The Tenth Day of Christmas: the Most Holy Name of Jesus

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 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.

(Philippians 2:9-11)

Happy Tenth Day of Christmas! Today we celebrate the Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. The quote from Saint Paul’s letter to the Philippians above is, of course, the origin of this feast. This passage forms a portion of the first reading of the feast in the modern lectionary of the Ordinary Form¹, although interestingly not in the Extraordinary Form². It is found in the introit in both forms of the Roman Rite, however.

As Saint Paul attests, devotion to the Lord’s Name goes right back to Apostolic times. The feast, however, is of much more recent origin, dating to the fifteenth century.

The devotion was popularized by Saint Bernardine of Siena, who often used the letters “IHS”, the first three letters of “Jesus” in Greek. This “Christogram” proved popular, because in Latin it can also be taken as the initials of the phrase “Jesus Hominum Salvator”, (“Jesus, Saviour of men”)³.

The feast’s actual day on the calendar moved about a bit, before settling on January 3rd, mostly thanks to the Jesuits, which hold this as their titular feast.

The date was chosen as Christ was formally named “Jesus” at his circumcision, which according to Jewish law and the scriptures, happened on the eighth day following his birth. Since this is January 1st, which is already a Solemnity, the memorial of the Holy Name got bumped to the next available day.

And why honour the Holy Name?

Names are a powerful thing, indeed. In faerie tales and myths, if you know somebody’s “true name”, you have power over them. You can call on them at need.

When God told His name to Moses (Exodus 3:13-17), it was carefully recorded when the Torah was written. But to this day, anyone who is reading aloud in synagogue, when the come to this name, instead say “Adonai”, which simply means “Lord”.

God’s name was too sacred to be spoken.

But when the Second Person of the Divine Trinity is conceived, it is God Himself who names Him. When God becomes man, becomes relatable, He somehow becomes more reachable as well. The Angel of the Annunciation says to the Blessed Virgin Mary:

“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.”

(Luke 1:30b-31)

Here is a name that God gives Himself, and it is the name we are to call Him, and call upon Him with. At need.

There is an ancient custom to bow one’s head whenever the Holy Name is mentioned. You will see priests and altar servers alike bow their heads during Mass whenever they hear the name of Jesus.

Try it. It will make you more acutely aware of the Lord as you focus on hearing the Holy Name.

It should surprise no one, then, that the final words of Pope Benedict XVI included the Holy Name, and a simple declaration of love. This is the perfect summation of the life’s work of this great theologian scholar.

Or, as another person summarized:

1. The full reading is Philippians 2:1-11.
2. In which the feast was celebrated yesterday.
3. It can also be used for “In hoc signo” (“in this sign”), which relates to the dream of the victorious Emperor Constantine, the man who legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire).