Luca, Antonio, Giancarlo were among the boy names I had advocated.  Becky was not buying.  "They don't quite sound the same when said with a southern accent," was her rationale.  I think there was more to it.

Thomas Murphy was recently talking about the great power we have been given in naming things.  "This thing is great."  "Don't expect too much."  "We are not in a recession."  "We are in a recession."  "Bless their heart."  It is not simply people we name, it is also situations and what we expect from our lives and the lives of others. 

Naming is a way we create our own expectations or lack thereof, a way we  create certain realities for ourselves.

Jesus is not a unique name.  A visit to Latin America will verify that.  It does name something: saving, salvation.  It names what we have come to hope for in this one: one who brings freedom to our lives, freedom from fear, freedom from our insatiable appetites for consumption, freedom from the need to control and dominate people, our futures, and our hopes, freedom to be at peace with ourselves and those around us.

It is why the church marks on its calendar The Feast of the Holy Name.  It is a time to pause and reflect on the overall power of naming.  It is a time to reflect on what has been named in and through the life of Jesus.

Please join us tomorrow, January 1, at noon as we contemplate what has and is being named in our lives.

Blessed Christmas,

Todd Donatelli