MONDAY DIARY: ALMOST EXCRUCIATINGLY TRUE STORIES: CAN YOU NAME THIS TUNE?

God sends the world blessings in ways in which we may not even be aware.  For example, I am so conflicted when it comes to assigning names that perhaps it was for the good of not messing up another human being that God called me to a vocation that required me to be a celibate.

I blame my sister Mickie for my lack in confidence for naming things.  When I was just a jot older than a foal, we got a dog.  My ever magnanimous sister offered to let me name him, which I did in an instant.

I mean, who WOULDN'T want a dog named Jonathon Benjamin?  She gave me the compromise names of either Raccoon (how THAT was a compromise I don't know) or Benny.  I chose Raccoon.  For a week.  And then was adamant about changing it to Benny which confused the entire neighborhood for six months.  As a result I have had difficulties assigning names in general every since.

When trying to name the new dog I tried to find names related to Sebastian.  They had crazy names back then.

The compromise name this time was Archer.  But . . . gee . . . this dog was just NOT an Archer.  Besides the upraised eyebrows of people thinking that he was named after the cartoon, far too many people kept saying, "Cool name.  Wrong dog."

So it was changed to G. K. Chesterton.  Chester for short.

And I like Chester.  People seem to go "Awwwww" when they hear it.  But is he a Chester?  You know, I don't know if he is the brightest bulb in the chandelier,  but I see potential in him.  He's just like St. Thomas Aquinas during is "Dumb Ox" stage.

IS IT ADAM'S ALE BLOG OR ADAM'S ALE'S BLOG?

Now for something controversial:  The name of your parish.

 

Catholics are at odds concerning the exact name of their parish.  Let us take, for example, the name of this parish:  St. Sebastian.  This is not St. Sebastian’s Church.  To begin with, we are part of the Roman Catholic Church, not St. Sebastian’s Church.  We are properly known as St. Sebastian Parish.  The church (little “c”) is the building in which we have Mass.  The Church (with a capitol “C”) is the greater Catholic Church.  So if you were going to say (or print) St. Sebastian church (with the little c) you mean a specific building on the campus.  If you say it with a capitol C, you are talking about a schism.  (Okay, that may be a little bit extreme, mostly said for comedic effect, but you get the point.)  The point is this is St. Sebastian Parish.

 

And it is NOT St. Sebastian’s Parish.  (I am sure I’ll get some push back on this.)  He doesn’t own it.  It is named after and enjoys the intercession of this (really cool) saint, but it is not his property.  Sacred Heart Parish is not “Sacred Heart’s Parish” nor is Sweetest Heart of Mary Parish in Detroit named “Sweetest Heart of Mary’s Parish.”  Your local elementary school is not King’s Elementary.  It is King Elementary.  So this parish is properly known as St. Sebastian Parish.

 

So, these work:

 

St. Sebastian Parish (everyone and everything connected to this place.)

St. Sebastian Roman Catholic Church (if you want to specify to whom we belong)

St. Sebastian church (if you want to specify where something is taking place at the parish)

St. Sebastian Parish Church (if you want a formal title for that building.)

WOULD A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME REALLY SMELL AS SWEET?

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are formal names.

We pray, “In the Name of . . .”

We baptize, “In the Name of . . .”

We bless, “In the Name of . . .’

We are saved by The Name above all other names.

We hold God’s Name as sacred.

But did you know that your name is sacred also? Not in the same degree, but sacred none the less.

When you received a name at your baptism it became your name for eternity. Even marriage is “until death do us part,” but your name is yours eternally. God calls us each by name and when He does so, “the mysterious and unique character of each person marked with God’s Name will shine forth in splendor.” (CCC 2158-2159)

A person’s name demands respect. It stands as an icon of the person and is a sign of the dignity of the person who bears it.

I hope you like your name.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are or fewer people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

10 million people in the word may have your name. That number could be multiplied a number of times over if one considers all those who may have your name in the Kingdom of Heaven. But in the mouth of God it is a unique calling. Like a parent who calls your name out in a crowded grocery store you know it is a distinct call to you. Only more so. Every angel, St. Thomas tells us, is so unique that each represents a sort of species unto its own. Our names are unique in a similar fashion and when God calls us by them 10 million people will not look up for all will know that he spoke your name and your name alone.


In this life he calls us to reflect Christ. We all cannot possibly reflect Christ perfectly. In fact we can only stumble about trying to be like Him partially. But He calls each of us by name to reflect Christ in our particular and unique way. We know what it is. It is a calling that rings something inside of us, makes us feel alive. It makes us excited to wake and tired but happy to bed. We are animated in talking about it. It is constructive and beautiful. Sometimes it seems unreasonable and often life tries to beat it out of us as we are called to fill our “normal” social roles.

What does your name mean?

