Saint Augustine of Hippo speaking out against the pagan New Year‘s celebrations according to the Golden Legend
At the very end of his article on the feast of the Circumcision of the Lord Jesus Christ, the feast on the eighth day of the Christmas Octave commemorating how Jesus was circumcised as a baby boy on the eighth day, Jacobus de Voragine notes what kind of customs the pagans practiced for the 1st of January, a month named after the Roman god Janus:
“It is worthy of note that in ancient times the pagans and Gentiles observed many superstitious rites on the first day of January, and that the saints were at great pains to uproot these superstitious practices even among the Christian folk. Augustine talks about this in one of his sermons. He says they believed that their leader Janus was some kind of god, to whom they paid much veneration on this day, and that they made his image with two faces, one looking forward and the other backward, because it was the end of one year and the beginning of the next. Also on this day some of them put on monstrous masks, others wore the skins of animals, still others the heads of beasts, thus showing that they not only dressed like beasts but had bestial feelings. There were even some who clothed themselves in women‘s dress, shamelessly tricking out their soldierly muscles in feminine finery. Others followed the auguries so closely that if someone asked for fire from their hearth or some other favor, they would refuse it. The giving and receiving of devilish gifts was also practiced. Others laid out sumptuous tables in the night and left them there all night long, believing that they would enjoy such abundant feasting throughout the year. And Augustine adds: ‘Anyone who participates in these pagan customs may well fear that the name of Christian will do him no good. Whoever takes a friendly part in the games of the ungodly may be sure that he also shares in their sins. Therefore, brothers, it is not enough for you to shun this evil. Wherever you see it, denounce it, rebuke it, put it down.‘ So says Augustine.“
Jacobus de Voragine: The Golden Legend. Readings on the Saints, Princeton University Press 1993, p. 77-78
Janus was originally a male counterpart to the goddess Diana, a god of light, and later the god of beginnings and endings, of entrances, gates, and doors.
From a Catholic perspective, the 1st of January does, of course, not belong to venerating this god Janus. Rather it is a solemn feast day remembering Christ‘s circumcision on the eighth day. On this day, the baby boy born of the Blessed Virgin Mary received his Holy Name: Yeshua, Jesus.
“The day of the Lord‘s circumcision is noteworthy and solemn for four reasons: it is the octave of his birth, and it commemorates the imposition of a new and saving name, the shedding of his blood, and the seal of circumcision.“
Jacobus de Voragine: The Golden Legend. Readings on the Saints, Princeton University Press 1993, p. 71
In this article, we will briefly look at the origin of this “seal of circumcision“ in the days of Abraham, at the first shedding of the Holy Blood of Christ, at some words of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux and of Saint Bernardine of Siena about the Holy Name of Jesus, and at Holy Baptism as the “circumcision“ of the New Covenant.
“The covenant of circumcision“
The people of Israel received the seal of male circumcision as the sign of their covenant with God. The tradition stems from the time of their father Abraham:
“And God said to Abraham, ‘You for your part must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you, generation after generation. This is my covenant which you must keep between myself and you, and your descendants after you: every one of your males must be circumcised. You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that will be the sign of the covenant between myself and you. As soon as he is eight days old, every one of your males, generation after generation, must be circumcised, including slaves born within the household or bought from a foreigner not of your descent. Whether born within the household or bought, they must be circumcised. My covenant must be marked in your flesh as an everlasting covenant. The uncircumcised male, whose foreskin has not been circumcised – that person must be cut off from his people: he has broken my covenant.‘“
Genesis 17: 9-14
“The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘If a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to a boy, she will be unclean for seven days as when in a state of pollution due to menstruation. On the eighth day the boy‘s foreskin must be circumcised, and she will wait another thirty-three days for her blood to be purified. She will not touch anything consecrated nor go to the sanctuary until the time of her purification is over.“
Leviticus 12: 1-4
That is why the 2nd February, 40 days after Christmas, remembers the purification of the Blessed Virgin and the offering up of the child Jesus in the temple.
