St George Preca, following the guidance of other great spiritual masters, recommends the practice of the Memory Exercise in order to instil and preserve within us the spirit of Jesus Christ.
The Memory Exercise consists in applying all that we know about Christ to every situation we encounter and to every action we perform, reflecting on how Jesus himself spoke and behaved.
During these days, when we are more focused on the Passion of Jesus, it is suggested that, in order to remain in his presence, we allow the ordinary things around us to remind us of the events, things and places associated with the Passion, the people involved, and what Jesus himself endured.
- When you are thirsty, remember Christ crucified, who said that he was thirsty.
- When you are undressing to change your clothes or to wash yourself, remember Christ, who was stripped before being crucified.
- When your friends forsake you, remember Christ, who was abandoned by the apostles when he was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane.
- When you are counting money, remember Christ, who was betrayed by Judas for thirty pieces of silver.
- When you are praised, remember Christ, who withdrew when the people wished to crown him king.
- When you hear shouting, remember Christ, who was cried against by the crowd before Pilate: “Crucify him!”
- When you sweat, remember Christ, who sweated blood in the Garden of Gethsemane.
- When you are praying, remember Christ, who prayed with his face to the ground in the Garden of Gethsemane.
…and so on.
The person who wishes to remain in the presence of God should let everything lift his mind to the Lord God and adore him in all that he does. Lord God, seek me to adore you!
