“What name do you give your child?”
“Luke Benedict.”
“What do you ask of God’s Church for Luke Benedict?”
“Baptism.”

And with these simple words, the church helped us name our son’s true identity—Luke’s uniqueness as a beloved child of God. My husband Paul and I have been privileged to participate in this liturgical dialogue six times, beginning with Luke Benedict, all the way down to our little Maria Louisa.

During Maria’s baptism, my deacon uncle quoted Pope Francis, “God allows parents to choose the name by which he himself will call their child for all eternity.” (Amoris Laetitia #166) In quite a miraculous way, we bestow their name, and God calls them to himself by that same name. The Lord has a unique mission for each of us to bring about God’s kingdom. Nightly, my husband or I will bless each of our children with a hand on their forehead, breathing the prayer they have now heard thousands of times which concludes with, “and may one day you know God’s very special job for you.”

In today’s gospel, Jesus’ apostles were not chosen at random but intentionally and personally selected. God calls us by name to bring about God’s kingdom on earth. In the same way, the Church employs our names sacramentally to attach us to that mission. God-willing, we will hear our children’s selected saint names at their Confirmations: “NAME, be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit!” And again, in the Sacrament of Marriage, or Holy Orders, or at their First Vows or Final Vows (Hey, a mom can dream!).

Hearing our names called again and again in the sacraments reminds us of our true identity—a beloved child of God and a chosen companion of Jesus—as we work to fulfill his command to proclaim the kingdom of heaven to all.