How could I explain the phrase "Do this in memory of me"?

[rocknswords]

Greetings friends,

In a deep theological explanation of the above question, how the Church can elaborate which could reveal the difference between a Protestant and Catholic view of that phrase.

In Christ

 

[CaptFun]

I’ll take a shot. And if some of the knowledgeable Apologetics types correct me to my benefit - or my reasoning to its improvement. I’ll be a happy catalyst!

DO - An act. A command. As in: “Go”. “Do this!”

THIS- What He had been doing (re-enact the Covenant Meal in His Power and Name). Reading scripture, teaching, singing psalms.

IN MEMORY OF ME - Jesus was not to be with the apostles in His human uncrucified form
after this night. He would die before the next Sunset. He would rise and see them again during the 40 days prior to the Ascension - but soon His fleshly walking beside them would be over. So the apostles took and ate the Eucharist; repeated Christ’s words and actions, read scriptures just as they did at the Last Supper, and sang holy songs too.

The Mass is a prayer of Christ’s children on Earth; but it was requested or commanded to be done by Him!

 

[St_Francis]

I heard this, so cannot guarantee it: but the ancient Greek word *remember *has the connotation of re-member, that is, to put together again.

So, Do this in Re-Member-ance of Me is to say, Do this to put Me back together.

 

[Oldtimer_7]

The idea that this phrase was separate from and even superior to the preceding sentence was an innovation of Huldrich Zwingl, one of the founders of the Anabaptist movementi. Luther vigorously opposed this idea. The idea fails on several grounds. First, in Greek, the most important thought is presented first. Second, it is dependent on the first part of the statement, so it must be included in it, not seen as a conclusion.

 

[Dorothy]

Remember that John 6 and the Lord’s explanation about being the bread that comes from heaven and is truly Him came before the Last Supper.

The Eucharist is a LIVING MEMORIAL!

As if that were not enough we have the God-given authority of the Church that teaches us of that.

 

[AmbroseSJ]

Another concept in the “DO this” is that “YOU” is understood. This You is addressed to the 12 Apostles, not to random disciples, or people hearing this on the mount etc. IOW, a very special commission is entrusted to the Apostles in this command, and no one else. The Sacramental Priesthood is conferred upon the Apostles at this moment, and this command is one of their primary functions. The Levitical priesthood is superseded and replaced with a NEW priesthood.

 

[djeter]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ES2SF8N5L.SL500_AA300.jpg

Greetings friends,

In a deep theological explanation of the above question, how the Church can elaborate which could reveal the difference between a Protestant and Catholic view of that phrase.

In Christ

Fr. Jean Corbon had a liturgical vocabulary page in one of his books,The Wellspring of Worship. The entry for anamnesis was as follows:

Anamnesis: “reminder, remembrance”. In the liturgical celebration the Church remembers all the saving events that God brought about in history and that had their climax and fulfillment in the Cross and Resurrection of Christ. But the paschal event, which occurred only once in history, is contemporary with each moment of our lives, for now that Christ is risen, he has broken through the wall of mortal time. The liturgy is thus a “memorial” of an utterly new kind. We do the remembering, but the reality remembered is no longer in the past but is here: the Church’s memory becomes a presence. From this we can gauge the unsurpassed realism of the event that is the liturgy.

Since the Protestants don’t believe in transubstantiation, I would have to assume that what they have is a kind of symbolic memory and not a real presence. For years of my wasted youth I stumbled along with an Episcopal mass where nothing happened. Since my conversion I eagerly await the Lord’s breaking through our liturgy and feeling his presence at Mass. It’s thrilling, in a word.

It’s unfortunately a reality that seems lost to many, a “surpassed realism,” might we gently observe. You might not be able to express the Protestant view but I would hope that you could give some testament to the Catholic reality. I don’t think it can be expressed in a “theological” context as it is spiritual in nature and is experiential rather than thought-driven.

dj

 

[philial]

The Mass is based on the same understanding that underpins the yearly passover feast, clelebrated both in Jesus’ days, and now.

When jews gather to “remember” the original exodus they are not simply recalling the past as a done event, but actually calling those events into the present so that they become a real & substantial experience that allows all jews at all times to experience the escape from slavery towards nationhood.

When the early Church celebrated the eucharist it was with the same understanding, since, of course, the mass is based on the passover supper. So, we do not simply recall the crucifixion as a past event, a done deal, if you will, but as something which we experience here and now, across time & space, as the eternal & significant sacrifice which has gained us our redemption.

