THE FEAST OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS AND MEMORIAL OF SAINT GENEVIEVE OF PARIS, VIRGIN: Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints, on this feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, we humbly pray and thank God for blessing us all with the gift of His precious son, may we be saved by the name of our Savior Jesus Christ! We pray for the safety and well-being of everyone and for all those traveling during this season of Christmas and new year. We pray for peace, love and unity in our marriages, our families and our world today, as we face these incredibly challenging times. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the sick and dying, especially sick children, those who are mentally and physically ill, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for an end to wars, political and religious unrest. We pray for torture victims, the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and for all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, the Bishops, the Clergy and all those who preach the Gospel. We pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, for the Church, for persecuted christians, for all the innocent who suffer violence due to political or religious unrest, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world… Amen🙏
THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS: The Church reveals to us the wonders of the Incarnate Word by singing the glories of His name. The name of Jesus means Savior or God Saves; it had been shown in a dream to Joseph together with its meaning and to Our Lady at the annunciation by the Archangel Gabriel. According to the Gospel of St. Luke 2:21-24: “When eight days were completed for his circumcision, the child was named Jesus, the name given Him by the Angel before he was conceived in the womb. When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.”
The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus is historically associated with the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus. According to Jewish law, on the 8th day after his birth, a male child was circumcised and received his name, thus becoming a full member of God’s covenant people. Circumcision was a sign of belonging to the people. It gave the person an identity. On this occasion each child received his name (cf. Lk 1:59-63). Following the Jewish custom, the child Jesus is circumcised on the eighth day after His birth (cf. Gen 17:12). On the day of the Circumcision, the Son of God made Man received the name of Jesus, which signifies Savior—a name that should inspire us with reverence, praise, confidence, and love. He receives the name of Jesus that had been given Him by the angel before His conception. The angel had said to Joseph that the name of the child had to be Jesus, as “He is the one who is to save His people from their sins” (Mt 1:21). The name of Jesus is the transliteration of the name “Yehoshua”, or Joshua, and means Yahweh saves. Another name that will gradually be given to Jesus is Christ, which means Anointed or Messiah. Jesus is the awaited Messiah. A third name is that of Emmanuel, which means God with us (Mt 1:23).
St. Paul promoted devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, he writes in Philippians 2:9-11: “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that 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 acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Devotion to the Holy Name is deeply rooted in the Sacred Scriptures, especially in the Acts of the Apostles. It was promoted in a special manner by St. Bernard, St. Bernardine of Siena, St. John Capistrano and by the Franciscan Order. This devotion became popular because of 12th-century Cistercian monks and nuns but especially through the preaching of Saint Bernardine of Siena, a 15th-century Franciscan. Bernardine used devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus as a way of overcoming bitter and often bloody class struggles and family rivalries or vendettas in Italian city-states. The devotion grew, partly because of Franciscan and Dominican preachers. The emblem or monogram representing the Holy Name of Jesus consists in three letters—the first three letters of the word written in Greek: IHS. Through the particular efforts of St. Bernardine of Siena, devotion to the Holy Name was promoted through the inscription of this monogram. It spread even more widely after the Jesuits began promoting it in the 16th 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 entire Church. Since the Name of Jesus is the holiest, sweetest, and most powerful of all names, the Church devotes a special day to its solemn veneration. The month of January has traditionally been dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. Today the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus is celebrated on January 3rd.
PRAYER: O God, You founded the salvation of the human race in the Incarnation of Your Word. Grant to Your people the mercy they request so that all may know that there is no other name to be invoked except the name of Your Only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen.
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 mourn, 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 🙏
On this special feast day, we also celebrate the Memorial of Saint Genevieve, Virgin.
MEMORIAL OF SAINT GENEVIEVE OF PARIS, VIRGIN
SAINT GENEVIEVE, VIRGIN: St. Genevieve (422-512) was a fair and courageous peasant girl who was born around 422 in Nanterre, a small village outside Paris, France, to a respectable family, a man named Severus and a woman named Gerontia. When Genevieve was only seven-years-old, a famous bishop, St. Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre visited Nanterre on his way to Britain. While he was there, many people flocked to receive his blessing. The young Genevieve stood amid a crowd which had gathered around the man of God who spotted and singled her out and foretold her future sanctity. At her request, the holy Bishop led her to a church, accompanied by all the faithful, and consecrated her to God as a virgin. The next day, Germanus asked Genevieve if she had remembered the promise she made to God. She did and proclaimed she would always fulfill it faithfully. He presented her with a cross engraved brass medal to always wear around her neck, as a reminder of the consecration she made of herself to God. He ordered her to never wear any other bracelets, necklaces or jewelry, to avoid falling into vanity. Encouraged by Germanus, Genevieve dedicated her life to prayer, practices of devotion and a acts of penance. When she was only 15-years-old, she met with the Bishop of Paris and asked to become a nun. In her teens she received the religious veil and lived a devout life of prayer, charity, and austerity. From this moment, she also began praying continuously and fasting, eating only twice a week, as a sign of her complete dedication to the Lord. She was especially known for her gifts of prophecy and reading consciences. When her parents died she lived with her grandmother in Paris, often traveling and visiting other cities where she would perform miracles, sharing the faith, performing acts of charity, praying for the sick and prophesying.
Her dedicated Christian way of life was filled with the signs of the Holy Spirit working through her. The signs of the working of the Holy Spirit accompanying this holy young woman included miracles and spiritually inspired predictions. She frequently had visions of heavenly angels and saints. However, when she shared those visions and experiences of the Lord, people began to turn against her. They called her a hypocrite and accused her of being a false visionary. This led to her persecution, with a plot against her life. In fact, they were determined to drown her in a lake of fire. However, the Bishop Germanus intervened and silenced those who were accusing her of false statements, and persecuting her. When St. Germain came to her defense she was afterwards greatly revered by the people.
St. Genevieve was appointed by the Bishop to look after the welfare of the consecrated virgins. She did so faithfully and helped to lead them into a greater degree of holiness as they grew closer to the Lord Jesus. St. Genevieve had a great influence over Childeric, the King of Gaul who overtook Paris. During a time when Paris suffered with great famine, St. Genevieve traveled by boat to Troyes and brought back several boats full of corn. Although he was a pagan, Childeric respected her and spared the lives of several prisoners on her behalf. She also had an effect on King Clovis. He listened to her advice and under her request, he granted freedom to several of his prisoners. When Attila and his army of Huns came upon Paris, the Parisian Christians were prepared to run, but St. Genevieve spoke to them and convinced them to stay within their homes, fast and pray to the Lord. She assured them they would have the protection of Heaven. Her prediction came true as Attila suddenly changed his path and turned away from Paris. St. Genevieve died at 89-years-old on January 3, 512. St. Genevieve became venerated as the Patron Saint of Paris after she helped avert an attack against the city by Attila the Hun, and for saving the city from famine during a siege, when a boatload of grain overcame a military blockade due to her intercession. St. Genevieve is also the Patron Saint against fever, plague, and disasters. Protector of Paris, young girls, and French security forces. Her feast day is January 3rd.
Saint Genevieve of Paris, Virgin ~ Pray for us 🙏