Liturgical Rank: IV Classis – The Most Holy Name of Jesus (Octave Day of St. Stephen)
“For the grace of God our Saviour hath appeared to all men…” (Titus 2:11)
On the Second of January, Holy Church in her ancient liturgical rhythm bids us ponder two profound mysteries: the manifestation of grace and the power of the Name of Jesus. The Epistle and Gospel assigned for today—Titus 2:11–15 and Luke 2:21—harmonize perfectly under the theme of divine charity manifest in the Incarnation, and the sacred authority of the Name bestowed upon the Word made Flesh.
As the sacred season of Christmas continues in its octave radiance, we turn to these readings with minds illumined by the Nativity, yet now gazing forward toward the work of our redemption. For today, the Church fixes our contemplation on the very name by which we are saved (cf. Acts 4:12), a name given not by man, but revealed from heaven: Jesus—“for He shall save His people from their sins” (Mt. 1:21).
I. Titus 2:11–15 — The Epiphany of Grace
“The grace of God our Saviour hath appeared to all men…” (v. 11)
St. Paul’s letter to Titus, a bishop of the early Church, expresses the apostolic clarity on the Incarnation: it is the appearance of grace itself—not an abstract favor, but Christ Jesus, true God and true Man. The Apostle continues by delineating what this grace teaches us:
- To deny ungodliness and worldly desires;
- To live soberly, justly, and godly in this present age;
- To await the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour.
Here is a catechetical text par excellence. Grace is not passive. It educates, disciplines, and sanctifies. St. John Chrysostom, commenting on this passage, writes:
“It is not enough to receive grace, we must be trained by it. Grace reforms us, like a master reforming a slave, teaching him what to avoid and what to pursue.”
(Homilies on Titus)
The Incarnation is the school of holiness. The appearing of grace is not simply a sentiment—it is an incarnate teacher, Christ Jesus, Who leads us out of the darkness of sin. St. Ambrose, too, speaks of the transforming effect of this grace:
“The grace of God does not only bring remission, but also instruction… that man, taught by the Word, may live uprightly.”
(On the Duties of the Clergy, Bk. I)
The Epistle thus roots the Name of Jesus not only in salvation from sin, but in a call to moral renewal, a life “zealous for good works.” This is the fruit of those who bear His Name.
II. Luke 2:21 — The Name Given, the Blood Shed
“And after eight days were accomplished, that the child should be circumcised, His name was called JESUS…”
On this eighth day after Christmas, the Holy Gospel turns our eyes to the circumcision of the Lord—a mystery of humility, obedience, and the first shedding of His Precious Blood.
St. Bede the Venerable writes:
“He who had come in the likeness of sinful flesh did not disdain the circumcision of the flesh, that He might show Himself a debtor to the Law, to redeem those under the Law.”
(Homily on the Gospel for the Octave of Christmas)
At the moment of His circumcision, the Name Jesus is publicly conferred, in obedience to the angelic command. This moment is rich in mystery:
- Jesus enters the covenantal sign of the Old Law, foreshadowing the New Covenant to be sealed in His Blood.
- He is given the Name that signifies His mission: salvator—Saviour.
- His Blood is first shed, prefiguring the Cross.
The Holy Name is not a mere title. It is a summary of His identity and His mission. As St. Bernard of Clairvaux preached:
“The Name of Jesus is light, food, and medicine. It is light when it is preached; it is food when it is meditated; it is medicine when invoked.”
(Sermon 15 on the Song of Songs)
Today’s Gospel, brief though it is, anchors our devotion to the Most Holy Name. The Church, in her wisdom, designated the feast of the Holy Name to fall within the octave of the Nativity—not merely to mark the chronological eighth day, but to teach us that from the very beginning, Christ’s mission was one of saving grace.
III. The Devotion to the Holy Name: A Spiritual Weapon
The devotion to the Holy Name grew deeply in the Church through the preaching of figures like St. Bernardine of Siena, who popularized the IHS monogram and taught the faithful to invoke the Holy Name often and reverently.
St. John of Capistrano called the Name of Jesus:
“The glorious Name, the joy of angels, the terror of demons, the comfort of the afflicted, and the strength of the just.”
In the traditional Roman Liturgy, the Holy Name is treated with such reverence that the faithful bow their heads whenever it is pronounced. This gesture is not empty—it is an embodied acknowledgment of Philippians 2:10:
“That at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth.”