Joan Borysenko talking about a mystical experience of forgiveness at the death of her mother/Powerful Story on Power of Love

https://youtu.be/LuoItQbWZHM
Joan Borysenko talking about a mystical experience of forgiveness at the death of her mother. From the Uplift Festival 12.12.14, http://upliftconnect.com

Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community Liturgy with Co-Presiders Deacon Kathryn Shea ARCWP and Deacon Jim Marsh ARCWP

Celebrate Our Mystical Oneness in the Cosmic Christ

Fifth Sunday Of Easter

May 2, 2015

Kathryn Shea and Jim Marsh,

Co-presiders

 

Theme: Called to be co-workers in the     vineyard

 

Welcome

Gathering Song: A New Heaven and Earth-

Marty Haugen

Greeting:

Presider: In the name of God our creator, and of Jesus our brother, and of the Holy Spirit our wisdom     ALL: Amen.

Presider:  God, Birther of the Cosmos, is with us.

ALL:  And with all.

Penitential Rite:

(Pause briefly and reflect on the need to grow more in love with others and with creation)

General Absolution by Community: (All raise hands extended in prayer and recite together.)

God, the Father and Mother of mercies, through his living, dying and rising, Jesus has revealed that nothing can separate us from the infinite love of God. May God give us pardon and peace, and may we forgive each other our failures to care for one another and for our earth in the name of God our creator, and of Jesus our brother, and of the Holy Spirit our wisdom. Amen.

ALL:  Glory to God in the highest, and peace to God’s people on earth. Creator God, we give you thanks. We praise you for your glory. O Jesus Christ, Holy Child of our God, you reveal the love of God that permeates our universe. You, who are one in spirit with our God, receive our prayer. For you are the Cosmic Christ, one forever with the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening Prayer:

ALL: Nurturing God, You embrace each person and every living thing with delight.

May we, who are stardust, be filled with awe as we experience our mystical oneness, with all creation in the Heart of Love. May we cherish every amazing day, conscious of your presence and abundance all around us. We ask this through Jesus, our brother and the Holy Spirit, our wisdom.  ALL:  Amen

Liturgy of the Word:

First Reading: Acts 9:26-31

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 51, Create In Me, pg. 780

Second Reading: 1 John 3:18-24

Gospel acclamation: Celtic Alleluia

Gospel: John 15:1-8

Homily

Profession of Faith: ALL: We believe in God, the fountain of life, flowing through every being. We believe in Jesus, the Christ, who reflects the face of God and the fullness of humanity. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the breath of God in the cosmos, who calls us to love and serve without counting the cost. We believe in our global communion with all in the circle of life. Amen to loving actions on behalf of justice, healing, compassion and equality for all in our world!

General Intercessions:

Presider: Always mindful of God’s love and care for all creation, we bring the needs of the people to our loving God.

Response after each petition: Loving God, hear our prayer

Presider: Healing God, we trust that you hear our prayers.  May we celebrate our planetary oneness in our works for justice, equality, and peace. We make this prayer through Jesus, our brother, in union with the Holy Spirit.

ALL: Amen

Offertory Hymn and procession of gifts: We Are Called #628 vs. 1, 2. 3

Preparation of the Gifts:

Presiders (raise bread and wine):  Ever gentle God, as co-creators of our planet, we offer you the gifts of bread, wine and our lives. May we celebrate our oneness with all creatures great and small in the family of God. We ask this through Christ Sophia, the wisdom of God. Amen

Presider: Pray that we become one with all in the Cosmic Christ.   ALL:  We are gathered as a community to celebrate the gift of life pulsating around us in the glories of Nature everywhere.

Eucharistic Prayer: Presider: Our Birthing God, who stirred the waters of creation, dwells on earth,

ALL: And in every living being. Presider: Lift up your hearts.

ALL: We lift them up to our Creator in whom all is created.

Presider: Let us give thanks for the Source of life. ALL: It is right to give the God of Glory present everywhere and in everything, thanks and praise.

ALL sing: We are holy (x3), You are holy (x3),

I am holy (x3)

ALL: Holy One, we bring you these gifts that they may become the Christ Presence. Fill us with reverence for creatures great and small.

                                                                                                   

(All Extend Hands) ALL: On the night before he died, while at supper with his friends, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to them saying, “Take this, all of you, and eat. Do this in memory of

me.”

(Pause)

In the same way, Jesus took the cup of  wine. He said the blessing, gave the cup to his friends and said, “Take this all of you and drink. Do this in memory of me.”

