Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Last updated
The Madonna of the Roses (1903) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905). William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) - The Madonna of the Roses (1903).jpg
The Madonna of the Roses (1903) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905).

The Feast of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary is an optional memorial celebrated in the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church on 12 September. It has been a universal Roman Rite feast since 1684, when Pope Innocent XI included it in the General Roman Calendar to commemorate the victory at the Battle of Vienna in 1683. [1] It was removed from the Church calendar in the liturgical reform following Vatican II but restored by Pope John Paul II in 2002, along with the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus.

Contents

Meaning of the name

In Hebrew, the name Mary is "Miryam". In Aramaic, the language spoken in her own time, the form of the name was "Mariam". Based on the root "merur", the name signifies "bitterness". [2] This is reflected in the words of Naomi, who, after losing a husband and two sons lamented, " “Do not call me Naomi (‘Sweet’). Call me Mara (‘Bitter’), for the Almighty has made my life very bitter." [3]

Meanings ascribed to Mary's name by the early Christian writers and perpetuated by the Greek Fathers include: "Bitter Sea," "Myrrh of the Sea", "The Enlightened One," "The Light Giver," and especially "Star of the Sea." Stella Maris was by far the favored interpretation. Jerome suggested the name meant "Lady", based on the Aramaic "mar" meaning "Lord". In the book, The Wondrous Childhood of the Most Holy Mother of God, St. John Eudes offers meditations on seventeen interpretations of the name "Mary," taken from the writings of "the Holy Fathers and by some celebrated Doctors". [4] The name of Mary is venerated because it belongs to the Mother of God. [5]

Veneration

Mary's name occurs in the first part and in the second part of the Hail Mary.

At Rome, one of the twin churches at the Forum of Trajan is dedicated to the Name of Mary (Santissimo Nome di Maria al Foro Traiano). [5]

Promoters of veneration of the Holy Name of Mary include: Saint Anthony of Padua, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, and Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori. A number of religious orders such as the Cistercians and the Servites, customarily give each member "Mary" as part of his/her name in religion as a sign of honor and of entrustment to her. [6]

Feast day

The feast is a counterpart to the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus (January 3). [7] Its object is to commemorate all the privileges bestowed upon Mary by God and all the graces received through her intercession and mediation. [2]

The entry in the Roman Martyrology about the feast speaks of it in the following terms:

The Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a day on which the inexpressible love of the Mother of God for her Holy Child is recalled, and the eyes of the faithful are directed to the figure of the Mother of the Redeemer, for them to invoke with devotion. [8]

History

The feast day began in 1513 as a local celebration in Cuenca, Spain, celebrated on 15 September. [9] In 1587 Pope Sixtus V moved the celebration to 17 September. Pope Gregory XV extended the celebration to the Archdiocese of Toledo in 1622. [5] In 1666 the Discalced Carmelites received permission to recite the Divine Office of the Name of Mary four times a year. In 1671 the feast was extended to the whole Kingdom of Spain. From there, the feast spread, and soon extended to the Kingdom of Naples. [2]

In 1683, the Polish king John Sobieski, arrived at Vienna with his army. Before the Battle of Vienna, Sobieski placed his troops under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the following year, to celebrate the victory, Pope Innocent XI added the feast to the Roman calendar, assigning to it the Sunday within the octave of the Nativity of Mary. [10]

The reform of Pope Pius X in 1911 restored to prominence the celebration of Sundays in their own right, avoiding their being often replaced by celebrations from the sanctoral. The celebration of the Holy Name of Mary was therefore moved to 12 September. [11] Later in the same century, the feast was removed from the General Roman Calendar in 1969 as part of its reform by Pope Paul VI, as something of a duplication of the 8 September feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, [12] but it did not cease to be a recognized celebration of the Roman Rite, being mentioned in the Roman Martyrology on 12 September. In 2002 Pope John Paul II restored the celebration to the General Roman Calendar. [1]

Legacy

Blessed William Joseph Chaminade chose the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary as the patronal feast of the Society of Mary (Marianists) rather than a day commemorating a particular dogma or devotion in order to focus on the person of Mary. [13] For similar reasons another religious congregation with a similar name, the Society of Mary (Marists), though unrelated in its history, was to adopt the same patronal feast.

