Holy Name of God

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Thursday, 25 January 2018 : Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, Apostle, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Mark 16 : 15-18

At that time, Jesus told His disciples, “Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation. The one who believes and is baptised will be saved; the one who refuses to believe will be condemned.”

“Signs like these will accompany those who have believed : in My Name they will cast out demons and speak new languages; they will pick up snakes, and if they drink anything poisonous, they will be unharmed; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”

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Wednesday, 3 January 2018 : Weekday of Christmas Time, Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of Our Lord’s Most Holy Name, Jesus Christ, the Name He was given before His conception in the womb of His mother Mary, revealed to her by the Archangel Gabriel. His was the Name above every other names, the one and only Name with the power to save all of us mankind.

There is no other name with this power, for His Name, Jesus Christ, is the Name of God, the Divine Word Incarnate revealed unto us. No man or Angel has this same power and authority, and for that reason, we have to keep in mind that we should not make use of the Lord’s Name in vain, or worse still, desecrate the sanctity of His Holy Name by misusing it or even misrepresent it before others.

In the past, according to the traditions of the Israelites, the Name of God was not to be uttered or mentioned, as His Name was so holy that it could not be uttered by mere men. But through Jesus Christ, not only that God has revealed His image and appearance to us in the flesh, but He also revealed to us the truth about His Name. That is the Name and the only Name on which all creatures of the Lord, upon hearing it, will bow down and kneel in homage.

Yes, indeed, even Satan, the great enemy of all of us the faithful, and the one who had wanted to seize God’s throne in his pride, had to submit to the Lord’s authority as the Master and Creator of all things. At the Name of Jesus Christ, Satan himself had to submit, and bend the knee to Him, paying homage in utter powerlessness and incapacitation, as much as surely he loathes doing so.

That is why, as we heard the words of the Scriptures, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in the city of Philippi, the Lord has exalted His Son, Jesus Christ, because of His humble and perfect obedience, having willingly accepted death, death on the cross for the sake of all of us mankind, by offering Himself as the perfect sacrifice for our complete and total reconciliation with Him.

This act of ultimate and perfect love shows all of us just how great and loving Our God is. And it is for the same reason that we adore Him and worship Him, as Our Lord, Master, Creator and King. It is why the Church instructs us all to bow our heads at every mention of the Holy Name of Jesus in the celebration of the Holy Mass. This act reminds us that through that Name alone, we have been saved, and not by any other name.

Yet, it is truly sad to know that in reality, in our world today, many of us no longer respect and hold the Name of the Lord sacred as we should have done. We just utter His Name in vain, using it in all sorts of circumstances, many of which less than ideal. We even used His Name in vulgarities and coarse language. That is not how we should be using His Name. And indeed, we should be ashamed and embarrassed, if only we know that even Satan has to bend his knee at the mention of the Name of Our Lord and Saviour.

Not only that we do not bend our knee and humbly worship Him, but in fact we proudly refused to acknowledge Him as Our Lord and Saviour, and preferred to walk in our own path rather than to follow His commandments and ways. As a result, we have fallen further into sin, the same sin which brought down Satan, once a great and mighty Angel of the Lord, who because of his pride, rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven.

It is ironic that while even Satan has to acknowledge God as his Lord and Master, but many of us mankind refused to do so. Instead, we persisted in our pride and hubris, and in our wicked ways, while God Himself has been so kind and so loving, to the point that He willingly laid down His life for our sake. That is the ultimate proof of God’s love for us, and each and every one of us should acknowledge that, by honouring and glorifying the Holy Name of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

It may be difficult and a weird experience for us to go through in the beginning, but believe me that, if we begin to appreciate the experience of bowing at every mention of the Holy Name of Jesus in the Mass, slowly but surely, if we do it with full understanding and awareness of how Jesus Our Lord has influenced our lives and how He has loved us greatly, we will grow to love the Lord all the more, and eventually, we will walk more and more faithfully in His ways.

That is the power that God’s Holy Name can have on us, and we have to realise this, brothers and sisters in Christ. Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all pay our due respect to the Holy Name of Our Lord and Saviour, and spend time to reflect on how great is the love that God has given to each and every one of us. Let us all seek to love Him all the more, and devote ourselves to Him. Amen.

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Wednesday, 3 January 2018 : Weekday of Christmas Time, Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 1 : 29-34

At that time, the next day John saw Jesus coming towards him, and said, “There is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world! It is He of Whom I said : A Man comes after me, Who is already ahead of me, for He was before me. I myself did not know Him, but I came baptising to prepare for Him, so that He might be revealed in Israel.”

And John also gave this testimony, “I saw the Spirit coming down on Him like a dove from heaven, and resting on Him. I myself did not know Him, but God, Who sent me to baptise, told me, “You will see the Spirit coming down, and resting, on the One Who baptises with the Holy Spirit.’ Yes, I have seen! And I declare that this is the Chosen One of God!”

Alternative reading (Mass of the Most Holy Name of Jesus)

Luke 2 : 21-24

On the eighth day, the circumcision of the Baby had to be performed; He was named Jesus, the Name the Angel had given Him before He was conceived. When the day came for the purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought the Baby up to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord, as it is written in the Law of the Lord : Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to God.

And they offered a sacrifice, as ordered in the Law of the Lord : a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.

