Youtube Interviews
In this episode of Roadmap to Heaven, host Adam Wright welcomes guest Father Wade Menezes to discuss the sacred nature of names, particularly in the context of baptism and Confirmation in the Catholic Church.
The conversation begins with Adam sharing a story about his son’s interest in choosing a saint’s name for his Confirmation. Father Menezes elaborates on the significance of names in the Catholic faith, referencing passages from the Catechism to emphasize the importance of naming and its ties to the sacraments.
Father Menezes highlights the importance of choosing names that uphold Christian sentiment and virtue, underscoring the impact of a person’s name on their identity and character. He also addresses the prohibition of certain names, emphasizing the need for names to be in line with Christian decency.
The discussion extends to practical advice for selecting Confirmation names, including considering saints with feast days related to one’s life and personal characteristics. The importance of living up to the faith-based values and characteristics of the saints or biblical figures after whom children are named is emphasized.
The episode concludes with a prayer led by Father Menezes, encapsulating the deep spiritual significance of names. Throughout the episode, the importance of recognizing the sacredness of names and the role they play in honoring God is consistently highlighted.
Adam Wright:
It’s been a while since we’ve been able to have Father Wade Menezes with us on the show, but it’s good to have you back with us, Father, after a long – I’m not going to say summer break – but a long summer.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Yes. It has been, but it’s been a good, long, working, somewhat restful summer for me. Yes.
Adam Wright:
Well, we have a new thing in our household. We’ve been calling it the Wright Institute for logical discourse. And it’s really our dining room table. And I wanted to share this story with you and with our listeners, that one day I come home from work. It’s late in the afternoon, a little bit later than I normally come home. And our oldest is sitting at the dining room table with four books spread out in front of him very neatly. They’re all the Lives of the Saints, different volumes, different authors.
And I said, “Son, what are you doing there? There’s no homework yet.”And he goes, “Well, Dad, I heard that this year, when I’m confirmed, I have to pick a new name, and it has to be a saint’s name. Well, there’s a lot of saints. So I thought I’d get a jump start on this before school begins.” And, of course, that turned into all of the children asking, “Well, why does he get and new name? And why did you name me this name? Maybe I would have preferred that name, Dad.” I said, “Okay. There’s only one guy we can bring into this conversation now for some answers.” And that’s from the Fathers of Mercy, Father Wade Menezes, host of Open Line Tuesday on EWTN Radio. And, Father, I almost had James call in, but I didn’t want to monopolize your show that day.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Well, boy, I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in your dining room the afternoon all of this took place. You know? But, you know, your son’s right and I commend not only him for taking a jump start, as he said, on picking a saint’s name for his upcoming Confirmation, which I presume will be in 2024. Probably around May or June, when it’s usually conferred. But I also commend his catechism teacher, his CCD teacher, for encouraging the kids in his class to pick a name of a saint for Confirmation. That’s a time-honored tradition in our Catholic church, and we look no further than the church’s teaching on what’s in a name, to understand the beauty of this, whether it be the given name at baptism, or whether in your son’s case, the name chosen by himself at Confirmation time. You know? So, as far as Catholics go, what’s in a name? Well, a lot. You know? And I’d like to comb through the catechism here, several paragraphs, and I’ll give the numbers because it’s just such rich, rich theology of this whole topic of what’s in a name. So any parent, Adam, of our one holy Catholic and apostolic faith does well to recognize the importance and the awesome responsibility, I call it, one has when choosing a name for their children. I’m talking about baptism right now, and then we’ll work up to the importance of Confirmation. As taught in the catechism of the Catholic church, under the heading “The Christian Name”. That’s actually the heading of this particular section of the universal catechism. Under the heading “The Christian Name”: “We are fully and formally received into God’s family at the time we receive the sacrament of baptism, which is when a Christian formally receives his or her name in the church.” Catechism number 2165 says this, “In baptism, the Christian receives his name in the church. Parents, godparents, and the pastor are to see that the child be given a Christian name. The patron saint, for example, provides a model of charity and the assurance of his or her prayer over the individual who receives their name.” How beautiful is that? Right? Remember, too, that the actual name of the person, Adam, is literally inserted and actually part of the form of the sacrament of baptism. Every sacrament, all seven of them have matter and form. Well, often the formulary of the words spoken to confer or administer that sacrament, along with the proper matter to it. The formula has the name, comma, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. So you said your son’s name was James. Is that correct?
Adam Wright:
That is correct.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
So, when he was baptized, I presume as an infant, when you and your wife had him baptized soon after he was born, the form literally had his name chosen by you and your bride inserted in the formula to administer the sacrament of baptism. How beautiful is that? The priest or the deacon or the bishop said, “James, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Amen. As part of the sacrament of baptism, we Catholic Christians are further instructed in the catechism number 2156. So I quoted 2165. We’ll invert now those two last numbers. In 2156, we read, “Parents, sponsors, and the pastor are to see that a name is not given to the child, which is foreign to Christian sentiment. The sacrament of Confirmation would be included here when choosing a Confirmation name.”
