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THE CONCEPT OF MEMORIAL
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This was actually the title of a wonderful course in Scriptural/Sacramental theology that I had when I was in Rome, at the Pontifical Atheneum Sant’ Anselmo, while doing my advanced degree. The professor, Fr Odasso, was a gentle and effective teacher, and all of us were grateful for him (and for a large number of the other professors we had).
The lead-in to this essay is a cartoon I have been seeing on Facebook of a boy and his Dad in a cemetery (presumably a military one). The boy asks, “Why do we come and stand here alone?” The Dad replies, “We’re not here alone.” And this is half of the importance of “memorial.”
“Memorial” is connected to “memory” and to “remembering,” but for our purposes it’s not just about thinking about the past. It’s in fact a true “recalling,” a calling of the past to be present with us. By the words “Do this in memory of me,” Jesus proclaims that He’ll be present with us when we celebrate the Eucharist. Because He told us, we remember, and because He said so, He is present.
We all have items in our lives (yes, “stuff,” but not trivial things) that are fully as sacramental as can possibly be. They might be practical things, like cookware, or beautiful things, like necklaces, or things with associations, like pictures or foods or drinks or aromas, or perhaps shared places like walks or picnics or beaches, or events like anniversaries, or spiritual connections like shared prayer. Every one of these can make the past present—sometimes with joyful gratitude for what was (and perhaps still is), sometimes with sadness for what was and is no longer, sometimes with regret for what might have been. But in all cases, memorial is a powerful part of our psyche and heart and soul. Jesus knows this, and that is why we have the Eucharist.
This Memorial Day weekend as we remember those who are dear and special to us, let’s look gratefully to them and through them to God who promises that all the past loss will be undone in a great unity of restoration and love—which “eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it dawned in the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love Him”—and one another in Him. Those beloved gave their lives for us. And we turn, as well, to Jesus, who gave His life for us and opened for us the path to new and eternal life.
Jesus, for you and for them and for us, we pledge always to “Do this in memory of Me.”