Would it make any diffference to you if that fragrant, beautiful, red flower with delicate petals and sharp thorns were called somethng else? Probably not. When I speak the word “rose” I do not have to say much more for you to understand, and somehow feel, the presence of that flower.
Would it make any difference to you if you were called something else? There are a ton of individuals named Mary or Alice but nevertheless every Mary or Alice –or Joe, for that matter–recognizes immediately when someone speaks their name.
Your name is uniquely yours. At a party, there can be an entire room full of people talking at the same time in various conversations but you can hear your own name above all the talk, no matter how loudly or softly it is spoken.
Someone recently asked me why Catholics choose a new name at their Confirmation.
Everyone knows that at Baptism the new Christian is called by name and christened
personally, using a given name: “I baptize you Theresa in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” But, why at Confirmation do we choose another name?
At Confirmation no new name is required. Your baptismal name is fine. Sometimes, another name, a saint’s name is chosen because the person to be confirmed has a favorite saint. “Francis,” for St. Francis; “Ann” for St. Ann,” are common examples.
Someday God will speak your secret name, a name that He alone knows (Rev. 2:17). He will speak it out of the immense silence of the universe and you will hear it and you will embrace it as your own. You will understand finally that God knows you as He knows Himself. And, you will know Him and speak His Name in love and thereby, please Him.