So, Wade, you’re having a priest named Father Wade tell you that parents should not choose a name that is foreign to Christian sentiment? Well, God had a plan because Wade means wanderer (w a n d e r e r), not wonderer like one who wanders (w o n d e r). Although some of my confreres might say that I wonder too much. Right? But I’m talking about Wade the wanderer, and look, itinerant missionary preacher that I am. So God had a plan when my parents got that name out of TV Guide in 1965 from a character in a John Wayne movie. Right? Good cowboy name, Wade. Right? But they chose Louis, my father. And so I do have Saint Louis as a middle name. And then for Jude, all five of us, Menezes children, partly because of a holy guilt trip from my mother and father. All of us chose Jude, for our Confirmation because my parents, especially my mom, had a very strong devotion to Saint Jude. And get this, our only sister Susie chose Judith, and she didn’t spell it j u d i t h. No. She wanted the whole name of Jude in there, so she spells her Confirmation name j u d e t h. How awesome is that? Right? So, again, 2156. “Parents should not choose a name that is foreign to Christian sentiment.” So let’s get at least that middle name, hopefully, the first name. If not, the first name, definitely the middle name, and definitely the Confirmation name after a saint.
“Parents can give their offspring any name that supports the Lord’s sanctifying of humanity.” I’d like to think that my wandering as an itinerant traveling missionary preacher helps to identify humanity by being faithful to God’s grace in my work, my priestly work as an itinerant missionary preacher. The catechism number 2156 states clearly that, “The sacrament of baptism is conferred in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit again with the person’s name inserted first.” These are words of both blessing and sanctification. In the name of the three divine persons, Adam, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the most holy trinity. In baptism, the Lord’s name sanctifies and the Christian receives his name in the church. This can be the name of a saint, that is of a disciple who has lived a life of exemplary fidelity to the Lord.
One’s patriot saint provides a model of charity. Right? Remember, all the saints were canonized based on what? Heroic virtue. All the saints are canonized based on the heroic virtue they lived and exhibited during their life at some point, surely towards the end of their lives. So much so that people who knew them were clamoring at the local bishop where they died, in the diocese where they died, to have their causes introduced for beatification and subsequent canonization. So, again, this could be the name of a saint, that is of a disciple who’s lived in exemplary fidelity to the Lord. One’s patron saint provides a model of charity and other virtue. We are assured of his or her intercession as the church teaches, and the baptismal name can also express a Christian mystery or a Christian virtue. Examples of this last component include names like faith, hope, and charity. I even have a goddaughter out in California named Hope. She’s the daughter of my first cousin. Our mothers were sisters, and so I’m godfather, baptismal godfather, to little Hope. And so there you have an example of a virtue, as a baptismal given name.
Adam Wright:
I have a good friend who, one of his daughters is named Mercy, and it’s another great name, a virtue right there. So, Father —
Fr. Wade Menezes:
I know a Mercy, a young girl named Mercy, of a wonderful Catholic family in Louisville, Kentucky.
Adam Wright:
Oh, wonderful. Now, Father, it seems like the church is giving us a lot of leeway here when it comes time for parents to choose names for their children. But if there was one thing, in bright flashing neon letters, the church is saying is: remember that the name has a very sacred nature when you are picking a name.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Yeah. That’s right. 2158 of the catechism states, “God calls each one of us by name. Everyone’s name is sacred. The name is the icon of the person. It demands respect as a sign of the dignity of the one who bears it.” That’s right out of the catechism, Adam. That is a powerful, powerful line. 2158. “God calls each one of us by name. Everyone’s name is sacred. The name is the icon of the person. It demands respect as a sign of the dignity of the one who bears it.” This is why it’s really evil and so negative when the so-called baptismal name is now called a “dead name”, say, in the transgender ideology movement. I mean, that goes exactly against what 2158 is saying, that the given name is. “God calls each one of us by name. Everyone’s name is sacred. The name is the icon of the person. It demands respect as a sign of the dignity of the one who bears it.” God is the author of life, and this is something very profound that needs to be remembered. In Isaiah 43:1, we read this, “But now thus says the Lord, ‘He who created you, he who formed you, fear not. I have redeemed you, and I have called you by name, and you are mine.'”
Remember that Adam in the book of Genesis names all the animals when he’s still in a state of his original solitude, what John Paul II called Adam’s original solitude, before the creation of Eve. He goes and he names each creature because he knows the very name of the creatures so much so that he knows none of them are made like him. None of them can be a complimentary helpmate to him. So he knows the innate nature. Well, the same with parents in discernment naming their child, and what they hope for this child in the given baptismal name, and what the name means. John 10:3 states, “To him, the gatekeeper opens, the sheep hear his voice, And he calls his own sheep by name, and he leads them out.” Words from Jesus himself. Right? And Jeremiah 1:5 states, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. And before you were born, I consecrated you.”
Again, He’s the God of life. In addition, the Catholic Church teaches that each baptized member holds a mysterious and unique character, marked with God’s name and shining forth in splendor precisely because the human person is called to ultimately be with God for all eternity to experience Heaven in Heaven itself. What the catechism calls the beatific vision or eternal beatitude. Right? Number 2159, the very next paragraph says, “The name one receives is a name for eternity. In the kingdom of God, the mysterious and unique character of each person marked with God’s name will shine forth in splendor for eternity. Parents must choose a name wisely, then, as their children’s names are intended to stay with them forever. As such, our names can help inspire us to live out our holy call,” the catechism says. “So that we may one day find our eternal place in God’s kingdom forever.” So, with all of this in mind, Adam, instead of feeling any pressure when deciding on a baby’s name, all parents should delight in the prized occasion and the responsibility they have to name their child and take time precisely with its discernment process. Would you comb through you and your wife’s children’s names for us, Adam?
