|
|
Spiritual GPS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
THINGS SEEM TO BE DISAPPEARING
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know, I must be getting old. When I was a kid we had lots of boys and
girls in the neighborhood. We had Marys and Pats and Genes and
Dorothys; a whole mixture of names that we really thought about at times.
Of course, we knew about Mary the Mother of Jesus. St. Patrick was a
good old guy who chased the snakes out of Ireland and so on. We even
looked forward to the day of their feast---mine was August 24, and might
even be coaxed by the Nuns to say a little prayer to them. Things have
change over the years.
Today when we look at the paper we see Kelseys, Bradys, Hunters,
Tanners and a number of names, some of which do not even have a vowel
in them and are for me even difficult to pronounce.
You might say, what does this have to do with the Legion of Mary? And in
a way you might be correct, but I am looking at the sad fact that for
centuries we could call our children after the Saints---not so today. It does
seem a shame though. And I might just add a little joking--What do you
thing our Saints are saying about the change?
Some of us old people at times spend our time in trying to learn more yet
before we die. There is a course by Professor Cook about the history of
the Catholic Church (a very good course by the way, from the Teaching
Company). One of the statements made by the professor is that a certain
Christianization took place somewhere after the invasion of the pagans in
Europe and conversion by the good Monks that suddenly instead of Pagan
names as the Vandals and Visigoths had, names of the Saints were given
to their children. A Christianization, if you will, of the known world. For
centuries we notice, and as a Priest I used to reflect on the change of
names that was taking place in the Baptismal Ledger. From Christian and
Saints' names to more mundane, common names that were creeping into
the ledger. The Church says we cannot use a bad name when bapttizing.
We were always taught in the seminary that when a child was to be
baptized and the name of a Saint was not involved to use "Mary" or
"Joseph" along with the child's name thus giving the child a Patron Saint.
You see, as a member of the Legion of Mary, I think we should strive to
Christianize the children of the Catholic Faith, rather than to forget about
the Saints who strove to give us the Faith we have, even giving up their
lives for it. It could be, as Professor Cook mentioned, we are in the age of
dechristianizing the Catholic world by forgetting about the Saints and what
they did for us. Do I really have anything against some of the names we
give our children? No, but I think a child of God deserves better at times
than the name of some pop star or a person of the soap opera group. At
least we can be happy about the many children that are bing named after
Biblical persons--maybe that also means that some of the Catholic parents
are now reading more of the Bible than in past ages.
I know that for many of us we have our hands tied regarding the names of
the children being baptized, but as some who are teachers of the children,
we might begin to instill the thought of giving baptismal names that are
religiously connected so that when, in years to come, when they have their
own children they might remember what you have said and we can start
again to Christianize our world as you can no doubt recognized how it has
gone the other way.
© Fr Louis Schlangen 2011
|
|
|
|
