Saint of the day for January 3: the story of the Most Holy Name of Jesus

Saint of the day for January 3nd

The story of the Most Holy Name of Jesus

Although St. Paul may claim credit for promoting devotion to the Holy Name because Paul wrote in Philippians that God the Father gave Christ Jesus "that name which is above all name" (see 2: 9), this devotion became popular in cause of the XNUMXth century Cistercian monks and nuns but above all through the preaching of San Bernardino da Siena, a Franciscan of the XNUMXth century.

Bernardino used devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus as a way to overcome bitter and often bloody class struggles and family rivalries or revenge in Italian city-states. Devotion grew, in part thanks to Franciscan and Dominican preachers. It spread even more widely after the Jesuits began promoting it in the XNUMXth century.

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 whole Church.

Reflection

Jesus died and rose again for the good of all people. No one can register or protect the name of Jesus from copyright. Jesus is the Son of God and the son of Mary. Everything that exists was created in and through the Son of God (see Colossians 1: 15-20). The name of Jesus is degraded if a Christian uses it as a justification for scolding non-Christians. Jesus reminds us that since we are all related to him, we are, therefore, all related to each other.