Both a liturgical observance and a devotional one. The feast of the Holy Name was instituted by Innocent XIII in 1721, removed from the calendar in the reform of 1969, and restored by John Paul II; it is now kept as an optional memorial on 3 January, and January is honoured as the month of the Holy Name. The devotion was carried for centuries by the Holy Name Society, first organised in 1274 and given the status of a confraternity in 1564, whose purpose is reverence for the name of Jesus, reparation for blasphemy, and the sanctification of its members. A Litany of the Holy Name was approved by Pius IX in 1862 and commended to the whole Church by Leo XIII; it is one of the few litanies approved for public as well as private use.

Bow the head whenever the name of Jesus is spoken, at Mass and outside it — the gesture is a small act of faith and costs nothing. When you hear the name taken in vain, answer it silently with 'Blessed be the name of Jesus' rather than with an argument. Pray the Litany of the Holy Name from an approved text through January, or on the memorial of the Holy Name on 3 January. Use the name itself as a prayer in temptation, weariness or fear: repeat it slowly with each breath, asking nothing else.

christological