Remembering

09-05-2021Weekly Reflection© J. S. Paluch Company

When Jesus broke the bread on the night before he died, he told his disciples, “do this in memory of me” (Luke 22:19). Christians have been faithful to that solemn command. Our eucharistic remembering is not nostalgia, nor is it merely historical, recalling events and facts of long ago. In the liturgy, remembering is action. “Do this,” Jesus said. In the Eucharist, we remember by doing. And as we remember, the sacrifice of Jesus is renewed, truly made present, no longer then, but now.

After the consecration, each of the Eucharistic Prayers includes a section called the anamnesis, a Greek word that means “remembering.” In this part of the prayer, “the Church, fulfilling the command that she received from Christ the Lord through the Apostles, keeps the memorial of Christ, recalling especially his blessed Passion, glorious Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 79e). We pause and call to mind the whole paschal mystery, Christ’s dying and rising. “We celebrate the memory of his death and resurrection” (Eucharistic Prayer for Reconciliation II). Obeying Christ’s command, we remember.