What's in a Name?

Fr. Scott reminded us to come up with a name for the former convent. We have been calling it the "former convent" for a while now. If we wait too long, we run the risk of having that name stick!

Please think and pray on this and send your ideas along! You can click on "comments" below and post them online. Don't forget to include your name when you comment, unless you want to be anonymous. You can also email them to me here and I will make sure your ideas are circulated among the community. We will decide the name at a meeting of the whole Catholic Worker community in the near future, and we will send out a notice inviting everyone to that meeting when the time comes.

One idea that has come up is that we recognize the Dominicans, since the convent was formerly for Dominican sisters. They generously left it fully stocked and well cared for.

Click here for a list of Dominican saints. Here is a web page for the Dominican Sisters in Columbus, which has great information about their mission and values, much of which matches very well our mission as a Catholic Worker. There may be something in there that honors both of our traditions.

My personal preference is that we pick a name that is not already in use in Columbus or in the larger Catholic Worker movement. I am partial to the name "Theresa", but there is already a retreat center with that name. There is a Martin de Porres Center in Columbus. There are dozens of communities that have taken the names of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, as well.

Dale has proposed that we honor Blessed Margaret of Castello. She is often called the "patroness of the unwanted." She was blind, crippled and abandoned by her family. She eventually became a third order Dominican and devoted her life to prayer and charity. She was often the giver--and receiver--of hospitality, which reminds me a lot of the Catholic Worker where the lines between giver and receiver become blurred. Dorothy and Peter did not run an institution that handed out goods to the poor but rather they were poor themselves and shared with others in need.

Please think and pray on this and let these ideas percolate.