IN REMEMBRANCE

Tomorrow Holy Week begins, leading us to the Three Great Days at the heart of the Christian’s year. The whole of our Faith, the Scriptures, the Creeds and the Sacraments, is conveyed during the Liturgies of those Three Days. The Night of the Eucharist and the Lord’s Betrayal on Thursday, the Friday of His Sacrificial Death and Burial, the Saturday Preparation leading to the Night that bursts to Life with Fire and Light, these solemnities are rightly called celebrations and “remembrances.”

“This is My body, which is given for you,” the Lord Jesus said to His disciples on the night in which He was betrayed. “Do this in remembrance of Me. Likewise, after supper He took the cup…” He commanded His disciples then as He commands His disciples now: “Do this in remembrance of Me.” As the Prayer of Consecration continues during the Mass, the priest says: “having in remembrance His blessed passion and precious death, His mighty resurrection and glorious ascension…” Remembrances are being made. But there are some more than interesting things to consider about these “remembrances.” They point to the coming Three Days and why these Great Days matter to you and me.

In Greek, the word we translate as “remembrance” is ANAMNESIS. It was an old word before the writers of the New Testament used it. If you look at the word a minute, you’ll see a word you already know: AMNESIA—and that helps a bit to understand the word. Amnesia is to lose memory. It’s not forgetting where you put your keys, but losing something for good. “Anamnesia”—anamnesis—is to regain the memory which was lost. Plato used it that way repeatedly. In Plato’s theory, anamnesis described the process whereby something which had been lost (in his case, "knowledge,") is restored. The translators of the Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint, developed the word a bit further, giving it a specialized meaning. They used the word to describe the “memorial sacrifice” offered by the Priests and Levites in the Temple. When the four Gospel-writers recorded Jesus’ words at the Last Supper, they each chose this word; for them, it had a special meaning.

When you and I “remember” something, we're performing a mental exercise. We “stop and think.” What was that fellow’s name? Why did I come into this room? Sometimes, we sit and “remember” with friends. We think back to things we share. Common memories strengthen common bonds. Is that what we’re doing at Mass? Are we collectively “remembering” Jesus? Is He present with us because we call Him to mind? If we remember harder or better is He more present? Did we lose Him (amnesis) and, by remembering, find Him again (anamnesis)?

When Jesus gave His disciples the Bread no longer bread and the cup now filled with His Blood, He obviously didn’t add, “Do this and please, try hard to remember Me.” His words mean something else. We are indeed remembering, but much more importantly, so is Someone Else.

I love the subtle differences between the Eastern Churches and our own. One I find most intriguing is their “remembering.” We pray, “having in remembrance His blessed Passion and precious Death, His mighty Resurrection and glorious Ascension, …” At the same place in the Eastern Mass the priest prays: “Remembering… all that came to pass for our sake, the Cross, the Tomb, the Resurrection on the third day, the Ascension into heaven, the Enthronement at the right hand of the Father, and the second, glorious Coming, we offer unto Thee these Gifts…” They “remember” something that hasn’t yet happened! The Liturgy sees “the second, glorious coming” of our Lord, an event in the future, as part of that which “came to pass for our sake.” How is this? The answer hinges on who’s doing the remembering.

The most important “rememberer” at the Mass isn’t the priest (or even the deacon, who usually remembers a lot of things for the priest!) but God. The Mass doesn’t depend on how well we remember, but on God, Who never forgets. In Him, the past, present and future are one. The Mass isn’t a memory device for forgetful Christians, but the way God lifts us to Himself. In God, Christ’s Christmas Incarnation, His Good Friday Sacrifice, His Easter Day Resurrection, His Glorious Ascension and Second Coming are all one. Christ, the eternal Son, is forever offering Himself to His Father. This has been His gift—His eternal Self-Giving—since before creation. On earth, full of selfishness and all its attendant sorrows, this Self-Giving of the Son took the form of death on the Cross. The Body broken on Golgotha is the Body now in Heaven, and present with us in the Sacrament of the Altar: each a sacrifice of Self-Giving Love. This is what God, the Three-in-One, “remembers” with us at Mass.

During these coming Three Days, He draws us into His “remembering” by making us participants. At the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Thursday, we don’t just recall the disciples at the Lord’s Table. We ARE the disciples with Him at His Table. When we venerate His Cross during the Friday Liturgy, we are with Him on Golgotha. Saturday night, as the New Fire is struck and the Paschal Proclamation is sung, the Night illumined with candles is unlike any other night—for Christ is Risen, and so are we.

These are our High Days, Days of Remembrance. Yes, we remember the mighty acts that brought about our salvation. But it’s God’s Remembrance, always present with us to create, redeem, and sanctify, that IS the Feast.

God bless each of you with His Grace through these Three Days. May He lift us to Himself during these holy days and “remember” us at the coming Paschal Feast—the one that will never end.