When I was a kid, I was really fascinated by my oldest sister's name. Her name is very basic, she was named after an actress but what made it cool is the story that sprang from it. She was born on the same day, month, and year as our cousin. So our parents and my cousin's parents decided for them to share the same name.
Because of that, growing up it became a lore in my barangay. They call each other 'sangay', older people call them by their shared nickname and people our age call them by their surnames. (This story became even cooler now that my sister recently got married to a guy who was born on the exact same day, month, and year as well.)
My young mind thought that was so cool, and I felt proud of that story even if it was not mine.
It wasn't until when I was a bit older that I realized I have a very common name. I am from a small barangay and no one shares my name there. But in high school and college, I discovered that variations of my name exist as much as variations of the color pink do.
We have: Marian, Mariann, Marianne, Mariam, Mariane, and even Mariannie. What the heck? We even share almost the same nickname. I hated it. My name neither has a cool story attached to it nor any kind of uniqueness. The rest of my siblings' names don't have much of a story compared to our oldest but their given names are still better than mine.
My second sister's name is a combination of my parents' names and is very distinct. Distinct not cringe. My younger brother's name didn't come out as what my parents expected because of an intentional mistake by the midwife. My youngest brother got his given name from a character of a beloved radio drama my mother was obsessed with called 'Buak na Paraiso'.
But mine? I don't know. My parents never told me.
So, one day I confronted my mother about it. After saying my sentiments about the lack of uniqueness in my name, she finally told me how I got it.
I was named after Mama Mary. I was born on May 26th, and if you are Catholic you definitely know that May is Mama Mary's month. We do 'Flores de Mayo' daily prayers and floral offerings which culminate in Santacruzan at the end of the month. We also celebrate the anniversary of the first Fatima apparition in the Fatima Shrine on the small plateau in our barangay. In short, we do a lot of activities for Mama Mary in May.
You might wonder why I didn't realize this obvious connection before, so let me explain it to you. It is because of the pronunciation. My mother purposely named me 'Marianie' because in Bisaya it is pronounced as 'Maria-nie' which translates in English as 'This is Mary'. But no one pronounces my name like that. My family calls me by my nickname and all my teachers and classmates pronounce my name 'Marya-ni'.
I think I would have realized it sooner if they had called me, Mary, Maria, or even Marian instead, but they didn't. But you know what I'm not even complaining now. It gave my name more character.
Now that I know the story behind my name, I appreciate how special it is. I WAS NAMED AFTER JESUS' MOM. That is a huge honor. The moment I was born, without me knowing I was already consecrated to the Holy Virgin Mary. Our mother who loves us deeply. The one who never stops leading us to Jesus. The surest and the easiest way towards Him.
To you who are reading this, whatever you're going through right now, ask Mama Mary to pray for you, ask for her intercession. I am not a Catholic apologist but you can search up GabiAfterHours and Bishop Barron on YouTube and tons of other websites and media that would explain to you the importance of Mama Mary in our Church and you'll never regret it. (I'll put the links down below.)
May we all pray the rosary every day and meditate on the life of Jesus Christ through the mysteries. I know it's hard, I struggle with doing it every day too (thank you Tin for keeping me accountable and praying it with me) but remember the promises and benefits you can get from it.
By holding your rosary, you are holding Mother Mary's hand, and by meditating on the mysteries, through the 'Our Father' and 'Hail Mary' you're saving your soul and the soul of others.
Stay prayed up, everyone!
Let us put ourselves in the Holy Presence of the Lord.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us; do not bring us to the test but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Links to Discover More About the Rosary:
Our Lady’s 15 Promises to Those Who Pray Her Rosary
The Rosary is a Spiritual Weapon w/ Bishop Scott McCaig
The Power of Praying the Rosary
Special shout out to my earthly Mother- Mama Marit! Thank you for inspiring me to pray the rosary. Your sacrifices of waking up at 3:30 am every single day to pray the Dawn Rosary is appreciated in Heaven and on Earth. Thank you for leading Papa and all of us your children to Jesus and Mama Mary. I love you!
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