One of the most valued gifts God gave humankind when he created Adam and Eve was the part of us we call memory, that ability to bring back to mind, even in vivid colors, the past. With memory we can flavor our lives, just as salt or spices give that special taste to the meals we prepare. Memorial Day weekend reminds us of this gift as we recall the great sacrifices men and women of every nation have made to protect safeguard their lands and other allies from an enemy’s invasions.
In our country we should recall early wars that were fought in our own land to guarantee our first taste of freedom. As well we recall the loss of many valuable treasures in the lives of men and women who traveled to distant lands to guarantee that our freedom stood tall and strong. We remember the valiant who continued freedoms march at Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, Belleau Woods, Pearl Harbor and Iwo Jima, Inchon, Hue, Kandakar and many cities in Iraq. These are our heroes who we memorialize this 2008 Memorial Day weekend.
We have to recall these painful moments, these conquests, some losses, where freedom was challenged. If we do not remember these historical moments and the lives sacrificed, we will easily forget what has made us who and what we are as a nation. If we do not recall the sacrifices of our American troops and the parents and siblings who gave their sons, brothers and sisters on so many battlefield altars, we would need more than a Tomb for the Unknown. We would need monuments to Forgotten Treasures who we Americans are.
On the Memorial Day weekend, we Roman Catholics, located around the world, we remember the special gift of one man whose sacrifice on the altar of Mt. Calvary will always be remembered because he gave us himself, his Body and Blood not to be a one time conquest of evil but as a continued Presence for us in the Eucharist, his Body and Blood.
His offering for us and to us is not simply a memory. His sacrifice is presence for us in the bread and wine, through the mystery of sacramental grace, consecrated as his Body and Blood, as sustentation to travel through our bodies, our blood.
Today we remember and live in the mystery that sets us apart from every other religion. We are reminded in this feast day of Corpus Christ as it was named at it beginning that Jesus not only died for us but gave to us the gift of his own Body and Blood in the Eucharist. It is his Real Presence not only in critical moments of need, in times of battle, but forever present to us in the consecrated bread and wine. What was and is should always be remembered and allowed to grow in our hearts and minds: The Body and Blood of Jesus Christ makes sacred mine and yours.
In our country we should recall early wars that were fought in our own land to guarantee our first taste of freedom. As well we recall the loss of many valuable treasures in the lives of men and women who traveled to distant lands to guarantee that our freedom stood tall and strong. We remember the valiant who continued freedoms march at Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, Belleau Woods, Pearl Harbor and Iwo Jima, Inchon, Hue, Kandakar and many cities in Iraq. These are our heroes who we memorialize this 2008 Memorial Day weekend.
We have to recall these painful moments, these conquests, some losses, where freedom was challenged. If we do not remember these historical moments and the lives sacrificed, we will easily forget what has made us who and what we are as a nation. If we do not recall the sacrifices of our American troops and the parents and siblings who gave their sons, brothers and sisters on so many battlefield altars, we would need more than a Tomb for the Unknown. We would need monuments to Forgotten Treasures who we Americans are.
On the Memorial Day weekend, we Roman Catholics, located around the world, we remember the special gift of one man whose sacrifice on the altar of Mt. Calvary will always be remembered because he gave us himself, his Body and Blood not to be a one time conquest of evil but as a continued Presence for us in the Eucharist, his Body and Blood.
His offering for us and to us is not simply a memory. His sacrifice is presence for us in the bread and wine, through the mystery of sacramental grace, consecrated as his Body and Blood, as sustentation to travel through our bodies, our blood.
Today we remember and live in the mystery that sets us apart from every other religion. We are reminded in this feast day of Corpus Christ as it was named at it beginning that Jesus not only died for us but gave to us the gift of his own Body and Blood in the Eucharist. It is his Real Presence not only in critical moments of need, in times of battle, but forever present to us in the consecrated bread and wine. What was and is should always be remembered and allowed to grow in our hearts and minds: The Body and Blood of Jesus Christ makes sacred mine and yours.
