kong
12-03-2009, 02:12 PM
Namedays
The celebration of birthdays is not the original practice in Catholic homes. It only spread within the past few centuries, replacing the earlier Christian custom of observing the feast day of the saint whose name was acquired in Baptism.
Directions
The celebration of saints' feasts is a part of the liturgical life of the Church. Thus any person observing the feast of "his" saint immediately enters into the warm sphere of liturgical radiation and spiritual enrichment. Compared to this, the celebration of the birthday is more worldly, merely natural, and almost accidental in its lack of significance.
It is not necessary that we do away with our customary birthday celebrations. But we should certainly try to restore the meaningful Catholic tradition of celebrating the feast of the saint whose name was given in Baptism and who is our personal patron, loving and helping us whether we observe or neglect his veneration. Children will surely not object to the keeping of the nameday, for to them it will mean, besides all its other significance, another personal feast day every year.
If a child has been taught to pray to his patron saint every night, he will greet the feast of this saint with a thrill of joy and spiritual elevation. It is his "own" feast, and the whole family should make him happily aware of it. After all, birth is a common event shared with the same significance by all members of the family. The patron saint, however, is not usually shared with brothers or sisters, thus making his feast so unique and exclusive at least in its psychological aspect.
According to ancient traditions the nameday is festively held in Christian homes. I remember how from early childhood I went to church with my father every year on the feast of St. Francis Xavier, attending the holy Sacrifice, and later receiving Communion, too. Returning home I found the table cheerfully decorated with flowers and little presents. Mother, father, brothers and sisters offered their congratulations. Then we sat down to a joyful breakfast, my proud little self sitting in the place of honor. And all this because centuries ago a wonderful young man in Spain had loved God so much that he became a saint. I cannot express the powerful conviction that filled me every year on this occasion, how great and important it is to become holy. This was one of the eloquent lessons which our religious customs taught me without words but with an effect greater than many words could achieve. Judging from this aspect we may truly say that such Catholic customs in the home educate the children more efficiently than the best Catholic teachers could ever do in school.
Activity Source: Year of the Lord in the Christian Home, The (reprinted as Religious Customs in the Family) by Francis X. Weiser, S.J., The Liturgical Press; reprinted by TAN Books and Publishers, 1964
http://www.tanbooks.com/index.php/page/shop:flypage/product_id/519/
What is a Nameday?
A wonderful explanation of the importance of a name and the practice of namedays.
Directions
God calls each one by name (Cf. Is 43:1; Jn 10:3). Everyone's name is sacred. The name is the icon of the person. It demands respect as a sign of the dignity of the one who bears it. (#2158, Catechism of the Catholic Church).
Importance of Names
Our name is part of the great mystery of our being. It somehow expresses to us and to others our essential uniqueness, even though the same name could well be shared by thousands of others. When we hear our name being called, it gives us an unaccountable thrill. We have sense of being known and accepted for who we really are. We are somehow compassed by our name and at the sound of it something deep within responds joyfully, "Yes, that's me!—that's who I am." Our name is, as it were, a bridge that provides linkage with 'other(s)' across the moats of distance that sometimes surround us.
When parents are asked why they chose the names they did for their children, they often say that although they had selected other names prior to the birth of their child, they inexplicably changed their minds after the babies were born. One new father told me he had searched through countless names during the long months of waiting for the arrival of his child, but none of the names seemed quite right. On the day he walked into the hospital ward to visit his wife and meet his newborn daughter, his wife handed him a book of names, and he recounts with some surprise that a name immediately 'jumped out' and 'spoke' to him, and he knew without a doubt this was the name he had been seeking. One might say that it's almost as if children bring their names with them and somehow transmit this knowledge to their parents.
Christians should not be surprised to learn that God, Himself, chooses our names. In the Old Testament we read:
Yahweh called me before I was born. From my mother's womb He pronounced my name.(Is 49:1).
God changed Abram's name to Abraham, his wife Sarai's name to Sarah and foretold a year in advance that Sarah would give birth to a son and that he was to be named Isaac (Gn 17).
In the New Testament, the Angel Gabriel twice brought messages that included names for babies not yet conceived; telling Zechariah that he must name the baby John (the Baptist), and telling Mary that she must call her Son, Jesus (Lk 1:13; Lk 1:31). We might be tempted to wonder what difference it would have made if Jesus or John had received other names. Yet, it seemed to be a matter of some importance to God. Our names, therefore, would appear to have an important that goes beyond just being stick-on labels for identification purposes.
What is a Nameday?
