Birthday Memories: Sister Barbara
I was in Horrem, Germany on my birthday last October. I was there to improve my German, and I thought one way to practice German would be to tell stories. So this is the story I told the Sisters in Horrem on my birthday. Of course, I told it to them in German, but here’s the English translation of my birthday story:
My birthday (October 11) is on the feast of “Mater Salvatoris,” or “Mother of the Savior.” My father was from Mexico, where the custom is for a child to be named for the saint on whose feast he or she is born. Since my birthday is the feast of Mater Salvatoris, my father thought it would be a good idea to give me the Spanish name “Maternidad,” which means maternity or motherhood. However, my mother had always wanted a daughter named “Barbara.” Thank goodness she had already picked out my name before I was born! In my family, we celebrated both birthdays and name days. My birthday is October 11 and St. Barbara’s feast day is December 4. When my father was still alive, he always called me on both my birthday and my name day. Many of my relatives continue to remember me on both days. Since my birthday is Mater Salvatoris, one could say that I have been Salvatorian since my birth!