We continue to walk in the Christmas season, contemplating the mystery of a God who has become close to us, who has taken on our flesh and wanted to share our history.
Today, on the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, we are given the gift of dwelling on the Name that saves us, the Name that expresses who God is and how He loves, and what gives identity and deep meaning to our vocation as Daughters of Jesus.
To pronounce the name of Jesus is to enter into a relationship with Him, to accept His way of living, loving and giving oneself.
We welcome the Word
If anything can an exhortation in the name of the Messiah,
or an affectionate consolation,
or a spirit of solidarity,
or the tenderness of affection,
fill my joy by feeling the same,
with mutual love, concord and seeking the same.Do nothing out of ambition or vainglory,
but rather, in humility,
regard others as better.
Let no one seek his own interest, but the interest of others.Have the same feelings of the Messiah Jesus,
who, in spite of his divine condition,
did not boast of being equal to God;
but emptied himself
and took the condition of a slave,
becoming like men.And showing himself in human form
he humbled himself, became obedient unto death,
and a death on a cross. Therefore God exalted him
and gave him a name above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow
in heaven, on earth and in the abyss;
and every tongue confess,
to the glory of God the Father:
Jesus Christ is Lord!Phil 2:1-11
This hymn leads us to the heart of the Christian mystery: the Name of Jesus is inseparably united to his way of loving, to his self-abasement, to his humility and total surrender. To confess his Name is to assume his sentiments, his style, his way of being in the world. To act in his Name is to be instruments of his salvation, in his time and in his way.
Determination illuminates our path
“In the spiritual experience of Mother Candida, which has come down to us through oral and written tradition, we recognize the name Daughters of Jesus as a true event of revelation.
This name is not simply a denomination, but a profound illumination that marked his life and continues to inspire us today to continue to discern how the mystery of sonship is revealed to us in our time.
The call to be daughters in the Son integrates our vocation and mission: it unveils the root of our being and, moreover, illuminates the way to live fully and to understand the depth of the Father’s love.” (Determination 7)
To celebrate the Holy Name of Jesus is also to celebrate the name we bear. Not as a title, but as a grace received and a responsibility entrusted to us.
To be Daughters of Jesus means to allow ourselves to be configured by Him, to learn from His feelings, to live from filiation and to make visible, with our lives, the love of the Father.
Resonates in our lives
The Name of Jesus accompanies us, precedes us and sends us. It reminds us that our vocation is born of a revelation, is sustained by grace and is expressed in a humble, fraternal and dedicated life.
"May Jesus bless us and give us His grace so that we may bear as He pleases the great name we bear, being true Daughters of Jesus" (MF Letter 368).
To incarnate the name we bear is to live, every day and in every situation, desiring, seeking and choosing to be true Daughters of Jesus. May this feast renew in us the joy, gratitude and commitment to live with the same sentiments of Jesus Christ.
