NAME: ________
FILL IN THE BLANK

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Name: ________ Fill in the Blank.”

How many times in a lifetime do we have to fill in a blank with our name?

How many times in a lifetime do people ask us for our name or how many situations are we in when we give our name?

How many times in a lifetime do we sign a check or an application form or what have you form with our name?

What is your name?

Do you like your name?

PURPOSE OF THIS TALK

In this talk I’d like to dabble in and babble about the sacredness of people’s name.

As a result of this talk, if you respect other’s names a bit more, if you learn one more person’s name – a person you see every day – then to me, this will be a successful talk, homily, sermon, whatever.

I still remember a moment two weeks after my ordination. It was in July of 1965. I was visiting a nursing home in Monticello, NY. In the room with a Catholic woman, was a Jewish woman. She showed me faded numbers on her arm. She was a survivor of a Nazi concentration camp.

Give people numbers – and it’s easier to depersonalize them.

Connect with people by name, and it’s more difficult to make them disappear.

I would assume and hope that Judaism, Christianity, all religions, teach strongly the sacredness, the importance, the power of one’s name.

Notice in Genesis – Adam is given power to name all the animals. Notice in Genesis and the rest of the books in our scriptures, the sacredness of names. “Hail Mary full of grace!”

TODAY’S READINGS

Today’s readings for the feast of the Birth of John the Baptist are rich in thought and reflection.

The Gospel from Luke presents the wonderful scene when Elizabeth is asked if her son is to be called, “Zechariah after his father?” and Elizabeth says, “No. He will be called John.”

The questioners react, “But no one among you is called John.”

They ask the father, who is speechless – a gospel way of making this an extraordinary moment.

Zechariah asks for a writing tablet and writes, “John, is his name!”

If your parents are alive, and you don’t know the answer, ask them, “Why did you give me the name you gave me?”

Do you like your name? Do you like your name?

Today’s first reading and Psalm – Psalm 139 – have some wonderful human reflections on our life before we are born – life in our mother’s womb.

When did our name start to appear to our parents?

Did they come up with a name and then when they saw us, they said, “No. It doesn’t fit.”

What did our mom and dad – especially our mom – reflect upon all those months and moments before we were born? What did she think when we kicked her in the stomach? What were her prayers?

If she is alive, talk to her about those moments. What are our thoughts about our destiny and our dreams? Are we close? Are we close to matching our realities to the dreams we have had for our life?

NAMING A CHILD

Birth is an awesome moment!

Naming a child is an awesome moment.

Nowadays, couples, who are pregnant, can find out if this child is a boy or a girl?

Some want to be surprised?

What was the process of our being named?

It’s a wonderful game – the naming of a child. The suggestions from friends and family are part of family life ritual. The ultimate choice is with the parents.

I was born on the feast of St. Andrew Avellino – and even though my parents were both Irish, I was named “Andrew!” after an Italian Saint – who was removed from the church calendar after Vatican II. A St. Leo the Great took his place. I still prefer “Andrew”. Apologies to any Leo’s here. Then my dad added, “His middle name will be Jackson!” And I was named, “Andrew Jackson!” Nice! It’s unique. My name is on the 20 dollar bill – and I’ve always known who the 7th president of the United States was.

And the reason for the Jackson is quite unique. When my dad was growing up in Ireland he heard priests say at times, “Our people in the United States need priests. Anyone interested? One of the presidents of the United States had some Catholic Roots, but since there was a shortage of priests in the United States, his Catholic roots were lost.”

A few years after my father died, my Aunt Nora sent me a short article ripped out of an Irish magazine that said all this on paper.

Surprise. What is your name? Why did they give you that name? What is your history?

Do you like your name? Do you like your name?

I’ve been to enough weddings, coffee breaks, when someone tells me a story about some priest who refused to name the child at baptism – the name that the parents wanted. “It has to be a saints name” – demanded the priest.”

I am glad that has changed. Yet I still hear that complaint from time to time. It’s up to the parents. I respect and honor and rejoice in their reasoning. The value the priest in the past who pushed for the saint’s name – was that it would hopefully help a person growing up to have a saint as a model.

But what about the modeling, the value of a parent’s or grandparent’s name or a family name – that this couple want to preserve and gift their child with?

SECRET HOPES

When I hear – about to be parents – discussing possible names for a child, I secretly hope for a few things – but I don’t say them out loud. I say to myself: ·

“Give your child a name that they won’t have to hear, ‘Could you spell that for me?’ for the rest of his or her life.”

“If he’s a boy, don’t give your boy a name other boys will make fun of. Think of what rhymes with names.”

“Give your boys a strong name. Give your girls a beautiful name – a name that tastes delicious. Remember M and L are the two most delicious letters in the English language.” I know this could be considered sexist, boys are to be strong and girls are to be beautiful, but notice I don’t say this out loud – only to myself. Okay, oops!, I just said it here and put my foot in my mouth.

Sometimes I do say the following, but way before parents name their child, because I don’t want to interfere. I mention to them, “Someone once said: ‘Go out on the back porch before your child is born and scream out the name you picked, ‘Jack get in here!’ ‘Mortimer get in here immediately.’

Then pick the name that sounds right in a scream.” If there are any Mortimer’s here, once more I apologize.

BAPTISM

A few comments about baptism before my conclusion.

Baptisms used to be days after a child was born – so perhaps the naming of the child in baptism – came on much quicker back then.

Now, it seems baptisms take place a few months after a birth – when mom has recovered – when family and friends can come from all over the country. Infant mortality has lessened tremendously.

At the beginning of the baptismal ceremony, the parents are still asked, “What name do you give your child?”

That moment can have lots of energy – but I would think not as much in the past -  because the kid has been around for quite a while.

The stress in Baptirms that I would push for is thanksgiving.

I love the moment in the TV mini series, “Roots” when Omoro, the father of Kunta – takes his new born son and stands there facing the skies and holds him up and says, “Behold the only thing greater than yourself!”

To me it was like the moment at Mass when the priest says, “This is my body. This is my blood.”

I would love it if parents were asked as they stand here in the sanctuary at St. Mary’s where baptisms take place to hold their baby and say together, “This is my body. This is my blood. We are giving our life for you.” I say this out loud at times myself – and a few times at St. Mary’s I ask the parents to place the baby on the altar and say after me, "This is my body.... This is my blood.... We're giving our life for you. I also hope that  the baby doesn’t leak. My thoughts on all  this are evolving.

ONE CONCLUSION

One practical conclusion would be the following. Let’s all work on respecting each other’s name. Let’s find out how another wants to be called – and how to pronounce their name. In a parish this big – name tags might help – but that pushes buttons at times. I think it would be more realistic to work on learning a new name each week if that is possible – or to learn our neighbor's name – or to really hear the waiter or waitress’ name and to use it when they bring more water or the check. “Thank you Jason.” “Thank you Jennifer.” And then give them a good tip.

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Photos on top: Wooden plaques inside a London church - that I noticed in 2009 - probably St. Paul's Actor's Church, London, England in Covent Garden Section of the city.