The Holy Name of Jesus
Why do we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus? How does this devotion affect our life in the Church?
A new year marks a new focus for the Full of Grace Youth Journal. This year, we’ll be diving into the Church’s rich devotional traditions. We’ll learn about the Catholic Church’s traditional devotion for each month–how the devotion began, how the Church celebrates it now, and how we can personally integrate it into our lives.
Holy Name of Jesus
The month of January is traditionally devoted to the Holy Name of Jesus. The feast day is celebrated January 3. The rest of the month the Church encourages incorporating devotion to the Holy Name into your own prayer life.
Devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus spread because of the preaching of Saint Bernardine of Siena and his disciple Saint John Capistrano in Italy during the early fifteenth century. St. Bernardine was the first to use the monogram “IHS.” He also wrote the Litany to the Holy Name of Jesus. In 1530, Pope Clement V approved the feast of the Holy Name for the Franciscans. In 1721, Pope Innocent XIII extended this feast to the entire Church.
IHS
What do the letters IHS mean? It is a contraction that comes from the Greek word ΙΗΣΟΥΣ, which means “Jesus.”
Who uses the monogram IHS as a symbol for their religious order? Saint Ignatius of Loyola selected it for his order, the Jesuits.
How can you incorporate this devotion into your own life? One way might be to learn and pray the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus. Another might be to bow your head when you say the Holy Name, or to avoid media that takes the Holy Name in vain.
The Full of Grace Youth Journal – January 2025
The Youth of the Church
If you know a youth who would benefit from receiving monthly editions of Full of Grace, where they’ll dive into the liturgy and other aspects of their faith, sign them up today! Enroll them in The Youth Guild of Saint José Sánchez del Río at YouthGuild.org.
Full of Grace is a monthly journal for those enrolled in The Youth Guild of Saint José Sánchez del Río. Each journal includes a feature on a young saint or blessed, a daily consecration to Our Lady of Fatima, prayer cards and memory verses, Q&A, and art submitted by members of the guild!
Any youth is welcome to enroll. At their enrollment, youths will receive four special benefits:
- On the Feast Day of Saint José Sánchez del Río, February 10, the Shrine will host a special Mass for the youth guild, at the conclusion of which the celebrant will bless guild members with a first-class relic of Saint José Sánchez del Río.
2. The youths enrolled in the Guild are remembered in the Prayers of the Faithful daily during Holy Mass.
3. As members are commended to the special intercession of Saint José Sánchez del Río, each guild member receives a medal of the young saint.
4. Members receive monthly editions of Full of Grace.
