Wednesday, 2 January, 2008
THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS (II)
"This Feast is kept on the First Sunday of the year; but if this Sunday falls on Jan. 1st, 6th, or 7th, the Feast is kept on Jan. 2nd. Its origin is traced to the sixteenth century, when it was celebrated by the Franciscan Order. In 1721 Pope Innocent XIII made the keeping of this solemnity universal. The Name Jesus, i.e. the Saviour of the world, was brought by the Angel Gabriel from God, "For He shall save His people from their sins."

Collect: O God, who didst constitute Thine only-begotten Son the Saviour 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. Through same Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who livest and reignest with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end.
Lesson: Acts of the Apostles, 4:8-12
Gospel: Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St. Luke 2:21

Remarks are abstracted from The Daily Missal and Liturgical Manual, from Editio Typica of the Roman Missal and Breviary, 1962
(Baronius Press Limited, London, 2004, in conjunction with the Fraternal Society of St. Peter, www.baroniuspress.com)