Even though Memorial Day is over, Remembering…
Remembering is a kind of attentiveness to the stories and people of our lives even after they have gone. Sometimes we do not know when remembering will arise - a smell, a sound, a poem may catch our attention and bring us to recollection. Other times, we can’t stop remembering - as is often with the memory of hurts, loss, and pain. Joy, pain, our sense of connection and community - these all live in our memories. To share about the pain and joy, is at the heart of being in relationship with one another. The prophet Baruch proclaims the Good News that we are called to live fully with the joy and pain of our memories: “Rejoice that you yourself are remembered by God” (Baruch 5:5).
Our Eucharistic tradition also tells us that remembrance is sacred. Remembrance is holy. Each week at mass we ask the Lord to “remember your servants who have gone before us” and we hear Jesus say “Do this in remembrance of me.” Sacred remembering is not just an exercise in recalling the past - it is a participation in the continual and ongoing reality of God’s presence today.
This Memorial Day week, remember a loved one fully. Let your remembering proclaim to others that indeed, “nothing, not even death, separates us from the Love of God” (Romans 8:38). Alleluia!
By Nina Laubach
Listen to This Week’s Podcast
Exploring the Third Space: Healing Faith After Church Harm
Guest: Paul Fahey, Counselor, Catechist & Founder of Third Space
Attentive Heart Podcast – Hosted by Fr. John Gribowich
“My desire is for everyone to live a life with the flavor of the Gospel… but I no longer carry possessiveness over that outcome.”
— Paul Fahey
Episode Overview
In this deeply moving conversation, Fr. John Gribowich sits down with Paul Fahey, a counselor, catechist, and founder of Third Space, to discuss what it means to stay rooted in Catholicism while lovingly confronting its failures.
From the experience of spiritual abuse to the hope of reconstructing faith, Paul shares how healing, nuance, and honesty are not enemies of the Church—but vital signs of life.
This episode is for anyone who has ever struggled to reconcile their love for the Catholic tradition with the pain caused by instances of institutional brokenness.
