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That most popular name of all was not even mentioned but it is one chosen by thousands of people every year. The name which is above all other names, to quote St Paul, is of course Jesus Christ. The derivative is Christian which is added to the name(s), of everyone who is baptised. We proudly take the Name of our Saviour because as in Biblical Times, changing a name changes the significance of a life. When we add the name of Christian to our other names we are demonstrating that there is a new creation as, through the waters of baptism, we are re-born into an eternal life which begins on earth and is completed in heaven. Pope John Paul II said that to be a new creation is the vocation of all the Baptised.
Amongst those who bore the name of Christ proudly and without compromise are the people we remember today - those whom we call the Saints - the Holy Ones of God. Through the year, the Church commemorates the lives of many of these Saints and feast days when their lives and their faith are specially remembered. By learning of their steadfast love for God and the service they gave to the Gospel, they are an encouragement for our own lives and Christian witness. We can learn so much from these Holy One's of God.
There are countless others who do not get a special day, but who, nevertheless, have been copies of the Gospel and signs of God's love for us. Many are uniquely special to each one of us personally. These are the ordinary Christians who have shown us extraordinary love and encouragement in our faith. They have been for us, mirrors of God's saving Love and their lives have been radiant with Christ-like devotion.
In each of our four churches there have been such saints who by their holiness and prayer have consecrated our church buildings and have led us to a deeper understanding and practice of our faith. These are the ones we remember today. These are the ones for whom the Name of Jesus Christ mattered greatly. So what of us? Are we saints in that way?
Here's a thought from Alban Goodier, a spiritual writer and former Archbishop of Bombay:
'Let us remember that to become saints we
have only to be what God wants us to be; to do what God wants us to do;
to forget ourselves and never forget God. We need perfect
simplicity with regard to ourselves, perfect contentment with regard to
ourselves; perfect contentment with all that comes our way; perfect
peace of mind in utter self-forgetfulness. This becomes easier as
we realise the utter greatness and goodness and 'allness' of God'.
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