Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus: (Year C)
Mt 4: 12-17, 23-25.
Theme: Do You Like To Enter into Light By Believe in the Most Holy Name of Jesus?
Holy Name of Jesus is so great that it is repeated 977 times in New Testament of the Douay-Rheims Bible. The Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, is associated with the Feast of the Circumcision according to the Jewish culture. A child became a full member of his family when he was circumcised, at which time he received his name.
The feast has its own evolution. The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus was officially granted to the Franciscans on February 25, 1530. From there, it spread over a great part of the Church. The Franciscans, the Carmelites, and the Augustinians kept this Feast on January 14th. The Dominicans kept the feast on January 15. Around 1643, the Carthusians obtained permission to celebrate this Feast on the second Sunday after Epiphany. Before long, this date was extended to Spain. About eighty years later, on December 20, 1721, the celebration of the Feast on the second Sunday after Epiphany was extended to the Universal Church.
Gospel shows that Galilee was the trading place where many religious views were introduced. People were leaving in darkness. Jesus starts His public ministry by this words: “repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” By starting the public ministry in the darkness place, He is fulfilling the prophecy of Prophet Isaiah. Are you living darkness? What are your darkness? Do you think that there is need us to repent? Are you willing to come into the light?
First reading shows us to come into light or to kingdom of heaven, we need to “keep His commandments.” His commandment is “to believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and to love one another.” First, why it is necessary to believe in the name of Jesus?
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "the one name that contains everything is the one that the Son of God received in his incarnation: JESUS. Saint Bernard (A.D. 1090-1153) expressed on feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus: “Jesus,” this name is the cure for all diseases of the soul. Are you troubled? Think but of Jesus, speak but the Name of Jesus, the clouds disperse, and peace descends anew from heaven. Have you fallen into sin? So that you fear death? Invoke the Name of Jesus, and you will soon feel life returning. No obduracy of the soul, no weakness, no coldness of heart can resist this holy Name; there is no heart which will not soften and open in tears at this holy name. Are you surrounded by sorrow and danger? Invoke the Name of Jesus, and your fears will vanish. The Name of Jesus is the purest, and holiest, the noblest and most indulgent of names, the Name of all blessings and of all virtues; it is the Name of the God-Man, of sanctity itself. To think of Jesus is to think of the great, infinite God Who, having given us His life. The Most Holy Name of Jesus includes all the mysteries of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church that is found in its liturgy. It is the central point of all the Sacraments. It embraces the Christian life. The believer begins his journey through faith in Jesus. Through the Sacrament of Baptism, he dies with Jesus, is buried with Jesus and is raised as a new creation with Jesus. As the name of each individual person embraces the totality of the person, the Most Holy Name of Jesus also embraces the totality of the Divinity. Finally, the Most Holy Name of Jesus by not given to our Lord by man; it was given to the Incarnate Word by God Himself. [Lk. 1:31].”
Second commandment is to love one other. When you love one another, you will abide in God and God in you. How will you allow God to abide in you? It is by following good spirit which comes from God and confesses “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.” By avoiding the bad spirit or Anti-Christ, you will find the spirit of truth and avoid the spirit of error. To find the spirit of truth equal to enter or come into light.
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