Adam Wright:
So, that’s a really funny story because with James, who we discussed earlier. There was a great debate on whether he was going to be James, or we’re both very Irish, if we were going to go with the traditional Gaelic version of that, Seamus. And, it actually came down to this. We said if he was born with red hair, he’d be Seamus. Anything else, he’d be James. And sure enough, he came out blonde just like his mother. We were going to name our second child Rebecca, but then throughout that pregnancy, as much as we love that name, we found the name Emma, and we very much liked that. And then the next daughter was Amelia, and that’s a family name, but also a saint’s name. And a great saint, if you want a great image. She rode a fish across the river. So, you know, Father Don Callaway should probably meet her. She’s a surfer.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Wonderful. Wonderful. And we’ll talk about the importance of giving being a family name here shortly. We’ll cover that.
Adam Wright:
Yeah. And then we did finally name one Rebecca, and that was a big debate about how we were going to spell that. And finally, with our fifth, we said, you know, all of our girls have a name that ends in the sound “uh”. We need a good, holy name that ends in “uh” so we have Nora. So to recap, we have James, Emma, Amelia, Rebecca, and Nora.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
I know a woman who’s a grandmother who lives in Cullman, Alabama, not far from Mother Angelica’s Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, and one of her granddaughters is named Nora, just born a few years ago. Yeah. So beautiful. Beautiful. You know, whatever the names we have been given, may all of us really savor their meaning. And what they inspire us to be, and understanding the beauty that our parents gave them to us. Aware of their origins is important. Like you just mentioned, the Gaelic pronunciation and thus the meaning, all the while glorifying God throughout this process. So, again, no pressure for parents, but rather a beautiful reality of taking your time to discern it.
So whether it be rock (Peter), or humble (Paul), or princess (Sarah), or friend (Ruth), a person’s name can reflect so much about one’s identity. This is evidenced by no greater example than our Lord Himself as we declare His glory and magnitude each time we say His name Jesus (God saves), or Emmanuel (God with us). How beautiful is that? A name also brings a touch of character. I’ve touched on this a little bit. The meaning of our names can share so much about our character and foundation, a point that some parents encourage regularly with their children. For example, when giving them their nightly blessing, say, with their right-hand thumb on the forehead, for instance, with faith name base like John, Luke, or Rebecca, Adam, what you just mentioned, that are all related to biblical figures or saints. It is easy to discern particular strong demonstrated qualities in those very biblical figures and saints, very strong qualities that they held by the story that’s told about them or by what the name means in its origin, of its language of origin.
Parents should view it as an essential truth that their kids know their namesake’s identities, including what they did for God during their earthly lives, these great saints and biblical figures. So, how they lived virtue to heroic degree and how their patron helps to protect and guide them to Heaven, the very child that’s named after them. Children’s names can also feature a nod to their ancestry, like your little Amelia. Paying homage to grandparents or great-grandparents who served as wonderful models of positive, impactful, and Christian living. In short, a child’s Christian name can simultaneously celebrate a family’s heritage. So, to wrap it all up, each child can have a name signifying a lifelong [inaudible] while giving them the honor of always striving to embody the faith-based values and characteristics of those saints or biblical personages or other personages, like family members of the past, that they are named after. A boy named Joseph, for example, can be encouraged during his formative years as a boy and a young man to always be “just”, the virtue of justice, to always be just in all things and to be caring and noble and valiant just like Saint Joseph himself. Right? And maybe even a great carpenter. You know? Maybe the little Joseph named after Saint Joseph could even be a great carpenter. So, in short, faith tells us the name that is chosen is extremely important. This is a truth, Adam, that we just cannot lose sight of.
Adam Wright:
You know, Father, one of the things I have to laugh at is when you were asking about the names. When James was in about kindergarten, we were expecting again. And everything about this pregnancy, my wife thought before we had the ultrasound, she said, “I just have the sense I’m having another boy. I’m having another boy.” And we had decided and we had told James, “If mom has another boy, we are going to name him John, and then the two of you will be James and John, the sons of thunder.” And sure enough, when we had the reveal with all of our family gathered and pink glitter started falling out of the envelope, James was moved to tears. And we said, “Son, what’s wrong?” And he goes, “But I wanted to be the sons of thunder”, and he knew that reference. Luckily for him, I’m still boisterous either way. He is a son of thunder, whether he has a brother named John or not.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
There you go. There you go. You know, Adam, in this whole talk about the importance of Catholic theology and the importance of naming a child and the virtue that dwells there and everything it means. The church also gives us a guidance on what not to name your child, and that’s really just as important. So I kinda want to go through that.
Adam Wright:
I was going to ask you, are there rules, you know, we’ve talked about the sacred nature of names, but are there any names that are expressly prohibited? You know, choose any name you want, except these.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Yeah. Well yeah. The church definitely gives us some guidance, especially Canon Law. Number 855 of Canon Law says “Parents, sponsors, and the pastor are to take care that a name foreign to a Christian sensibility is not given.” And some names are so offensive to Christian decency that if chosen by the parents, the sacrament of baptism is actually to be deferred until the parents can change the chosen name of the child from the one that was objectionable. So, objectional names, examples of such included are those for the devil, such as Satan, Lucifer, or Beelzebul, and the names for pagan gods, like Baal, or Moloch. Also to be excluded are names that are cuss words and derogatory slang terms.