Saint Stephen refers to this “covenant of circumcision“ in his preaching before the high priest, as he recalls the “milestones“ of salvation history:
“Then he gave them the covenant of circumcision, and so Abraham fathered Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac similarly fathered Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs.“
Acts 7: 8
The first shedding of blood for us
“The third reason for solemnizing this day is the shedding of Christ‘s blood, because today marks the first time he shed his blood for us, as he was to do five times in all: The first was the circumcision, and this was the beginning of our redemption. The second was when he prayed in the garden, and this showed his desire for our redemption. The third, the scourging, merited our redemption, because by his bruises we are healed. The fourth was his crucifixion, and this was the price for our redemption, since he made payment for what he had not taken away. The fifth was when the soldier opened his side with a spear, and this was the sacrament of our redemption, for blood and water issued forth: this prefigured our cleansing by the water of baptism, because that sacrament has its efficacy from the blood of Christ.“
Jacobus de Voragine: The Golden Legend. Readings on the Saints, Princeton University Press 1993, p. 74
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux and Saint Bernardine of Siena on the Holy Name of Jesus
“The name of Jesus was imposed upon him by God the eternal, by the angel, and by his putative father, Joseph.“
Jacobus de Voragine: The Golden Legend. Readings on the Saints, Princeton University Press 1993, p. 73
The Gospel of Saint Matthew records how Saint Joseph receives from an angel appearing to him in a dream the command to name the boy that will be born of the woman betrothed to him, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Jesus – Yeshua, meaning Yahweh saves, or Yahweh is salvation.
This year, the feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus was celebrated on the 2nd January in the ancient rite, and the whole month of January is dedicated to devotion to Jesus‘ Holy Name and to the mysteries of His childhood.
“(…) when suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.‘“
Matthew 1: 20-21
The naming of a male child happened on the day of circumcision. This is evident from what we read about the circumcision and naming of Saint John the Baptist in the Gospel of Saint Luke and from the very short narration given about Christ‘s circumcision by the same evangelist:
“When the eight days were complete to circumcise the child, he was called Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived in the womb.“
Luke 2: 21
On the day He sheds the first drop of His Holy Blood for us, the Son of Mary Immaculate is named Yeshua, Jesus.
“The Savior, condescending to the race of men, in swaddling clothes, accepted circumcision, He did not abhor the cutting of His flesh…“
from the Byzantine Liturgy
This is what Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) and Saint Bernardine of Siena (1380-1440), who were great advocates of devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, have to say about the Name that is above all names.
“The sweet Name of Jesus produces in us holy thoughts, fills the soul with noble sentiments, strengthens virtue, begets good works, and nourishes pure affections. All spiritual food leaves the soul dry, if it contain not that penetrating oil, the Name Jesus. When you take your pen, write the Name Jesus: if you write books, let the Name of jesus be contained in them, else they will possess no charm or attraction for me; you may speak, or you may reply, but if the Name of Jesus sounds not from your lips, you are without unction and without charm. Jesus is honey in our mouth, light in our eyes, a flame in our heart. This Name is the cure for all diseases of the soul. Are you troubled? Think but of Jesus, speak but the Name of Jesus, the clouds disperse, and peace descends anew from heaven. Have you fallen into sin? So that you fear death? Invoke the Name of Jesus, and you will soon feel life returning. No obduracy of the soul, no weakness, no coldness of heart can resist this holy Name; there is no heart which will not soften and open in tears at this holy Name. Are you surrounded by sorrow and danger? Invoke the Name of Jesus, and your fears will vanish. Never yet was a human being in urgent need, and on the point of perishing, who invoked this help-giving Name, and was not powerfully sustained. It was given us for the cure of all our ills; to soften the impetuosity of anger, to quench the fire of concupiscence, to conquer pride, to mitigate the pain of our wounds, to overcome the thirst of avarice, to quiet sensual passions, and the desires of low pleasures. If we call to our minds the Name of Jesus, it brings before us His most meek and humble heart, and gives us a new knowledge of His most loving and tender compassion.
