Most Holy Name of Jesus
Optional Memorial
Other Celebrations for this Day:
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
The veneration of the Holy Name of Jesus has deep roots in Christianity, with early mentions in Acts 4:10 and Philippians 2:10. The IHS monogram, derived from the Greek name ΙΗΣΟΥΣ (Jesus), was used on altars and objects since early Christianity, symbolising devotion to Christ.
In the 16th century, the Jesuits adopted the IHS monogram as their emblem, adding a cross and three nails, and dedicated their mother church in Rome, the Church of the Gesù, to the Most Holy Name of Jesus. Devotion to the Holy Name continues today, with numerous religious communities formed in its honour since the Middle Ages.
Prayer to the Most Holy Name of Jesus attributed to Saint Bernardine of Siena
Jesus, a 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.
Prayers of the Faithful
REFLECTIONS
The Name That Dwells Among Us
In the Jewish tradition, the name of God is never spoken lightly. To name someone is to make them present, to define them, even to claim a kind of possession. But God cannot be defined or possessed. For this reason, the Holy Name—expressed by the four letters YHWH—is not pronounced. Instead, it is reverently replaced by Adonai, “the Lord,” preserving the mystery and infinity of God.
Yet this very silence around the Name has generated immense creativity. Scripture itself can be read as a vast “circumlocution” of the divine Name. Israel’s prayers, feasts, customs, and history revolve around the One who cannot be named. Israel exists, in a sense, to proclaim the unutterable. God even calls them “the people marked with my Name.” Their identity is inseparable from bearing witness to the Holy Name with their lives.
When God reveals himself to Moses in Exodus, the response is striking: “I am who I am.” This sounds almost like a refusal to be named. God is not one being among others, not reducible to a concept or sound. Yet the Hebrew sense of this phrase is not abstract or philosophical. It means, more intimately, “I am there,” “I am with you.” God’s Name reveals not distance but fidelity. God is the One who remains present, who accompanies his people. His identity is faithfulness.
On Sinai, this Name is further “unfolded”: compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, rich in mercy and fidelity. These are not definitions but relational descriptions—attempts to say how God is experienced. The Name cannot be spoken “in vain” because it can only truly be spoken through a life transformed by encounter. Jacob learned this when he demanded God’s Name and instead received a blessing—and a new identity. To encounter the Name of God is to be changed.
For Israel, the Temple became the place where God caused his Name to dwell. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest pronounced the Holy Name in the Holy of Holies. God’s presence filled the space, and the Temple itself became a symbol of the whole cosmos ordered around the Name. “How great is your Name in all the earth.”
Early Christians made a daring and decisive confession: everything Israel had said about the Name of God now found fulfilment in Jesus Christ. The Gospel of John places the divine “I am” on the lips of Jesus. Saint Paul proclaims that God bestowed on him “the Name above every name.” Astonishingly, this Name is not replaced by a title but by a human name: Jesus. What the Name of God once accomplished, the Name of Jesus now accomplishes—salvation, transformation, communion.
“Jesus” means “God saves.” To speak his Name is already to pray. From the earliest centuries, Christians have invoked this Name for healing, mercy, and peace of heart. The Church baptises, celebrates, and lives in the Name of Jesus. On the cross, that Name is fully revealed: a love poured out to the end.
To bear the Name of Jesus, then, is not merely to pronounce it but to live it. Like Israel of old, and like the saints who gave their lives for this Name, we are called to let it dwell in us—so that, through our lives, God may once again say to the world: I am there.