Say Your Name

The title of today’s post is the assignment from Blogging 101 over at WordPress’ Blogging U.  Specifically, the task is to edit the title and tagline of one’s blog.  Having done this not too long ago prior to the beginning of the course, I am going to stick with what I have.  (This blog is published concurrently here and at WordPress as Journeys, in case you would like to visit with me there.)

I will share with you a bit about my name . . . or what it might have been.

My mom apparently wanted to name me “Mary Catherine,” but my dad thought it sounded “too Catholic.”  My parents were Methodist; my mom more into church attendance than my dad.

So . . . I ended up being christened with a completely different moniker after a cousin of my mother.

Up until the summer between first and second grades, we lived in an area where we passed by a Dominican Convent/College quite routinely.  I remember being fascinated by the sight of nuns strolling the grounds in their flowing, black-and-white habits and stating to my parents that “I want to be a nun.”

In the early 1960s there were probably a lot of little girls who wanted to be ballerinas and nurses but me?  I wanted to be a nun.

We moved from that area of Houston and time passed.  As I grew physically and spiritually, I found myself more drawn to the Catholic Church and began attending Mass on a regular basis.  Yes, I had “gone to church” as a Methodist to that point in my teens, but never found anything that resonated with me during those Sunday sessions.

I was fortunate to have tolerant and open-minded parents, who allowed me to explore my spirituality and supported me in those explorations.  I attended Methodist, Baptist and Catholic services, all the while being drawn back to the Catholic Church. 

In my teens, I began attending catechism classes in preparation for joining the Church, and converted to Catholicism during my early high school years.

My spiritual path has become a patchwork quilt of sorts over the decades since then.

I have always liked the flow of “Mary Catherine.”  Who knows?  Perhaps in a prior life or in a future one?  It also sounds rather Scottish to me and, of course, we all know how that turned out.

I’m married to a Scotsman!

Foreshadowing?

Ah well.  What’s in a name, eh?

“The earth has received the embrace of the sun and we shall see the results of that love.”

- Hunkesni (Sitting Bull), Hunkpapa Sioux, 1831-1890

365 Days of Walking the Red Road

Thanks for stopping by!

I am a Warrior.