All In for Jesus
Go All In for Jesus - In His Name
“I’m all in!” We usually say things like this when we really support a cause and want something to succeed. Sports and family commitments usually call for this type of support. But so does our love for God. And even more so, since He is an all-powerful God and Father, invisible, yet known through Jesus Christ (cf. Jn. 1:18).
Our commitment to our God involves all aspects of our lives: spiritual and physical, soul and body. And as Dominicans, we preach the Incarnation, a union between God and man. So we Dominicans also preach union of our spiritual life with our physical and emotional life.
Since 1274, at the second Council of Lyons, the Dominicans have been put in charge of spreading devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. Blessed John of Vercelli, the Master General at the time, received this commission from Blessed Pope Gregory X. One element of this devotion concerns bowing our head at the Name of Jesus. This physical devotion becomes a small act indicating that we love Jesus, body and soul. When our heart hears, our body responds.
The Roman Missal speaks about this. “A bow of the head is made when the three Divine Persons are named together and at the names of Jesus, of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of the Saint in whose honor Mass is being celebrated.” (275a) This mirrors the bow of the head at communion. “When receiving Holy Communion, the communicant bows his or her head before the Sacrament as a gesture of reverence and receives the Body of the Lord from the minister.” (161) What we hear and what we receive bring out a corresponding sign of reverence.
May we continue to be “all in.” Let us share our love for the Lord this year by honoring Him with our prayer and our devotion. Let us learn to bow our head at the sound of His Name (cf. Phil. 2:10).”
A reflection written on the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, January 3, 2023
By: Fr Augustine Hilander, O.P.
Promoter of the Holy Name Confraternity
Province of The Most Holy Name of Jesus
Image: Antoine Sallaert. The Glorification of the Name of Jesus 1630