Memory is part of what it is to be a human being. But today we are all familiar with the image of a finger sliding across the screen, as over and over again we scroll on our phone. Everything is quick. Everything passes. Something flickers for a moment and then becomes invisible again. Thus, we risk forgetting everything quickly.
In the Bible we are often invited to remember. This is addressed by God to Israel or to individuals. The history of salvation itself begins with the memory of an event: the crossing of the Red Sea. In the book of Joshua, during the solemn covenant at Shechem, the people are reminded of the deeds accomplished by God. And on the memory of these events, Joshua pronounces his commitment. ‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’ Remembering becomes the ability to make commitments for the future. Remembering what Jesus accomplished at the Last Supper becomes the act par excellence of his disciples. A perennial memorial.
Memory is also fundamental to the spiritual life. We are a history, and our history is inscribed in the history of God. As Marists, we are called to celebrate moments in our history in order to remember God’s action and faithfulness.
Our fidelity is rooted in our ability to make what we remember relevant to the present. Contrary to what we might think, our experience of faith does not come simply from reading texts, but through a practice that is learned and shared. We are Marists because we have the opportunity to live a faith and spirituality that have been embodied in the lives of those who came before us. Because we can see it lived and actualised in the experience of so many of our brothers and sisters. Because we can share it with them.
Therefore, we are not remembering something that happened in the past, but we are invited to become spiritual people who seek to live today what has been handed down by previous generations. Remembering the anniversary of Fr Colin’s death implies that what we have received from the Marists who have gone before us still bears fruit in our present day. From the biblical perspective, to remember an event from the past means making it relevant in the present. It is part of a continuous dynamic: we remember in order to tell a story – we tell a story in order to remember… In this way, memory is not just nostalgia or recollection of a past event but part of the future. Memory and future are closely linked. To the extent that we remember God’s love for us, we remain faithful to his covenant. Remembering the life and death of Fr Colin thus becomes a moment of celebration and, at the same time, manifests our willingness to welcome the future of God for us. That future which for us Marists is accompanied by the presence of Mary, she who reminds us: ‘I was the support of the early Church; I will be so again at the end of time’.
Faustino Ferrari, sm
