If You Could Choose A Religious Name For Yourself

[laetitia crucis]

[quote name='MaterMisericordiae' date='01 March 2010 - 05:39 PM' timestamp='1267479542' post='2064932']
I would have always expected that you would want:

Sr. M. Laetitia Crucis

But Amata Veritas is beautiful! (Love and Truth). Very Dominican.



[/quote]




I've been praying about "laetitia" for a long time now, especially since leaving my former community (where my name included "laetitia" in another language). As much as I [i]heart [/i]that name (oh, how I love it!!), virtue, and believe it's part of my "mission" in this life... I talked to my closest friend (and a few others that know me well) about what I'd been thinking and praying about. I spoke with all of these people separately and they all seemed to confirm that same thing: "New life -- new name!"

They also know about the difficulties and heartaches I experienced on multiple levels.

One said, "That community did not know who you, nor did they want to; instead, they tried to make you someone you simply were not meant to be. They made you 'Sr. Mary So-and-So'. Don't hold on to that in any form."

The more I thought and prayed about this, the more at peace I became in no longer having anything to "attach" me to that former experience, you know? I think having a new name would help with the whole "tabula rasa", you know? I think I honestly need that.

And surprisingly, I'm at peace about that possibility. I really can't believe how at peace I am about the thought of not having "laeitia" as part of my religious name... I might have to pinch myself a few times. I think having a new name would really bring me some final closure.

(Although, God knows just how much I love the name "Maria Laetitia Crucis". I offer that to Him! )

[JTheresa]

[quote name='laetitia crucis' date='01 March 2010 - 01:35 PM' timestamp='1267464914' post='2064787']
So, I've been pondering this religious name thing lately, and I think I'm down to these three (in preferred order):

1. Sr. Amata Veritas Mariae
2. Sr. M. Amata Veritatis
3. Sr. M. Amata Veritas

Please notice the genitives in #1 and #2.

[i]Nonchalant [/i]ways of adding a title in, doncha think?

I guess it's a good thing I can suggest three names and "Mary" is a required part of the name given...


[/quote]

This is what my community does. If you don't have a form of Mary already included in your name, Maria is automatically added to the front, but is understood.

My top three as of now are:
Lucy Marie
Lucia Therese
Theresa Marie ( I think I'll have to fight alrichey over that one )
Or other combinations and forms of those three.
I had a HUGE list, but they just sounded good and didn't mean anything personal to me, so I took them off. The possibilities are endless!!

[Sister Marie]

[quote name='JTheresa' date='24 May 2010 - 10:17 PM' timestamp='1274757440' post='2117005']
This is what my community does. If you don't have a form of Mary already included in your name, Maria is automatically added to the front, but is understood.

My top three as of now are:
Lucy Marie
Lucia Therese
Theresa Marie ( I think I'll have to fight alrichey over that one )
Or other combinations and forms of those three.
I had a HUGE list, but they just sounded good and didn't mean anything personal to me, so I took them off. The possibilities are endless!!
[/quote]

That is what my community does also except Mary is automatically attached to the front if it isn't already in the name. I only requested one name and I did receive my choice but when I was practicing with our superior for the rite of Reception she kept teasing me saying, "Sister, in religion you will be known as... Sylvester, Prudentissima, Polycarp, Ignatius..." and so on. I was relieved when the day came and I received the name I had submitted!
During a special Compline on our community Feast Day we request our name. We also write a short explanation of why we are asking for the name. After we write our choices and explanation during the time of the response to the reading we place it on the altar and at the end of prayers our directress takes the paper to the general superior. It is a simple but beautiful custom.

[Cherie]

That's what our community did, as well - there is always a form of "Mary" in the name: either Mary, Marie, or Maria. (The Marie's outdid the Mary's by a few... and there was only one Maria!)

We could submit three choices, and the Superior could choose one of the three, or she could choose a completely different one. It was all up to the Holy Spirit!

My choices were:

1. Faustina Marie
2. Marie Therese
3. Mary Magdalen

We could also submit three titles we liked, but I can't remember which ones I had chosen.

