January: Month of the Most Holy Name of Jesus

The month of January has traditionally been dedicated to the Most Holy Name of Jesus.

We find devotion to the Holy Name to be deeply rooted in Sacred Scripture, especially in the Acts of the Apostles. It was promoted particularly the Franciscan Order, St. John Capistrano, as well as St. Bernard and St. Bernardine of Siena, and extended to the whole Church in 1727, during the pontificate of Innocent XIII.

The Church praises the wonders of the Incarnate Word by singing the glories of His name. The name of Jesus means “Savior”; it had been shown in a dream to Joseph together with its meaning, and to Our Lady at the annunciation by the Archangel Gabriel.

This year, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus on January 3rd, 2025. If you wish to honor the Most Holy Name of Jesus on this day especially, consider praying a chaplet dedicated to it. The chaplet can be prayed with any tenner or rosary and consists of three sets of ten for you to keep track of. On the large beads, you pray a quote from Scripture and add your intention, as stated below:

Chaplet of the Holy Name of Jesus

+ By the Sign of the Holy Cross, + from our enemies deliver us, + O Lord, our God.
+ In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Act of Contrition

O my God, I am heartily sorry
for having offended You, and
I detest all my sins because
I dread the loss of heaven
and the pains of hell, but
most of all because they offend you,
my God, who are all good and
deserving of all my love.
I firmly resolve, with the
help of your grace, to confess
my sins, to do penance and
to amend my life.
Amen.

Prayer

Incline unto my aid, O God.
O Lord, make haste to help me.

(If you prefer to pray this in Latin:
Deus in adiutorium meum intende,
Domine ad adiuvandum me festina.)

First Decade:

On the large bead, you pray the following:

Lord, Thou hast said:
“Ask and ye shall receive;
seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you,”
I seek, I knock, I ask this favor [here, you can mention your intention].

On each of the ten small beads, pray:

Incline unto my aid, O God.
O Lord, make haste to help me.

Deus in adiutorium meum intende,
Domine ad adiuvandum me festina

Second Decade:

On the large bead, you pray thus:

“Amen, I say unto you,
if ye ask the Father anything
in My Name it shall be given unto you.”
It is of the Father and in Thy Name,
Lord, I ask this favor [here, you can mention your intention again].

On each of the ten small beads, you pray:

Incline unto my aid, O God.
O Lord, make haste to help me.

Deus in adiutorium meum intende,
Domine ad adiuvandum me festina

Third Decade:

On the large bead, you pray this:

Lord, Thou hast said:
“Heaven and earth shall pass away,
but My Word shall not pass away,”
Thou wilt grant me this favor [here, you can mention your intention once more]
because Thou hast said it and
Thy word is true.

On each of the ten small beads, you pray:

Incline unto my aid, O God.
O Lord, make haste to help me.

Deus in adiutorium meum intende,
Domine ad adiuvandum me festina.

Finish the Chaplet with a Glory Be (Gloria Patri etc.) and the Fatima Prayer (O mi Jesu, demitte nobis debita nostra etc.), and the Sign of the Cross.