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not good to premier muslims forward owns Remember and Be Healed
The healing power of remembering God’s goodness

Laura Ercolino
Nov 05, 2024

“Live in the moment.” How often have I been told to stay in the present? How often have I repeated this mantra to myself and others? Focusing and refocusing my attention on what is right before me, in the here and now, calms my anxieties and I am more effective in carrying out God’s will moment to moment. This mental practice of staying in the moment is a mental, emotional, and spiritual challenge. I have repeatedly asked God to please erase my memories of past darkness, to make me forget. I believed what I no longer remembered would no longer cause me pain and I would be healed.

Forgetting the sufferings, mistakes, and pain of the past may seem the easy way out but it is not God’s way of healing me.

In Exodus 32:9-14, the theme of remembering caught my attention and caused me to reflect further on why forgetting is not synonymous with healing. The Israelites repeatedly forgot all that God had done to rescue them from slavery and provide for them in the desert. And now they have built the golden calf and are worshiping it instead of the God who brought them out of Egypt. God calls His chosen ones, “a stiff-necked people” and tells Moses to leave Him alone so that His “anger may burn against them and I may destroy them.” Moses pleads for the unfaithful Israelites by asking God to remember His promises from the past.

“But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’ Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.”

I don’t think it was God who had forgotten His mighty deeds or His promises.

Perhaps, Scripture records this dialogue between Moses and God to remind us that God never forgets or dishonors His promises and that He is merciful and forgiving.

In Psalm 106, the theme of remembering continues. David writes about the golden calf incident, a historical event, a pivotal memory, and he says “Our fathers… they forgot the God who had saved them… His wondrous deeds.” Perhaps, the Israelites went astray because they were focused only on their present suffering. In trying to forget their pain they also forgot the goodness of God and His power to rescue and heal.

I do not want to forget God’s presence in my life – past, present, or future. Remembering how God protected, saved, and healed me in the past gives me courage to be anchored in the present and face the uncertainty of the future with confidence.

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Choose Holiness
Gospel Reflection for November 11, 2024
Lexis Challen
Nov 11

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“He said to his disciples, ‘Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur. It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’ you should forgive him.” (Lk. 17:1-4 NABRE)

We live in a fallen creation, and as a result of this, sin and evil naturally occur. We experience sickness, tragedies, and death, as well as spiritual battles involving vices and temptations. But Jesus reminds us today that simply because such evils will inevitably occur, this is no excuse to hold ourselves less accountable. We are to fight against these things all the more by relying on the Lord and His graces, and by striving for union with God through reaching for holiness!!

Jesus warns us about the dangers of leading others into sin. Rather than influencing or causing others to do evil, we are called to be an example to others of how to live like Jesus. We are called to demonstrate the Lord’s love and virtue, so as to lead others to Jesus and His light.

Further, if someone sins against us, we must not hold a grudge or withhold forgiveness. If we wish to be forgiven of our sins, we must bestow that same mercy of the Lord on others by forgiving them of the wrongs they’ve committed against us. Doing so will assist others in experiencing Jesus’ love and mercy and will encourage them to do the same by freely forgiving as well.

Overall, today’s Gospel is a reminder to choose a life of holiness, to lead by example, and to forgive those who have hurt us. May we follow Jesus’ commands by striving to obey these teachings.

“Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt. 5:8)

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.” (Col. 3:12-13)