Luke 1:57:66 tells of the birth of John the Baptist, and how he received his name. No-one in his family had been called John before, but his father Zechariah could not speak until the child had received this name. The name "John" means something like "God has shown favour," indicating the role that this child is to have in salvation history.

We have lost something in our culture with the giving of names, which have lost any meaning they ever might have had. Many parents give their children odd names, with odd spellings, perhaps out of a desire to be unique -- sometimes out of ignorance, as with the person I met whose name was spelt "Joesph."

When I baptize a child, I always ask the parents by what name the child is to be known to God -- the "Christian name." But maybe God already has a name for each of us, a name that points us in the direction of our vocation.

I am reminded of T. S. Eliot's poem "The Naming of Cats," from "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats," the source of the text for the musical "Cats." According to the poet, every cat has three names: an ordinary everyday name, a unique name, and a secret name, upon which the cat spends much time meditating. (Read the poem -- I don't do it justice!)

Perhaps every one of us has a secret name, known to God, and revealed to us in our deepest being, as we live into our baptismal calling.

Do you have a secret name?
Please don't tell me... I won't tell you mine.