The Tenth Day of Christmastide

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Jan 032012
 

January 3 is the tenth day of Christmastide

Feast of The Most Holy Name of Jesus

Holy Name of JesusOn the day when we celebrate the Ten Commandments in the song, today’s Feast honors Jesus and the second commandment. 12th-century Cistercian monks and nuns are credited with beginning a devotion to His Holy Name. Pope Clement V approved an Office of the Holy Name for the Franciscans in 1530.

In 1721, Pope Innocent XIII extended this feast to the entire Church and put it on this day.

A tradition for today can include talking to your children about their name. As the name of the Lord is worthy of praise, our names are important to us. Dale Carnegie wrote in How to Win Friends & Influence People, “a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”

Ten Lords-a-Leaping

Today’s gifts are Ten Lords-a-Leaping representing the Ten Commandments:

  • I am the LORD your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me.
  • You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
  • Remember to keep holy the LORD’S Day.
  • Honor your father and your mother.
  • You shall not kill.
  • You shall not commit adultery.
  • You shall not steal.
  • You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
  • You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
  • You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

The ten lords-a-leaping most likely refers to Morris dancers who performed leaping dances between courses at feasts.

Today’s Readings

Collect: O God, who founded the salvation of the human race on the Incarnation of your Word, give your peoples the mercy they implore, so that all may know there is no other name to be invoked but the Name of your Only Begotten Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

First Reading: Philippians 2:1-11

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 8:4-9

Gospel: Luke 2:21-24

“He that is mighty has done great things to me, and holy is His Name.” ~ Luke 1:49