I got "Mary Faustina of Our Lady of Mercy"

[laetitia crucis]

[quote name='CherieMadame' date='25 May 2010 - 08:44 AM' timestamp='1274791464' post='2117169']
That's what our community did, as well - there is always a form of "Mary" in the name: either Mary, Marie, or Maria. (The Marie's outdid the Mary's by a few... and there was only one Maria!)

We could submit three choices, and the Superior could choose one of the three, or she could choose a completely different one. It was all up to the Holy Spirit!

My choices were:

1. Faustina Marie
2. Marie Therese
3. Mary Magdalen

We could also submit three titles we liked, but I can't remember which ones I had chosen.

I got "Mary Faustina of Our Lady of Mercy"
[/quote]

I love your religious name, CM! I especially love when the name matches the title SO well!

And call me "picky" or "high maintenance" but I really do wish all communities gave titles along with religious names.

[JTheresa]

[quote name='laetitia crucis' date='25 May 2010 - 09:09 AM' timestamp='1274792955' post='2117183']
I love your religious name, CM! I especially love when the name matches the title SO well!

And call me "picky" or "high maintenance" but I really do wish all communities gave titles along with religious names.
[/quote]
Me too! Our community does, but because of a miracle our dear Saint Joseph bestowed on our foundress, every sisters title is "of Saint Joseph". I like it, but I think it would be really cool to have a title like "of Our Lady of Grace" or "of Our Lady, seat of Wisdom" or something like that.

[laetitia crucis]

[quote name='JTheresa' date='24 May 2010 - 11:17 PM' timestamp='1274757440' post='2117005']
This is what my community does. If you don't have a form of Mary already included in your name, Maria is automatically added to the front, but is understood.

My top three as of now are:
Lucy Marie
Lucia Therese
Theresa Marie ( I think I'll have to fight alrichey over that one )
Or other combinations and forms of those three.
I had a HUGE list, but they just sounded good and didn't mean anything personal to me, so I took them off. The possibilities are endless!!
[/quote]


[quote name='Sister Marie' date='25 May 2010 - 08:01 AM' timestamp='1274788885' post='2117160']
That is what my community does also except Mary is automatically attached to the front if it isn't already in the name. I only requested one name and I did receive my choice but when I was practicing with our superior for the rite of Reception she kept teasing me saying, "Sister, in religion you will be known as... Sylvester, Prudentissima, Polycarp, Ignatius..." and so on. I was relieved when the day came and I received the name I had submitted!

[b]During a special Compline on our community Feast Day we request our name. We also write a short explanation of why we are asking for the name. After we write our choices and explanation during the time of the response to the reading we place it on the altar and at the end of prayers our directress takes the paper to the general superior. It is a simple but beautiful custom.[/b]
[/quote]

This is so beautiful, Sister Marie!

Also, I must say that I am quite amused to see that so many of us "dread" the name Polycarp. And in looking at JTheresa's List (which I think are GREAT names, by the way!) it makes me wonder what the most "popular" names in Religion are.



At least in this thread, it seems many love names with Faustina, Therese, and Magdalen. I think that's pretty cool.

And on a personal note, my List keeps changing. One of the "big" things that keeps coming up is that fact that even though I [i]heart[/i] names in Latin... (it is truly my preference) the fact is, they're hard to pronounce for most people. I've lived my whole life with a name that is somehow difficult for people to pronounce... to say the least, it's [i]very[/i] rare that someone gets it right the first time. This has always been somewhat frustrating. (Growing up, I always longed for a "normal" name -- that is, until middle school when I realized the spiffiness of having a totally different name.)

So. Yeah... I'm leaning now towards a "normal" name. One that is easily recognizable and pronounceable. St. Thomas Aquinas has been stalking me over the past year and then some. So, here's my Ever-Evolving List:

1. M. Grace Aquinas
2. M. Amata (I still think this is too "foreign" sounding for many people... but O, how I love it.)
3. M. Aquinas

For the record I still prefer my list from March 1, 2010 over these... but given the circumstances (and what could be called a "grace of prudence" or not) the above seem somewhat "normal". Plus, it's hard for me to imagine my non-Catholic family calling me by a Latin name... or even someone "super-Catholic" sounding. Like Aquinas.

Oh well. It's all in God's hands.

