Holy Name of Jesus Tridentine Mass

We had the privilege of attending this Mass recently at a church on Long Island which occasionally offers the Latin Mass on feastdays. In this month of the Holy Name of Jesus, it was wonderful to attend this Mass for the first time. Here is the Introit and a link to the full Propers, which you may wish to pray with your family during the remainder of January:

In the name of Jesus let every knee

bow of those that are in heaven, on

earth, and under the earth; and let

every tongue confess that the Lord

Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the

Father. O Lord, our Lord,

how wonderful is Thy Name in the

whole earth.

Glory be to the Father

and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now and

ever shall be, world without end.

Amen.

mass proper: holy name of jesus

(Propers on extraordinaryform.org are PDFs and may easily be printed!)

January is the Month of the Holy Name of Jesus ~ Nomen Christi!

Holy Church in her wisdom, begins the secular New Year honoring Mary, Mother of God, imploring her much-needed intercession along with the Circumcision of Our Lord in the traditional calendar.  The significance of the Circumcision is twofold:  Our Blessed Infant Lord, though the Son of God, was still subject to the Law and this is the ritual in which He received the Name “Jesus,” meaning “God saves.”  This Name invokes both the identity and mission of Christ. 

Following the Circumcision, we celebrate the Holy Name of Jesus, which is also the theme of the Month of January.  We begin a new year contemplating the Name of Christ Jesus.  We honor His identity as the Second Person of the Holy Trinity and His mission as our Redeemer, the shedding of His innocent Blood at the Circumcision, a reminder of His Sacrifice upon the Cross.  What better way to start a new year than to flee to Our Lord and His Mother! 

“Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Matthew 6:33

Epiphany of Our Lord is held on January 6th, in both the trad and new calendars.  The feast of the Holy Family is Sunday, the 7th, which is also the new feast of the Baptism of Our Lord.  The trad feast of the Baptism is on the 13th.  Our Lady of Prompt Succor is honored on the 15th.

Septuagesima Sunday is the 28th, beginning the short season of Septuagesima, a preparation for Lent.

As we discussed a “Marian Triad of the Months” from August to October, we now celebrate a “Christological Triad of the Months” from December to February:  The Divine Infancy, the Holy Name and the Passion of Our Lord.  Please note, these “triads” are not official Church ideas, but something unique to this Apostolate.  We strive to see how these months tie together theological themes and present an opportunity for prayer and meditation. This ministry also has a special dedication to the Holy Name and Our Lady of Fatima.

Traditional Catholic Calendar for January

New Year’s Blessings to all! Let us pray for a holy, happy and healthy 2024 and think positively about the coming year.

This is the year the Lord has made, Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

By the way, how did you do with the December Prepper Challenge? It’s totally understandable if Christmastime got in your way. The good news is…there’s a new month…and a new year…to continue to work on our “15 Points Preparedness Worksheet.” Scroll down to the December post or find it on the Home page. Choose the 5 things you think are most important right now and make a plan. Your future self will thank you! And feel free to email us and share your progress-comments may be posted.

The Circumcision & the Naming of Our Lord

The date of this feast is actually January 1st.

“And after eight days were accomplished, that the child should be circumcised, his name was called JESUS, which was called by the angel, before he was conceived in the womb.”

Luke 2:21

At this traditional Mass on New Years Day, the celebrant wears red. According to The New Marian Missal…

“Red signifies the fire of love towards God, and it is consequently the liturgical color for Whitsuntide, the feast of the Holy Ghost, the God of Love; for the feastdays on which the suffering and the cross of Christ is recalled to the mind; for the feastdays of the Apostles and the Martyrs, who shed their blood for faith out of love for the Redeemer.”

So why red for the Circumcision? We can guess at possibilities based on the above. It seems red not only signifies the “fire of love towards God,” but the love of God Himself. Red vestments are also worn on Pentecost, perhaps evocative of the reference to fire in Scripture:

"And there appeared to them parted tongues as it were of fire, and it sat upon every one of them"

Acts 2:3

The Circumcision cannot be separated from the Naming of the Christ Child, which took place together. Both events are very deep and significant. “Jesus” in Hebrew, means “God Saves.” Here, in proclaiming the Name of Jesus to the world for the first time, the love of God is also proclaimed. He has sent His Son to redeem us from our sins!

Red vestments are also worn to honor the suffering of Christ, possibly referring to His Precious Blood. The Circumcision, only 8 days after birth, was perhaps Our Lord’s first experience with pain and the shedding of His Blood. This moment foretells the final shedding of His Blood on the Cross. In addition, red is worn on the feasts of martyrs. The red of blood and the red of the fire of love are merged in every martyrs death and most of all, in the Death of Christ Himself.

Laudate Nomen Christi!

January: Month of the Holy Name of Jesus

Nomen Christi means “Name of Christ.” This apostolate has a special devotion to the Holy Name. May we honor and defend His Name always! Let us perform some special devotion this month to the Holy Name of Jesus.