A Nameday is the feast day of our Patron Saint. This begets another question: Who is my Patron Saint? [The Church has honored some] men and women who have lived through the centuries in such a holy manner as to have been declared by the Church to be Saints or Blesseds. If we bear the name of one of these, this Saint is known as our Patron. Each Saint has been assigned a feast day by the Church. The feast day of your Patron Saint will be the day on which you celebrate your Nameday.
Nameday Tradition
For centuries it has been the custom in Catholic countries to celebrate Namedays even more than birthdays. This tradition is still very much alive in Europe and South America, and continued to flourish even during times when religious freedom was curtailed.
Immigrants to Canada and the United States from countries that observe Namedays are already carrying on the practice in North America in the same way they did while they were in the country of birth...
Celebrating Namedays
Socially, cards and small gifts of flowers or candies are usually given to those celebrating their Nameday. Spiritually, one would normally have a devotion to one's Patron Saint, and pray to them regularly, especially when in need. A Patron Saint, we can be sure, will be watching over those named in their honour, and will be protecting them in a special way.
Activity Source: Nameday Book, The: A Book of Saints, Names, Anniversaries and Celebrations by Compiled by Sister Theodora of the Trinity, Alba House, New York, 2000
http://www.albahouse.org/Nameday.htm
Nameday Ideas for the Feast of St. Frances Xavier
Feast is December 3. Includes dessert ideas, prayer and decorations.
Directions
St. Francis falls into the old category of "Confessors". The term "confessor" is used to designate those men of remarkable virtue and knowledge who proclaimed the faith of Christ before the world by the practice of heroic virtue, by their writings, and by their preaching. After the age of the early martyrs, such persons received veneration by the faithful, and chapels (martyria) were erected in their honor, a privilege previously reserved to martyrs.
St. Francis Xavier's immortal fire of love for Christ still draws missionaries to high adventure for God and souls. His symbols include: bell; crucifix; vessel; Pilgrim's staff; rosary; lily; font; ship and crucifix; globe.
Father: The mouth of the just man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justly. All: The law of God is in his heart. Father: Let us pray. O God, it is a joy for us to celebrate yearly the feast of Your confessor St. Francis Xavier. May we who commemorate his birthday also initiate his example. Through Christ, our Lord. All: Amen. Christ conquers, Christ reigns!
Dessert Ideas: Cut-up cake in the shape of a ship, Confessor's Light Chocolate Cake with Nameday Chocolate Ice Cream.
Activity Source: My Nameday — Come for Dessert by Helen McLoughlin, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, 1962
The celebration of birthdays is not the original practice in Catholic homes. It only spread within the past few centuries, replacing the earlier Christian custom of observing the feast day of the saint whose name was acquired in Baptism.
Directions
The celebration of saints' feasts is a part of the liturgical life of the Church. Thus any person observing the feast of "his" saint immediately enters into the warm sphere of liturgical radiation and spiritual enrichment. Compared to this, the celebration of the birthday is more worldly, merely natural, and almost accidental in its lack of significance.
It is not necessary that we do away with our customary birthday celebrations. But we should certainly try to restore the meaningful Catholic tradition of celebrating the feast of the saint whose name was given in Baptism and who is our personal patron, loving and helping us whether we observe or neglect his veneration. Children will surely not object to the keeping of the nameday, for to them it will mean, besides all its other significance, another personal feast day every year.
If a child has been taught to pray to his patron saint every night, he will greet the feast of this saint with a thrill of joy and spiritual elevation. It is his "own" feast, and the whole family should make him happily aware of it. After all, birth is a common event shared with the same significance by all members of the family. The patron saint, however, is not usually shared with brothers or sisters, thus making his feast so unique and exclusive at least in its psychological aspect.
According to ancient traditions the nameday is festively held in Christian homes. I remember how from early childhood I went to church with my father every year on the feast of St. Francis Xavier, attending the holy Sacrifice, and later receiving Communion, too. Returning home I found the table cheerfully decorated with flowers and little presents. Mother, father, brothers and sisters offered their congratulations. Then we sat down to a joyful breakfast, my proud little self sitting in the place of honor. And all this because centuries ago a wonderful young man in Spain had loved God so much that he became a saint. I cannot express the powerful conviction that filled me every year on this occasion, how great and important it is to become holy. This was one of the eloquent lessons which our religious customs taught me without words but with an effect greater than many words could achieve. Judging from this aspect we may truly say that such Catholic customs in the home educate the children more efficiently than the best Catholic teachers could ever do in school.
Activity Source: Year of the Lord in the Christian Home, The (reprinted as Religious Customs in the Family) by Francis X. Weiser, S.J., The Liturgical Press; reprinted by TAN Books and Publishers, 1964
http://www.tanbooks.com/index.php/page/shop:flypage/product_id/519/
What is a Nameday?
