I’m told I have to choose one. At the moment I’m inclined toward Thomas, after Thomas the Apostle and Thomas Aquinas. It seems to me the two span the possibilities of faith seeking understanding. Both had faith, but they differed in their ability to say what it was about. In the end they weren’t so different—faith for both was deeper than questioning and exceeded all possible knowledge. Most of us are somewhere in between the two, closer to the Apostle maybe, but Aquinas gives us something to aspire to and it’s good to have them both in mind.
As a cradle Catholic, who
As a cradle Catholic, who was confirmed in the 4th grade, and whose entire memory of the event was feeling gypped because we didn’t get to wear red robes for the event, but our school uniforms instead, I envy you your pondering. Also, my parents made me choose a short name because all my other (admittedly gloriously Catholic) names were so long. Real prayerful choosing, huh?
I think having two Thomases rolled into one name is just fine!
If you have to be baptized, you should ideally get to rechoose your baptismal saint, too. Is there more than one St. James?
4th grade! That seems a bit
4th grade! That seems a bit early but I don’t know what people do. It does seem to me though that you ought to wait until a few glimmerings of reason start to appear.
There’s a St. James Major, so there must be at least one St. James not-so-major. My (Lutheran) baptism is acceptable to the authorities, so I suppose it’s just as well that I already seem to have a whole phalanx of saints behind me.
I am not a cradle Catholic
I am not a cradle Catholic and will be received into the Church this Easter. Can someone explain to me what the whole Confirmation name is and whether I can take one?
Of course you can take one
Of course you can take one you lucky fellow. My confirmation name is Michael. I recommend the great Saint and my real name, Paul (how conceited can you get?), but take any of the many Jewish (oh yes, Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) names you like.
You received your first and second communions when you were a relative baby. Your sixth grade confirmation in your red robes with your beautiful missal is your rational acceptance of your faith. Please never feel less than a cradle Catholic. Recall St. Paul and Cardinal Neuman.
I am confused on how the
I am confused on how the Confirmation Name is actually used. Is it incorporated into your existing name, or is it a totally alternative name? Can you use it as part of your legal name?
Because of Tammara’s
Because of Tammara’s posting, my attention was just drawn for the first time to Mr. Kalb’s posting at the top of this thread. As it happens, I’ll receive conditional baptism tomorrow evening and had already decided to choose Thomas as my confirmation name, on account of St. Thomas the Apostle and St. Thomas More. But I should have remembered St. Thomas Aquinas as well.
I am confused as to which
I am confused as to which communion name to take. I am a primary school teacher, so I would like to take the name of a saint who was committed to teaching and earning and of course, to the welfare of children. I had thought of st. catherine, but i was wondering if you have any other ideas. Does the name become part of my legal name? When is it necessay to use it?
It doesn’t become part of
It doesn’t become part of your legal name, and I don’t think you’re ever required to use it. Catherine does sound like a good choice. And congratulations!
I’m not Roman Catholic, so
I’m not Roman Catholic, so I’ve never heard of this – is it simply used in the confirmation ceremony? Do they call you by that name instead of your own?
BTW, what is confirmation? Is that similar to a Profession of Faith, as we traditionalist Protestants have, for those who wish to publicly proclaim their faith?
I don’t know of any real
I don’t know of any real function the confirmation name serves. You take it as part of the ceremony. There’s an account of what confirmation is at
http://www.christusrex.org/www1/CDHN/confirm.html#CONFIRMATION
Confirmation names are more
Confirmation names are more important now than ever. Americans in particular have dumped the traditional saints’ names and give their children faddish place names and surnames instead. So the confirmation name is the only nominal connection a child will have with any saint.
Tuesday is the feast of St. Eric. I make it a point to send my (Protestant) niece an appropriate message on that date. Her brother gets one at Michaelmas.
i’m a singaporean catholic
i’m a singaporean catholic who had celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation just yesterday (22 May). I chose the name ‘Clarence’ for St Clare of Assisi. Initially I wanted to choose Paul, but I decided to let my godmother choose and she chose Clarence =)