What's in a name?

Many ask the source or reason for taking the name Seraphim as my religious name. Initially, the source came in my interest in Russian Spirituality and a particular devotion to St. Seraphim of Sarov. St. Seraphim is often compared with St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of my Order. Of course, there are also allusions to the angelic Seraphim and these are the ones most commonly made. About these allusions, I usually say that it is a goal to which I aspire.

There is one last allusion that is not usually made by anyone but myself - that is the allusion to the seraph serpents which plagued the Jews in the desert. So, I also tell people that taking the name Seraphim helps to emphasize the fact that sometimes I'm nice and loving, at other times I'm more like a serpent with viscious bitey teeth. You can probably tell that from many of the posts that I put up here. In community life, I am usually the one who drops the grenade in the middle of the room and then waits to see what happens. As my fellow community members say, "That's when the horns come out." Feel free to copy my picture and draw your own horns for fun.