St Patrick's Dumbarton

Month of January

AThe month of January is a month in which we traditionally show devotion and renewed reverence to the Holy Name of Jesus. The reverence with which Christians have regarded the Holy Name of Jesus goes back to the earliest days of Christianity, as shown in Acts 4:10 and Philippians 2:10. Not so long ago, Catholics even were in the habit of bowing their heads at the name of Jesus and you can still see that devotion present in the letters IHS which are frequently found in churches and religious items. These are taken from the first and last letters of the Greek name for Jesus.
The Catechism states:… the one name that contains everything is the one that the Son of God received in his incarnation: JESUS. The divine name may not be spoken by human lips, but by assuming our humanity The Word of God hands it over to us and we can invoke it: “Jesus,” “YHWH saves.” The name “Jesus” contains all: God and man and the whole economy of creation and salvation. To pray “Jesus” is to invoke him and to call him within us. His name is the only one that contains the presence it signifies. Jesus is the Risen One, and whoever invokes the name of Jesus is welcoming the Son of God who loved him and who gave himself up for him. (CCC.2666)
St Bernardine of Siena gave us this prayer. Jesus, Name full of glory, grace, love and strength! You are the refuge of those who repent, our banner of warfare in this life, the medicine of souls, the comfort of those who morn, the delight of those who believe, the light of those who preach the true faith, the wages of those who toil, the healing of the sick. To You our devotion aspires; by You our prayers are received; we delight in contemplating You. O Name of Jesus, You are the glory of all the saints for eternity. Amen.