of the holy name of Jesus. 

For those oppressed by hunger, sickness or loneliness, that through the mystery of the Nativity of Christ, they may find relief in both mind and body. 

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

January 3 2020 - Holy Name of Jesus

On this 10th day of the Christmas season, we celebrate an event taking place on the 8th day of the Lord’s earthly life. According to mosaic law, Jesus was circumcised and named on the 8th day. One commentary explained why it was fitting to delay the naming of the child until after circumcision. It mentioned how only after the child becomes a member of the Jewish people through circumcision, only after he entered into that bond with God, should the child be given his Jewish name.

A names are important to Jews. They are not as frivolous as they are today. They are to be carefully chosen because a name signifies ones purpose, identity and mission. When God named Abraham, he said you are called Abraham because you are to be father-of-nations. So, those eight days before naming might give Jewish parents time to contemplate their child, to prayerfully consider a name that might signify what God wants from this child.

Mary and Joseph did not have the task of flipping through a book of baby names. For the Christ Child’s name was given to Joseph in a dream. No name has better fit a child in all of history. For the name of Jesus signifies his identity and mission perfectly. Jesus means “God Saves”. So, it is truly the “name above all other names” as Paul sings of today in our first reading.

A name that was whispered by Joseph, has now been uttered with love and devotion by billions of Christians throughout the centuries. It is uttered in prayer by holy devout souls, it is evoked for strength by martyrs at their time of death and all those asking God’s aid in carrying their own crosses. By it, demons are cast out, souls are reclaimed.

In one sermon on the Holy Name, St. Bernadine said, “Glorious name, gracious name, name of love and of power! Through you sins are forgiven, through you enemies are vanquished, through you the sick are freed from their illness, through you those suffering in trials are made strong and cheerful. You bring honor to those who believe, you teach those who preach, you give strength to the toiler, you sustain the weary”

When I am waiting in line at a doctor’s office or grocery store, I like to slowly and simply recite the name of Jesus, to quiet the mind down enough where only the name of Jesus fills it. It’s a beautiful, simple, yet powerful way of praying, encouraged by the saints.

 After healing a man crippled from birth, St. Peter says in the book of Acts, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved”. May we find healing and salvation from the sins and attitudes and circumstances which cripple us through the name of Jesus, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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We bring forth now our prayers of petitions.

For the conversion of all those who have turned their hearts from Christ, for those who have fallen into serious sin, for a strengthening of all of the faithful in virtue. And That God may bring the faithless to believe in His Son and increase the faith of those struggling to believe.

For Christians who are persecuted throughout the world, especially those who face martyrdom, that they may have a faith that is constant and pure.

For the safety of all those celebrating the New Year this evening, safety from physical harm and preservation from sin.

For those oppressed by hunger, sickness or loneliness, that through the mystery of the Nativity of Christ, they may find relief in both mind and body.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord