The Most Holy Name of Jesus

The beautiful feast that we celebrate goes back to apostolic times where Saint Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians, "At the name of Jesus, every knee should bend, of those 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" (2:10-11). The Church's veneration of the name of Jesus flourished through the teaching of the Franciscan Saint Bernadine of Siena. It was in 1721 that the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus was mandated for the universal Church, and has now been restored by Blessed Pope John Paul II (Magnificat, 49). This feast was originally associated with the Mary, the Holy Mother of God. In the General Roman Calendar given to the church by Pope Paul VI in 1969, following the Second Vatican Council, reads, "1 January, the Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord, is the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, and also the commemoration of the conferral of the Most Holy Name of Jesus" (No. 35, The Priest, Dec. 2011). That came from Sunday's gospel, Luke 2:16-21, where at the time of his circumcision, the name given to the child was Jesus, which was the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb of the Blessed Mother. As we read, this feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus has been restored and it is a great feast to celebrate because we know the power that comes in Jesus' name. We thank God for the gift of His Son and that his name will praised at all times! Have a blessed day!!!