[vee]

[quote name='CherieMadame' date='25 May 2010 - 07:44 AM' timestamp='1274791464' post='2117169']

I got "Mary Faustina of Our Lady of Mercy"
[/quote]


Oh I love it!

[vee]

[quote name='Sister Marie' date='25 May 2010 - 07:01 AM' timestamp='1274788885' post='2117160']
That is what my community does also except Mary is automatically attached to the front if it isn't already in the name. I only requested one name and I did receive my choice but when I was practicing with our superior for the rite of Reception she kept teasing me saying, "Sister, in religion you will be known as... Sylvester, Prudentissima, Polycarp, Ignatius..." and so on.
[/quote]

I laughed out loud when I read that!

[vee]

[quote name='laetitia crucis' date='25 May 2010 - 08:27 AM' timestamp='1274794028' post='2117197']
St. Thomas Aquinas has been stalking me over the past year and then some.
[/quote]

[Tridenteen]

JMJ
Sr. Latarae Marie of the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

All of you have often given a lot of time and thought to this. Obviously, I haven't, so forgive me if my answers veer to the light side, because I've never given this serious thought.

In our "silly" April Fool's order, I was Sister Dewey Decimal of the Well-Cataloged Library.

St. Jerome is the patron saint of librarians, so that is a possibility.

I've always liked St. Scholastica for some reason. I just looked her up, and the name Scholastica means "she who has leisure to study." Yup, that's me.

There are patron saints of cats, but no patron saints of gorillas. Of course there is St. Francis, but he already has lots of people named after him. Dian Fosse, who was killed working with gorillas, isn't a saint (although she could have been). However, there is a Saint Diane (who I don't know anything about).

I was looking up a patron saint for people with sleep disorders, and the closest I came was St. Dymphna, who is the patron saint of sleepwalkers. Interestingly, although she is best known for being the patron saint of those with nervous disorders, she is also the patron saint of Princesses! I thought that was an interesting combination. [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/think_chin.gif[/img]

I've also become interested in the founder of the Sisters across the Street, the Blessed Pauline von Mallinckrodt.

However, in the end, the best fit is probably Sister Scholastica Dymphna, of the Late Rising.

I am one of the those who heartily wishes that St. Benedict had a hard time getting up in the morning and set a very different "rule." I sometimes wonder how many lost vocations there are for people, who like me, honestly just can't get up at 5:30 (or even earlier). Even when I was in my 20's, and not sick, I had a very hard time getting up very early--I'd be nauseous, and feel sick, and my mind couldn't think clearly. I'm probably the only person who got through college and grad school without pulling an all-nighter--in fact, I got my best grades when I got a good night's sleep the night before. (Of course, now we know that I probably had a sleep disorder, even back then.) Now that I have other health symptoms, it's pretty clear that my body would never "get used to" getting up very early, as most people do.

So, for people who think I could have a vocation, the practical answer is that my body couldn't adapt to the rule of any Order I know of--it just couldn't. Take my word for it, or I'll bore you with the 6 pages of results in the report of my sleep test. [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/cool.gif[/img] Although I'm fascinated by Sisters/Nuns, I think the biggest reason may be because I'm a closet sociologist who is fascinated about the interworkings of communities. On the plus side, I've reached the stage where I care very little about what I wear, or make-up, or hair, so the idea of having very short hair, covered by a veil, and wearing a habit every day, especially one I like, would be a real "plus." But, unfortunately, I'm just not holy, even during times when I tried very hard--small detail there. [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/idontknow.gif[/img] And, particularly since I've been married, I just like men too much. Despite my interest in nuns/Sisters, I fantasize about being married again, never about becoming a nun/Sister.

All that said, I truly think it's great that so many of you have religious vocations. The world needs you very much--far mor than it realizes. And, you can make up for people like me, although, in fact, I try to do no harm, and maybe even a little good. But, mostly, you'll find me hidden behind a book somewhere. [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/book.gif[/img]

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

All of you have often given a lot of time and thought to this. Obviously, I haven't, so forgive me if my answers veer to the light side, because I've never given this serious thought.

In our "silly" April Fool's order, I was Sister Dewey Decimal of the Well-Cataloged Library.

St. Jerome is the patron saint of librarians, so that is a possibility.

I've always liked St. Scholastica for some reason. I just looked her up, and the name Scholastica means "she who has leisure to study." Yup, that's me.