January is a most interesting month in the Church. A new secular year begins, which occurs not long after the new liturgical year. The new year begins with a glorious Marian feast in the new calendar. What better way to start 2021, than by commending it to Our Lady, as the whole world has begun its descent into a great abyss. We celebrate 4 feasts of Our Lord: His Circumcision, Epiphany, Holy Name and Baptism. We have a total of 6 Doctors of the Church we honor, including “The Angelic Doctor,” St. Thomas Aquinas. There are several interesting unique feasts and finally, our preparation for Lent, beginning the last day of the month!

St. Genevieve’s feast is January 3rd. I can’t think of her without thinking of the song The Simple Joys of Maidenhood, from the musical “Camelot,” which I heard countless times growing up. Its a wonderful song by Lerner and Loewe, which Julie Andrews sang to perfection (I’ve given you a theatrical version above, but please also listen to Julie’s version)…Guinevere laments to her patron saint that she is soon to wed a king she does not love. St. Genevieve is the patron saint of Paris and died in 512. In the year 1129, an illness called the “burning fever” killed many in Paris. After invoking St. Genevieve, many healings took place and the illness vanished. She is a great saint to appeal to during this present time, whatever you believe the nature of “covid” to be.

The new liturgical year has been declared the “Year of Saint Joseph.” Let us increase our love and devotion to the Foster-Father of Christ during this new year. And let us above all, contemplate the need for mercy at this time and do all we can in the coming year to secure it. Here are some notable feasts this month in the old and new calendars:

1-BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, HOLY MOTHER OF GOD (new, solemnity-no penance, Holy Day of Obligation prior to NWO takeover) / CIRCUMCISION OF OUR LORD (trad) / Octave Day of the Nativity / First Friday

2-St. Basil the Great, Doctor, “Father of Eastern Monasticism” / St. Gregory Nazianzen, Doctor, “The Theologian,” “The Christian Demosthenes” / First Saturday

3-EPIPHANY OF THE LORD (new) / MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS / St. Genevieve

4-St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

5-St. John Neumann

6-EPIPHANY OF THE LORD (trad) / Sts. Caspar, Balthasar & Melchior (The Three Wisemen)

10-BAPTISM OF THE LORD (new) / THE HOLY FAMILY

13-BAPTISM OF OUR LORD (trad) / St. Hilary of Poitiers, Doctor, “The Athanasius of the West” (new)

14-St. Hilary of Poitiers (trad)

19-St. Canute

21-St. Agnes, Martyr

22-Day of Prayer for the Unborn (48th Anniversary of Roe vs. Wade +++Lord, have mercy+++)

24-Sunday of the Word of God / St. Timothy, Martyr, Companion of St. Paul (trad) / St. Francis de Sales, Doctor, “The Gentleman Doctor,” “Patron of the Catholic Press,” “Everyman’s Spiritual Director” (new)

25-Conversion of St. Paul

26-Sts. Timothy & Titus, Companions of St. Paul (new) / St. Polycarp, Martyr

27-St. John Chrysostom, Doctor, “The Golden-Mouthed,” “Doctor of the Eucharist”

28-St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor, “The Angelic Doctor,” “The Common Doctor”

29-St. Francis de Sales (trad)

31-Septuagesima Sunday / St. John Bosco

Image courtesy https://kaleidoscope49.wordpress.com/

The Second Commandment-What Does it Mean to Us?

I love holy cards and when I see them, I always take….more than my fair share (hey, I’m a prepper-it’s what I do!). I recently came across one explaining the importance of the Second Commandment:

Our Lord revealed to Sr. Marie de Saint-Pierre, a French Carmelite nun, the need for mankind to make reparation for the terrible sin of blasphemy. He told her: “Oh, if you only knew what great merit you acquire by saying even once:

Admirable is the Name of God!

…in the spirit of reparation of blasphemy!”

This card was published by Our Lady of the Rosary Library, based in Prospect, Kentucky. They seem to do good work. You can purchase their holy cards, in addition to books, rosaries, medals, etc., on their site store.

As the name of Nomen Christi Apostolate shows, we are greatly dedicated to the Holy Name of Christ. We are also dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima.

What does the Second Commandment mean in our own lives? Obviously, we are not ourselves, going to take His Name in vain, but it is certain, we will be exposed to this sin. We should avoid any entertainment that commits this sin, especially if we have children in the home. The more difficult thing, is responding properly when someone in our presence speaks the Name of Jesus or God in a flippant or even disrespectful way (if they respond badly, maybe you don’t need this person as a friend). This takes a game plan and practice. It is a social skill that we all need to develop. It is not just the Name of God we must defend, but also Catholic moral teaching, when we get into discussions where these issues pop up. Again, a social skill that requires practice. It might be okay to make a mistake once. It is not okay to fail to learn from it and make a plan for the next time it happens. We all must decide for ourselves how we will handle these situations. If you have not developed this skill, rather than tell you how I deal with it, please pray on it and come up with your own way. As I always say, I am not interested in dictating to anyone. I would like to see people creatively use their own minds and hearts to solve problems for themselves.

"But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth."

Apocalypse 3:16

As we can see by the Scripture quote from Apocalypse, God will not look kindly on our generation for this sin. Perhaps this is one reason we see the present chastisement. Let us resolve to more valiantly defend His Holy Name!

