Remember

At Mass this morning the homilist directed our attention to the First Reading, where we heard about King David’s last words to his son Solomon. He reminds his son – the soon to be king- of God’s promise that a member of the Davidic line will always sit on the throne, if they remain faithful to the Lord. As the homilist put it, “Solomon was faithful…at first.” Later in life however he would be led very much astray. The rest of his thoughts were about the importance of taking time to remember: to remember God’s promise each and every day of our lives…to remember his call…to remember him.

I got to thinking as I sat in my pew about how much of my own spiritual life has been built around remembering. In AA’s 12 Step Program of recovery we are asked in the fourth step to complete a “searching a fearless moral inventory.” In this process we remember things from the past: the good, the bad, and the ugly. We remember them so that we can work towards reconciliation where it’s needed. Later in the steps we are told to review each day, making peace where necessary, going to bed with a well examined conscience, and giving it all over to God.

Taking time to remember is pivotal.

Perhaps this is why the Blessed Mother “treasured these things in her heart” as scripture tells us over and over again. She wanted to burn these events forever in her mind and in her heart so that she could always remember them. No doubt when Jesus was being tortured right in front of her, and enduring his passion, she remembered and took comfort in God’s promise.

That’s why it’s so important for us to stay grounded in today: to not drown in regret about the past or anxiety about the future. We live grounded in today, because if instead we just fly through it eager to get to tomorrow we will never remember the moments where we encounter God in our everyday lives.

Consider those moments that you have taken the time to stop and make sure you remember…

The bride, who intentionally looks around the Church as she comes down the aisle, taking in the entire scene of all her family and friends gathered at the altar with her beloved.

The newly ordained priest who takes that deep breath and with it takes in the entire reality of the First Mass he is about to celebrate.

I remember before leaving my previous ministry, I walked out into the empty Church, by myself, and looked around very intentionally: calling to mind all the good and not so good memories of the previous 9 years…the faces and tears…the laughs…the life stories that had begun or ended there. I burned the whole experience into my heart and my mind, so that I could hand the entire thing over to God, who always writes straight with crooked lines.

At the Last Supper, when Jesus institutes the Eucharist, he tells his Apostles to "do this in remembrance of me." The word used in the original Greek is anámnēsis. We use this word to describe the portion of the Eucharist Prayer that comes right after the words of institution, where the celebrant says that "we remember" the events and effects of the Paschal Mystery. This form of remembering is something very distinct. It is a deliberate recollection, not only of specific events, but also of their effects. In doing so we place ourselves in the reality of what we are remembering. In this case, not only do we recall the Last Supper, but here in his true presence we encounter him in the "upper room", at the cross, and at the empty tomb...and the effects of these events and places are stirred up within us!

We need to stop and remember more often. If we allow ourselves to become slaves to the rat race of life, we will speed right through all of our “todays” eager to reach a better “tomorrow.” As we are flying along we miss Jesus, we miss moments of encounter with God, and we miss reminders of his promise.

Today we should all take time to sit for a few moments of prayer, and allow your heart simply to remember…