Liturgical commemoration

At his last supper Jesus said, “Do this as a memorial (in remembrance) of me.” It is frequently said by liturgical scholars and biblical theologians that the concept used by Jesus, of doing something as a memorial or in remembrance—a concept used often in the Old Testament—was a concept peculiar to the ancient Israelites, or, more generally, to the ancient Semites. This chapter argues against that claim, suggesting instead that the concept used is familiar to all of us: we commonly speak of doing or making something as a memorial. Our lives are filled with memorial actions and with memorial objects. After analyzing in some detail the phenomenon of doing or making something as a memorial, the chapter highlights the important role of memorial actions in the liturgy.