The Eucharist, dementia, and time

Abstract

ABSTRACT Time is not sequential only. This essay considers the simultaneousness of times as we experience it in the Eucharist, the re-enacting of the past and the anticipation of our future wholeness in the celebration of the present moment. It shows that this simultaneousness can be linked to the way in which people with dementia relate to time. When people with dementia get mixed up about time this is a symptom of a serious disease. But there may be other aspects to it. Their re-enacting the past may be valid behaviour. Their low future orientation may make it possible to value the present more. Losing cognitive memory does not mean that there is no memory at all. Involuntary memory or implicit memory is still available even after cognitive recall goes. This paper postulates that this is a memory which points to God’s grace and shows that people with dementia can help us to see the Eucharist from a different perspective. They remind us of our own fragility and dependence on grace and make us aware that Eucharistic remembrance is involuntary, too. If we are willing to learn from them we may approach and celebrate the Eucharist in a less cognitive way