This is why the mass is also a sacrifice, since we are, for all intent & purposes, in the upper room and on Calvery while the events unfold.

so, you can see, even from this short and inadequate explanation, that the catholic belief is firmly based on the thoughts and practices of 1st century judaism, which is what Jesus and the early Church would have understood. Most protestants have moved so far from biblical times that they have lost this understanding, which is ironic when you consider how reliant thay are on the Bible!!!

Hope this helps

 

[Mystophilus]

I heard this, so cannot guarantee it: but the ancient Greek word *remember *has the connotation of re-member, that is, to put together again.

So, Do this in Re-Member-ance of Me is to say, Do this to put Me back together.

Sorry, but that is just one of those ideas which comes out of people reading the English. The Greek term is about memory, not reassembly.

 

[Crumpy]

I agree with the ideas in posts 7 and 8, which are explained in greater detail in a recent book by Dr. Scott Hahn called Letter and Spirit.

As these prior posts indicate, the Mass is an historical extension of the event from the past, making it present in the form we see it.

It is much more than the idea of the meaning of a word (as it says in post 9).

Christ is truly present in the Eucharist.

There is also a forward-looking aspect of it, as the Mass anticipates the banquet/supper of the Lamb in eternity. The Mass is a early-look of the heavenly, eternal banquet.

 

[CaptFun]

I heard this, so cannot guarantee it: but the ancient Greek word *remember *has the connotation of re-member, that is, to put together again.

So, Do this in Re-Member-ance of Me is to say, Do this to put Me back together.

It’s keeping His covenant in His name and power.

:tsktsk: It applies nowhere else (e.g. Humpty Dumpty) :nope:

 

[rocknswords]

Shalom!

Reading all your comments I’m moving inward the idea I try to understand more, which is not look-down on the Protestants (my brothers and sisters too). What I got now in the surface of my mind is that we both agree on the breaking of the bread (Eucharist), but for the Catholic is really the presence of Jesus whereas the Protestant is just a symbolic to remember the event of the Last Supper, correct me if I’m wrong.

In Christ

 

[inkaneer]

Greetings friends,

In a deep theological explanation of the above question, how the Church can elaborate which could reveal the difference between a Protestant and Catholic view of that phrase.

In Christ

“In memory of me” has the connotation of being a memorial to someone. We have tombstones as memorials pof those who have passed on to glory. But Jesus would have no tombstone, just an empty grave. His memorial will be the Eucharist.

 

[fastenatingguy]

A priest friend of mine has emphasized that in the greek form the exclamation “Do this” has a connotation of “do this, AND KEEP doing this” so that we understand to do it regularly, and not just once.

 

[uncle_joe]

I believe the most important word might be “this”, since people who struggle with this verse seem most often to dispute whether “this” actually means “like this.” Jesus did not tell us to do something that merely “is like” what he was doing when he spoke. Elsewhere in scripture, many times, Jesus used words that made it clear he was speaking with an analogy or metaphor, but he did no such thing in this verse.

When Jesus told parables, for example, he showed that he certainly knows how to say such things as “The Kingdom of Heaven is LIKE…”, and so we can trust that when Jesus made a comparison to something, he did so in a way that plainly meant he was comparing one thing to another. If he wanted us to do something that was merely “like” distributing his body and blood, then I think it is reasonable to trust that Jesus would have said so clearly.

Jesus told us to “do THIS”, and did NOT tell us to “do something like this.” He also did NOT say, “pretend to do this” or “look like you are doing this.” Jesus spoke very clearly, and he plainly told us “do THIS.”

Since Jesus would never tell us to do that which we could not possibly do, I think we must trust that we can in fact do what he told us to do. For this reason, we may rightly trust that Jesus has assured us of the ability to have his real body and blood present. That is assured by having validly ordained priests who, acting in the person of Jesus Christ, can do for us what Jesus did, namely distribute the real body and blood of Jesus to those who fully accept Jesus.

As for the phrase “in memory of me”, I think that firmly tells us that we are to remember Jesus as truly and really alive. When he distributed his body and blood, he did NOT hand to others that which is idle and lifeless. No, indeed, Jesus distributed that which was really and truly alive. He gave himself entirely, and did not distribute himself without life. We are to remember that in the Eucharist there is true life. Indeed, the life in the Eucharist is more true and more alive than any other we could know. That is what we are supposed to remember.

Peace be with you.