The iPadre Catholic Podcast

The School of Holiness at Nazareth

Today’s Collect sets both the tone and the purpose of this feast. In a few carefully chosen words, the Church teaches us that family life itself has been sanctified—made holy— by the obedience of the Son of God within the household of Nazareth.

Our Lord Jesus Christ consecrated family life by His obedience to Mary and Joseph. We rightly proclaim that Christ was obedient to the Father,
but we must not overlook the astonishing truth that the eternal Son of God was also obedient to His human parents. Pause for a moment and consider what this means: God made Himself obedient to His own creatures. He did this not out of necessity, but to give us an example to follow. In the plan of God, obedience is not humiliation—it is the very road to holiness.

By His obedience, Jesus teaches us humility. This obedience was not momentary or symbolic; it was constant and enduring. From Nazareth to Calvary, He submits His will in love. In the Garden of Olives, He cried out: “Not My will, but Your will be done.” And, He teaches us the same in the prayer He Himself gave us: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.”

This obedience is not merely an action—it is a virtue, rooted in humility. Humility lowers the self so that God may be exalted. As Saint Paul reminds us: “He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death.” When we practice humility, something within us must die. Pride is weakened. Self-will is surrendered. And in that dying, grace begins to live more fully within us.

The Collect tells us that Christ “consecrated family life with ineffable virtues.” That is the true ideal of the family—not perfection, but holiness.   The family becomes a garden where God plants virtue, nurtures it through sacrifice, and brings forth fruit in due season.

When Jesus is truly at the center of family life, the virtues—and all the workings of the Holy Ghost—begin to flourish. As Fr. Patrick Peyton so often preached, “The family that prays together stays together.” Prayer should mark the ordinary rhythm of the home: before meals, in the morning, and at night before rest. Families should be encouraged to foster the daily Rosary together, and, when possible, a family Holy Hour before the Most Blessed Sacrament. It is also fitting that our homes visibly reflect this faith, with crucifixes and images of Our Lord, Our Lady, and the saints, reminding us daily of whom we belong to and whom we serve.

Let us follow the example of our Lord, who humbled Himself in obedience to Mary and Joseph, so that we too may grow in virtue and holiness, and allow our families to become places where God is truly at home.

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. The Gospel appointed for this feast is the same as that of the Feast of the Circumcision. It is the shortest Gospel of the entire year, yet it loses nothing by its brevity, for it makes its point swiftly and unmistakably: the Child is named Jesus.

We are blessed to live in a time when this feast is firmly established in the life of the Church, for this was not always the case. There was a time when no Feast of the Holy Name existed at all. St. Bernardine of Siena, the great champion of devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, was summoned to Rome and accused of heresy—not once, but on several occasions—for promoting this devotion. His opponents considered it a dangerous innovation. Imagine such opposition to devotion to the very Name that the Archangel Gabriel commanded both the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph to give to the Christ Child.

We do not celebrate just any name today; we celebrate the Most Holy Name of Jesus. This Name is holy because it belongs to the Son of God, the Eternal Word made flesh. It is holy because Gabriel did not speak in his own authority, but as the messenger of the Eternal Father who sent him. It is holy because it is the Name above every other name, for, as Scripture declares, “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” This is a Name that must be honored, reverenced, and boldly proclaimed. As St. Bernardine wrote, “The Name of Jesus is the glory of the Church militant, the joy of the Church triumphant, and the hope of the Church suffering.”

Throughout history, countless preachers have proclaimed this Name, saints have died with it upon their lips, and Christians have been tortured and martyred for the Name of Jesus. Yet the Holy Name must be restored anew to every corner of the Church. Too often homilies have become generic, religious instruction has been stripped bare, and even sacred edifices have been scrubbed clean of the Holy Name. St. Bernardine warned us plainly: “Remove the Name of Jesus from preaching, and it loses its fire; remove it from prayer, and it loses its power.”

Let us therefore resolve to call frequently upon the Holy Name of Jesus throughout our days. We must purify our tongues, lest we ever take that Holy Name in vain. Many are rightly offended by vulgar words, yet they should tremble at the misuse of the Name of our dear Savior. As St. Bernardine so beautifully teaches, “Nothing more sweet can be sung, nothing more joyful can be heard, nothing more powerful can be invoked than the Name of Jesus.”

