Named for the Light
“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
“Who are you, sir?” he asked.
The voice answered, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting.” –Acts 9:4–5
This exchange between Jesus and Saint Paul (whose Hebrew name was Saul) on the road to Damascus comes early in the sung novena to Saint Paul the Apostle, whose feast the Pauline Family celebrates on June 30. This novena is a privileged time for every Daughter of St. Paul to renew our relationship with our namesake, the patron and father of our Congregation. This year, the novena is particularly special for me, as I am praying it for the first time as a professed sister. So I have found myself meditating upon this moment of Paul’s conversion specifically: his encounter with the light of Christ, which mirrors my own—and that of every baptized Christian.
At that sacred moment on the road to Damascus, Christ showed himself not only through his voice but through a dazzling light that first blinded Saul and then later opened his eyes anew. That movement of darkness into light, of dying and rising, is characteristic of the Christian life we enter through baptism.
In fact, when I had the joy of making my first profession as a Daughter of St. Paul in February, I was taking the next step in a journey of light that began at my own baptism. On that day, my family lit my baptismal candle from the Paschal candle as the deacon spoke these words: “Receive the light of Christ.” Each of us baptized Christians has been entrusted with that light, to be kept burning brightly all our lives. Paul’s encounter with the light of Christ might have been more visibly dramatic, but it was no more real and impactful than the encounter each of us has had.
As religious sisters, we deepen our baptismal commitment at profession when we make the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, counsels drawn from the luminous example of Christ. For this reason, it is our custom that a sister retains the name she received at baptism—in my case, Catherine—with the option to add a new religious name as well.
As Daughters of Saint Paul, we further understand our consecration in the words of Christ to our Founder, Blessed James Alberione: “I am your light and I will use you in order to enlighten.” We are consecrated to receive the light of Christ, particularly through the Word and the Eucharist; and then to radiate that light to others, especially using the media. That is why I asked for the religious name Lucia Phoebe, drawn from the words for “light” in Latin and Greek respectively. In my everyday life, I go by Sr. Phoebe, after the Saint Phoebe who delivered the letter to the Romans on Saint Paul’s behalf.
The moment when a sister’s new name is revealed is one of the most anticipated parts of the profession ceremony. But for me, sharing my name has turned out to be a gift that keeps on giving. Now, every time I introduce myself, I am reminded of my vocation and the quiet delight of becoming who God made me to be. And people keep saying the same thing: It fits you perfectly. To me, there is no greater compliment.