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
The Name of Jesus is the purest, and holiest, the noblest and most indulgent of names, the Name of all blessings and of all virtues; it is the Name of the God-Man, of sanctity itself. To think of Jesus is to think of the great, infinite God Who, having given us His life as an example, has also bestowed the necessary understanding, energy and assistance to enable us to follow and imitate Him, in our thoughts, inclinations, words and actions. If the Name of Jesus reaches the depths of our heart, it leaves heavenly virtue there.“
“No voice can sing, no heart can frame, nor can the memory find, a sweeter sound than Jesus‘ Name, the Savior of mankind.“
“This indeed is that most Holy Name which was so desired by the patriarchs of old, so anxiously longed for, so long awaited with so much suffering, so much invoked with so many sighs, so begged for with so many tears, but then mercifully given in the time of grace. Hide, I plead, the name of power, may the name of vengeance not be heard, the name of justice be held back. Give us the name of mercy, may the Name of Jesus sound in my ears, because truly then sweet is your voice, and beautiful your face.“
Saint Bernardine of Siena
Baptism as the circumcision of the New Covenant, and the naming of a child
“Baptism is birth into the new life in Christ. In accordance with the Lord’s will, it is necessary for salvation, as is the Church herself, which we enter by Baptism.“
Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 1277, 1280, 1282
“Baptism imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual sign, the character, which consecrates the baptized person for Christian worship. Because of the character Baptism cannot be repeated (…).“
“Since the earliest times, Baptism has been administered to children, for it is a grace and a gift of God that does not presuppose any human merit; children are baptized in the faith of the Church. Entry into Christian life gives access to true freedom.“
Just like the circumcision of the Old Covenant was done on the eighth day, so in the early Church the sacrament of Holy Baptism was often administered to children on the eighth day after their birth.
But the Council of Carthage ruled in the year 253 that Holy Baptism should not be withheld from children younger than eight days. It became then the standard practice to baptize a child as soon as possible after its birth.
The parallel between the circumcision of the Old and the baptism of the New Covenant is evident in what Saint Paul writes in his letter to the Colossians:
“In him you have also been circumcised, with a circumcision performed, not by human hand, but by the stripping off of your fleshly body in circumcision according to Christ. You have been buried with him in baptism, by which also you have been raised up with him through your belief in the power of God who raised him from the dead.“
Colossians 2: 11-12
And so just like in the days of the Old Covenant, children receive on the day of their Holy Baptism their baptismal name which should be a Christian name – the name of one of the saints, or at least a name which has a meaning that harmonizes with Christian sentiments.
Nomen est omen: Names carry meanings, and from a Christian perspective a person‘s name signifies an important aspect of this person’s God-given make-up and vocation. When one reads the books of Sacred Scripture, one encounters the importance of a man‘s or woman‘s name over and over again.
To name a child means to bless it – to speak a blessing and a prophecy over it, and to put it under the lifelong protection of a specific patron saint by that name. Traditionally, people would choose a child‘s name mainly for the meaning inherent in it, and not merely for a pleasant sound.
The most holiest of all names – Jesus – is both the most meaningful, the most nourishing, and the most lovely sounding of all names, “honey in our mouth“ as Saint Bernard Clairvaux says.
And due to God‘s grace all the names of all the saints of Christ are rich in meaning as well as sweet to the ear. It is because of the importance of a name both in Jewish and Christian tradition that Jacobus de Voragine almost always opens any given chapter about a specific saint in the Golden Legend with some remarks on the saint‘s name and its meaning.
Spiritual circumcision
The beginning of a new temporal year – having received the graces of the Christmas Octave – often serves as a good moment in time for aiming anew at a “spiritual circumcision“ that cuts off bad habits and vices, as we make good resolutions for the year to come.
“Circumcise yourselves for the LORD. Circumcise your hearts, people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem (…).“
Jeremiah 4: 4
Far beyond our own weak efforts, “spiritual circumcision“ requires that God Himself takes care of the pruning in the vineyards of our hearts, but also of the healing of the wounds still bleeding, the wounds received in previous years from the sins of others, our own sins, or simply the travails and hardships of this life, so that our hearts may be renewed in faith and strength, and restored to love, to hope, and to dare again.
As we trod our path, so many things happen to us that “get under our skin“, cut into our flesh and tear our hearts. And while these wounds painfully cry out for healing, it is a rather good thing that we are vulnerable and remain so all our lives. Wounds are the badges of lovers. Our wounds are precious in the eyes of God who in His incarnation suffered so many wounds for us.
Let us not forget that the original physical sign of Israel‘s covenant with their God was a wound, was circumcision. “In him you have also been circumcised, with a circumcision performed, not by human hand, but by the stripping off of your fleshly body in circumcision according to Christ…“
“The LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and soul, and so will live.“
Deuteronomy 30: 6
“When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they stayed resting in the camp till they were well again.“
Joshua 5: 8
“And the One sitting on the throne spoke, ‘Look, I am making everything new. Write this, ‘These words are trustworthy and true.‘‘ Then he said to me, ‘They have happened. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I shall give water free from the well of life.‘“
Apocalypse 21: 5-6
Blessed new year 2022!