Lost in Translation

It’s been two and a half weeks since I’ve posted here – I’m sorry.  
 
The reason for the long lapse is that I’ve been away, and have been pretty busy.  I was at our provincial house, helping with a number of projects, including jelly-making and website maintenance for our retreat center there. 
 
The previous weekend, I had been in Fargo, attending a diocesan workshop for parish musicians.  This was a very enriching experience, and I even had a mini organ lesson!
 
I got a ride back to Grand Forks with Sister Donna, who would be staying a few days to enjoy a little respite and attend a meeting up here later in the week.
 
With her, to my delight, she brought new booklets from our religious congregation: the photo/contact directory of our Sisters – and – the name day book! 
(Isn’t it crazy how we look for our own photo, and those of people we know well, before anything else when getting a new publication?)
 
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t thrilled with the picture that was chosen for me, but life goes on. 
 
My faint displeasure was more than compensated for, though, when I opened the name day book!
* * *
Around the time I was received as a novice, there was a discussion about a nameday.  Since we belong to a German-based congregation, the celebration of one’s namesake (usually saint) is a prominent one for us.  We pray for our Sisters around the world on the eve of their nameday (or for certain provinces, their birthday).
 
At that time, I had indicated that the feast of Corpus Christi has always been a special day for me; it’s been pretty much my nameday since birth, especially since I was born right around that time in June. 
 
However, much to my dismay, I was informed that I couldn’t use this as my nameday because it was a moveable feast (changing each year based one when Easter falls).  I had, instead, to choose a another date, one that had a unchanging date on the calendar.  Thus, for the past sixteen years, July 24th has been my nameday “in the books.” 
 
I have nothing against the Saints Christina who are honored that day, and am grateful for their intercession, but the feast of Corpus Christi is extremely special and important to me. 
 
This past year, when preparations were being made for new booklets, we were asked to submit a little information.  Along with our birthplace and home diocese, we were to indicate our special day as well. Having noticed that one Sister’s nameday is on Pentecost (which is also a moveable feast), I had dared to hint that I would really like to return to my original nameday of Corpus Christi, but had heard no more about the matter.
* * *
Last evening, then, when I eagerly opened the new document, I saw that my name was not listed among those to be remembered in prayer for July 24th.  After flipping back to the end of May, I saw my name, but there was what looked like a strange German word next to it: Fronleichnam. 
 
A quick Google search revealed that Fronleichnam would be on June 8 in 2023 (two days before my birthday), but I wanted to confirm my suspicions of what that foreign phrase meant.  Another search revealed that this was, indeed, the German word for my beloved feast of Corpus Christi – My nameday had been changed back! 
 
Fronleichnam is actually German for “the Lord’s Body,” and this is what they call the feast in Germany, rather than retaining the Latin as we do in English. 
 
So, in German, it’s hard to make a case for this being my nameday, but in English, there’s a stronger tie. 
 
I guess this is just one of those things that’s “lost in translation.” 

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