So here’s the deal again, and I can’t stress this enough. The birth of a child is a miraculous gift from Almighty God. The selection of a faith-based name honors God and offers Him thanks for the gift of a new life. So remember, the church does prohibit certain names, certain categories of names, and we need to be very conscious of that. You know? In addition to the catechism, I want to give a shout-out to two great articles that I adapted this material from. “What’s in a Name? Quite a Bit, Actually” is the name of the article by Matt Charbonneau. That can be found at media.ascensionpress.com, back from 2020. And also “What’s in a Name?” by Father Michael Van Sloun from thecatholicspirit.com, and that’s from November 2017. So, a good synopses, especially when we include the catechism and what it teaches in the numbered paragraphs that I gave, Adam, on what’s in a name and why it’s important for parents to really relish in a joyful way in the discernment process that it takes them to pick out a name, and the importance that it really does glorify God. And the middle name’s included here, and also the Confirmation name.
Adam Wright:
Well, circling back to that Confirmation name and that evening at the Wright Institute For Theological Discourse, as we lovingly refer to it —
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Has he chosen a name?
Adam Wright:
Well, he hasn’t yet. But he did ask me. He said, “Dad, do you have any advice on what I should look for in a name?” And I said, “Well, you know, James, if Father Wade was with us, he would say just as the saints were the contemporaries of their time, we are the contemporaries of our time, and we are called to be saints just like they were called to be saints. So I would suggest as you look through all of these different names. If you find a particular saint who resonates with you, you say, ‘I think I might have a lot in common with this saint’, and you read some more about them, that’s a saint you should pay attention to their name because that’s a prime candidate.” Other advice I gave him, look at saints whose feast days are relative to your life. Whose feast day is on your birthday? That’s your homework. Go look that up. And not just for my son, but for everybody watching and listening today. Whose saint is celebrated on your birthday? What about on your baptismal day? What is an activity you like to do? Maybe you like to play sports or you like to build. Who’s the patron saint of your sport or of the profession you think you might wanna go into in life? I said, “Those are all arrows pointing you to where you should look for a name for your Confirmation name.”
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Great. Fantastic advice from a dad, Adam. I commend you. And remember, too, I like that you mentioned the different categories of professions because there are patron saints of different professions. You know? Saint Thomas More for lawyers, for example. And that’s very important. Let’s not forget the category of martyrs. Those who died for the faith, like Saint Sebastian and Saint Agnes, Thomas More again. Saint John the Baptist died for natural marriage as did Saint Thomas More. So we have the whole host of martyrs as well as confessors, virgins, priests, consecrated religious that are canonized, all these different categories that are shown in the bravery, the divine office. We have commons in the back, so commons of virgins, commons of priests, commons of martyrs, all these different categories of saints that are canonized. And there’s just a whole plethora of names to choose from, and we should never get overwhelmed by it, because God will guide you through that process. Adam, can you say one more time, what is what is the name of the institute that is your dining room table?
Adam Wright:
We call it the Wright Institute for Theological Discourse, where we have covered everything from the four last things to Mary’s assumption, to Confirmation names, to what they heard at Mass that day. There is no wrong question. We just sometimes have to look for correct answers, and it’s great to pull out the catechism or the scriptures with the kids and really dive into some of these things. And I have been known from time to time to say, “I don’t know how to answer that. But if we play the Roadmap to Heaven podcast, I did an interview with somebody that does. So let’s just hear what they had to say.” It’s a perk of being the radio/podcast host here.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Well, I’ll tell you what. Calling your dining room table that is definitely an image for me of the domestica ecclesia, the domestic church. You know? The Wright Institute for Theological Discourse. Talk about having the domestic church alive and breathing. There it is right there in your dining room.
Adam Wright:
Yes. And just as the bishop of the diocese has his cathedra, I think every father has his chair in the dining room, and you may only sit there with his permission.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Yeah. There you go.
Adam Wright:
Father, as we wrap up, you know I’m going to ask you to lead us in prayer here, but I think it’s another important reminder of something you said, that at baptism and in Confirmation, in all of the sacraments, and every time we pray, we pray in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And I think that’s a really good reminder that when we go out and live the day, if we pray in the name of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and then deny that with our lifestyle, what a great insult that is to the holy name of God.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Yeah. You know, Jesus revealed the Father. Jesus revealed the Holy Spirit by name. Jesus was revealed by name, a name that His parents gave him. And so we are baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit with that first given name, and the middle name can be inserted as well, at the time of one’s baptism. So all these beautiful, beautiful truths are linked, Adam. There’s no doubt. And, it’s so important because, again, our name goes with us, as the catechism teaches, into eternity, for all eternity.
Adam Wright:
Well, on that note, Father, let’s pray and close our time together.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Certainly, Adam. May the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit descend upon all of our Covenant Network and Roadmap to Heaven listeners and remain with each and every one of you this day and always, Saint Joseph, terror of demons.
Adam Wright:
Pray for us.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Thank you so much, Adam, for this wonderful opportunity. It was fun.
Adam Wright:
No. Thank you, Father, for, acquiescing to our request to talk about names today on the show, and I look forward to the next time we can be together.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Thank you so much now. God bless you.
