The Feast of The Holy Name

Learn more about today’s feast

Opening Sentence, page 103

Officiant: O God, make speed to save us.

People: O Lord, make haste to help us.

All: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm 8, page 592

O LORD our Governor, *
                how exalted is your Name in all the world!
Out of the mouths of infants and children *
                your majesty is praised above the heavens.
You have set up a stronghold against your adversaries, *
                to quell the enemy and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, *
                the moon and the stars you have set in their courses,
What is man that you should be mindful of him? *
                the son of man that you should seek him out?
You have made him but little lower than the angels; *
                you adorn him with glory and honor;
You give him mastery over the works of your hands; *
                you put all things under his feet:
All sheep and oxen, *
                even the wild beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fish of the sea, *
                and whatsoever walks in the paths of the sea.
O LORD our Governor, *
                how exalted is your Name in all the world!

Gospel: Luke 2:15-21

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Here ends the reading.

Reflection: The Feast of The Holy Name

The designation of this day as the Feast of the Holy Name was new to the 1979 revision of the Book of Common Prayer. Previous Anglican Prayer Books called it the Feast of the Circumcision. January 1 is, of course, the eighth day after Christmas Day, and the Gospel according to Luke records that eight days after his birth the child was circumcised and given the name Jesus.

 The liturgical commemoration of the Circumcision is of Gallican origin, and a Council in Tours in 567 enacted that the day was to be kept as a fast day to counteract pagan festivities connected with the beginning of the new year. In the Roman tradition, January 1 was observed as the octave day of Christmas, and it was particularly devoted to the Virgin Mary.

 The early preachers of the Gospel lay stress on the name as showing that Jesus was a man of flesh and blood, though also the Son of God, who died a human death, and whom God raised from death (Acts 2:32, 4:12). The name “Jesus” was given to him, as the angel explained to Joseph, because he would “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21), as the name means “Savior” or “Deliverer” in Hebrew. Then, as now, people longed to be freed from evils: political, social, and spiritual. The name of Jesus calls to mind the true freedom that is ours through Jesus Christ.

From Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2022

The Prayers, pages 106-107

Officiant: Lord have mercy.

People: Christ have mercy.

Officiant: Lord have mercy.

All:

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Officiant: Lord, hear our prayer;

People: And let our cry come to you.

Officiant: Let us pray.

Eternal Father, you gave to your incarnate Son the holy name of Jesus to be the sign of our salvation: Plant in every heart, we pray, the love of him who is the Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Intercessions and Thanksgivings

Dismissal, page 107

Officiant: Let us bless the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

Officiant: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.