Last week, we explored rhetoric a little. I say a little, because the study of rhetoric is vast and this is a little blog. One of the canons of rhetoric is memory. Of all of the canons, memoria seems to be the canon that most people gloss over. We spend months or years discovering what to put into a speech (invention), and how to organize one (arrangement), but then we arrive at memoria and say something like, "memorize your speech". Then we move on. The problem with this is that memory is so much more than simply memorizing a speech.
Memory is the internalizing of truth. In this digital age, internalizing information seems unnecessary, but it's more important than ever. So why memorize when you can simply google the answer?
Because, google doesn't know everything, but also because something happens to us as humans when we commit truth to memory. This is why the early church had catechisms. It's also why we master our multiplication facts. To remember things is to be human. As individuals in the vast world, we might struggle to know who we are, how we fit, and why we're here. This is why we strive to build a memory bank. When I'm fearful, I remember the words of God : "Fear Not, for I am with you" or "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and a sound mind". When we find ourselves struggling oftentimes our memory is our first toolbox of defense against the evil one.
Don't ignore the step of memory. Memorize what you can and what you think you can't. Build your memory skills and enlarge your toolbox.