Tags
existence, God, Hearts on Fire, Joseph Tetlow SJ, Lord, name, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

It took me a long time to get comfortable with my name. My mother, I have heard, was looking for names that didn’t have the likelihood of devolving into nicknames. (That was a lost cause!) I think she was also interested in finding names that were uncommon, if not really unique. (The majority of Catholic girls of my age had a Mary or Marie attached somehow.) The one thing that comforted me about my name (although I was often asked where Superman was hiding) was that I was the only Lois in my class from kindergarten through high school.
Today I came across a prayer by Joseph Tetlow, SJ that focused more on who we are in the eyes of God and how our name becomes us as we grow into that identity. Knowing that I am unique in all the world (as we all are) because of God’s call, I pray:
Oh, Lord my God, you called me from the sleep of nothingness merely because in your tremendous love you want to make good and beautiful beings. You have called me by my name in my mother’s womb. You have given me breath and light and movement and walked with me every moment of my existence. I am amazed, Lord God of the universe, that you attend to me and, more, cherish me. Create in me the faithfulness that moves you and I will trust you and yearn for you all my days. Amen. (Hearts on Fire, p.14)