Exodus 24:3-8 / Hebrews 9:11-15 / Mark 14:12-16, 22-26
Human beings have a wonderful and amazing ability in them, and it is also fascinating.
We use this ability so often that we expect to have it always. But when that ability doesn't function well, or when we lose it, then we will realize how important it is.
Human beings have a memory, and we use it to remember and to recall so many things.
With our memory we remember occasions like birthdays and anniversaries.
With our memory we remember experiences that shaped and formed us.
With our memory we remember our relationships with others and how they have influenced us.
We may forget some things here and there, and we may get some things mixed up.
But we will remember what is necessary and what is important.
But there is also such a thing called erasing the memory, and it is used to exterminate a race or a nation.
So, the aggressor will begin by destroying the books, the culture and the history.
Then new books will be written, and a new culture will be imposed, and a new history will be invented.
In a matter of time, the race or the nation will begin to forget who they are and what they are.
So, the struggle of humanity against oppression and extermination, is the struggle of keeping the memory from being erased and forgotten.
We come to Church every Sunday. Coming to church is more than just a ritual or a habitual thing to do.
We have come to recall and remember an important and fundamental aspect of our faith.
We come for Mass to recall, and to remember God's love for us.
And at Mass, we receive Holy Communion, we receive the Body of Christ, and we recall and remember those words of Jesus: Do this in memory of me.
More than just recalling the historical event of the Last Supper, it is also a living memory.
We remember how much Jesus loves us as we receive Him in Holy Communion.
Today's feast of Corpus Christi, the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, is the celebration of the living memory and the loving presence of Christ in the Church, and in us the Body of Christ.
One of those who are baptized at Easter was sharing with me how happy she was to be baptized and to receive Holy Communion.
She said that in receiving Holy Communion, she felt a belonging to Christ and to the Parish Community.
That is quite an amazing and profound statement from a newly baptized.
And that is also a reminder for us Catholics to keep this belonging by keeping the memory and remembering what Jesus gave us at the Last Supper.
Because the distractive and corruptive trends of the world are powerful enough to erase our memory.
We see it in Catholics who have stopped coming to Church, and in those who have forgotten what their faith is about.
But let us not forget, and let us always remember and recall who we are and why we are here at Mass.
We must remember that we belong to Christ, and that we are members of the Body of Christ.
And let us always remember what Jesus said to us at the Last supper: Do this in memory of me.