THE HOLY NAME

During the circumcision rite the name of Jesus was given to the Christ Child. He was given a Name “which is above all names; that at the Name of Jesus every knee shall bow.” (Phil 2, 8-10). It is during holy season that we give honor and glory to Him who humbled Himself so profoundly for us.

In Matthew 1,21 we read where an angel announces His Name: “Thou shalt call His Name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.” His Holy Name came from God Himself. He is the bridge between God and all mankind.

I have a bad habit of calling out His name when surprised or overwhelmed that I have prayed for this habit to be removed from me. I hear it all the time and try to make an aspiration when I do. Unfortunately, for me, this habit is difficult for me to stop. However, in this new year and on this first Saturday, I am determined to be rid of it. In confession, it was suggested that I say the Divine Praises whenever I find it has happened again.

Blessed be God.
Blessed be His Holy Name.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man.
Blessed be the Name of Jesus.
Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart.
Blessed be His Most Precious Blood.
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy.
Blessed be her holy and Immaculate Conception.
Blessed be her glorious Assumption.
Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and Mother.
Blessed be St. Joseph, her most chaste spouse.
Blessed be God, in His Angels and in His Saints.

In John 14: 13, Jesus promised, “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do.” This is an important statement. For there is no “other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved. (Acts 4:12)

FRIENDSHIPS TODAY

Today I am thinking about the friends and acquaintances I know. I am lifted emotionally and mentally when we are on the same page about things. I share moments of closeness with my husband and my women friends; however I truly cherish my friendship with two women in particular. They are Sheila and Hannah. What we share in common is a love and a happiness because we are Catholics. Our lives are sifted through the collander of the Church’s teachings; our hearts are filled by the evolving conversion of our growing knowledge of Jesus Christ.

I can talk to Sheila and Hannah about topics I dare not mention to anyone else. What we share is a love for God and our religion. It helps us live each day with a desire to do God’s will. I just made plans with both of them to attend a Catholic “Defend the Faith” conference in Steubenville. I made lunch plans with Hannah where we will bring our bibles and discuss a passage or two. In today’s world, where religion is not a suitable topic, I enjoy their friendship.

Today we are celebrating the feasts of both St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, two friends from Cappadocia around 330. They studied together in Athens and then returned to their homeland where they led a monastic life for several years. Basil had the qualities of a leader and a gift for organization and Gregory was a contemplative and a poet. The Orthodox Church has placed Basil and Gregory with St. John Chrysostom as ecumenical doctors. They are called the “three Hierarchs.”

Though my friends and I are certainly not saints, we do get lifted up by each other’s company and we experience a way to live as Catholics in a world that doesn’t really want to hear it.

THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE

G. K. Chesterton said “The Lord wills to “let His face shine upon” us through the face of the Mother of God. We “serve a Mother who seems to grow more beautiful as new generations rise up and call her blessed.”

On this feast of the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, may we all seek a peaceful world through her intercession and may we be examples of peace to our “neighbors”. May our faith, a gift of God, deepen in 2009 and may the Queen of Peace intercede for us as we go about planting the seed of trust in the one true God.

In the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets. Now he speaks to us through His Son, the fruit of Mary’s womb. Praise be his Holy Name!