Image courtesy https://ryannstyles.blogspot.com

January is the Month of the Most Holy Name of Jesus (Nomen Christi) ~ Happy New Year!

[this post has been edited since publishing]

This is a bit late due to computer issues, but here we go....

Our year commences with a month which Holy Church dedicates to the Holy Name of Jesus.  A Name which is so often disrespected in our culture, a sin against the Second Commandment of God, Lord have mercy.  How do we respond when those around us take this Name in vain?  It is in these moments when our friendship with Christ is truly tested.  Do we allow entertainment in our home which freely disregards the holiness of God's Name?  What effect does this have on us?  What effect does it have on our children?  Perhaps we can all do better in these matters in the coming year.  If we defend Christ before man, He will defend us before the Father!

Here are some of the notable feastdays of this month:

1/1-Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary/Circumcision of Our Lord (trad)

1/2-Most Holy Name of Jesus (trad)/Saint Basil the Great

1/3-Most Holy Name of Jesus (new)

1/4-Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

1/5-Saint John Neumann

1/6-Epiphany of Our Lord (trad)/Saints Caspar, Balthasar & Melchior, the Three Wisemen (non-standard)/First Friday

1/7-First Saturday

1/8-Epiphany of Our Lord (new)/The Holy Family (trad)

1/9-Baptism of Our Lord (new)

1/13-Baptism of Our Lord (trad)

1/15-Our Lady of Prompt Succor/Saint Paul the First Hermit

1/16-Our Lady of Refuge (non-standard)

1/18-Chair of Saint Peter at Rome (non-standard)

1/19-Saint Canute

1/21-Saint Agnes, Martyr

1/23-Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary (non-standard)

1/24-Saint Francis de Sales (new)

1/25-Conversion of Saint Paul

1/27-Saint John Chrysostom

1/28-Saint Thomas Aquinas "The Angelic Doctor"

1/29-Saint Francis de Sales (trad)/Saint Gildas the Wise (non-standard)

1/31-Saint John Bosco

Holy Name of Jesus / Epiphany (New)

Today is the traditional feast of the Holy Name of Jesus...."Nomen Christi!" From The New Marian Missal, Veritas Press:

"This Feast is kept on the First Sunday of the year; but [exceptions]...Its origin is traced to the XVIth century, when it was celebrated by the Franciscan Order. In 1721 Pope Innocent XIII made the keeping of this solemnity universal. The Name Jesus...the Savior of the world, was brought by the Angel Gabriel from God, for He shall save His people 'from their sins'...To the faithful who shall utter the Name of Jesus, with devotion, is granted: Indulgence of 300 days...Plenary, under the usual conditions, if this Name is recited daily during a month [there are further indulgences associated with this feast]."

Excerpts from this Holy Mass:

In the Name of Jesus let every knee bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth: and let every tongue confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father...O Lord our Lord: how admirable is Thy Name in the whole earth!

O God, Who didst constitute Thine only-begotten Son the Savior of mankind, and didst bid Him to be called Jesus: mercifully grant, that we who venerate His holy Name on earth, may fully enjoy also the vision of Him in heaven.

...be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel: that by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God hath raised from the dead, even by Him this man standeth here before you whole. This is the stone which was rejected by you the builders, which is become the head of the corner: neither is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:8)

Save us, O lord our God, and gather us from among the nations: that we may give thanks to Thy holy Name, and may glory in Thy praise...Thou, O Lord, our Father and our Redeemer: from everlasting is Thy Name.

Alleluia, alleluia. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless His holy Name.

I will praise Thee, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify Thy Name for ever...

May Thy blessing, O most merciful God, by which every creature lives, sanctify, we beseech Thee, this our Sacrifice, which we offer unto Thee to the glory of the Name of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, that it may be well-pleasing to Thy Majesty for Thy praise, and profit us unto salvation...

All the nations Thou hast made shall come and adore before Thee, O Lord, and they shall glorify Thy Name: for Thou art great, and dost wonderful things: Thou art God alone. Alleluia.

O almighty and everlasting God, who didst create and redeem us, look graciously upon our prayer, and with a favorable and benign countenance deign to accept the Sacrifice of the saving Victim, which we have offered to Thy Majesty in honor of the Name of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: that through the infusion of Thy grace we may rejoice that our names are written in heaven, under the glorious Name of Jesus, the pledge of eternal predestination.

We are now in the joyful season of Christmastide, the waiting is over-the birth of Christ is such a great joy, Holy Church celebrates for a full 12 days!

Traditionally, the 12 Days of Christmas ended with Epiphany on January 6th, which is also a trad feast of the Three Wise Men. There is a beautiful blessing of the home which is performed on this day, which you can find elsewhere on the internet. We do this every year as a family (fortunately, our son will still be home from college on Wednesday)-it is one of those old Catholic customs which helps give children a love of the Faith. Actually, I originally learned of this, not from a trad church but from a mainstream church which had copies of the blessing. And as a Catholic prepper, anything that might help save my home from a demise, is more than welcome. During Hurricane Sandy, we were huddled away from the windows because we feared one of our many trees might come flying in. In spite of dozens of trees, not one came down!