Name Change

Why did the religious sisters who taught me in Catholic grammar school change their names?  They dropped their baptismal names and took on a saint's name.  I thought it was because they wanted to emulate that particular saint.  But there was another and maybe deeper reason that grabs me.  They took on new names to "forget the self."  Let go of the self that entered the novitiate by dropping the name that is connected to you, that identifies you.  I was the beneficiary of that attitude.  The sisters were so giving to us kids who might not have appreciated it at the time, but it left a mark.  It is a challenge today to "forget the self" in terms of "my" agenda, wants, programs for happiness, and open myself to being of service to others.  Nothing gets me out of myself better than trying to be helpful to others. All other attempts seemed to be so many escapes from the prison of self-implosion.