The Most Holy Name of Jesus

This memorial honors the saving name given to Christ and recalls the Church's centuries of prayer, preaching, and devotion centered upon it.

The story

The name Jesus was not chosen by human preference. The angel told Joseph that Mary's child must be called Jesus, because he would save his people from their sins. According to Luke, the child received this name at his circumcision, eight days after his birth. The name comes through Greek and Latin from the Hebrew name Yeshua, which expresses that the Lord saves. The first Christians prayed, preached, baptized, healed, suffered, and died in the name of Jesus.

Reverence for the Holy Name developed throughout Christian worship. Medieval writers praised the sweetness and power of calling upon Jesus with faith. The devotion became especially visible through St. Bernardine of Siena, a Franciscan preacher who traveled across Italy during the early fifteenth century. Bernardine displayed a tablet bearing the monogram IHS surrounded by rays and encouraged cities to replace violent factional emblems with the name of Christ. IHS represents the first three letters of the name Jesus in Greek. It was later given additional Latin devotional interpretations.

Bernardine's preaching attracted both enthusiasm and criticism. Church authorities examined the devotion, and he was permitted to continue. His fellow Franciscan St. John of Capistrano also promoted the Holy Name. The Society of Jesus later adopted the IHS monogram in its seal, giving it further prominence in churches, schools, and missionary work. Pope Clement VII granted a liturgical office of the Holy Name to the Franciscan Order in 1530. Pope Innocent XIII extended the feast to the universal Church in 1721.

The feast occupied different dates over the centuries. It was not retained as a separate observance in the 1969 General Roman Calendar, although the name of Jesus remained central to the liturgy, especially on January 1. The revised Roman Missal published in 2002 restored the Most Holy Name of Jesus as an optional memorial on January 3. This devotion is not a belief that certain syllables work like magic. It is an act of faith in the living person of Jesus Christ, whose name signifies his identity and saving mission.

What Most teaches

The name of Jesus can be repeated with faith during work, suffering, temptation, or thanksgiving. The Catechism calls the name of Jesus the simplest way of praying always and says that it contains everything (CCC 2666 to 2668). Christians should therefore speak this holy name with love rather than carelessness.

Patronage

preachers, the Society of Jesus, reverence in speech, protection from temptation.

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, you received the name that proclaims God's saving mercy. Teach us to call upon you with faith, to honor your name in our speech, and to bear witness to you by our lives. Amen.