anamnesis

Ordinarilly, I try to update my blog on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and twice on the weekend. I don't always succeed but that is my goal. However, since Tuesday, I keep starting what I think is a good idea and then having to abandon it in the middle and not remembering what I was writing when I can get it done later. Memory is a huge issue in my family. I imagine that part of this is normal but, ever since my grandmother developed dimensia similar to alzheimers and basically spent the last fifteen years of her life in a nursing home bed unable to recognize anyone, we are all afraid of what it means to forget things. For me, the thought of forgetting so many great experiences I've had with friends and family is a part of growing older that is not positive.

Several times in the bible, both old and new testaments, the people of God are told to remember something. The Israelites were told to remember the covenant they made with God and keep the commandments of God. The apostles were told to celebrate the eucharist "in remembrance" of Christ. Memory has an important part to play in religion. and, in particular, with our relationship to God. One of the ways we remember this is what is called an examination of conscience. By this I mean a prayer before falling asleep where we take time to recall the experiences we had that day to see those places where God was present and where we couldn't feel the presence of God. It is amazing that, in those remembrances, we find how close our God has been to us.