There are patron saints of cats, but no patron saints of gorillas. Of course there is St. Francis, but he already has lots of people named after him. Dian Fosse, who was killed working with gorillas, isn't a saint (although she could have been). However, there is a Saint Diane (who I don't know anything about).

I was looking up a patron saint for people with sleep disorders, and the closest I came was St. Dymphna, who is the patron saint of sleepwalkers. Interestingly, although she is best known for being the patron saint of those with nervous disorders, she is also the patron saint of Princesses! I thought that was an interesting combination. [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/think_chin.gif[/img]

I've also become interested in the founder of the Sisters across the Street, the Blessed Pauline von Mallinckrodt.

However, in the end, the best fit is probably Sister Scholastica Dymphna, of the Late Rising.

I am one of the those who heartily wishes that St. Benedict had a hard time getting up in the morning and set a very different "rule." I sometimes wonder how many lost vocations there are for people, who like me, honestly just can't get up at 5:30 (or even earlier). Even when I was in my 20's, and not sick, I had a very hard time getting up very early--I'd be nauseous, and feel like I had the flu, and my mind couldn't think clearly. I'm probably the only person who got through college and grad school without pulling an all-nighter--in fact, I got my best grades when I got a good night's sleep the night before. (Of course, now we know that I probably had a sleep disorder, even back then.) Now that I have other health symptoms, it's pretty clear that my body would never "get used to" getting up very early, as most people are able to do.

So, for people who think I could have a vocation, the practical answer is that my body couldn't adapt to the rule of any Order I know of--it just couldn't. Take my word for it, or I'll bore you with the 6 pages of results in the report of my sleep test. [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/cool.gif[/img] Although I'm fascinated by Sisters/Nuns, I think the biggest reason may be because I'm a closet sociologist who is fascinated about the interworkings of communities. On the plus side, I've reached the stage where I care very little about what I wear, or make-up, or hair, so the idea of having very short hair, covered by a veil, and wearing a habit every day, especially one I like, would be a real "plus."

But, one of the biggest reasons is that unfortunately, I'm just not holy, even during times when I tried very hard. [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/idontknow.gif[/img]

Also, particularly since I've been married, (and really liked being married), I just like men too much. Despite my interest in nuns/Sisters, I fantasize about being married again, never about becoming a nun/Sister.

All that said, I truly think it's great that so many of you have religious vocations. The world needs you very much--far more than it realizes. And, you can help make up for people like me, although, in fact, I try to do no harm, and maybe even a little good. But, mostly, you'll find me hidden behind a book somewhere. [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/book.gif[/img]

Edited May 25, 2010 by IgnatiusofLoyola

[Mary Veronica]

[quote name='IgnatiusofLoyola' date='25 May 2010 - 03:19 PM' timestamp='1274815199' post='2117395']
All of you have often given a lot of time and thought to this. Obviously, I haven't, so forgive me if my answers veer to the light side, because I've never given this serious thought.

In our "silly" April Fool's order, I was Sister Dewey Decimal of the Well-Cataloged Library.

St. Jerome is the patron saint of librarians, so that is a possibility.

I've always liked St. Scholastica for some reason. I just looked her up, and the name Scholastica means "she who has leisure to study." Yup, that's me.

There are patron saints of cats, but no patron saints of gorillas. Of course there is St. Francis, but he already has lots of people named after him. Dian Fosse, who was killed working with gorillas, isn't a saint (although she could have been). However, there is a Saint Diane (who I don't know anything about).

I was looking up a patron saint for people with sleep disorders, and the closest I came was St. Dymphna, who is the patron saint of sleepwalkers. Interestingly, although she is best known for being the patron saint of those with nervous disorders, she is also the patron saint of Princesses! I thought that was an interesting combination. [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/think_chin.gif[/img]

I've also become interested in the founder of the Sisters across the Street, the Blessed Pauline von Mallinckrodt.

However, in the end, the best fit is probably Sister Scholastica Dymphna, of the Late Rising.

[/quote]


plus 1!

Edited June 18, 2010 by Mary Veronica

[OnlySunshine]

This is another I would add to my list:

Sr. Mary Martin de Porres

St. Martin is awesome!