The Memory of Divine Presence

Dear Friend,

A dear friar friend and mentor of mine whenever called upon to offer a prayer before a meal or at a meeting, always begins with the words, “Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God.” The words are a clue to his early connection to the spirit of St. John Baptiste de La Salle through a school founded by his followers, the Christian Brothers. At all schools operating under the banner of “Lasallian spirituality” daily prayer begins with “Let us remember…”

For me the trademark admonition of the great French educational genius sheds light on what’s happening in the readings for this Sunday. Job in the first reading, Paul to the Corinthians in the second, and Mark, as he depicts Jesus at work with his disciples are each in his own way crying out in response to a living and vital memory of presence - divine, holy, and in each case here, disruptive. For Paul the memory is immediate, as is, we might guess, the memory of his dramatic conversion, as he writes “Woe to me if I don’t preach it!” For Job, on the other hand, the memory of God’s presence has evaporated in the face of profound suffering, as he declares his days coming to an end “without hope.”

Becoming the memory of divine presence for others is our task as disciples. As Christ’s body through baptism, we are, at our best, vehicles for that presence – with or without words - especially for those like Simon’s mother-in-law who are ill and for those, like Job, who live without hope. Every prayer calls us to remember, and at our Sunday Eucharist, especially, we summon the memory of Jesus Christ so that day by day, with practice, we can become what we remember.

Gratefully,

Fr. Dan ofm