A number of parishes and schools are dedicated in honor of the Holy Name of Mary.

The cathedral of Hagåtña, Guam, is called the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica.

See also

Related Research Articles

Pope Stephen I was the Bishop of Rome from 12 May 254 to his death on 2 August 257. He was later canonized as a saint and some accounts say he was martyred while celebrating Mass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calendar of saints</span> Christian liturgical calendar celebrating saints

The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does not mean "a large meal, typically a celebratory one", but instead "an annual religious celebration, a day dedicated to a particular saint".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Ursula</span> 4th century Frankish saint

Ursula is a legendary Romano-British Christian saint. Her feast day in the pre-1970 Calendarium Romanum Generale is 21 October. There is little information about her and the anonymous group of holy virgins who accompanied and, on an uncertain date, were killed along with her at Cologne. They remain in the Roman Martyrology, although their commemoration does not appear in the simplified General Roman Calendar of the 1970 Missale Romanum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presentation of Mary</span> Liturgical feast

The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known in the East as The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, is a liturgical feast celebrated on November 21 by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and some Anglo-Catholic Churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Our Lady of Sorrows</span> Name of Virgin Mary in relation to sorrows in her life

Our Lady of Sorrows, Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows, and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names by which Mary, mother of Jesus, is referred to in relation to sorrows in life. As Mater Dolorosa, it is also a key subject for Marian art in the Catholic Church.

The Litany of the Saints is a formal prayer of the Roman Catholic Church as well as the Old Catholic Church, Anglo-Catholic communities, and Western Rite Orthodox communities. It is a prayer to the Triune God, which also includes invocations for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Angels and all the martyrs and saints upon whom Christianity was founded, and those recognised as saints through the subsequent history of the church. Following the invocation of the saints, the Litany concludes with a series of supplications to God to hear the prayers of the worshippers. It is most prominently sung during the Easter Vigil, All Saints' Day, and in the liturgy for conferring Holy Orders, the Consecration of a Virgin and reception of the perpetual vows of a religious or a diocesane hermit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Chrysologus</span> Bishop of Ravenna

Peter Chrysologus was Bishop of Ravenna from about 433 until his death. He is known as the “Doctor of Homilies” for the concise but theologically rich reflections he delivered during his time as the Bishop of Ravenna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nativity of Mary</span> Christian feast day for the birth of Mary

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of Mary, Marymas or the Birth of the Virgin Mary, refers to a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of Mary, mother of Jesus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visitation (Christianity)</span> Christian story and feast of Mary visiting Elizabeth

In Christianity, the Visitation is the visit of Mary, who was pregnant with Jesus, to Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist, in the Gospel of Luke, Luke 1:39–56.

The General Roman Calendar is the liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and mysteries of the Lord in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgical rite is in use. These celebrations are a fixed annual date, or occur on a particular day of the week. Examples are the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in January and the Feast of Christ the King in November.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God</span> Christian Marian feast day

The Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God is a feast day of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the aspect of her motherhood of Jesus Christ, whom she had circumcised on the eighth day after his birth according to Levitical Law. Christians see him as the Lord and Son of God.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major</span> Feast day in the General Roman Calendar of the Catholic Church

The Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major is a feast day in the General Roman Calendar of the Catholic Church, optionally celebrated annually on 5 August with the rank of memorial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feast of the Annunciation</span> Celebration commemorating the visit of the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary

The Feast of the Annunciation, in Greek, Ο Ευαγγελισμός της Θεοτόκου, contemporarily the Solemnity of the Annunciation, and also called Lady Day, the Feast of the Incarnation, or Conceptio Christi, commemorates the visit of the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, during which he informed her that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is celebrated on 25 March each year. In the Catholic Church, if 25 March falls during the Paschal Triduum, it is transferred forward to the first suitable day during Eastertide. In Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholicism, it is never transferred, even if it falls on Pascha (Easter). The concurrence of these two feasts is called Kyriopascha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mediatrix</span>

