Not all memories are good. Some must be faced with courage. A great prayer that embraces our most painful memories is the Eucharist (…)
In the Eucharist, we do not only remember Jesus' gift of his body and blood, but also the failures of the disciples, Peter's denial. In the Eucharist, we dare to remember who we are and what we have done, so that we can leave the past behind, live in the present, and look forward. We can remember and be free because these are not just our private stories that we must bear alone, but they are small stories within one large, all-encompassing story of the great things the Lord has done for us. Peter could dare to remember his failure because it is not a private story of shame, but an event in the good news brought by the gospel. All these memories, those we do not dare to confront, and those that keep us captive, can be laid upon the altar in sacrifice and left there, so that at the end of the Eucharist we may freely walk outside.
(Timothy Radcliffe OP /*1945/, Being Alive in God)
