Remember Me

Through the years, I have had great mentors.  One of them is the late Mrs. James, the Director of Religious Education (DRE), at St. Bernadette Parish in Monroeville, PA in the early 1990's.  I was just in my first week of teaching CCD or religion to 5th graders when she immediately got to molding me into the teacher she wanted me to be.  She suggested I take a course in Creative Teaching.  This particular course gave me the opportunity to have one of the greatest teachers I have ever met.  I could not recall her name right now but I think it is Mrs. Agnes Hirschhorn or something similar.

The late Mrs. Agnes was not only a master catechist but also an actress that had appeared in many commercials at that time.  I was very impressed most of all by her work ethic and her enthusiasm for any topic or endeavor she wanted us to undertake. There was never a wasted moment in the class. She made the fifty or so catechists in the class engaged in the myriad activities she presented to us.

One particular activity involved us to choose among hundreds of pictures she mounted on construction paper and then create a talk on the topic that the pictures represent.  I decided to collect several pictures on the Holy Eucharist.  But what would I particularly talk about it was something I had to grapple with especially since the dogma on the Holy Eucharist is common knowledge for all Catholics. What new perspective could I present, I asked myself.

I happened to read a wonderful and touching article in the Readers Digest a week before about a man who created videos of himself with his children.  He was suffering from an incurable disease and his days were numbered.  He wanted his young children to remember him forever and videotaping happy moments particularly he felt would help. I took this same idea to explain what the Holy Eucharist is for me.

I remember starting my talk with this story and the father's desire to be remembered.  I went on to say that Jesus did not have any video tape recorder but He too wanted Himself to be remembered forever.  Thus He instituted the Holy Eucharist during the Last Supper.  For me such desire is a great act of love by anybody and I am so impressed Jesus, who has everything, wanted this.  He knew we would need this gift of His presence when He was gone.

Through the years, I have had occasions to celebrate with friends from other denominations in their services. I even in moments of disappointment with my religion wanted to switch i
to another group. What always brought me back is this "dauntless faith" that I am receiving the body and blood of Jesus Christ and not just the bread and wine. It sounds carnivorous to some but I truly believe that Jesus wanted this union with us every time we go to Mass. It is beyond human reason but more the actual workings of the grace when one receives communion or Holy Eucharist that make me have this "dauntless faith to believe".

Today is Holy Thursday and we commemorate the Last Supper when Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist.  I consider myself lucky that I have the opportunity to partake of this mystery and this gift as many times during the year and not only on the day it is commemorated.