HOLY NAME OF MARY
1
Maccabees, Chapter 10, Verse 75-76
75 He encamped near Joppa, but the people of the city shut him out because Apollonius had a garrison in Joppa. When they attacked it, 76 the people of the city became afraid and opened the gates, and so Jonathan took possession of Joppa.
75 He encamped near Joppa, but the people of the city shut him out because Apollonius had a garrison in Joppa. When they attacked it, 76 the people of the city became afraid and opened the gates, and so Jonathan took possession of Joppa.
Victory over Apollonius[1]
Demetrius tried to win back his father's throne (147), and Apollonius Taos, governor of Cœle-Syria, who probably had joined Demetrius, challenged Jonathan to battle, saying that the Jews might for once leave the mountains and venture out into the plain. Thereupon Jonathan and Simeon appeared, with 10,000 men, before Joppa, where the forces of Apollonius lay and the gates of which were opened to them out of fear. Reinforced from Azotus, Apollonius appeared with 3,000 men in the plain, relying on his cavalry, and forced Jonathan to engage in battle. The missiles of the horsemen rebounded from the shields of Simeon's men, who successfully resisted the enemy's onslaughts. Jonathan in the meantime vanquished the infantry, scattered it in wild flight, and pursued it to Azotus, which city he took by assault, burning it and its villages, including the Temple of Dagon.
Most Holy Name of Mary[2]
In accordance with Jewish custom our Lady's parents named her eight days after her birth and were inspired to call her Mary. The feast of the Holy Name of Mary therefore follows that of her Birthday, as the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus follows Christmas. The feast originated in Spain and was approved by the Holy See in 1513; Innocent XI extended its observance to the whole Church in 1683 in thanksgiving to our Lady for the victory on September 12, 1683 by John Sobieski, king of Poland, over the Turks, who were besieging Vienna and threatening the West. This day was commemorated in Vienna by creating a new kind of pastry and shaping it in the form of the Turkish half-moon. It was eaten along with coffee which was part of the booty from the Turks. The ancient Onomastica Sacra have preserved the meanings ascribed to Mary's name by the early Christian writers and perpetuated by the Greek Fathers. "Bitter Sea," "Myrrh of the Sea," "The Light Giver," "The Enlightened One," "Lady," "Seal of the Lord," and "Mother of the Lord" are the principal interpretations. These etymologies suppose that the Hebrew form of the name is Maryãm, not Miryãm. From the time of St. Jerome until the 16th century, preferred interpretations of Mary's name in the West were "Lady," "Bitter Sea," "The Light Giver," and especially "Star of the Sea." Stella Maris was by far the favored interpretation. The revival of Hebraic studies, which accompanied the Renaissance, led to a more critical appraisal of the meanings assigned to Our Lady's name. Miryãm has all the appearance of a genuine Hebrew name, and no solid reason has been discovered to warrant rejecting the Semitic origin of the word. The Hebrew name of Mary, Miryãm, (in Latin Domina) means lady or sovereign; this Mary is in virtue of her Son's sovereign authority as Lord of the World. We call Mary our Lady as we call Jesus our Lord, and when we pronounce her name we affirm her power, implore her aid and place ourselves under her protection.
Much
has been written about the great challenges the Church faces in contemporary
culture. The great modern "isms" confront a us daily—relativism,
individualism, and consumerism, to name a few.
·
″Relativism
holds that absolute truth and enduring values are illusory.
·
″Individualism
gives "strong emphasis [to] the individual and individual choice,
which often eclipses the sense of community or of the common good."
·
″Consumerism
puts "focus on material satisfaction to the detriment of spiritual
values".
Given
this cultural climate, it is hardly surprising that there is a lack of a sense
of sin and a dropping rate of participation in Church life. In fact, the heart
of every person in Christ must be about the heart of Jesus Christ, and the
central mystery of his life, the Paschal Mystery: "The person and mission
of Jesus, culminated in his Death and Resurrection, this is ultimately the
central content of all the Scriptures". People of God can understand their
own lives properly and be able to see their own experience in the light of the
Death and Resurrection of Jesus". In a culture often dominated by
relativism, individualism, and consumerism, the proclamation of the salvation
of Christ is truly Good News. It allows people to see there is another way; it
paves the way for conversion; it brings hope. God can open up a space in the
human heart, a space that he alone can fill. Christ is about calling persons
back to fruitful participation in the Sacrament of Penance, especially if it
has been years since their last confession.
“No
testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and
he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he
will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.”
-1 Cor 10:13
-1 Cor 10:13
Daily Devotions
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