A Meal of Remembrance

Growing up in my family, we had a special traditions around yearly birthday celebrations. The

birthday person got to pick what they wanted to eat for dinner when it was their birthday, and they ate off something we called “the special plate.” A red and white designed plate that read “Today is your special day” with scrolled text all around the exterior. Each member of the family then would share why the birthday person was special, funny memories, or why this person was special in our family.

It was one of the reasons my siblings and I looked forward to birthdays. Over the course of dinner, we would remember and look back at past birthday celebrations and recall those

memories.

Birthdays were a time to celebrate and to remember.

While that first Eucharist meal was nothing like a birthday celebration, it is also primarily about this sacred act of remembering. Remembrance is something that serves to recall or keep in mind a place, person or event.

Our second reading today draws this point out. Jesus says, “Do this in remembrance of me.”

What Jesus is saying in between the lines is:

When you partake in this meal, remember me. Think of me and what I taught and showed you. Remember how much I love you. Remember what I will do to show my love for you.

Keep partaking in this meal until I come again. This sacred meal is a way to stay connected to each other and to me.

As often as you eat this food and drink this cup, remember me.

When you and I go to Mass and receive the Eucharist, we get to partake in this sacred action of remembrance.

Liturgical actions and practices can sometimes feel like robotic motions we simply repeat again and again.

What if we remind ourselves to pay attention and remember more at the table of the Eucharist?

What new things might God have to say to us? How might our personal faith be challenged and strengthened for the better?

Open my eyes and heart to remember you Jesus when I approach your table of love and

welcome in the Eucharist. May I remember you deeply in my heart just as you never forget me.

Today's readings