This article is an attempt to focus on the spiritual sparks in ‘memory’ that enable a person to have access to God. Here, the term spiritual Alzheimer’s means the temptation to neglect the role of memory in advancing to the final communion with God.
Notion of Memory
In simple terms, the word memory can be defined as follows: ‘the capability of the mind, to store up conscious processes, and reproduce them later with some degree of fidelity.’ In fact, memory is more than just a psychological process of data retrieval, it is the capacity that tells us who we are and where we are heading towards. In fact, without our memory, we would effectively cease to be ourselves. We could not even think of this 100th issue of Magnet, if we do not possess the faculty of memory!
Here we mention four ways through which memory enables us to be connected with the Divine:
1) Love to Recall (Communal Identity)
Memory is the essence of relationships – with one’s own being, with others and with God. Let us not forget that memory shapes not only individuals but also human groups like family, clan etc. In fact, memory helps to relate with a community through activating every individual’s memory.
Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa gives examples of two personalities in relation to collective memory. In history, we see Adolf Hitler, who wanted to systematically stamp out the cultural memory of the people he sought to rule. Contrary to this idea, we have the teachings of Karol Wojtyla (viz., St John Paul II), who sought to keep the spirit of Catholic faith, and Polish culture, alive through the medium of drama. He undertook this process by establishing the underground Rhapsodic Theatre. This attempt shows the effort of a person who brought together a larger group of people under the banner of remembering for the sake of keeping one’s identity and moral compass. In fact, human groups find their collective wealth and communal identity through the way in which they remember where they come from. Once there are positive attempts to bring to memory the past wealth of a community, the community as well as the individual can have easy access to the Divine.
Fr Dr Binny Mary Das
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