The Circumcision of Christ

Engraving by Wiericx after Bernardino Passeri, 23.4 x 14.6 cm. From “Annotations and Meditations on the Gospels” by Jerome Nadal, S.J., translated and edited by Frederick A. Homann, S.J., Philadelphia, St. Joseph University Press, © 2003. Luke 2:21. At the circumcision the name was given. Here, perhaps for the first time, the scene of the circumcision is presented together with the Jesuit monogram for the Name of Jesus. The letters IHS are transliterations of the first three Greek letters for the name “Iesous”: iota, eta, sigma. They are often made into a Latin acronym “Iesus Hominum Salvator” which sums up the meaning of the name: “Jesus, the Savior of Mankind” (cf. Matthew 1:21).