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April 1, 2021The recurring theme in the readings is “to remember.” As we look toward the future, we imagine that we will remember these past twelve months vividly. They have been unlike anything else any of us had experienced before. We have experienced our vulnerability, distress, anxiety, weariness, restlessness, and many other feelings that make the pandemic difficult to forget. However, the readings ask us to remember not something unpleasant but instances of love events.
The Exodus reading describes the institution of the Passover ritual as a memorial feast. The Responsorial Psalm makes it evident that we want to give something back to God for all the good He has done for us. We remember His loving goodness, and we pay our vows to Him faithfully and publicly. In the Epistle, St. Paul presents our Lord at His Last Supper with the disciples, offering Himself: “This is my body that is for you.” And asking them, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Lastly, after our Lord humbled Himself and washed His disciples’ feet, He tells them to do likewise, “I have given you a model to follow.” Remember and do likewise.
Every Eucharistic liturgy is a remembrance of this night. This practice originates with our Jewish roots, particularly the Passover when the Lord told Moses and Aaron to zakar (to remember) this feast. This remembrance is not a passive recalling but an experience here and now of what God did for the Israelites. The Lord’s prescriptions for the Passover prefigured His passion: a lamb without blemish to be slaughtered. St. Paul’s account of the Last Supper includes this calling for anamnesis, remembrance of the Lord’s giving of His own Body and Blood. Thus, every time that we celebrate the Eucharistic liturgy, we experience the Paschal Mystery here and now. We encounter Christ at the institution of the Eucharist, His passion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven. The Prayer over the Offerings today makes that clear, “for whenever the memorial of this sacrifice is celebrated the work of our redemption is accomplished.” We experience God’s loving goodness toward us: His sacrifice for our salvation. Even amid unpleasant circumstances, we encounter God tangibly in the Eucharist.
Following the Lord’s request, we remember His salvific sacrifice, and we humble ourselves before our brothers and sisters in service as a sign of God’s love for them. Let us share this Gospel with those who have not received it in their hearts. May they approach the Altar faithfully, where we all encounter God and remember that He loves us to the end.
