A PEOPLE OF THE MEMORIAL,
A COMMUNITY OF CHARITY
We call to mind events in our lives that either make or break us. We relive past experiences that stand out through rituals and storytelling. For the most part, though, we just remember the past. We call them anniversaries, and society has invented a slew of terms to mark them: paper, bronze, silver, golden anniversaries, etc.
The readings today refer to more than just a commemoration, something that demands more than just a celebration. Biblical people called it a memorial.
The Book of Exodus recounts the first time it happened. It tells us how to do it over again, not merely to call to mind, but to make something concrete, real and present once again.
This is what we priests do when we meet up with former seminary companions. We relive events and tell each other endless stories even if we have heard and told them before. The focus is not on the mental recall, but on the reliving of the fun, even if it’s only us who find them truly amusing.
The story of the lamb in Exodus is not just a memorable bedside story or a childish fairy tale. It has everything to do with sacrifice, love, salvific pain, and eternal salvation — becoming real, here and now. This is the same story that Paul recounts and relives — the story of the One who, “before he was handed over, took bread and wine” and did a memorial — the very same story of love that the Lamb of God showed, first by washing the feet of the Apostles, and then by offering His life so that we might live.
We are grateful to be Catholic. We are a people of the memorial. We celebrate and make present the Lord’s act of total self-giving on the night He was betrayed. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: What story in your life do you like to relive over and over again? Why?
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for the memorial You have left us. It serves as a real connection to Your presence in our lives.
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