The Mystery of Faith:

ALL: This bread is you, this bread is me. We are one body, a reflection of God’s treasures, in communion with all creation.

Voice 1: Christ of the Cosmos, we thank you that there are 18 galaxies for every person, that our bodies are made of stardust. Every place we turn, you are present, loving us. You call us, “beloved” and invite us to join the dance of creation in a mystical celebration of our oneness with all living things in your divine love.

Voice 2: Christ of the Cosmos, we rejoice that You, who are More than we can imagine or dream of, dwell in Mystery beyond all comprehension. We remember that it was you, who said: “Anything I have done in the name of the Creator, you can do, too…and even more.”

Voice 3: Christ of the Cosmos, we remember all within our world and church who are working for environmental healing, human rights and justice for all. We remember women and men who are leaders in our church and world especially……

Voice4: Christ of the Cosmos, we remember Mary, mother of Jesus, faithful disciple and St. Francis who sang canticles to brother sun and sister moon. We remember our sisters and brothers, the great cloud of witnesses who have cared for earth’s creatures and have blessed our world with their loving service to God’s people.  We praise you in union with them and give you glory by working for a more just and peaceful world.

Great Amen:

ALL:  Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in unity with the Holy Spirit, all glory, honor and praise to you, loving God forever and ever. Sing: Amen, Amen, Amen

ALL sing: Prayer of Jesus (“Our Father and Mother”)

Sign of Peace: Sing: Peace is Flowing Like a River

Litany for the Breaking of the Bread:

All: Christ of the Cosmos, we will live our oneness with you and all creation.

Christ of the Cosmos, we will work for healing of the earth.

Christ of the Cosmos, we will celebrate justice rising up in a global communion everywhere.

Communion:

Co-Presiders: This is the Cosmic Christ in whom all creation lives and moves and has its being. All are invited to partake in this banquet of love and to celebrate our oneness with all living beings on the planet.  ALL: We are the Body of Christ.

Communion Hymn:  You Are The Face of God        

Prayer after Communion:

ALL: Lover of the Universe, we are full of awe at your extravagant love flowing through all living things. We immerse ourselves in the beauty of nature that surrounds us each day.  

We  are one with our brother Jesus, in union with the Holy Spirit.   ALL: Amen

Concluding Rite: Presider: Christ of the Cosmos is with us ALL: And loves through us.

Blessing:

(with hands extended in prayer):

ALL: The blessing of God is upon us as we go in the peace of the Cosmic Christ to live justice! Thanks be to God.

Presiders: Go in the peace of the Cosmic Christ, let our service continue!  

ALL: Thanks be to God.

Closing Hymn and Recessional:

Canticle of the Sun #422 vs 1, 3, 6

Bridget Mary Meehan

Association of Roman Catholic Woman Priests http://bridgetmarys.blogspot.com/

www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org
www.arcwp.org

.

Homily for Holy Spirit Catholic Community, 3 Sunday of Easter, by Rev. Beverly Bingle, RCWP

