Our world is in desperate need of healing. First, there is the physical healing from the current virus, which has also caused havoc in isolating families, taking jobs and creating economic uncertainty.
All of this needs healing. Then there is the healing of race relations. All I could think of as I watched the violence in our cities during these days was how much we are in need of healing. Only the pain of a deep wound would cause this kind of violent reaction. George Floyd’s tragic death touched a wound that cries out for healing.
All these thoughts were in my head when I heard our Holy Father last Sunday, on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), speak about the healing power of Jesus, especially the healing power of the Eucharist. In particular, he spoke about the healing of memories. He talked about how memory is essential to know who we are and to restore who we are. When we remember the way our father or mother or grandfather or grandmother looked at us with love. When we remember important accomplishments or lessons we have learned. These memories root us in the reality of who we are.
However, memory is not just individual; it is in fact communal. We learn who we are as a people from the memory that is passed down to us. Jewish parents share the memory of being saved from slavery in Egypt at Passover because it helps the children know they are God’s chosen people. We as Americans share the memory of the Boston Tea Party or the signing of the Declaration of Independence because these memories are part of who we are as a people.
We all have not only good memories but also bad ones. This is the result of our fallen human state. Just as good memories confirm our identity, bad memories can damage or even destroy our identity.
Through difficult or traumatic memories we can come to believe lies about ourselves. And negative memories, too, can be communal, not just individual.
A people can have a memory that robs them of their true identity. Nations will sometimes be at war for generations because the memory of hatred and revenge is passed down. People can begin to believe they are less than they should be when they are told by individuals or by society they will never amount to much. These negative memories can have profound negative effects on us.
Psychologists and spiritual theologians alike tell us we need the healing of
memories. Since those memories have lied to us about our identity, we need to replace those memories with experiences of love.
Here was the beautiful point of Pope Francis’ homily from June 14, which I recommend you read for yourself. Pope Francis said, “The Eucharist first heals our orphaned memory. We are living at a time of great orphanage. The Eucharist heals orphaned memory. So many people have memories marked by a lack of affection and bitter disappointments caused by those who should have given them love and instead orphaned their hearts. We would like to go back and change the past, but we cannot.
“God, however, can heal these wounds by placing within our memory a greater love: his own love. The Eucharist brings us the Father’s faithful love, which heals our sense of being orphans. It gives us Jesus’ love, which transformed a tomb from an end to a beginning, and in the same way can transform our lives. It fills our hearts with the consoling love of the Holy Spirit, who never leaves us alone and always heals our wounds.”
The Holy Father made the point that the Eucharist is a memorial. This is not a simple remembering, but a sacramental act. When we make memory in the Eucharist, we believe that the death and resurrection of Jesus actually become present here and now. It is Jesus’ paschal mystery that has saved us from sin and death. This is the event that makes us God’s chosen people, the people of the new covenant.
When we celebrate the Eucharist we don’t just give thanks remembering this as an event of the past, but the event is made new before us and we participate in this event. The paschal mystery, our living memory, is made present to us, and we receive the life of Jesus poured out for us on the cross. This memory is so powerful that it can heal us, by entering into those places in our own hearts where we doubt the truth of love. This is what St. Thomas Aquinas said in a homily about the Eucharist: “No other sacrament has greater healing power; through it sins are purged away, virtues are increased and the soul is enriched with an abundance of every spiritual gift.”
The healing of our society will not be simple or quick, and it will not happen without the healing love of Jesus Christ. Only Jesus can heal the pain and divisions we face because only Jesus can heal the wound of our sin and death. Jesus can replace the pain of our memory with his healing love, which allows us to begin to love anew. If you and I can come to the Eucharist and be healed, then we can be part of his healing love for the world.
Recent Comments