Logo Explanation

logo-explanationLOGO EXPLANATION

The logo is based on the Holy Name monogram of St. Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444). Although St. Bernardine depicted the Holy Name of Jesus using the YHS form of the monogram, the more familiar IHS form is being used in the Year of the Holy Name logo. 

‘The people that walked in darkness has seen a great light; on the inhabitants of a country in shadow dark as death light has blazed forth.’ (Isaiah 9:1)

The Name of Jesus, set in the middle of a blazing sun, reminds us that Jesus is this light, which ‘blazes forth’, bringing us His light and peace and filling us with hope in times of darkness and trial. In the logo for the Year of the Holy Name, the twelve rays around the Name of Jesus, represent the twelve apostles and emphasise that Jesus is the foundation stone of the Church*. The seventy-two smaller rays represent the missionary mandate of the Gospel. Once we come to know the Lord Jesus we can’t keep the good news to ourselves. It refers to the passage in St. Luke’s Gospel where our Lord sends out seventy-two others to preach. It reminds us too that proclaiming the Name of Jesus is fundamental to the New Evangelisation. There is a cross bar on the vertical of the ‘h’ to signify that it is Jesus, and He crucified, who is at the heart of the Christian mystery. The Name of Jesus is highlighted in red and enlarged to emphasise that His is the ‘name which is above all other names’(Phil 2:9) yet He draws close to us, encourages us to call on Him  and promises to be with us always (Mt 28:20) . 

* St. Bernardine also taught that the twelve rays, represent the diverse ways in which the Name of Jesus sustains the life of the believer. He used the ideas of another Franciscan writer (Ubertino of Casale), when he formulated the ‘twelve virtues’ of the Name of Jesus which, in his teaching, the rays represented.  The Name is:
1) the refuge of sinners, 2) the remedy of the spiritually ill, 3) the defence of the militant 4) the consolation of the afflicted  5) the help of the proficient 6)the help of the wavering 7)the honour of the steadfast  and 8) the theme of the preacher  9) the sigh of those who keep it in mind 10)the support of those who pray 11) the fruit of those who try and 12) the reward of those who persevere

For more see ‘Name of Sweetness, Name of Blessed Hope’ Article by Fr. Pat Conlon OFM in St. Anthony’s Brief Feb/ March 2014 p 20