Reflections from the Heart – May 25, 2025

Sixth Sunday of Easter
by Fr. Ivan Olmo

“The Holy Spirit will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” Our memories are so important to our daily lives and such an essential part of our ongoing living and yet they remain so fragile to us. Memories can be precious moments. The kind we wish to remain forever like a sacred keepsake but in reality, memories can also prove to be shattered hauntings that we pray will go away but seem to last and linger like a bad penny that never goes away but keeps returning and turning up when we least expect and desire them. A bad memory can be like that, always wanting you to take notice. Always wanting you to pick it up and recall the last time you experienced that painful bad memory. Always wanting you to continue the endless dialog of revisiting and reliving that painful situation again. Wanting you to pick up where you last left off and experience that unpleasant bad memory once again, forever. A good memory, on the other hand, can prove to be a powerful instrument in a critical moment of crisis. A good, holy, and pleasant memory can aid and shelter us in those unfortunate torments and dreadful moments of life. Those ongoing trials that never seem to end or go away. The haunting memories that tend to sweep us away suddenly, quickly and gradually over time from the pleasant peace that God offers us and hurls us into life’s unfortunate circumstances and storms. A happy memory can help us in those critical moments to forget the unpleasantness of difficult situations. They offer us sacred moments of God’s grace to help us recall and remember a happy thought, a blessed memory, or a pleasant moment to help us forget those unpleasant memories caused by a fall, failure or life’s embarrassing moments. Those unfortunate situations we could not change or control. Those lifelong mistakes we hope everyone forgets. Those situations that never seem to heal. Like a scab, we keep picking at it. The enemy is a master of forgetfulness but God is greater. The enemy is very good in causing us to recall and remember but God is better at it. The enemy wants us to forget God’s love. He wants us to remember our past, to recall all of our hurts, to relive traumatic experiences, to renew our sinful folly and never let go of painful failings or let go of life’s most embarrassing moments. Remember that our gracious God loves us faithfully and unconditionally. When he forgives, he truly forgets.