Anniversaries and reunions

CELEBRATING anniversaries and holding regular reunions are

healthy practices that should be perpetuated all throughout life. They

certainly help in reminding us of who we are and what we are supposed

to be and to do.

            As long as they are done with God as the source and end of

the celebrations, and not made to indulge only on an ego-trip of

nostalgia and sentimentalism, they will always be helpful.

            Anniversaries are like visits to the past that would

elicit memories that are an integral part of our life. They remind us

that life is a continuum of the past, the present and the future. In

fact, they remind us that there is an eternity waiting for us, and

that the way we perform in our temporal life here on earth determines

the kind of eternity we will have.

            Anniversaries therefore remind us that we have to be

thankful to God and to everyone who have helped us to be faithful in

our commitments through the years. They also remind us that for the

sake of fidelity, there might be things we need to correct or purify

in our commitments we entered into in the past, or that we may have to

reinforce and enrich those commitments. If only for this,

anniversaries are indeed a very valuable occasion to celebrate.

            Reunions, whether they be of the family, class, or

whatever, reaffirm our need to be always with others. As persons, we

are meant not only to be individuals but also to be communion with

others, and ultimately with God. Anything that is conducive to

developing our sense of community is always good.

            As Pope Francis pointed out in his latest Apostolic

Exhortation, Gaudete et Exsultate, we are always in need to be in a

community. “Growth in holiness is a journey in community, side by side

with others,” he said. (141)

            Reunions definitely are one concrete way of strengthening

our sense of community that is proper to us. We all know that no man

is an island. We are always in need of others. In fact, we are

actually in a journey to form a universal communion of saints that

will be definitively achieved in heaven, but which we have to start

working on while here on earth.

            Let us hope that we have the proper understanding and

attitude towards the celebration of anniversaries and the holding of

reunions. They are not meant to be trivial affairs just to fulfill

some social obligations or expectations. They are meant to enrich us

humanly and spiritually, and to lead us to our ultimate perfection as

persons and as children of God.

            It’s indeed a big challenge today to identify the true

nature and purpose of anniversaries and reunions. At the moment, they

seem stuck in the level of formalism, sentimentalism, commercialism,

and all sorts of isms.

            They can even be made to play out one’s pride and vanity.

In this regard, we have to be ready to go against the current and

somehow help to turn the tide toward a better understanding of their

purpose in our life. We have to inculturate the proper understanding

of anniversaries and reunions.

            We have to understand that anniversaries and reunions are

not only meant to occasion greater self-knowledge. They are also to

enhance our sense of duty toward God and others. In a sense there is

something serious and sacred in these events that should not undermine

the joy that normally marks their celebrations.

            To be sure, the celebration of anniversaries and the

holding of reunions will go a long way in building a strong sense of

unity and commitment among us, and in giving fresh impulses in our

duty to be faithful in our love for God and for others.