THE HOLY NAME OF MARY

FEAST OF THE HOLY NAME OF MARY

The Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, is celebrated on 12 September to honour the name of Mary the mother of Jesus.

Origin of the feast

The feast day began in 1513 as a local celebration in Cuenca, Spain, celebrated on 15 September. In 1587 Pope Sixtus V moved the celebration to 17 September. Pope Gregory XV extended the celebration to the Archdiocese of Toledo in 1622. In 1666 the Discalced Carmelites received the faculty to recite the Office of the Name of Mary four times a year. In 1671 the feast was extended to the whole Kingdom of Spain. The Dominicans also possess a very tender devotion to the name of Mary which was promoted by Bl. Jordan of Saxony with his famous 5-psalter devotion in honor of the five letters of the name Mary.

The Province of the Holy Rosary since 1587 had adopted it as one of its principal Marian devotions recited by all the friars of the Province. This practice continued till 1973 when this devotion was dropped and in its place the recitation of the Sub tuum praesidium was adopted.

 

But this feast enjoyed prominence after the famous battle of Vienna in 1683. The Polish king, Jan III Sobieski successfully stopped the Ottoman threat over Europe with his decisive victory at the Battle of Vienna. Prior to the battle, he consecrated his country to the Virgin at Czestochowa, and it was believed to have been gained through the placed his troops under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the following year, to commemorate this victory, Pope Innocent XI inserted the feast in the General Roman Calendar, assigning to it the Sunday within the octave of the Nativity of Mary.

 

Liturgical evolution

In the reform of Pope Saint Pius X, the liturgy of the Sundays, which previously had been generally replaced by celebrations of saints, was restored to prominence. The celebration of the Holy Name of Mary was therefore moved to 12 September. Later in the same century, the feast was removed from the General Roman Calendar in 1969, as something of a duplication of the 8 September feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. but it did not cease to be a recognized feast of the Roman Rite, being mentioned in the Roman Martyrology on 12 September. The 2002 editio typica of the Roman Missal restored the celebration to the General Roman Calendar.

Suggested Dominican Reading for the day: This is a selection from the alternative readings of the Feast of the Rosary.

From the Exposition on the Greeting of the Angel by Saint Thomas Aquinas.

"Mary was full of grace; this grace was poured out upon the human race."

Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. This salutation has three parts. The angel gave one part, namely: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women. The other part was given by Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, namely: Blessed is the fruit of your womb. The Church adds the third part, that is, Mary, because the angel did not say, Hail, Mary, but Hail, full of grace. But, as we shall see, this name, "Mary," according to its meaning agrees with the words of the angel. Concerning the first part of this prayer we must now consider that in ancient times it was no small event when angels appeared to human beings; and that they should show them reverence was especially praiseworthy. Thus, it is written to the praise of Abraham that he received the angels with all courtesy and showed them reverence. But that an angel should show reverence to a human being was never heard of until the angel reverently greeted the Blessed Virgin saying: Hail. Mary was full of grace which overflowed from her soul into her flesh. For it is a great thing among the saints that an abundance of grace sanctified their souls, yet the soul of the Blessed Virgin was so filled with grace that from her soul grace poured into her flesh. Because of this grace she conceived the Son of God. Hugh of St. Victor says of this: "Because the love of the Holy Spirit so inflamed her soul, the Spirit worked a wonder in. her flesh, in that from it was born God made Man." Therefore the child to be born of you will be called the Son of God.

 
The fullness of grace in Mary was such that its effects overflow upon the human race. It is a great thing for a saint to possess the grace sufficient for his or her salvation; it is a greater thing for one to possess the grace sufficient for the salvation of many; but the greatest thing is to posses the grace sufficient for the salvation of the entire human race.

This latter case is true of Christ and of the Blessed Virgin. For in every danger you may obtain salvation through the glorious Virgin herself. Thus it is said, on it hang a thousand bucklers, that is, remedies against dangers. Likewise, in every work of virtue you may have her as a helper. For she herself says: In me is all hope of life and virtue. Therefore, Mary is full of grace, exceeding the angels in this fullness and very fittingly is she called "Mary" which means "enlightened in herself:" The Lord will fill your soul with brightness. She will illumine others throughout the world, and so she is compared to the sun and to the moon. The Lord is with you are the most noble words that the angel could have uttered. Hence, the angel deservedly reverenced the Blessed Virgin because she is the Mother of the Lord and therefore Our Lady. Accordingly she is very well named "Mary," which in the Syrian tongue means "Lady."

The Blessed Virgin exceeds the angels in purity. She is not only pure, but she obtains purity for others. Indeed, she is purity itself, totally free of the guilt of sin, for she never incurred original, mortal or venial sin. Likewise, she was free from the penalty of sin. Because she was immune from these punishments, she is blessed among women. Moreover, she alone escaped the curse of sin, brought forth the Source of blessing, and opened the gate of heaven. It is surely fitting that her name is "Mary," which is interpreted as "Star of the Sea," for just as sailors are directed to port by the star of the sea, so Christians are guided by Mary to glory.