January — Monthly prayer to the Most Holy Name of Jesus

The month of January is traditionally dedicated to the Most Holy Name of Jesus. 3 January is the liturgical memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus in the present Roman calendar — a feast promoted from the 15th century by the Franciscans St Bernardine of Siena and St John of Capistrano, extended to the universal Church by Innocent XIII in 1721 and elevated to a universal feast by St Pius X in 1903. The Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus was enriched by Innocent XIII (1721) and by Pius IX (decree of 16 January 1862) with indulgence for the faithful who devoutly recite it. The monthly prayer to Jesus is the key to the whole of Christian life: Sacred Scripture teaches that there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

Lord Jesus Christ, whose Most Holy Name the eternal Father pronounced from the origin as the only-begotten Word of his glory, and which by the mouth of the angel was revealed to Mary and to Joseph as the human Name for the salvation of the world: grant us, in this month of January consecrated to your adorable Name, the grace to invoke it with faith in every joy, in every sorrow and in every temptation, knowing that before your Name every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth (Phil 2:10). And in the hour of our death, may you cause to descend to our lips the invocation that opens the gates of the Kingdom: Jesus.

Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be.