St. Dominic -- A Saint After My Own Heart

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My husband, Bill, tells me that there was a tradition in his hometown, which was composed primarily of devoted Catholics who immigrated to this country from the northwestern part of Germany and Holland to southwestern Illinois, for families to name their children the saint whose feast day it was on the day of the child's birth. For example, if you gave birth on the feast day of St. John Vianney, your child would be named after him -- John if the child was a boy and Jean, if a girl.

I have confirmation from several senior citizens in Bill’s hometown that this story is indeed true. The parents of my brother - in - law, Felix, wanted to name him Ralph, but their parish priest denied their request and insisted that he be named Felix, as he was born on that saint's feast day. Can you imagine that happening today with people so demanding of all their rights and "freedoms"?

Today is the feast of St. Dominic and my birthday, and I have to admit that I am happy that tradition was not commonplace in the area where I was born, as I am not all that fond of the name Dominica. However, I have a special affinity to St. Dominic because his feast day is on my birthday. He celebrates his entrance into eternal life on the day I rejoice in the gift of my life and my entrance on earth.

My mom and my dad did have a strong devotion for the Blessed Virgin Mary, so they gave me the middle name of Marie -- the French version of Mary. I took Catherine for my confirmation name after St. Catherine of Siena -- the well-known Dominican Doctor of the Church.

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Comments

  1. Manny11:07 pm, August 09, 2014

    I love St. Dominic too. If I were to join an order, I would be a Dominican. St. Dominic pray for us.

    ReplyDelete

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