Adam Wright:
It’s been a while since we’ve been able to have Father Wade Menezes with us on the show, but it’s good to have you back with us, Father, after a long – I’m not going to say summer break – but a long summer.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Yes. It has been, but it’s been a good, long, working, somewhat restful summer for me. Yes.
Adam Wright:
Well, we have a new thing in our household. We’ve been calling it the Wright Institute for logical discourse. And it’s really our dining room table. And I wanted to share this story with you and with our listeners, that one day I come home from work. It’s late in the afternoon, a little bit later than I normally come home. And our oldest is sitting at the dining room table with four books spread out in front of him very neatly. They’re all the Lives of the Saints, different volumes, different authors.
And I said, “Son, what are you doing there? There’s no homework yet.”And he goes, “Well, Dad, I heard that this year, when I’m confirmed, I have to pick a new name, and it has to be a saint’s name. Well, there’s a lot of saints. So I thought I’d get a jump start on this before school begins.” And, of course, that turned into all of the children asking, “Well, why does he get and new name? And why did you name me this name? Maybe I would have preferred that name, Dad.” I said, “Okay. There’s only one guy we can bring into this conversation now for some answers.” And that’s from the Fathers of Mercy, Father Wade Menezes, host of Open Line Tuesday on EWTN Radio. And, Father, I almost had James call in, but I didn’t want to monopolize your show that day.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Well, boy, I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in your dining room the afternoon all of this took place. You know? But, you know, your son’s right and I commend not only him for taking a jump start, as he said, on picking a saint’s name for his upcoming Confirmation, which I presume will be in 2024. Probably around May or June, when it’s usually conferred. But I also commend his catechism teacher, his CCD teacher, for encouraging the kids in his class to pick a name of a saint for Confirmation. That’s a time-honored tradition in our Catholic church, and we look no further than the church’s teaching on what’s in a name, to understand the beauty of this, whether it be the given name at baptism, or whether in your son’s case, the name chosen by himself at Confirmation time. You know? So, as far as Catholics go, what’s in a name? Well, a lot. You know? And I’d like to comb through the catechism here, several paragraphs, and I’ll give the numbers because it’s just such rich, rich theology of this whole topic of what’s in a name. So any parent, Adam, of our one holy Catholic and apostolic faith does well to recognize the importance and the awesome responsibility, I call it, one has when choosing a name for their children. I’m talking about baptism right now, and then we’ll work up to the importance of Confirmation. As taught in the catechism of the Catholic church, under the heading “The Christian Name”. That’s actually the heading of this particular section of the universal catechism. Under the heading “The Christian Name”: “We are fully and formally received into God’s family at the time we receive the sacrament of baptism, which is when a Christian formally receives his or her name in the church.” Catechism number 2165 says this, “In baptism, the Christian receives his name in the church. Parents, godparents, and the pastor are to see that the child be given a Christian name. The patron saint, for example, provides a model of charity and the assurance of his or her prayer over the individual who receives their name.” How beautiful is that? Right? Remember, too, that the actual name of the person, Adam, is literally inserted and actually part of the form of the sacrament of baptism. Every sacrament, all seven of them have matter and form. Well, often the formulary of the words spoken to confer or administer that sacrament, along with the proper matter to it. The formula has the name, comma, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. So you said your son’s name was James. Is that correct?
Adam Wright:
That is correct.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
So, when he was baptized, I presume as an infant, when you and your wife had him baptized soon after he was born, the form literally had his name chosen by you and your bride inserted in the formula to administer the sacrament of baptism. How beautiful is that? The priest or the deacon or the bishop said, “James, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Amen. As part of the sacrament of baptism, we Catholic Christians are further instructed in the catechism number 2156. So I quoted 2165. We’ll invert now those two last numbers. In 2156, we read, “Parents, sponsors, and the pastor are to see that a name is not given to the child, which is foreign to Christian sentiment. The sacrament of Confirmation would be included here when choosing a Confirmation name.”
So, Wade, you’re having a priest named Father Wade tell you that parents should not choose a name that is foreign to Christian sentiment? Well, God had a plan because Wade means wanderer (w a n d e r e r), not wonderer like one who wanders (w o n d e r). Although some of my confreres might say that I wonder too much. Right? But I’m talking about Wade the wanderer, and look, itinerant missionary preacher that I am. So God had a plan when my parents got that name out of TV Guide in 1965 from a character in a John Wayne movie. Right? Good cowboy name, Wade. Right? But they chose Louis, my father. And so I do have Saint Louis as a middle name. And then for Jude, all five of us, Menezes children, partly because of a holy guilt trip from my mother and father. All of us chose Jude, for our Confirmation because my parents, especially my mom, had a very strong devotion to Saint Jude. And get this, our only sister Susie chose Judith, and she didn’t spell it j u d i t h. No. She wanted the whole name of Jude in there, so she spells her Confirmation name j u d e t h. How awesome is that? Right? So, again, 2156. “Parents should not choose a name that is foreign to Christian sentiment.” So let’s get at least that middle name, hopefully, the first name. If not, the first name, definitely the middle name, and definitely the Confirmation name after a saint.
