Scripture:
Reflection:
Remembering Jesus at Mass
Years ago, I was giving a parish mission in Stonewall, TX, and visited the LBJ ranch. Many colorful stories are told about President Johnson. The lady in charge of the National Historical Park at that time told me that a favorite gift that the President would give was an electric toothbrush. When asked why, LBJ would say “so they would remember me first thing the morning and the last thing at night!”.
Every Mass we attend, we hear the words of Jesus: “Do this in remembrance of Me.” LK 22:19 When God remembers a situation, His presence is active in remedying the situation. “But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark, and God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided. “Gen 8:1 The word remember in both the Old and New Testament has a long and wonderful meaning. Remember has two aspects. The first is merely to call to mind. The next is action or response to what we recall. In the Eucharist the remembered incident is “made present in the eternal now of the Risen Christ”! At the heart of the Eucharist Jesus remembers us and we remember Him.
A memory at its best is something in the deep places of our hearts and minds! In the first place, when we encounter the Risen Christ in the Eucharist, He remembers us! His profound love for us in the Paschal mystery is more than a long-ago memory of the past! When God remembers us, action and reality happen! God’s remembering at Mass brings us face to face with the overwhelming present love of His scared risen Body “being given for us.” This is a live event! It is the most wonderful happening in the whole cosmos.
It is of tremendous importance for us to remember Christ! We must receive Him in the depths of our minds and hearts! The opposite of remembering is forgetting. So many Catholics have forgotten Christ in the Eucharist. What a horrendous Loss! This is the ultimate poverty in the world!
One of the most beautiful prayers in the Bible, surprisingly, is that of a condemned felon crucified with Jesus! “And he was saying, ‘Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!’” Wow! Jesus remembered him with eternal life! When Jesus remembers us, it is our greatest moment. What a great prayer to say at the consecration at Mass!
Fr. Bob Weiss, C.P. preaches Parish Missions and is a member of the Passionist Community in Louisville, Kentucky.