[__01___] Memory
and memories are valuable to you and to me.
Isn’t a
joy to be remembered by someone whom we love, a joy to remember?
This
month – on Monday May 25 – we observe in the United States a day set aside for
memories, Memorial Day, a day on which we recall and pray for those who have
died in battle, those who have died in the military, those who served in the
military and pray for those who continue to serve.
[__02___] Memorial Day exists – and other memorials –
because we know that our lives have been changed by the sacrifices of others.
That
is, we not only intellectually remember their sacrifices as though we are
memorizing a statistic or fact, but also receiving, possessing, and giving
thanks for what others have done.
Memory
is valuable.
[__03___] Memory
is also valuable because good memory is often the reason for high test scores,
good grades … and possibly a higher batting average or shooting percentage.
In many
competitive endeavors, the players – or students – are remembering what has
happened before and acting accordingly.
Boys
and girls, don’t we rely on our MEMORIES, on our ability to recall, whenever we
are in school, whenever the teacher calls on us, or when we take a test or
quiz.
And, at
such a time, we may even pray (or sing) … “JESUS, REMEMBER ME…”
We pray
that God will help us to remember, to give us direction, to give us
peace/tranquility – in TESTS of all kinds in our lives – including the help we
need to complete our work, our studies.
Knowledge
is not something we simply catch as though it is a virus or … line drive to
center field ..and then throw back.
Isn’t
this also true about Jesus himself? Jesus did not simply speak the Word of God
… Jesus is the Word of God. In the Gospel of John, read … “In the beginning was
the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” (John 1:1-2)
So, to
know something, we remember it because it is a part of us.
We have
it, we own it, we receive it.
[__04___] St.
Paul writes to the Colossians,
“Set
your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”
(Colossians 3:2)
To the
Philippians, Paul writes:
“whatever
is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is
lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything
worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8)
So, we
are always being reminded to think about, to remember, what is good in our
lives.
And,
boys and girls, a gift that we can give to others – and to our parents – is our
MEMORY, to
·
Follow
instructions without being reminded. That is, we don’t just remember …we know.
·
And…
to use our memory our mind to help others remember …this means helping our
family … it means listening and telling stories …and it also means – in a
special way – honoring and caring for our parents and grandparents when they
are older … you – years from now – will help them to remember.
Doing
this, you may not always be noticed ..but
you will bring Good News …. And hope to others. By helping another person to remember, to
speak and to listen to them, you might be similar to Jesus – on the road to
Emmaus…who was not noticed until he had vanished from their sight.
[__05___] In Holy
Communion and Holy Eucharist, Jesus says, “Do this in memory of me.”
In a
way, our Savior is both
Questioning
and inviting …
·
The
question is … remember me?
·
The
invitation is .. REMEMBER ME!
For, I
– the Lord says – remember you, remember you before you were born.
Jesus
loves us so much that he is willing to die for us.
This is
the way a father/mother loves his or her child.
Such a
parent would know instantly, instant real time recall and also give up life for
the child.
Love
equals memory.
St.
Paul in 1st Corinthians writes that .. love hopes all things, believes all things,
endures all things … love never
fails” (1 Corinthians 13:7-8)
And,
love never fails because love / charity has excellent long and short term
memory.
And,
could we not also say that in the memory capacity and hard drive of one who
lives, NOTHING is stored on the flash drive …or on a backup hard drive… or on a
tape…. but everything is already IN MEMORY, everything is in the present.
[__06___] I bring this up because in Holy Communion we
recall a moment in Jerusalem, of many years ago, a moment between Jesus and his
disciples.
It is a
memory of the gift of His Body and Blood at a particular time, given by Jesus
to disciples who were anxious about his departure, his leaving.
Our
Savior did not simply want them to remember him, he wanted them to RECEIVE him,
to know him, to take and eat his body and blood, to have him with them always.
[__07__] So,
the Eucharist we receive today, that our young people receive for the first
time is the same received by the apostles at the Last Supper.
Did the
Apostles, perhaps, have an incomplete understanding or faulty memories of
everything that was happening?
Yes,
they did.
So,
their First Holy Communion and our Sunday Holy Communion may be just one step
on a longer journey.
But, it
is not an ordinary step.
Receiving
Communion is not only a step on level ground…but also step upwards toward our
summit.
And, a
step deeper, downward toward our source.
Upward
toward the summit of our lives, the Eucharist helps to attain a higher place,
to rise above some our sorrows and difficulties.
Even to
rise above our immediate joys and pleasures, so that we can give thanks to God for all that we have and
ask his help for what we might need.
The
Eucharist is also our source, our depth, inviting us to seek a quiet place to
seek quiet places where we can hear God’s voice speak to us, where we can know
that he is the source of our live, that he is the one who always remembers us. [_fin_]
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