Saturday, November 15, 2008

What's In A Name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."
William Shakespeare; Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

According to Mosignor Moraleda, the celebrant of the mass I attended this evening, there are three names that we carry as we live.

One is the 'name' we inherited from our predecessors. It is the name that our parents inherited from their parents, which will then be handed down to us the moment we are born. It is the name to which we belong in the sea of people here on earth.

The next one is the 'name' given to us by our parents. It is the name by which we are called by others. It is the identity that we are superficially known for; the one that somewhat makes us unique from the rest of the world.

And the last one is the 'name' that we will leave to our children or to our loved ones. It is the name that speaks for what we have done while we were living. It is the name that matters the most. The same name may have been bequeathed to us by our predecessors, and we may have the same name as others have, but the name that we have made out of such names will be the one that will be remembered long after we have departed this world.

The name founded on love is the only name that will matter before the Lord.

And so I quote Stephan Grellet's words:
“I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

How about you? What's with your name?

Maktub!


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