This is not a calling to a vocation. That comes later. This is first a specific knowledge of what you are supposed to do or who you are supposed to be. It is a basic movement without a job title. Perhaps it is a movement toward the poor, or creating something beautiful, or imparting knowledge, or ennobling society. The list is endless. But when one finally hears his name being called and understands it (a process that hits many people in their 20s) then one needs to decide what kind of vocation will best allow for the living out of my calling.

Fake name and generator.

Then before the heavenly gates it will not only be a matter of how well you respected The Name, but how well you respected the name by which He called you.

WOULD AUNT ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME STILL BE AS SWEET?

Like your name?

I hope so.

According to the CCC (2159), “The name one receives at baptism is a name for eternity”.

Hmmm.

Please don’t get me wrong. I really, really like my name. It is a strong name with lots O’ history. “JOHN.” It means, “God is gracious” or as some etymologies put it, “God’s most gracious gift.” But I never go by it. I never have. Only the bishop and my Mom ever call me John. I was named after my grandpa and the Evangelist. I also had an uncle with the name and have a cousin with it. There were 5 people in my grade school class with the name and so we all took variations on John. 40% of my seminary class had the name John. (Okay, there were only 5 of us, but still.) At my last assignment there was a Fr. John, a deacon John, a Fr. Sean, and I was replaced by a Fr. John. (Hence the beauty of going by the name Fr. Valencheck.)

I can see it for all eternity, God will call out, “John,” and millions of people will look up and He’ll be forced to say, “No, not you, THAT John.” And millions of people will say, “Oh.”

Well, maybe not. It seems that in eternity each person’s name and person will be marked with a unique character of God, kind of like a fingerprint I suppose. “In the kingdom, the mysterious and unique character of each person marked with God’s name will shine forth in splendor (CCC 2159).” John Smiths of the world worry not. You will be unique in heaven.

But wow! If naming sticks forever, giving someone a name is pretty serious stuff. Giving a name is a special privilege (as is having someone named after you.) It is not insignificant that God let Adam choose the names of all the living creatures. “Whatever the man called each of them would be its name (Gen 2:19)”.

God did His own fare share of naming. He named Jesus, His Son, as well as John the Baptist. In “recreating” a person He symbolized a new state of happiness, a new way of life; new life! “You shall be called by a new name . . .(Is 62;2)” Thus Abram became Abraham; Sarai becomes Sarah; Jacob, Israel; Simon, Peter; Saul becomes Paul.

Naming puts us in special relation. Kids name pets, some people name certain possessions (cars, homes), businesses pay big bucks to name stadiums, and those who make scientific discoveries get to name them. We give nicknames to people we love (or really don’t love).

But none of these are as important as giving someone a baptismal name. “At baptism, the Lord’s name sanctifies the man, and the Christian receives his name in the Church (CCC 2156).” (Isn’t interesting that confirmation is the first time we officially name ourselves just as we are told that now we are responsible for our faith and to be disciples that brings His Good News to the world? Of course, one may ratify his baptismal name at confirmation too.)

In ancient times a name was given to identify the essence, nature, or function of the individual. St. Thomas Aquinas says, “Now, the names of individual men are always taken from some property of the men to whom they are given. Either in regard to time; thus men are named after the Saints on whose feast they are born: or in respect of some blood relations; thus a son is named after his father or some other relation, . . . Or, again from some occurrence; thus Joseph called the name of the first-born Manasses saying, “God hath made me to forget all my labors (Gen XLI;51). Or, again, from some quality of the person who receives the name; thus it is written (Gen. Xxv;25) that he came forth first was red and hairy like a skin; and his name was called Esau, which is interpreted red.” (SummaQ37 art 2 pt III)

Saint Ambrose of Milan and St. John Chrysostom urged parents to name their children carefully as they thought it was being done haphazardly. The Roman Catechism urged parents not to give their children strange, laughable, or obscene names. Saints names were urged as they gave the recipient a model of charity and a sure intercessor upon whom they might rely. Not to be left out were names of Christian virtues (like Hope, although I do not recommend Chastity at the moment) or Christian mysteries (Anastasius [resurrection], Athanasius [immortality]). One could easily imagine one of our Protestant parents naming their children in this tradition and having someone come up to you one day and saying, “Hi! My name is Rapture and I will be your hostess today!”

All silliness aside, our name is considered an icon of the person. Considering the importance of what is meant by the word icon in the Eastern Church, this is pretty serious stuff. Everyone’s name is sacred and demands respect “as a sign of the dignity of the one who owns it (CCC 2158)”.

So no matter what your name, find a way to accept, appreciate, and celebrate it. In some way it is more beautiful than you can know and more unique than seems possible. It is that by which God calls you (Jn 10;3).

And if you should blessed to name a person, bear in mind not only the honor but the great responsibility is picking the name by which even God will call that person.




Here are some sites for names and their meanings.