“Parents can give their offspring any name that supports the Lord’s sanctifying of humanity.” I’d like to think that my wandering as an itinerant traveling missionary preacher helps to identify humanity by being faithful to God’s grace in my work, my priestly work as an itinerant missionary preacher. The catechism number 2156 states clearly that, “The sacrament of baptism is conferred in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit again with the person’s name inserted first.” These are words of both blessing and sanctification. In the name of the three divine persons, Adam, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the most holy trinity. In baptism, the Lord’s name sanctifies and the Christian receives his name in the church. This can be the name of a saint, that is of a disciple who has lived a life of exemplary fidelity to the Lord.
One’s patriot saint provides a model of charity. Right? Remember, all the saints were canonized based on what? Heroic virtue. All the saints are canonized based on the heroic virtue they lived and exhibited during their life at some point, surely towards the end of their lives. So much so that people who knew them were clamoring at the local bishop where they died, in the diocese where they died, to have their causes introduced for beatification and subsequent canonization. So, again, this could be the name of a saint, that is of a disciple who’s lived in exemplary fidelity to the Lord. One’s patron saint provides a model of charity and other virtue. We are assured of his or her intercession as the church teaches, and the baptismal name can also express a Christian mystery or a Christian virtue. Examples of this last component include names like faith, hope, and charity. I even have a goddaughter out in California named Hope. She’s the daughter of my first cousin. Our mothers were sisters, and so I’m godfather, baptismal godfather, to little Hope. And so there you have an example of a virtue, as a baptismal given name.
Adam Wright:
I have a good friend who, one of his daughters is named Mercy, and it’s another great name, a virtue right there. So, Father —
Fr. Wade Menezes:
I know a Mercy, a young girl named Mercy, of a wonderful Catholic family in Louisville, Kentucky.
Adam Wright:
Oh, wonderful. Now, Father, it seems like the church is giving us a lot of leeway here when it comes time for parents to choose names for their children. But if there was one thing, in bright flashing neon letters, the church is saying is: remember that the name has a very sacred nature when you are picking a name.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Yeah. That’s right. 2158 of the catechism states, “God calls each one of us by name. Everyone’s name is sacred. The name is the icon of the person. It demands respect as a sign of the dignity of the one who bears it.” That’s right out of the catechism, Adam. That is a powerful, powerful line. 2158. “God calls each one of us by name. Everyone’s name is sacred. The name is the icon of the person. It demands respect as a sign of the dignity of the one who bears it.” This is why it’s really evil and so negative when the so-called baptismal name is now called a “dead name”, say, in the transgender ideology movement. I mean, that goes exactly against what 2158 is saying, that the given name is. “God calls each one of us by name. Everyone’s name is sacred. The name is the icon of the person. It demands respect as a sign of the dignity of the one who bears it.” God is the author of life, and this is something very profound that needs to be remembered. In Isaiah 43:1, we read this, “But now thus says the Lord, ‘He who created you, he who formed you, fear not. I have redeemed you, and I have called you by name, and you are mine.'”
Remember that Adam in the book of Genesis names all the animals when he’s still in a state of his original solitude, what John Paul II called Adam’s original solitude, before the creation of Eve. He goes and he names each creature because he knows the very name of the creatures so much so that he knows none of them are made like him. None of them can be a complimentary helpmate to him. So he knows the innate nature. Well, the same with parents in discernment naming their child, and what they hope for this child in the given baptismal name, and what the name means. John 10:3 states, “To him, the gatekeeper opens, the sheep hear his voice, And he calls his own sheep by name, and he leads them out.” Words from Jesus himself. Right? And Jeremiah 1:5 states, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. And before you were born, I consecrated you.”
Again, He’s the God of life. In addition, the Catholic Church teaches that each baptized member holds a mysterious and unique character, marked with God’s name and shining forth in splendor precisely because the human person is called to ultimately be with God for all eternity to experience Heaven in Heaven itself. What the catechism calls the beatific vision or eternal beatitude. Right? Number 2159, the very next paragraph says, “The name one receives is a name for eternity. In the kingdom of God, the mysterious and unique character of each person marked with God’s name will shine forth in splendor for eternity. Parents must choose a name wisely, then, as their children’s names are intended to stay with them forever. As such, our names can help inspire us to live out our holy call,” the catechism says. “So that we may one day find our eternal place in God’s kingdom forever.” So, with all of this in mind, Adam, instead of feeling any pressure when deciding on a baby’s name, all parents should delight in the prized occasion and the responsibility they have to name their child and take time precisely with its discernment process. Would you comb through you and your wife’s children’s names for us, Adam?
Adam Wright:
So, that’s a really funny story because with James, who we discussed earlier. There was a great debate on whether he was going to be James, or we’re both very Irish, if we were going to go with the traditional Gaelic version of that, Seamus. And, it actually came down to this. We said if he was born with red hair, he’d be Seamus. Anything else, he’d be James. And sure enough, he came out blonde just like his mother. We were going to name our second child Rebecca, but then throughout that pregnancy, as much as we love that name, we found the name Emma, and we very much liked that. And then the next daughter was Amelia, and that’s a family name, but also a saint’s name. And a great saint, if you want a great image. She rode a fish across the river. So, you know, Father Don Callaway should probably meet her. She’s a surfer.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Wonderful. Wonderful. And we’ll talk about the importance of giving being a family name here shortly. We’ll cover that.