Mediatrix is a title given to Mary, mother of Jesus in Christianity. It refers to the intercessory role of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a mediator in the salvific redemption by her son Jesus Christ and that he bestows graces through her. Mediatrix is an ancient title that has been used by many saints since at least the 5th century. Its use grew during the Middle Ages and reached its height in the writings of saints Louis de Montfort and Alphonsus Liguori in the 18th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mariology of the saints</span> Contributions of Roman Catholic saints to Mariology

Throughout history, Catholic Mariology has been influenced by a number of saints who have attested to the central role of Mary in God's plan of salvation. The analysis of Early Church Fathers continues to be reflected in modern encyclicals. Irenaeus vigorously defended the title of "Theotokos" or Mother of God. The views of Anthony of Padua, Robert Bellarmine and others supported the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, which was declared a dogma in 1850.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veneration of Mary in the Catholic Church</span> Roman Catholic veneration of Mary

The veneration of Mary in the Catholic Church encompasses various devotions which include prayer, pious acts, visual arts, poetry, and music devoted to her. Popes have encouraged it, while also taking steps to reform some manifestations of it. The Holy See has insisted on the importance of distinguishing "true from false devotion, and authentic doctrine from its deformations by excess or defect". There are significantly more titles, feasts, and venerative Marian practices among Roman Catholics than in other Western Christian traditions. The term hyperdulia indicates the special veneration due to Mary, greater than the ordinary dulia for other saints, but utterly unlike the latria due only to God.

<i>The Glories of Mary</i> 18th century book of Roman Catholic Mariology

The Glories of Mary is a classic book in the field of Roman Catholic Mariology, written during the 18th century by Saint Alphonsus Liguori, a Doctor of the Church.

Mysterii Paschalis is an apostolic letter issued motu proprio by Pope Paul VI on 14 February 1969. It reorganized the liturgical year of the Roman Rite and revised the liturgical celebrations of Jesus Christ and the saints in the General Roman Calendar. It promulgated the General Roman Calendar of 1969.

1969 edition of the General Roman Calendar was promulgated on 1 January 1970 by Paul VI's Mysterii Paschalis. It is the current version of the General Roman Calendar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friday of Sorrows</span> Solemn remembrance in Catholic Lent

The Friday of Sorrows is a solemn pious remembrance of the sorrowful Blessed Virgin Mary on the Friday before Palm Sunday held in the fifth week of Lent. In the Anglican Ordinariate's Divine Worship: The Missal it is called Saint Mary in Passiontide and sometimes it is traditionally known as Our Lady in Passiontide.

References

  1. 1 2 Ann Ball, 2003 Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices ISBN   0-87973-910-X page 242
  2. 1 2 3 Peters, M. Danielle. "The Most Holy Name of Mary", Marian Library, University of Dayton
  3. Ruth 1:20, NAB
  4. Alessio, Mark. "The Most Holy Name of Mary", Catholic Family News. September 2001
  5. 1 2 3 Holweck, Frederick. "Feast of the Holy Name of Mary." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 7 Aug. 2013
  6. "The Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary", Archdiocese of Sydney
  7. Foley O.F.M., Leonard. Saint of the Day, Lives, Lessons, and Feast, (revised by Pat McCloskey O.F.M.), Franciscan Media ISBN   978-0-86716-887-7
  8. "Martyrologium Romanum" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2001 ISBN   88-209-7210-7)
  9. "Foley O.F.M., Leonard. Saint of the Day, Lives, Lessons and Feast, (revised by Pat McCloskey O.F.M.) Franciscan Media". Archived from the original on 2008-09-12. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
  10. "Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary".
  11. 1920 typical edition of the Roman Missal
  12. "Calendarium Romanum" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 138
  13. "The Promised Woman", North American Center for Marianist Studies