Theology of the Body: Hello...I'm [insert saint's name here]

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Hello...I'm [insert saint's name here]

Masaccio, Baptism of the Neophytes in the Brancacci Chapel, Florence, c. 1420s

MM, our delightful hostess, has recently and generously invited me to be a contributor to her little blog. As such, I have been instructed to introduce myself. I post under the name Garland at my own pet blog, Eye & Mind, devoted to my two favorite subjects, religion and art. Religion here means specifically the "Catholic" religion in the old-time sense, e.g. the Roman Catholic expression of our received faith. This is, at the moment, a technicality. The technicality being that I am not yet a Roman Catholic. This ambiguity will be cleared up soon, however, as I am going to be received into communion with Holy Mother Church this Easter, at the Easter Vigil.

Concomitant with my confirmation is the need to select a confirmation name, the name of a saint whose life will be a model of Christian charity and self-sacrafice for my own and an intercessor on my behalf before the throne of Heaven. The problem is, I can't decide, and so I am inviting you, faithful readers to help me out on this one. Names I have considered are (in no particular order):

St. Paul, aside from his commitment to the Gospel, this name resonates with my baptismal name of Timothy.

St. Peter, an appropriate figure for someone turning towards the See of Peter.

St. Francis: I know, I know. Everyone loves St. Francis, and indeed, they should, but here I think that "Timothy Francis" has a nice ring to it.
St. Joseph, since this is the name of my sponsor in converting, and also St. Joseph's obedience is an excellent model of the Christian life.

St. Mark, primarily because St. Mark's Gospel is currently in the cycle of readings.

St. Luke, patron saint of artists.

In the category of "sounds nice," I also like Xavier (prncd: Zav-ee-ay), but this is probably too much.

All these personages can be looked up in the Catholic Encyclopedia. At the moment, I am leaning towards Peter, "Timothy Peter" not sounding terribly awkward on the ear and he being of course, the Rock of the Church, but I'd take other suggestions as well.

I have added, not merely for decorative purposes, Masaccio's fresco above as a reminder that although we (rightly) focus on the cross and resurrection at Easter, it is not only Christ's resurrection that we celebrate, but our own, effected through the waters of baptism. It is especially exciting to think of those who will be receiving the sacrament of baptism at the Easter Vigil this year. I hope that we will keep them all firmly in our prayers this week, and for ourselves, since we will be renewing our baptismal vows.