Official memorial celebrations are familiar to us, marking wars or national events. Often, these are coloured by a mixture of sadness and gratitude. The Christian memorial of the last week of Jesus’ life is entirely different. First of all, we tell the whole story again because he is risen from the dead. Secondly, this memorial is an effective one: as we do this in memory of him, the very same gifts of compassion, forgiveness, love and healing are offered again to all present, precisely because Jesus is risen from the dead. Our Christian memory is not a dead remembering but an effective bringing into the present of the great events that gave us new life in Christ.
Prayer
Saving God, as we recall in word and gesture the great events of salvation, let us know your healing love once more. Amen.
Kieran O’Mahony, OSA