Holy Name SOCIETY/Men's Club

History of the Holy Name Society
Blessed John of Vercelli c. 1200-1283
 Pope Gregory signed the decree, then smiled and said: "Very dear son, we enjoin upon you and the friars of your Order to urge the people to show greater reverence to the Holy Name of Jesus....at the pronouncing of that Name, everyone should bow his head, etc. Given at the Council of Lyons, October 12, 1274
 
Blessed John, the Dominican Master General, took the historic document from the Pope and at once began to take appropriate action. Here was a challenge, an apostolate for the young Order of Preachers! He ordered the erection of special altars in all Dominican churches, with monthly processions, and a preaching crusade throughout the land in honor of the Holy Name of Jesus.
 
The Master General was born John Garbella near Vercelli, northern Italy, around the year 1200. Ordained a secular priest in 1229, he became a professor of civil and canon law at the University of Paris, and later was received into the Dominican Order by Blessed Jordan of Saxony, successor to St. Dominic. He founded a convent at Vercelli and became its first prior in 1245. The following year he was sent to Hungary to reorganize the Dominican convents and revitalize the friars whom the savage Mongols had all but annihilated. Thereafter, John's rise in the Order was rapid. He was chosen prior of several convents, and was elected provincial of the Lombard province from 1257-1264. The zealous provincial preached fearlessly against the Waldensian heretics who had murdered some of his noblest missionaries, and expanded the province by attracting promising young men into the Order. In collaboration with his friends Thomas Aquinas, Albert the Great and the future pope, Innocent V, he drew up a curriculum of studies for all Dominican seminaries. In 1264 he was elected the sixth Master General of the Dominican Order, an office he held until his holy death in 1283.
 
Vercelli's labors as Master General increased to heroic proportions. Endowed with robust health, with a penetrating intellect, a strong memory and charm of manner, he was entrusted by the Holy See, as well as by the Dominican Order; with affairs of great importance for the peace and welfare of Christendom. In cooperation with his beloved friend King Louis of France, he preached a crusade for the redemption of the Holy Land. The French monarch rewarded him with a library of precious books and a reliquary containing several thorns from the holy crown of Our Lord. The turbulent history of fourteenth-century Europe called for capable peace-makers and John was one who filled the need. He mediated between the implacable Guelfs and Ghibellines, between the royalty of Castile and France, between feuding medieval city-states and between bishops and the Holy See. It was John who ordered the erection of the beautiful tomb of St. Dominic at Bologna and who later presided over the translation of the remains of the hallowed Patriarch. He also laid the foundations in Rome of the majestic basilica, the MINERVA.
 
The aging Master General always travelled on foot, staff in hand, visiting convents, urging love of study, devotion to the liturgy and zeal in preaching solid doctrine. He declined the Patriarchate of Jerusalem offered to him by his friend Pope Gregory X. In 1279 he ordered the adoption of the teaching of Thomas Aquinas within the Order, and journeyed to Oxford, England, to ensure that it be accepted and disseminated. The most enduring of Vercelli's achievements was the foundation of an international society of Holy Name men. These dedicated men have proved to be a powerful arm of the Church in the apostolate of evangelization.
 
Blessed John was a "saint of the road." He had no fixed abode of his own. He travelled on the dusty crossroads of Europe with a song in his heart, despite a crippled foot which made him limp. When he could no longer walk, his friars carried him on their shoulders! Deep humility, fatherly kindness and a ready smile endeared him to God and men alike. He was the image of St. Dominic and was regarded as a saint during life and after death. He died while "on the road" to Bologna in 1283 and was buried in the Dominican church at Montpelier, France. The church was burned to the ground by the Calvinists in 1562 and Vercelli's body was lost to history. The heroic degree of his virtues was attested by Pius X who beatified him in 1903. His intercession is still sought by the faithful who have prayerful recourse to him in their needs.
 
The progress of the Holy Name Society since its foundation by Blessed John has continued down through the ages. Dominican and Franciscan friars, some of them illustrious saints, have labored with zeal to propagate the devotion among the people of God. In 1571, Pope Pius V confined the erection of Holy Name societies to the Master General of the Dominican Order. The Society has flourished magnificently in the United States where hundreds of thousands of Holy Name men have taken part in mammoth public processions and reception of the sacraments. They pledge to strive for the extirpation of blasphemy and profanity and to make reparation for the abuse of the Lord's Name. Their faith and zeal is proof in an unbelieving world that "there is no other Name under heaven given to men, whereby we may be saved." Acts 4:10

ST. MATTHEW HOLY NAME SOCIETY / MEN’S CLUB
 
The St. Matthew Holy Name Society Men’s Club (the Club) is an organization devoted to urging the people to show greater reverence to the Holy Name of Jesus.

The Club meets on the second Monday of each month at 7 PM in room 106 of the McDonald Center and is devoted to supporting St. Matthew Catholic Church in whatever way it can.

In addition to its monthly meetings, the Club has an annual appreciation dinner for members and guests in June and a Christmas party for members.  The Club has its annual BBQ chicken & sausage sale usually in October.   This sale provides funds for the Club to lend their support for scholarships and various organizations at St. Matthew.   The Club also participates in the annual church raffle held in the Fall.

Why join the Club?
 
Joining the Club is an opportunity to meet with fellow parishioners each month to socialize, plan fundraisers and share, but mostly, we socialize. Our meetings usually last less than an hour and pizza and beverages are provided.
 
Joining the Club is an opportunity to do "God's will". We are always asked to do for others, love our fellow men, be good Stewards and praise our lord Jesus' name.  Hence our name the Holy Name Society. We sponsor college scholarships, Teen of the month as well as St Vincent De Paul among others as we strive to do God's will. Joining the Club is also an opportunity to pray. Each month, those that can, attend mass together to pray for our fellow members. Also as members of the Archdiocese Holy Name Society, we have the opportunity to pray with them at their monthly hour of prayer.
 
Joining the Club asks very little of your time. We come together once a month for our meetings, once a year for our wives/guests dinner, once a year for the Church raffle, and once a year for our barbecue chicken and sausage fundraiser. We also volunteer for the festival and a few other events. We have no dues; ask no promises, just a respect for each other and the most Holy Name of Jesus.  We have offered four $500 one-time scholarships to deserving entering college freshmen for the past several years.
 
Why join the Club?  We just offer opportunities.   Please come and check out our next meeting-- the second Monday of each month at 7 PM, Room 106 of the MFC.

PRAYER
Lord Jesus, you made Blessed John an apostle of your Holy Name. Grant the favor we now ask through his intercession, and if it be your will, honor Blessed John by numbering him among the saints of your Church. Amen.
John Rubba, O.P.