The Fullness of Life
Anamnesis
A friend sent this thought-provoking message: "How would you like to be remembered?--that is a question we all should think about Now while we still have the time... others don't."
I thought about it and I looked back to my almost thirty years of monastic life and I realized that I really did not care much about being remembered. What really matter in life is not so much to leave a memory of myself but to constantly remember life, sufferings, death, resurrection, and glorification of the One who died on the Cross for me and for all humanity, our Lord Jesus Christ.
The night before His death gathered His apostles for a meal and during this last supper. He pronounced His blessings upon the bread saying, "This is my Body..." and over the cup of wine, "This is my blood." And then, He added, "Do this in memory of Me." This act of remembering Jesus and His work of redemption is very important. It is so important that theological term for it had to emerge. It is called anamnesis.
Anamnesis is a Greek word which means remembrance, calling to mind, or memorial. Theologically, it is the remembering of God's saving intervention in history especially in the Paschal mystery; or the passion, death, and resurrection of our Savior. In the celebration of the holy Mass, in its strict theological sense, it is that part wherein the priest says: "Father--calling to mind the death Your son endured for our salvation, His glorious resurrection and ascension into heaven, and ready to greet Him when He comes again..."
In a more general sense, anamnesis is an essential principle in all of Christian liturgical celebration. As the faithful gather together in memory of Christ, Our Lord is also is there in the midst according to His promise: "Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am in their midst."
The opposite of "remembering" is "forgetting." Whenever we forget God or the presence of Christ among us, we fall into sin. But as often as we remember Him, especially His merciful love which He demonstrated to us in His passion and death on the cross, we are touched with contrition and are brought back to a life of grace or the fullness of life.
There is a parallel to Anamnesis in spiritual life which is called "Memoria Dei," a Latin word which simply means, "remembrance of God." We will take a closer look at this in our future reflection.
So, the important thing in life is not so much to be remembered, but to remember that Jesus suffered and died for us and rose to eternal life in order to assure us that in remembering Him when we die and will rise with Him in the last day.