Moses in the Book of Exodus from the Old Testament today says: “All that the Lord has said, we will heed and do. He then speaks of the covenant between God and His people and uses blood to “seal the deal.” This was a blood oath—and there was nothing stronger and more binding than that kind of promise. We have that same serious covenant with the shedding of Christ’s blood for us—the sacrifice He made to “cleanse our consciences from dead works.” Christ is the mediator of the New Covenant—and so we are saved (St. Paul to the Hebrews). The Psalm (#116) and the Gospel today makes me revisit Holy Thursday from the Triduum—the covenant response, and then the story of the Last Supper in which Jesus reminds us: “This is the blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.” Then He shares the bread and wine, the Body and Blood, with His Disciples and with us. We celebrate this today—a remembrance; but also an act in this moment and at this time.
I looked up synonyms for “remembrance,” and here are some of them: commemoration, commendation, keepsake, memento, memorial, recollection, gift, monument, reminder, reproduction, reminiscence…all good words for us to hold in our hearts and minds as we receive Eucharist—along with remembering the sacrifice that brought us to the table. The idea of a “remembrance” made me think about other important moments we humans experience, or do, as a remembrance such as going to the cemetery to clean and adorn the graves of our loved ones; or eulogies at funerals. But not all remembrances center necessarily around death and we celebrate many other things in our lives and mark them in remembrance: births, wedding anniversaries, sacraments, to name a few.
Remembering and marking moments is something we do for many good reasons—as humans we need the reminders of the past in order to move forward in our lives—and we always hope to learn from our experiences of “before” as we look toward the future. Here is some John O’Donohue:
“May my mind come alive today
To the invisible geography
That invites me to new frontiers,
To break the dead shell of yesterdays,
To risk being disturbed and changed.”
“See the gifts the years have given,
Things your effort could never earn,
The health to enjoy who you want to be
And the mind to mirror mystery.”
We are told today to “heed and do” what the Lord says—and to remember that it is vital to understand ourselves, and that our remembrance is necessary. We remember the sacrifice of Jesus and commemorate His actions every time we receive the Eucharist—but wouldn’t it be wonderful to live “In Remembrance of Him” in all the different moments of our daily lives? What could it be like, that in this remembering, we live in a spirit of awe and wonder? No matter where we are or what we are doing we can live in a state of remembrance and reverence toward God. Lord, let me know You in the washing of dishes, the cleaning of the house, gardening, tending, and mending and fixing. Let me know You in the notes in right order, in the words on any page, in those we meet daily and in all the faces of those near and far. Let me know and remember You in all things, Lord.
Keep singing in your hearts!
Elizabeth Dyc
Just a Note: Here are two songs of remembrance…
Break the Bread (Communion Song) - Worship Music
I looked up synonyms for “remembrance,” and here are some of them: commemoration, commendation, keepsake, memento, memorial, recollection, gift, monument, reminder, reproduction, reminiscence…all good words for us to hold in our hearts and minds as we receive Eucharist—along with remembering the sacrifice that brought us to the table. The idea of a “remembrance” made me think about other important moments we humans experience, or do, as a remembrance such as going to the cemetery to clean and adorn the graves of our loved ones; or eulogies at funerals. But not all remembrances center necessarily around death and we celebrate many other things in our lives and mark them in remembrance: births, wedding anniversaries, sacraments, to name a few.
Remembering and marking moments is something we do for many good reasons—as humans we need the reminders of the past in order to move forward in our lives—and we always hope to learn from our experiences of “before” as we look toward the future. Here is some John O’Donohue:
“May my mind come alive today
To the invisible geography
That invites me to new frontiers,
To break the dead shell of yesterdays,
To risk being disturbed and changed.”
“See the gifts the years have given,
Things your effort could never earn,
The health to enjoy who you want to be
And the mind to mirror mystery.”
We are told today to “heed and do” what the Lord says—and to remember that it is vital to understand ourselves, and that our remembrance is necessary. We remember the sacrifice of Jesus and commemorate His actions every time we receive the Eucharist—but wouldn’t it be wonderful to live “In Remembrance of Him” in all the different moments of our daily lives? What could it be like, that in this remembering, we live in a spirit of awe and wonder? No matter where we are or what we are doing we can live in a state of remembrance and reverence toward God. Lord, let me know You in the washing of dishes, the cleaning of the house, gardening, tending, and mending and fixing. Let me know You in the notes in right order, in the words on any page, in those we meet daily and in all the faces of those near and far. Let me know and remember You in all things, Lord.
Keep singing in your hearts!
Elizabeth Dyc
Just a Note: Here are two songs of remembrance…
Break the Bread (Communion Song) - Worship Music
RSS Feed
