Christian Roque Dr. James Piscos 1-M Seminar 2

In Memory of Me

The phrase “do this in memory of me” was spoken by Christ to his disciples during the last supper. This instruction came after he broke the bread and offered it to his disciples as a symbolism of his body which will be sacrificed to atone for our sins. This is repeated in every mass as a preparation for communion. It is in communion that we get to experience the last supper in the same way as the first Apostles had with Christ. This gives us an idea of what it is that we need to dedicate in the memory of Christ. As mentioned in Paul’s letter to the Corinthian’s “for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” The sacrament of communion becomes a way for us to commemorate Christ and proclaim his sacrifice and eventual resurrection.

But as important as the symbolism of the communion is, we also have to give equal importance in remembering the life that Christ lived when came down upon us. We start by remembering Christ through the best source that we have of him, the Bible. It is through the stories in the Bible that I have come upon my image and idea of Christ. In the story of Wedding at Cana that I learned of Christ being a good son to his mother. In the resurrection of Lazarus, I learned of him being a good friend. Even though I have never met him personally, by reading his stories in the Bible I came to know him and through this formed a relationship with him.

This is an indispensible part of fulfilling Christ’s instruction to us. To do things in memory of Christ, we need to remember Christ. But lack of any prior knowledge or idea of who Christ was would make it impossible to for us to remember him. The Bible now becomes essential in this whole process. As I have mentioned, the Bible gives us an access to the life that Christ lived. This gives us a memory of Christ to whom we can remember and finally dedicate ourselves.

Aside from celebrating the Eucharist and commemorating all the acts that he has done, we also need to give actions to our memories of Christ. It does not matter how many times I take the body and blood of Christ during communion if my action towards my fellowmen does not reflect the life that Christ lived during his time. This contradiction actually becomes an insult to the memory to his memory. It becomes important now that we strike a balance between honouring Christ’s memory through the sacrament of communion and the Eucharist and following his footsteps and living out his memory.