It is Good To Remember

Richard Maffeo  |  Reflections  |  Learning to Lean  |  21 September, 2012

. . . the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me  (1 Corinthians 11:23-25).

Then [they] . . . will remember Me . . . how I have been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me . . . and they will loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed, for all their abominations (Ezekiel 6:8-9, NASB).

As I receive Holy Communion each week,
I try to quiet my mind and remember what Jesus did –
the whip
the blood
the cross
the nails
the thorns
the spear.

But I don’t often take time to remember
why He did it;
And so I miss
the richness
of the
love
of God.

But when I looked again at St. Paul’s words to the church at Corinth,
I took a moment to remember the darkness I was before Christ –
and the darkness I am
without Him.

I remember the baby I slaughtered in the womb.
The young women I turned into whores and adulteresses.
The lies I told to gain advantage over others.
The robberies I committed to get what I didn’t earn.
The fledgling faith of friends I destroyed by my arrogant, self-justifying philosophies.

The memories – when I allow them to surface – hurt.

Very much.

And I loathe myself.
I grieve
for the wickedness
in my past.

But the memories also prove –
and undeniably demonstrate –
the wholly incomprehensible
grace of God
love of God
mercy of God

who sent His Son
to carry the full weight,
the full punishment,
the full and horrible penalty that I –
that I –
so richly deserve
for my sins,

so God could grant me forgiveness.
And with it,
eternal life.

It is good
to remember.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me; I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see. – John Newton

Richard Maffeo was born and raised in a Jewish home. In 1972, when he discovered Jesus is the Messiah Israel has been awaiting for millennia, he turned his life over to Jesus and has served Him ever since. In 2005, after two years of concerted study of Scripture and reflection, Richard realized Christ was calling him into the Catholic Church. He was received into the Church during the Easter Vigil of 2005. His wife, Nancy, followed Christ's call into the Church in 2011. Richard teaches an adult Bible study at his parish and has written three books.