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Wednesday, 3 January 2018 : Weekday of Christmas Time, Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 97 : 1, 3cd-4, 5-6

Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power. All you lands, make a joyful noise to the Lord, break into song and sing praise.

With melody of the lyre and with music of the harp. With trumpet blast and sound of the horn, rejoice before the King, the Lord!

Alternative reading (Mass of the Most Holy Name of Jesus)

Psalm 8 : 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

When I observe the heavens, the work of Your hands, the moon, and the stars You set in their place – what is man, that You be mindful of him; the Son of Man, that You should care for Him?

Yet You made Him a little less than a god; You crowned Him with glory and honour and gave Him the works of Your hands; You have put all things under His feet.

Sheep and oxen without number, and even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and all that swim the paths of the ocean.

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Wednesday, 3 January 2018 : Weekday of Christmas Time, Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 2 : 29 – 1 John 3 : 6

You know that He is the Just One : know then that anyone living justly is born of God. See what singular love the Father has for us : we are called children of God, and we really are. This is why the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

Beloved, we are God’s children and what we shall be has not yet been shown. Yet when He appears in His glory, we know that we shall be like Him, for then we shall see Him as He is. All who have such a hope try to be pure as He is pure. Anyone who commits a sin acts as an enemy of the law of God; any sin acts wickedly, because all sin is wickedness.

You know that He came to take away our sins, and that there is no sin in Him. Whoever remains in Him has no sin, whoever sins has not seen or known Him.

Alternative reading (Mass of the Most Holy Name of Jesus)

Philippians 2 : 1-11

If I may advise you, in the Name of Christ, and if you can hear it, as the voice of love; if we share the same Spirit, and are capable of mercy and compassion, then I beg of you, make me very happy : have one love, one spirit, one feeling, do nothing through rivalry or vain conceit.

On the contrary, let each of you gently consider the others, as more important than yourselves. Do not seek your own interest, but, rather, that of others. Your attitude should be the same as Jesus Christ had :

Though He was in the form of God, He did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking on the nature of a servant, made in human likeness, and in His appearance found as a Man.

He humbled Himself by being obedient to death, death on the cross. That is why God exalted Him and gave Him the Name which outshines all names, so that at the Name of Jesus all knees should bend in heaven, on earth and among the dead, and all tongues proclaim that Christ Jesus is the Lord to the glory of God the Father.

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Monday, 1 January 2018 : Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, Theotokos, World Day of Prayer for Peace (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Numbers 6 : 22-27

Then YHVH spoke to Moses saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons and say to them : This is how you shall bless the people of Israel; you shall say : May YHVH bless you and keep you! May YHVH let His face shine on you, and be gracious to you! May YHVH look kindly on you, and give you His peace!”

“In that way they put My Name on the people of Israel and I will bless them.”

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Saturday, 16 December 2017 : 2nd Week of Advent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Sirach 48 : 1-4, 9-11

Then came the prophet Elijah, like a fire, his words a burning torch. He brought a famine on the people and in his zealous love had them reduced in number. Speaking in the Name of the Lord he closed down the heavens, and on three occasions called down fire.

How marvellous you were, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! Who could ever boast of being your equal? You were taken up by a whirlwind of flames in a chariot drawn by fiery horses. It was written that you should be the one to calm God’s anger in the future, before it broke out in fury, to turn the hearts of fathers to their sons and to restore the tribes of Jacob.

Happy are those who will see you and those who die in love, for we too shall live.

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Sunday, 3 December 2017 : First Sunday of Advent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 63 : 16b-17, 19b and Isaiah 64 : 2b-7

But You, o YHVH, are our Father, from the beginning, You are our Redeemer : This is Your Name. Why have You made us stray from our ways? Why have You let our heart become hard so that we do not fear You? Return for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your inheritance.

Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down! The mountains would quake at Your presence. Let them witness Your stunning deeds. No one has ever heard or perceived, no eye has ever seen a God besides You Who works for those who trust in Him. You have confounded those who acted righteously and who joyfully kept Your ways in mind. But You are angry with our sins, yet conceal them and we shall be saved.

All of us have become like the unclean; all our good deeds are like polluted garments; we have all withered like leaves, blown away by our iniquities. There is no one who calls upon Your Name, no one who rouses himself to lay hold of You. For You have hidden Your face, You have given us up to the power of our evil acts.

And yet, YHVH, You are our Father; we are the clay and You are our Potter; we are the work of Your hand.

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Wednesday, 11 October 2017 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII, Pope (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)

Luke 11 : 1-4

At that time, Jesus was praying in a certain place; and when He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught His disciples.”

And Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this : Father, may Your Name be held holy, may Your kingdom come; give us, each day, the kind of bread we need, and forgive us our sins; for we also forgive all who do us wrong; and do not bring us to the test.”

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Sunday, 3 September 2017 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Jeremiah 20 : 7-9

YHVH, You have seduced me and I let myself be seduced. You have taken me by force and prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; they all make fun of me, for every time I speak I have to shout, “Violence! Devastation!” YHVH’s word has brought me insult and derision all day long.

So I decided to forget about Him and speak no more in His Name. But His word in my heart becomes like a fire burning deep within my bones. I try so hard to hold it in, but I cannot do it.