MEMORIES
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily is, “Memories.”
It’s Memorial Day - and
it’s Memorial Day weekend, so why not a few thoughts about memories?
DADDY STORY
I used this story before, because it’s one of my favorite
stories. It’s also one of my favorite memories, It happened to me when I was a little
kid.
I’m in the front room of our house in Brooklyn. We called
it the Sun Porch - but it was indoors. My dad is sitting there in the corner -
on a dark green -vinyl easy chair - reading the paper. I’m standing about 10
feet away looking at my dad’s collection of books - one of which is Best Loved Poems in the English Language.
I’m paging through it. Surprise I spot a dark red rose
petal. It’s dry. It’s dead. I must of sensed it was very fragile - so I barely
touched it.
I turn and head for my father - holding the book like one
of the gifts at the offertory procession
at Mass. Showing him the open book with the dark red rose flower petal, I ask
my dad, “Daddy what’s this?”
He asks, “What’s what?”
I said, “This rose petal.”
He looks at it and smiles his great smile, which
different people told me that I got it as well.
He says one word, “Memories.”
That’s a very important moment and story for me. It’s
life. It gave me an important life
lesson.
Every one of us has our red rose petals: a marine pin in
a lapel on a suit jacket, a death card of a mom or dad or child, a baseball
in a box in a bottom drawer, an athletic
trophy from our high school days, a two dollar bill signed by Bobby Kennedy, a
wedding photo on a dresser top, a brick from our first house ….
Memorials …. Mementos …. Memories….
If it rains today - and you’re looking for something to
do - get a pen and paper and find 25 rose petals among your possessions.
Translation: find at least 25 mementos from your life.
TYPES OF MEMORY
There is a long term and short term memory.
There is also working memory - which is a combination of
long and short term memory.
There is number memory - word memory - visual memory -
emotional memory.
Animals have memories as well - long term and short term.
After humans, dolphins might have the best of memories -
along with elephants and ravens. Yes ravens.
But I haven’t read enough of the research in all this.
And research is ongoing - with lab rats, monkeys, humans.
PEAKS AND VALLEYS - INCLUDING DEATH VALLEY
When is our memory at its best?
Everyone over 67 talks about forgetting things - not
remembering things.
We all know the experience of older folks repeating
themselves - telling their war stories - as well as - losing it.
I was in a play in the second year of high school and I
had the lead and had to memorize about 440 lines in 6 weeks. Did it.
Could not do that today.
I gave some high school retreats with a priest who could
memorize the name of 100 kids in about 5 hours.
And he gave me his secret ….
My sister told me
that she had a photographic memory. In high school, she could see the page the
information was on - in the book - that was inside her head - and she could it
put it right down on test papers with ease.
My Aunt Kathleen remembered what people wore at every
family gathering there ever was and she would let people know it - which really endeared her to others -
especially other women.
DEATH
We want to remember our dead.
On memorial day weekend we remember especially those who
served our country and our world in the different branches of military service - and who have died.
We pause and remember moments at funerals for veterans
and burials in Veteran’s Cemeteries like Crownsville and Arlington.
At funerals when I’m stuck - and really don’t know the
person who died I like to say I once saw
on TV - in a documentary on our evolution as human beings - that it was a big
day when primitive peoples - didn’t just toss a dead body off a trail - and
continue on hunter gathering treks thru the forests and mountain trails. No! At
some point a group buried a loved one - said some prayers and words or incantations
- and left a marker - to remember that spot when they happened down that trail
again.
Someone said the 2 major issues of life are death and
family.
And we think of death moments of family members -
especially.
We bury our dead - their bodies, their remains, in sacred
places called cemeteries. Tombs have markers, crosses, gravestones. At the end
of a funeral sometimes people take home a flower and put a petal in a book and
sometimes a little kid will accidently spot that petal and ask, “What’s this?
Memories.
CONCLUSION
We church goers believe that here is where our religion
comes in.
We believe there is life after death.
We believe that Christ’s life tells us about life: loving
one another, burying our complaints, and connecting with one another.
We believe that Holy Communion is with Christ - in all his members - as well.
We believe it’s important to say, “Thank you to those who
were willing to lay down their lives for their friends.”