Adam Wright:
Yeah. And then we did finally name one Rebecca, and that was a big debate about how we were going to spell that. And finally, with our fifth, we said, you know, all of our girls have a name that ends in the sound “uh”. We need a good, holy name that ends in “uh” so we have Nora. So to recap, we have James, Emma, Amelia, Rebecca, and Nora.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
I know a woman who’s a grandmother who lives in Cullman, Alabama, not far from Mother Angelica’s Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, and one of her granddaughters is named Nora, just born a few years ago. Yeah. So beautiful. Beautiful. You know, whatever the names we have been given, may all of us really savor their meaning. And what they inspire us to be, and understanding the beauty that our parents gave them to us. Aware of their origins is important. Like you just mentioned, the Gaelic pronunciation and thus the meaning, all the while glorifying God throughout this process. So, again, no pressure for parents, but rather a beautiful reality of taking your time to discern it.
So whether it be rock (Peter), or humble (Paul), or princess (Sarah), or friend (Ruth), a person’s name can reflect so much about one’s identity. This is evidenced by no greater example than our Lord Himself as we declare His glory and magnitude each time we say His name Jesus (God saves), or Emmanuel (God with us). How beautiful is that? A name also brings a touch of character. I’ve touched on this a little bit. The meaning of our names can share so much about our character and foundation, a point that some parents encourage regularly with their children. For example, when giving them their nightly blessing, say, with their right-hand thumb on the forehead, for instance, with faith name base like John, Luke, or Rebecca, Adam, what you just mentioned, that are all related to biblical figures or saints. It is easy to discern particular strong demonstrated qualities in those very biblical figures and saints, very strong qualities that they held by the story that’s told about them or by what the name means in its origin, of its language of origin.
Parents should view it as an essential truth that their kids know their namesake’s identities, including what they did for God during their earthly lives, these great saints and biblical figures. So, how they lived virtue to heroic degree and how their patron helps to protect and guide them to Heaven, the very child that’s named after them. Children’s names can also feature a nod to their ancestry, like your little Amelia. Paying homage to grandparents or great-grandparents who served as wonderful models of positive, impactful, and Christian living. In short, a child’s Christian name can simultaneously celebrate a family’s heritage. So, to wrap it all up, each child can have a name signifying a lifelong [inaudible] while giving them the honor of always striving to embody the faith-based values and characteristics of those saints or biblical personages or other personages, like family members of the past, that they are named after. A boy named Joseph, for example, can be encouraged during his formative years as a boy and a young man to always be “just”, the virtue of justice, to always be just in all things and to be caring and noble and valiant just like Saint Joseph himself. Right? And maybe even a great carpenter. You know? Maybe the little Joseph named after Saint Joseph could even be a great carpenter. So, in short, faith tells us the name that is chosen is extremely important. This is a truth, Adam, that we just cannot lose sight of.
Adam Wright:
You know, Father, one of the things I have to laugh at is when you were asking about the names. When James was in about kindergarten, we were expecting again. And everything about this pregnancy, my wife thought before we had the ultrasound, she said, “I just have the sense I’m having another boy. I’m having another boy.” And we had decided and we had told James, “If mom has another boy, we are going to name him John, and then the two of you will be James and John, the sons of thunder.” And sure enough, when we had the reveal with all of our family gathered and pink glitter started falling out of the envelope, James was moved to tears. And we said, “Son, what’s wrong?” And he goes, “But I wanted to be the sons of thunder”, and he knew that reference. Luckily for him, I’m still boisterous either way. He is a son of thunder, whether he has a brother named John or not.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
There you go. There you go. You know, Adam, in this whole talk about the importance of Catholic theology and the importance of naming a child and the virtue that dwells there and everything it means. The church also gives us a guidance on what not to name your child, and that’s really just as important. So I kinda want to go through that.
Adam Wright:
I was going to ask you, are there rules, you know, we’ve talked about the sacred nature of names, but are there any names that are expressly prohibited? You know, choose any name you want, except these.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Yeah. Well yeah. The church definitely gives us some guidance, especially Canon Law. Number 855 of Canon Law says “Parents, sponsors, and the pastor are to take care that a name foreign to a Christian sensibility is not given.” And some names are so offensive to Christian decency that if chosen by the parents, the sacrament of baptism is actually to be deferred until the parents can change the chosen name of the child from the one that was objectionable. So, objectional names, examples of such included are those for the devil, such as Satan, Lucifer, or Beelzebul, and the names for pagan gods, like Baal, or Moloch. Also to be excluded are names that are cuss words and derogatory slang terms.
So here’s the deal again, and I can’t stress this enough. The birth of a child is a miraculous gift from Almighty God. The selection of a faith-based name honors God and offers Him thanks for the gift of a new life. So remember, the church does prohibit certain names, certain categories of names, and we need to be very conscious of that. You know? In addition to the catechism, I want to give a shout-out to two great articles that I adapted this material from. “What’s in a Name? Quite a Bit, Actually” is the name of the article by Matt Charbonneau. That can be found at media.ascensionpress.com, back from 2020. And also “What’s in a Name?” by Father Michael Van Sloun from thecatholicspirit.com, and that’s from November 2017. So, a good synopses, especially when we include the catechism and what it teaches in the numbered paragraphs that I gave, Adam, on what’s in a name and why it’s important for parents to really relish in a joyful way in the discernment process that it takes them to pick out a name, and the importance that it really does glorify God. And the middle name’s included here, and also the Confirmation name.