May the Holy Name of Jesus—terror of demons and sweetness to the angels—be praised, adored, and loved by all peoples, in every nation, age, and place. May His most holy Name ever flow from our lips like a sweet fragrance, driving away all evil and drawing down grace upon grace into our souls.

The Introit for this Sunday’s Mass is profoundly moving, for in just a few lines it expresses the entire mystery of the Incarnation: “When a profound stillness compassed everything and the night in its swift course was half spent, Your all-powerful Word, O Lord, bounded from heaven’s royal throne.” The Incarnation and the birth of Christ did not take place amid bright lights, public spectacle, or human applause. They did not happen on a stage or beneath the glare of fame. Rather, they occurred in the most hidden and humble way imaginable.

Tradition holds that the Son of God was born at midnight—the darkest hour of the night, when most of the world is asleep and all is still. “The night in its swift course was half spent.” The world had nothing left to give. Humanity was exhausted, empty of hope, and powerless to save itself. It is precisely then that God intervenes. The mystery comes to a dark and broken world not because man has prepared himself, but because man cannot help himself. When human effort reaches its limit, divine mercy steps in.

The mystery of the Incarnation stands in complete contrast to the way the world acts. The Lord of heaven and earth does not seek applause or fanfare. He comes in humility—hidden from the eyes of the wise and learned, and revealed to the poor in spirit, to those willing to receive Him with humility and love. Our Lord did not seek recognition or honor from the world. As Saint Paul teaches, “Though He was in the form of God, He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself” (Philippians 2:6–8). Truly, the ways of God are not the ways of men.

The phrase “Your all-powerful Word” deliberately echoes the words of Saint John’s Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The eternal Logos, the Word through whom all things were made, becomes flesh in the Immaculate womb of the Virgin Mary. The Creator enters His creation—not diminished, but hidden.

The Introit tells us that the Word “bounded from heaven’s royal throne.” He leapt down without hesitation or delay. This is a decisive act of love on behalf of fallen humanity. The Eternal Word descends from heaven to rescue a people wounded by sin and disobedience. God became man so that man might share in the life of God. Through grace, we are not merely restored; we are elevated. Before the Fall, our first parents possessed a perfect natural life. Because of the Incarnation, we are now offered something greater: supernatural life.

As the Eternal Word leapt down from heaven to rescue us, let us now leap into His sacred arms, that we may be strengthened, protected, and comforted by His holy embrace.

The ancient prophecies foretold that the promised Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. From the Book of Micah we read: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel” (Mic 5:2). Jeremiah further tells us that the Messiah would come from the line of David: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch” (Jer 23:5). It was clearly part of God’s plan that Jesus would be born in the City of David, the great king of Israel. Joseph and Mary went up to Bethlehem to be enrolled in the census because Joseph was of David’s lineage. In fact, both Joseph and Mary were descendants of David, placing their newborn Son firmly within the royal line. And as the eternal Son of God, Christ would unite in Himself kingship and priesthood, becoming not only the Son of David, but our eternal High Priest.

All of this is important, and much more could be said. But there is another point we should consider this Christmas. The name Bethlehem is made up of two Hebrew words meaning “House of Bread” or “House of Food.” In Arabic, its literal meaning is “House of Meat.” One might be tempted to dismiss this as insignificant, but there are no coincidences in salvation history—and certainly none with God, who is the Lord of time and eternity. Our Lord Himself reveals the meaning of this mystery in Saint John’s Gospel when He declares, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (Jn 6:35). He continues with words that are even more striking: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (Jn 6:53).

This teaching reaches its fulfillment at the Last Supper, on the night He was betrayed. “Then he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me’” (Lk 22:19). Returning again to John chapter six, Jesus leaves no room for misunderstanding: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (Jn 6:53).

All of this is bound together by a single golden thread. Bethlehem in Hebrew is the House of Bread, and Jesus calls Himself the Bread of Life. Later, He takes bread, declares it to be His Body, gives it to His disciples to eat, and commands them to “do this” in His memory. Then we recall the Arabic name—House of Meat—and His insistence: “Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you.” Many were offended by these words and began to leave Him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” (Jn 6:67). Simon Peter answered Him with words that remain the confession of the Church: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (Jn 6:68).

Every time we kneel at the altar, we kneel once again at the crib. The same Jesus born in Bethlehem now feeds us with His true Flesh and true Drink. As we celebrate the feast of His Nativity, let us give thanks for this little Bethlehem, where the Bread of Life first came into the world—for us.