Why is it "In MEMORY of Me"?

[Hawkmaid]

I’ve searched this countless times and have seen a few vague answers as far as this goes, but I haven’t read a definite answer to why Jesus says “In Memory” of Him. I agree and believe wholeheartedly in the Catholic belief of the True Presence and the One Sacrifice of His life; I just don’t understand why He says “Do this in MEMORY of Me” rather than “Do this WITH Me” or something along those lines? Is it a translation thing? Or did it mean something different? Because it’s not just a reminder of what He did for us, it IS what He did for us.

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

This is rooted in the Jewish concept of remembrance. It is much more than a simple calling to mind of an event. It is an action by which the present is truly brought into contact with the past. At Passover the Jewish people do not simply say that “Once our ancestors were once slaves in Egypt.” They say: “Once **we **were slaves in Egypt.” The Passover ritual requires the participants to remember the events as if they are a part of the events. There is a belief that through the ritual they are spiritually connected to the very events being remembered and that they are not simply reminding themselves of a past event.

In the Eucharist this is taken a step further, much like when the “good thief” on the cross asked Jesus to remember him in His kingdom, he did not mean for Jesus to simply call him to mind but to truly bring him with Him. We believe that when we “do this in remembrance” of Jesus that His one sacrifice is (through the mystery of faith) made present in our midst.