From my mother’s womb he gave me my name

“The LORD called me from birth, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name. He made of me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory.” (IS 49: 1-3)

Our parents chose the name for us: after our grandparents, after their friends, after their favorite saints or after famous people. They spoke about it, they asked for some opinions; they checked how it would match with the family name, and finally we received our names and were baptized. Our name was known to God much earlier than our parents fought about it; He “called us from birth, from our mother’s womb he gave us our names.”

“Hail to you, our King, obedient to the Father; you were led to your crucifixion like a gentle lamb to the slaughter.” (Gospel Acclamation)