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Prone to forgetfulness, we must gather at the Eucharist

By Father Dennis Meinen
View from the scooter

We make lists so we won't forget and then we forget the list.
Sometimes when someone asks for my prayers and I know I can’t be with them because of distance or some other reason, I think of a recent gospel (Matthew 8:1-13) . Jesus came down from the mountain and healed a leper. What was striking was that Jesus touched him, something people wouldn’t do. Then a centurion, an officer in charge of a hundred soldiers, approached him and appealed to him about his paralyzed servant was suffering dreadfully." He said to him, "I will come and cure him." The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. When Jesus heard this he commended him for his faith and immediately granted him his request. And at that very hour (his) servant was healed. I ask the Lord to use my prayer for the person in need of my prayers and to cast His serenity onto the storms in his or her life. When you need help, do you approach the Lord Jesus for help and strength?

Do you forget many things? A few weeks before Christmas, a woman who lived in a New York apartment building found a greeting card taped to her door. "Merry Christmas from the custodial staff," it said. "How nice," she said to herself and promptly forgot about it. A week later she came home to find another card taped to her door.   It was the same message, "Merry Christmas from the custodial staff."  But this time, stamped right in the middle in big red letters, were the words, "Second Notice!"
 
We are all terribly forgetful.  None of us is immune.  As we immerse ourselves in our daily tasks — as surely we must — we can forget almost anything: birthdays, anniversaries, appointments, our bank balance, our glasses.  You name it, we forget it.  We make lists so we won't forget and then we forget the list. But our forgetfulness isn't limited just to the little things.  We forget the big things as well: who our real friends are, what really matters in life, who loves us, who needs us, what we were made for.  We just forget and forget and forget.
 
That is why we need to gather as a faith community at Mass day after day and week after week: to help each other remember who we are, remember what really matters, and remember that we aren't walking this long road alone.  We're walking it with the Eucharistic Lord, the center of our worship, who is right at our side.
 
"Lord Jesus, you feed us daily with your life-giving word and you sustain us on our journey to our true homeland with you and the Father in heaven. May we never lose hope in your promises nor lag in zeal for your kingdom of righteousness and peace."