“I will call you by a new name
Pronounced by the mouth of the Lord.” (Is 62:2)
I begin with this passage because I want to try to recount to you how the Lord helped me understand what name – by His grace and my perseverance – I could take as a nun; and also because this passage has accompanied me from the beginning of my journey of vocational discernment.
One June afternoon, I was in the car with one of my friends, and while we were driving around, chatting about this and that, she asked me if I wanted to see something. I said “yes,” so she brought me to a large crucifix and said, “You know, every time I pass by here and look at this crucifix, I think of you!” I thanked her with a bit of embarrassment (because I didn’t understand what she meant), and we returned to the vehicle.
That night, I couldn’t sleep. Strange thoughts kept coming to mind – one in particular: “What could be my name as a nun?” I realized the absurdity of this thought: I had only begun vocational discernment a few months before! I tried to push the thought away, but the more I tried not to think about it, the more a name materialized in my mind: Edith!
The next morning, I recounted everything to my spiritual guide who at that very moment was writing a blog post entitled “How I received my religious name.” We were both surprised – what a beautiful “God-incidence!” She advised me to pray about this name, so I did.
I thought again about the name Edith and my friend who brought me to the statue of the Crucifix…
Edith! Of course! That’s the name of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross…like the Crucifix!
After much prayer, I decided to open the Bible up at random, and my eyes fell on this passage: “You are Simon, son of John; you will be called Cephas (which means Peter)” (John 1:42) – the passage where Jesus changes Simon’s name to Peter!
So now I have no further doubts. The Lord has assigned me a new name, and together with this, a new mission to discover!
-- A psgm Aspirant