What's in a name?

I was over at Jenn's blog the other day. She was relating her reasons behind choosing her confirmation name of St. Maria Goretti in an effort to help her fight the battles of purity that lay ahead in her teen years. It got me to thinking about my own confirmation name and the reasons behind it - there were none.

I was confirmed in the 9th grade. In the middle of 8th grade, my family moved to CT, where kids were confirmed in the 8th grade. I got there too late to make my confirmation that year, so I went through all of the preparation during my freshmen year in high school, along with all of the 8th graders. I don't really remember the catechist instructing us to choose a saint's name based on a reason. I remember flipping through the pages of the book that had all of the saint's name we could choose from. I chose the name Elizabeth, well, because I liked it.

Now, as an adult, I know that there are a number of different Elizabeths I could have chosen from - St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, and about 14 other options.

I have decided that my confirmation name will reflect St. Elizabeth, Mary's cousin and mother of John the Baptist. In the past couple of years I have developed a special place in my heart for Mary, and I feel that having her cousin and friend on my side as my patron saint is quite fitting.
I just found out about a month or so ago that the reason my middle name is Anne is that my dad wanted me to be named after Mary's mother, St. Anne. This reconfirmed my decision that St. Elizabeth will be my confirmation saint. I am surrounded by beautiful and holy women who were related to Our Lady - how blessed can one person be?

With my new found devotion to Mary, I have also begun praying for St. Anne's intercession. I recently had a very crafty and holy woman create a St. Anne chaplet for me. The picture won't do it justice, but trust me when I say that using this chaplet while I pray makes me feel so connected to Our Lady, her mother and Our Lord.