The Most Holy Name of Mary
Sanctissimi Nominis Mariae
This feast honours the holy Name of Mary, the Mother of God, that sweet and powerful name invoked by the faithful in every need and dear above all others after the Name of Jesus.
On the twelfth of September the Church keeps the feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary. As the Church honours the Holy Name of Jesus, so she honours also the name of His Mother — a name given her, the Fathers and tradition delight to recall, by the providence of God, and rich in meaning for the faithful who call upon it. After the adorable Name of Jesus, no name is dearer or more powerful with God than that of Mary.
The sweetness of her name
The saints have loved to dwell upon the holy Name of Mary and the graces that flow from its devout invocation. To call upon her name is to turn to her who is the Mother of mercy and the refuge of sinners, confident that she who bore the Saviour will not despise the prayers of those who seek her help. The faithful have invoked her name in temptation and in sorrow, in sickness and at the hour of death, and have found in it consolation, protection, and hope. It is a name of tenderness for the lowly and of terror to the powers of darkness, for the Mother is honoured in her Son and intercedes ever before His throne.
This feast, then, is not the honouring of a mere word, but of the person whom the name signifies: the Blessed Virgin Mary, full of grace, the Mother of God and our Mother. In keeping her holy Name the Church teaches her children to hold that name in reverence and love, to pronounce it with devotion, and to fly to it in every need, knowing that through Mary we are led to Jesus.
The feast
Devotion to the Name of Mary is ancient in the Church and grew greatly in the later Middle Ages. The feast was extended to the whole Western Church by Pope Innocent XI in the seventeenth century, in thanksgiving for a great deliverance of Christendom that was attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin. It is fittingly kept a few days after the feast of her Nativity, that the Church may honour, after the birth of the Virgin, the holy Name bestowed upon her.
In this feast the faithful are invited to renew their love for the Mother of God and their confidence in her intercession, and to make the sweet Name of Mary often upon their lips and in their hearts, that through her they may draw ever nearer to her divine Son.
The Collect
Patronage
The feast honours the holy Name of Mary, invoked by the faithful as a name of consolation, protection, and hope.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar this feast is observed on the same day, 12 September, as an optional memorial.
Common Questions
When is the feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary?
It is kept on 12 September in the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal, as a Third Class feast. In the modern calendar it is observed on the same day, 12 September, as an optional memorial. It falls a few days after the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 8 September.
What does this feast celebrate?
It honours the holy Name of Mary, the Mother of God. As the Church venerates the Holy Name of Jesus, so she honours the name of His Mother, teaching the faithful to invoke it with reverence and love and to fly to it in every need.
Where does this feast come from?
Devotion to the Name of Mary is ancient and grew greatly in the later Middle Ages. The feast was extended to the whole Western Church by Pope Innocent XI in the seventeenth century, in thanksgiving for a great deliverance of Christendom attributed to our Lady’s intercession.
See where this feast falls in the Church’s year on the liturgical calendar, or find a Traditional Latin Mass near you.
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