?Mass at Santa Marta – Journey and remembrance

Along the path of life we never walk alone,
and in order to remember that God is beside us, he helps us understand that
salvation is not a momentary event but a history that unfolds day by day, amid
successes and failures, until the final encounter. The parallel between the
history of the people of Israel and that of the individual Christian guided
Pope Francis’ meditation during Mass at Santa Marta on Thursday morning, 21
April.

We
should appreciate this history, because “remembering brings us closer to God”,
the Pontiff said. Thus, he recalled, the day’s reading from The Acts of the
Apostles (13:13-25) regarding the first preaching by Jesus’ Apostles “was
historic”. In preaching the Gospel, “they arrived at Jesus, but by retelling
the whole history of the People of Israel”, starting with “father Abraham”,
moving on through “Moses, the deliverance from Egypt, the Promised Land”,
until, regarding King David, they concluded: “From this man’s descendants God,
according to his promise, has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus”. In this way
they gave an historical account of the journey that God “had made with his
people”.

All
this, Francis said, “makes us think that Christ’s message, Christ’s salvation,
this gift that God has given us, is not a momentary event and nothing more: it
is a journey!”. It is the journey “that God wanted to make with his people” and
which must not be forgotten. This is why remembrance is repeatedly advised
throughout Scripture. For example, in the Book of Deuteronomy, which is
actually “the book of the memory of Israel”, we read: “Remember, remember!
Remember this!”. Therefore, it is important, the Pontiff explained, “to turn
back to see how God saved us, by following
— with the heart and mind — the path with these memories and in this way
to arrive at Jesus”.

Jesus
himself had emphasized remembrance and “in the greatest moment of his life”, he
gave us his body and blood “and said: ‘Do this in memory of me’”. Hence, we
must “remember how God saved us”.

This
is an invitation that the Church accepts each day in the Liturgy of the
Eucharist. In this regard the Pope pointed out that in the prayer at the
beginning of the day’s Mass there was an invocation to “God who had redeemed
man and lifted him beyond the ancient splendour”. The Pope then added: “the
people must remember” that God did all of this “on the journey” with his
people.

In
every Eucharist we celebrate “the memory of this salvation; the memorial of
Jesus who is present on the altar to give his life to us”. But, Francis added,
“we too, in our own personal life, must do the same: remember our journey”,
because “each of us has made our way, accompanied by God”, close to God, close
to the Lord”, at times even “distancing ourselves from the Lord”. In any case,
the Pontiff advised, “it does the heart good” for every Christian to remember
“his own path” and understand how God “led him or her here”, how God led us by
the hand.

In retracing the journey made, we should
also be cognizant of the times we have said to the Lord: “No! Move away! I don’t want…!” — and “the
Lord”, the Pope emphasized, “is respectful” even of this — but it is important
to remember “our own life and our own journey”.

It is helpful to repeat this practice often
and to remember: “At that moment God gave me this grace and I responded in this
way…”, to tell ourselves: “I did this, this, and that”, and to realize that
God has always accompanied us. In this way, the Pope said, “we arrive at a new
encounter”, one which could be called the “encounter of gratitude”, in which we
could pray in this way: “Thank you Lord for the company you have given me, for
this journey you have made with me!”. We could also ask forgiveness for the
sins and mistakes that we may be aware of, knowing that God “walks with us and
is not afraid of our malevolence”; he is “always there!”.

In
this regard, the Pontiff added: “How often have we closed the door in his face;
how often have we pretended not to see him, not to believe the he was there
with us; how often have we denied his salvation…. But he was there!”. It is
important “to remember all of this”, as it is to remember “our good deeds”. How
often, for example, “have we helped others, cared for a sick person”.

The
Pope then advised that we “remember the whole journey” because “remembering
brings us closer to God”. It is, Francis explained, a sort of “re-creation”, of
“regeneration, which leads us beyond the ancient splendour that Adam had in the
first creation”. To end his homily the Pope repeated several times this simple
advice: “Remember!”. Whether remembering the entire course of one’s life,
remembering the course of today’s events or those of the past year, it always
good to ask: “How has my relationship with the Lord been?”, and to remember,
the Pontiff concluded, “the great and beautiful things the Lord has done in
each of our lives”.