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A Great Name
The site of the church and Presbytery being now definitely located, the next move was to dedicate the Parish to a special Patron Saint, who as the common advocate of all would safeguard the interests of all.
The new Pastor wishing the Parish to bear a name expressive of the daring and high hopes of those who founded and planned it, a Name that would give worth and character to the lives of all who laboured under its auspices, a Name that would give light and leading to the spent wayfarer seeking the shelter and solace of God’s House from the dust and uproar of the busy highway, chose as the Protector of the new community, the most illustrious of all titulars, a Patron Whose Name inspires faith, sustains hope and enkindles charity, Jesus.
By marrying the parish to a Name that would henceforth give the Catholics of Danforth District an identity and character all their own, the Pastor was confident that the greatness of the title would create those generous impulses and that high sense of honour becoming so signal a distinction, and his hopes were amply fulfilled.
He realized too, that if the new church were to keep high company with those stately edifices which add so much to the splendor and prestige of religion, it was only fitting that the parish should have a title which, transcribed in stone above the doors of the church, would awaken the spirit of self sacrifice and public service in the hearts of present and future parishioners. Hence it was that Pastor and people sought the approval of the Ordinary for the title the parish now bears.
Impressed with the responsibility of making the infant church shape itself into the strength and beauty of what they conceived should express in some way the title it bore, the newcomers, despite their straightened circumstances, decided on building a church which, while it harmonized with the amenities of the great avenue it overlooked, would be a witness and a monument to the Holy Name of Jesus.
A Social Centre
Holy Name Parish had grown so vigorously during the period between 1914 and 1920 that it became necessary to make room for social expansion no less than for it’s religious development. Having but a basement church and an eightroom school that had overflowed into two movable classrooms, there was no auditorium where the different committees and societies could meet for business or recreation. So many young people were carried away by the tumult of the enthusiasm, which accompanied the Armistice that a vent had to be found for their surging life if their social instincts were to be directed along wholesome ways.
The needs of the hour found answering echoes among the elder members of the congregation. Fathers and mothers, no less than the pastor, recognized that in the face of an unfinished church the erection of a parish hall was a rather serious undertaking, but felt at the same time that the claims of the oncoming generation to reasonable opportunities for social advancement were worthy of consideration and sympathy.
All parties concerned were of the opinion that if hurrying humanity speeding to hotels and apartment houses, merely to eat and sleep, were to be steadied and socialized and if the remaining landmarks of family life were to retained and stabilized, more provision should be made for the acquaintances and friendships which are possible of development among fellow parishioners. The fact that many agencies such as Probation Officers, Big Brothers, Better Acquaintance Committees, Farm Colonies, Little Mother’s Classes, Juvenile Courts, and Educational Films have tried to keep pace with the rushing tide of wordily interest and have touched but the hem of society’s garment, should in no way discourage our endeavors to supply for the shortage of home interests and home joys.
If these supposed substitutes for home life have been less than satisfactory it is in a large measure due to their institutional character and lack of personal touch. Friendship like popularity cannot be ordered or forced; it is best cultivated by spontaneous development. We acquire our preferences by a free an easy understanding of other people’s lives and habits. Certain individuals attract us because of their winsomeness of manner and their willingness to benefit their fellowman; others repel us because they are uncongenial and inconsiderate. Our friendships as a rule rest upon the amount attractiveness and goodness we experience among our associates. Holy Name was a first a parish of scattered friendships. With few opportunities of coming together, apart from the public services held in the church, it became increasingly difficult to keep the lines of social communication open. Though it possessed in an eminent degree the enterprising spirit of youth and the facile optimism that belongs
to that period it had some of the drawbacks of a new parish, inasmuch as it had no traditions or established customs to steady and direct the newcomers which are so necessary for teamplay. Although the general vitality was good there was a sprinkling of families whose lives were pitched in a minor key, which needed to be raised to the high-water mark of parochial enthusiasm.
It was the expressed opinion of the majority, that besides the pew in the church, there should be a common halfway auditorium where parishioners could meet for a social hour, a Community Hall where fellow members could discover their kindred merits and grade their attachments. To those tired and spent with the toil of breadwinning the cheering and gladdening effects of being together for a social evening often mean more than a night at the theater or a public banquet. Social interaction enriches character and personality and promotes that elasticity of temperament, which is so conducive to mental composure. There are may odds and ends of the individual life, which can be adjusted in the company of optimistic friends, which might otherwise lead to moroseness or depression. People sometimes see their own faults best in the crowd. Social interaction widens their vision and saves their minds from the partialities and narrowness of partisan smallness.
REPRINTED FROM “HOLY NAME PARISH 1913 – 1927” A PARISH HISTORY PUBLISHED 1927.
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