Page 6 - February 2016 Catalyst

Joe Grimaud
What’s in a name
Have you given much thought to it recently? Cer- tainly, if you have had a child, or are about to have one, you have given it a lot of thought. And so has your entire family
or friends, hoping to be honored by having one named after them. Shall we name this one after Father or Mother or a grandpar- ent? Or, if it is a boy, maybe we should name him after a great sports gure, or af- ter a great person who has had a big impact on our society or us. In doing so we are hoping to create a desire on the young one to pattern his life after his namesake as he matures. And, of course, if it is a girl most of us would similarly choose a name that would honor a forebear or at least not be a name that might be mimicked by her peers as she grew up. In Biblical days, names usually had special meanings.
For me, I realize that I have many names. In Biblical terms my name “Joseph” means “he will add.” We know that Peter’s name was changed after he became a follower of Christ, from Simon to Peter, meaning rock, but then Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will
Continued on pg 24
Gladys Grimaud
DiD anyone hear What i saiD?
Has the art of listening gone astray in this gen- eration of constant texting, social me- dia, Net ix, and 24-hour cable net- work? For the sake of a sane society, it
is imperative that individuals and collec- tive citizens once again learn the art of listening. It is a skillset that is necessary in the individual pursuit of happiness and the maintenance of a peaceful environ- ment. I have noticed bene ts show up immediately when I am being a good lis- tener, so why don’t I apply this principle all the time? Life would undoubtedly be better, but sometimes it is hard work to suppress my thoughts and listen clearly to what someone else is saying.
I hope it is not too late for New Year’s res- olutions, because here is mine: work on sharpening my listening skills. Recogniz- ing that I have two ears and one mouth, the Lord must have been sending a strong silent message right there.
I am reminded of a cute story my daugh- ter-in-law tells about having dinner at the
Continued on pg 9
6 CityLight.org
february 2016