A wonderful explanation of the importance of a name and the practice of namedays.
Directions
God calls each one by name (Cf. Is 43:1; Jn 10:3). Everyone's name is sacred. The name is the icon of the person. It demands respect as a sign of the dignity of the one who bears it. (#2158, Catechism of the Catholic Church).
Importance of Names
Our name is part of the great mystery of our being. It somehow expresses to us and to others our essential uniqueness, even though the same name could well be shared by thousands of others. When we hear our name being called, it gives us an unaccountable thrill. We have sense of being known and accepted for who we really are. We are somehow compassed by our name and at the sound of it something deep within responds joyfully, "Yes, that's me!—that's who I am." Our name is, as it were, a bridge that provides linkage with 'other(s)' across the moats of distance that sometimes surround us.
When parents are asked why they chose the names they did for their children, they often say that although they had selected other names prior to the birth of their child, they inexplicably changed their minds after the babies were born. One new father told me he had searched through countless names during the long months of waiting for the arrival of his child, but none of the names seemed quite right. On the day he walked into the hospital ward to visit his wife and meet his newborn daughter, his wife handed him a book of names, and he recounts with some surprise that a name immediately 'jumped out' and 'spoke' to him, and he knew without a doubt this was the name he had been seeking. One might say that it's almost as if children bring their names with them and somehow transmit this knowledge to their parents.
Christians should not be surprised to learn that God, Himself, chooses our names. In the Old Testament we read:
Yahweh called me before I was born. From my mother's womb He pronounced my name.(Is 49:1).
God changed Abram's name to Abraham, his wife Sarai's name to Sarah and foretold a year in advance that Sarah would give birth to a son and that he was to be named Isaac (Gn 17).
In the New Testament, the Angel Gabriel twice brought messages that included names for babies not yet conceived; telling Zechariah that he must name the baby John (the Baptist), and telling Mary that she must call her Son, Jesus (Lk 1:13; Lk 1:31). We might be tempted to wonder what difference it would have made if Jesus or John had received other names. Yet, it seemed to be a matter of some importance to God. Our names, therefore, would appear to have an important that goes beyond just being stick-on labels for identification purposes.
What is a Nameday?
A Nameday is the feast day of our Patron Saint. This begets another question: Who is my Patron Saint? [The Church has honored some] men and women who have lived through the centuries in such a holy manner as to have been declared by the Church to be Saints or Blesseds. If we bear the name of one of these, this Saint is known as our Patron. Each Saint has been assigned a feast day by the Church. The feast day of your Patron Saint will be the day on which you celebrate your Nameday.
Nameday Tradition
For centuries it has been the custom in Catholic countries to celebrate Namedays even more than birthdays. This tradition is still very much alive in Europe and South America, and continued to flourish even during times when religious freedom was curtailed.
Immigrants to Canada and the United States from countries that observe Namedays are already carrying on the practice in North America in the same way they did while they were in the country of birth...
Celebrating Namedays
Socially, cards and small gifts of flowers or candies are usually given to those celebrating their Nameday. Spiritually, one would normally have a devotion to one's Patron Saint, and pray to them regularly, especially when in need. A Patron Saint, we can be sure, will be watching over those named in their honour, and will be protecting them in a special way.
Activity Source: Nameday Book, The: A Book of Saints, Names, Anniversaries and Celebrations by Compiled by Sister Theodora of the Trinity, Alba House, New York, 2000
http://www.albahouse.org/Nameday.htm
Nameday Ideas for the Feast of St. Frances Xavier
Feast is December 3. Includes dessert ideas, prayer and decorations.
Directions
St. Francis falls into the old category of "Confessors". The term "confessor" is used to designate those men of remarkable virtue and knowledge who proclaimed the faith of Christ before the world by the practice of heroic virtue, by their writings, and by their preaching. After the age of the early martyrs, such persons received veneration by the faithful, and chapels (martyria) were erected in their honor, a privilege previously reserved to martyrs.
St. Francis Xavier's immortal fire of love for Christ still draws missionaries to high adventure for God and souls. His symbols include: bell; crucifix; vessel; Pilgrim's staff; rosary; lily; font; ship and crucifix; globe.
Father: The mouth of the just man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justly. All: The law of God is in his heart. Father: Let us pray. O God, it is a joy for us to celebrate yearly the feast of Your confessor St. Francis Xavier. May we who commemorate his birthday also initiate his example. Through Christ, our Lord. All: Amen. Christ conquers, Christ reigns!
Dessert Ideas: Cut-up cake in the shape of a ship, Confessor's Light Chocolate Cake with Nameday Chocolate Ice Cream.
Activity Source: My Nameday — Come for Dessert by Helen McLoughlin, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, 1962