As I wrote earlier, today is the feast day of Saint Justin Martyr.

The writings of the early Church Fathers – Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr and Irenaeus of Lyon – were influential in my decision to become Catholic. When it came time to select a saint’s name to take at my confirmation (March 2007), these were the four that came immediately to mind.

After a little deliberation, Justin was the name I chose. Mostly, this was because I could relate to a saint who was a layman (the others were bishops) and an apologist (I was inspired by how Justin wrote to clear up misconceptions others had about the beliefs and practices of Christians).

I also couldn’t see myself with the name Clement (call me “Clem”), Ignatius (call me “Iggy”) or Irenaeus (how do you spell that again?).