Reverence for the Holy Name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, arose in the apostolic times. St. Paul in his Letter to the Philippians wrote, “So that at Jesus’ name every knee must bend in the heavens, on the earth and under the earth, and every tongue proclaim to the glory of God the Father: Jesus Christ is Lord” (2:10-11). Just as a name gives identity to a person and reflects a person’s life, the name of Jesus reminds us of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for us. This feast day in January for the Holy Name of Jesus dates back to the 15th century. The Franciscan order was granted official recognition of this feast day in January in 1530.
In invoking our Lord’s name with reverence and faith, we are to turn to Jesus with our hearts to implore his assistance: to invoke his help in spiritual trials, to help us resist any temptations, and to receive God's grace and blessings in the midst of our journey of faith.
Both St. Bernardine of Sienna and his student St. John of Capistrano in the 15th century promoted devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. As they preached missions throughout Italy, they carried a monogram of the Holy Name surrounded by rays. In its origin, the monogram IHS is an abbreviation of Jesus' name in Greek. The I and H represent the Iota and the Eta, the first two letters of the name. The S represents Sigma, the final letter. A later tradition holds that IHS represents the Latin Iesus Hominum Salvator, meaning “Jesus Savior of Mankind.” St. Bernardine and St. John of Capistrano blessed the faithful with this monogram, invoking the name of Jesus; many miracles were reported. They encouraged people to have the monogram placed over the city gates and the doorways of their homes.
As we start the new year and you teachers start the new semester in the midst of all the challenges and complications in the current surge in the pandemic, celebrating and honoring the holy name of Jesus is a great way to start the year and to start the new semester. Many of you may know but some of you may not know that I myself have a background in teaching. I have taught at Catholic schools myself, have taught for four years in public schools here in Mississippi, and was a teacher and an administrator in Catholic schools in Ecuador where I served as a missionary. I know that in our society, as teachers and parents and leaders in the Church, teaching dignity and respect is something that is not easy to do, as we lack that so much in our society today. Our reading from the first letter of John tells us today: And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us." Thank you all for your hard work and dedication here for the youth at St Joseph School.
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