So, anamnesis meant more of a process in which something in another world came to be embodied in this physical world. For him, knowledge was an act of anamnesis, or “remembering,” whereby the realities of the world of forms (ideas) came to people in this world. Plato, for example, used it as one of his key ideas.
OBJECTOR: Yes, by making the Lord’s death present to our minds.ĬATHOLIC: In Greek culture, anamnesis was a term used to denote the movement of an abstract idea into this material world. The eucharistic actions of the Church proclaim the Lord’s death by making the Lord present to the worshiping community of faith. But recall the old saying that “actions speak louder than words.” I suggest that it is through anamnesis that the Lord’s death is proclaimed. But how does eating and drinking proclaim the Lord’s death as verse 26 says? Proclaiming a message usually involves preaching, teaching or speaking in some form. It says that anamnesis involves a proclamation of the Lord’s death in this act of consecration. When we eat and drink, we are reminded of the first Last Supper.ĬATHOLIC: You’ll notice that in the passage quoted the word for begins verse 26 just after the phrase containing the term anamnesis. Verse 26 explains the meaning of doing this in memory. Verse 26 is important for understanding the meaning of the words “Do this in remembrance of me.” It says, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” This verse shows that the remembrance involved is a proclamation of the gospel. It occurs 1 Corinthians 11:24–25 and in Luke 22:19. The Greek word Paul used for “memory” or “remembrance” is anamnesis. The phrase is always the same ( eis ten emen anamnesin) no matter how differently it may be translated. OBJECTOR: I don’t see any “greater meaning” in our Lord’s words. In fact, it is the greater meaning of doing this meal in memory of Christ that makes sense of the mental act by individual Christians. The words of the eucharistic prayers remind us of this mental act when they say, “Calling to mind the death you Son endure for our salvation.” It also means more than a mental act. I would include the mental act but I would not limit it to a mental act. There are no biblical texts that suggest anything more than this mental act of memory.ĬATHOLIC: That’s where we disagree. We imagine him to be commanding a mental act of remembering much as we would remember any other important event of the past. He said only that this meal is a memorial meal.ĬATHOLIC: When we hear these words, “Do this in remembrance of me,” most of us probably imagine that Jesus was commanding his original twelve and us today to keep his memory before us. Jesus didn’t say anything about the Real Presence. OBJECTOR: The words “Do this in remembrance of me” prove my point. Paul repeats the words of Jesus, “Do this in remembrance of me.” These words were repeated by Luke in his version of the Last Supper in Luke 22:19–20. Let’s take a familiar phrase that is too often misunderstood. You’ll notice that there’s nothing of this “Real Presence” in those verses.ĬATHOLIC: Let’s see what Paul says about the Real Presence. Paul spoke about the Eucharist in 1 Corinthians 11:23–31.
OBJECTOR: I agree with that! Anything the Son of God says is true, but he didn’t mean what you Catholics say when he spoke those words, and I can prove it.
At the simplest level, Catholics believe this is true because the Son of God himself said it was true. This is the blood of the covenant” (Mark 14:22–24).
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