Welcome 2009!

Happy New Year to all!

Let us pray for one another that God will grant us many graces and blessings during 2009.

A plenary indulgence can be gained by devoutly assisting at the solemn singing or recitation in a Church or Oratory of the Te Deum on 31 December and the Veni Creator Spiritus on 1 January.

1 January is a triple feast being that of the Circumcision of the Lord, the Feast of Mary the Mother of God and the Octave Day of Christmas, and the following Sunday is the great Feast of the Holy Name of JESUS.

This latter feast was popularised by the Franciscan Order and was eventually made universal by Pope Innocent XIII in 1721.

It reminds us of the importance of keeping holy the name of God just as the Jews kept holy the name of God. We should bow the head at the Holy Name and use it with reverence and not indiscriminately. We should not casually speak the Holy Name as if it were simply a common name to be bandied about.

Some Catholics these days inadvertently do this thinking it is simple and devout but it is not. It can even be disrespectful of the Holy Name.

The Holy Name of JESUS comes from the Hebrew and means "Saviour". The English rendering of the Latin is "Joshua".

The fullness of the Holy Name means "Anointed Saviour" for the name CHRIST comes from the same root as CHRISM, the oil of anointing.

Let us reverence the Holy Name, using it sparingly and with great devotion whenever we do.

Here is a clip of a community of monks singing Veni Creator: