"Each of us has name

given by God

and given by our parents

Each of us does have a name. Some of us love our names and others not so much. Many of us think we should have been named something else….something more dramatic, more fitting, simpler perhaps. Make no mistake;names are important. Call someone by the wrong name and watch their reaction. You can often see the wounding on their face.

The seven young people who wrote their names on a piece of paper, torn from a bag of concrete compound, and then placed that paper in a bottle and buried it, knew that names are important….their names. As they were held at Auschwitz, against their will and for no fault of their own, except for their names, they wrote those monikers for someone to find. In case they didn't survive. So they would be known and remembered. Seven young people, probably 18, 19 or 20 years old, perhaps mixing the concrete to shore up the wall surrounding the camp so it could serve as an air raid shelter. An air raid shelter not meant to shield them from harm, but their captors.

This small story in today's paper caught my eye amidst all the other harrowing and panic producing stories. These young people buried this bottle only a few hundred feet from the horrors in which they were forced to live and perhaps die. Remember us, they asked. Know my name. Know I was here, alive, young, full of potential.

Each of us does have a name, even many names. Our name given by our parents. A nickname we may have chosen to make us feel cool and special. A 'sweet name' assigned to us by the one who loves us and shares our life. We are known as mother, father, sister, brother, teacher, friend, minister,co-worker, doctor, neighbor……so many names. All important, all to be remembered.

At least two of those who wrote their name and placed it in the bottle are known to be alive today. For this I offer gratitude. The article did not actually spell out their names. For that, I am sad. I would have liked to have said their names aloud today, whispering the sweet sound of vowel, consonant and syllable into the Universe……offering it as prayer.