🕊️The Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus celebrates the imposition of the name upon the Son of God on the eighth day after Christmas, upon the occasion of His circumcision, the moment when the Redeemer's Blood was shed for the first time. This most holy name, which means "God Saves," was not chosen by human will but revealed by the Archangel Gabriel by divine mandate even before His conception in Mary's womb. Liturgical devotion to this Name, before which the heavens, the earth, and the hells bow, was ardently propagated in the 15th century by the Franciscans, especially by St. Bernardino of Siena (d. 1444) and St. John Capistrano, who used the monogram IHS to exalt the divinity and salvific mission of Christ. The Church recognizes in this Name the very essence of the economy of salvation, for it is the only name given to men by which we must be saved.
📜Introit (Phil 2, 10-11 | Ps 8, 2)
In nómine Jesu omne genu flectátur, cœléstium, terréstrium et infernórum: et omnis lingua confiteátur, quia Dóminus Jesus Christus in glória est Dei Patris. Ps. 8, 2. Dómine, Dóminus noster, quam admirábile est nomen tuum in univérsa terra!
At the Name of Jesus let every knee bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth: and let every tongue confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father. Ps. O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is Thy Name in the whole earth!
📖Epistle (Acts 4, 8-12)
In those days, Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said to them: Ye princes of the people, and ancients, hear: If we this day are examined concerning the good deed done to the infirm man, by what means he hath been made whole: Be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God hath raised from the dead, even by Him, this man standeth here before you whole. This is the stone which was rejected by you the builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved.
✠Gospel (Lk 2, 21)
At that time, after eight days were accomplished, that the Child should be circumcised, His Name was called Jesus, which was called by the Angel, before He was conceived in the womb.
🛐The Name that is poured out oil and salvation
🕯️The liturgy of this day confronts us with the sublime and terrible reality of the Name of Jesus, which is simultaneously sweetness for those who love and judgment for the infernal powers. As St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor of the Church, teaches us, the Name of Jesus is not merely a conventional designation, but "honey in the mouth, melody in the ear, and joy in the heart." In the Gospel of St. Luke, we see the Holy Family's obedience to the Law, uniting the shedding of blood in Circumcision with the imposition of the Name. This reveals to us theologically that Jesus' identity is inseparable from His sacrificial mission; He is called Jesus because He will save His people, and the price of this salvation begins to be paid on the very eighth day. The Epistle of Peter in the Acts of the Apostles dogmatically reinforces that "neither is there salvation in any other," destroying any pretension of human self-sufficiency or alternative paths to the Father outside the Incarnate Word. As St. Augustine explains, the name of Christ is the foundation of faith, and without the confession of this Name, no work, however virtuous it may seem, can lead to eternal life (Commentary on the Psalms). The cornerstone rejected by the builders has become the head of the corner; thus, the humility of the Child God, submitted to the blade of circumcision, prefigures the glory of the Resurrection. To meditate on this Name is, therefore, to accept that salvation comes from the humiliation of God who became man. We must bear this Name engraved not only on our lips but in our actions, allowing the power that healed the sick man at the Temple gate to also heal the infirmities of our soul.
📅See English version of the critical articles here.
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