Adam Wright:
Well, circling back to that Confirmation name and that evening at the Wright Institute For Theological Discourse, as we lovingly refer to it —
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Has he chosen a name?
Adam Wright:
Well, he hasn’t yet. But he did ask me. He said, “Dad, do you have any advice on what I should look for in a name?” And I said, “Well, you know, James, if Father Wade was with us, he would say just as the saints were the contemporaries of their time, we are the contemporaries of our time, and we are called to be saints just like they were called to be saints. So I would suggest as you look through all of these different names. If you find a particular saint who resonates with you, you say, ‘I think I might have a lot in common with this saint’, and you read some more about them, that’s a saint you should pay attention to their name because that’s a prime candidate.” Other advice I gave him, look at saints whose feast days are relative to your life. Whose feast day is on your birthday? That’s your homework. Go look that up. And not just for my son, but for everybody watching and listening today. Whose saint is celebrated on your birthday? What about on your baptismal day? What is an activity you like to do? Maybe you like to play sports or you like to build. Who’s the patron saint of your sport or of the profession you think you might wanna go into in life? I said, “Those are all arrows pointing you to where you should look for a name for your Confirmation name.”
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Great. Fantastic advice from a dad, Adam. I commend you. And remember, too, I like that you mentioned the different categories of professions because there are patron saints of different professions. You know? Saint Thomas More for lawyers, for example. And that’s very important. Let’s not forget the category of martyrs. Those who died for the faith, like Saint Sebastian and Saint Agnes, Thomas More again. Saint John the Baptist died for natural marriage as did Saint Thomas More. So we have the whole host of martyrs as well as confessors, virgins, priests, consecrated religious that are canonized, all these different categories that are shown in the bravery, the divine office. We have commons in the back, so commons of virgins, commons of priests, commons of martyrs, all these different categories of saints that are canonized. And there’s just a whole plethora of names to choose from, and we should never get overwhelmed by it, because God will guide you through that process. Adam, can you say one more time, what is what is the name of the institute that is your dining room table?
Adam Wright:
We call it the Wright Institute for Theological Discourse, where we have covered everything from the four last things to Mary’s assumption, to Confirmation names, to what they heard at Mass that day. There is no wrong question. We just sometimes have to look for correct answers, and it’s great to pull out the catechism or the scriptures with the kids and really dive into some of these things. And I have been known from time to time to say, “I don’t know how to answer that. But if we play the Roadmap to Heaven podcast, I did an interview with somebody that does. So let’s just hear what they had to say.” It’s a perk of being the radio/podcast host here.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Well, I’ll tell you what. Calling your dining room table that is definitely an image for me of the domestica ecclesia, the domestic church. You know? The Wright Institute for Theological Discourse. Talk about having the domestic church alive and breathing. There it is right there in your dining room.
Adam Wright:
Yes. And just as the bishop of the diocese has his cathedra, I think every father has his chair in the dining room, and you may only sit there with his permission.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Yeah. There you go.
Adam Wright:
Father, as we wrap up, you know I’m going to ask you to lead us in prayer here, but I think it’s another important reminder of something you said, that at baptism and in Confirmation, in all of the sacraments, and every time we pray, we pray in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And I think that’s a really good reminder that when we go out and live the day, if we pray in the name of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and then deny that with our lifestyle, what a great insult that is to the holy name of God.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Yeah. You know, Jesus revealed the Father. Jesus revealed the Holy Spirit by name. Jesus was revealed by name, a name that His parents gave him. And so we are baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit with that first given name, and the middle name can be inserted as well, at the time of one’s baptism. So all these beautiful, beautiful truths are linked, Adam. There’s no doubt. And, it’s so important because, again, our name goes with us, as the catechism teaches, into eternity, for all eternity.
Adam Wright:
Well, on that note, Father, let’s pray and close our time together.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Certainly, Adam. May the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit descend upon all of our Covenant Network and Roadmap to Heaven listeners and remain with each and every one of you this day and always, Saint Joseph, terror of demons.
Adam Wright:
Pray for us.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Thank you so much, Adam, for this wonderful opportunity. It was fun.
Adam Wright:
No. Thank you, Father, for, acquiescing to our request to talk about names today on the show, and I look forward to the next time we can be together.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Thank you so much now. God bless you.
In this episode of Roadmap to Heaven, host Adam Wright welcomes guest Father Wade Menezes to discuss the sacred nature of names, particularly in the context of baptism and Confirmation in the Catholic Church.
The conversation begins with Adam sharing a story about his son’s interest in choosing a saint’s name for his Confirmation. Father Menezes elaborates on the significance of names in the Catholic faith, referencing passages from the Catechism to emphasize the importance of naming and its ties to the sacraments.
Father Menezes highlights the importance of choosing names that uphold Christian sentiment and virtue, underscoring the impact of a person’s name on their identity and character. He also addresses the prohibition of certain names, emphasizing the need for names to be in line with Christian decency.
The discussion extends to practical advice for selecting Confirmation names, including considering saints with feast days related to one’s life and personal characteristics. The importance of living up to the faith-based values and characteristics of the saints or biblical figures after whom children are named is emphasized.
The episode concludes with a prayer led by Father Menezes, encapsulating the deep spiritual significance of names. Throughout the episode, the importance of recognizing the sacredness of names and the role they play in honoring God is consistently highlighted.
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