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When
the hour came, he took
his place at table with the apostles. He
said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with
you before I
suffer, for I tell you, I shall not eat it again until there is
fulfillment in
the kingdom of God.” ... Then
he took the
bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying,
“This is my
body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten,
saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be
shed for you.”
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"When
we arrived late to the wake, stole the urn while
they looked
away, and drove to the beach 'cause I knew you’d want it that way. And you were standing on the hood of the car
singing out loud when the sun came up. And I
know it wasn’t right, but it felt so good. And
your mother didn’t mind like I thought
she would. And that REM song was playing
in my mind. And three and a half minutes
felt like a lifetime."
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According
to the group Better Than Ezra, their interesting song "A Lifetime" was
inspired by
a true
story. It is a tragic one in which a young lady
by the name of Allie
is killed in a car wreck; her friend steals her ashes in the urn, and
the song
is about how he feels about her. The
song brings up
the thought of
the memory of another, and how important such a memory is. It
literally directs the action of the person
in the song, an action that admittedly was somewhat bizarre, but
nonetheless an
action that apparently followed the wishes of the one who was
remembered.
Moving the thought into a Christian understanding of memory, we think of Jesus and his desire to be remembered by his followers. Jesus wanted to be remembered by the words that he said, but especially he wanted to give his followers a means to remember him physically. Christian people have come to understand the Eucharist to be the means whereby they can truly remember who Jesus was, and as a result, move them to follow him more in their lives. They remember Jesus and are re-converted to his way of life every time they celebrate the Eucharist together. Memory is an important part of our lives. Using it, we can remember the moments in our lives in which we were changed, and thus move us to continue the process. For Christians, the Eucharist is the means whereby they remember who Jesus was and what he wanted of them. |
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THOUGHT
In
your life so far, what are the most important memories that you have?
PRAYER Good
and gracious God, you want us to use our memories to be better people
by
remembering the moments and people who have helped us. You
give us your Son in the Eucharist to
assist us in this life. Help us remember
what you have done for us, so that we can be the people you want us to
be. Be with us, we pray.
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©2007
Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America |