The three readings we just heard proclaimed
were written 60 years or more after the fact:
 Luke’s Acts of the Apostles between 93 and 110
with substantial revisions well into the 2nd century,
 John’s first letter between 95 and 110,
 and the Gospel between 96 and 100.
They were written to communicate Jesus’ message
to followers of a specific time and place,
just as our bible studies, and reflections,
and homilies, and prayers do today.
___________________________________
In Acts, Luke describes Paul as causing so much trouble
with his bold preaching in Jerusalem
that the Hellenists, that is, the Greek Jews, want to kill him,
so the Christian Jews take him away to Tarsus.
That brought peace to the community of believers in Jesus.
___________________________________
At about the same time as Acts was written,
the first letter of John appeared,
an epistle written against the idea
that Jesus did not walk the earth in a body
but came only as a spirit,
so John declares that Christians must believe
that Jesus lived “in the flesh”—
that he really existed as a human being.
Today’s passage from that epistle tells us
that Christians show their belief in Jesus
by their love for one another,
and their love must be in action, not just words—
as we would say these days,
it’s not enough to talk the talk, you have to walk the walk.
Today’s passage from the epistle also instructs us
to follow our hearts—
to be assured of forgiveness when we know we are wrong
and to be confident that God remains in us
because we try to keep God’s law,
which is to love one another—
and the proof is that the Spirit is given to us.
Each of us has a healthy need for loving relationships,
for close friendships,
for companionship,
for community.
___________________________________
Again, about the same time
as the Acts of the Apostles and the first letter of John,
the fourth Gospel frames this truth about Jesus’ message
in a common Jewish metaphor,
the idea of Israel as the vineyard of God.
John extends the metaphor
into an allegory addressed to the community.
Like branches on a tree, like canes on a grapevine,
we are attached, and we get pruned,
and we produce great fruit.
Because of my swollen foot,
I didn’t get out quite so much this week;
Being a bit unsteady on the crutches, I was afraid I’d fall.
As I sat home with my foot in the air,
I had hour after hour to miss
the various communities I’m part of—
 the Claver House friends I’ve started weekdays with
ever since I retired,
 the Jim Bacik followers at his Wednesday lecture,
 my Perrysburg-Friday-coffee-at-McDonald’s buddies.
It made me keenly aware of the importance of connections.
When I limped out for supper with friends one evening,
I found great joy in sharing the meal and sharing stories.
This week has been like a pruning experience for me—
some of thing things I do in a given week are essential,
and they involve people I cherish.
Many of the things I do are not necessary
and can be pruned off without any ill effect.
Some of the things I do should be pruned off
because they don’t produce fruit at all;
and the one thing I need to do, whenever and however I can,
is practice love for others wherever I meet them—
at Claver House, here at Holy Spirit,
in the grocery store, over the garden fence.
_____________________________________________
We each live in many different communities,
communities of caring, of interlocking relationships, of love.
We live in families of one sort or another,
and we become very much aware of their importance
at times of stress and change.
Empty nesters suffer loneliness
when the kids settle down in another state.
Teens joyfully flap their wings off to college
and then fall asleep crying from homesickness.
The gathering rooms of senior citizens’ centers
echo with tales of treasured family histories.
Last week I stopped
for supper between Tree Toledo events with other participants,
and two of them found that they had connections
to the same West End neighborhood;
their sharing of memories of people they had known back then
painted a picture of a caring community
still cherished after 50 years.
Last Sunday I went to the annual memorial service
for families of the 192 people
who donated their bodies to UTMC in the past year.
The thousand-seat Nitschke Auditorium
was filled with loving relatives and friends,
a community formed for the day
to honor their loved ones for their gift to strangers.
And then there’s our Holy Spirit Catholic Community,
a community of believers gathering week by week
to share our lives and thoughts and concerns
as we try to follow the Way of Jesus.
That’s the way we follow this gospel message…
in our connectedness.
_____________________________________
At the same time, we all have to be careful
not to extend the metaphor so far
that it begins to carry meanings that aren’t there,
that aren’t true to what Jesus taught.
There’s a line in today’s Gospel that says,
“Those who don’t remain attached to me
are thrown away like dead canes:
they are collected, tossed into the fire, and burned.”
We can read that line to say that we’ll go to hell
if we don’t do the right thing,
an unfortunate extension of the metaphor.
But those of us who grow grapes
know what happens in the pruning:
in late winter you cut back to one or two nodes,
so the cane is trimmed, not destroyed.
It’s like cutting out a bad habit during Lent
and allowing good habits to grow.
And we who grow grapes also know
that the canes produce new growth
and great fruit
because of the pruning.
The parts that are cut off are destroyed,
like the bad habits that give way
because of a successful Lenten practice.
_____________________________________
We find ourselves connected in God to all that is—
to our families and friends,
to all human beings,
to vines and trees and flowers,
sunshine and moonglow, mountains and valleys.
All that is
is in God,
and that includes us.
As John’s letter tells us,
we can be fearless
because we live in truth and keep God’s law:
we love one another.
Glory be to God!

--
Holy Spirit Catholic Community
Saturdays at 4:30 p.m.
Sundays at 5:30 p.m.
at 3925 West Central Avenue (Washington Church)

www.holyspirittoledo.org

Rev. Dr. Bev Bingle, Pastor
Mailing address: 3156 Doyle Street, Toledo, OH 43608-2006

"Pruned and Cleansed" Homily for Fifth Sunday of Easter by Judy Lee, RCWP

https://judyabl.wordpress.com/2015/05/01/pruned-and-cleansed-a-rc-woman-priests-homily-for-sunday-may-3-2015-fifth-sunday-of-easter/

There is a red- magenta flowered Bougainvillea tree (or bush) in front of our house. My neighbor planted it as a gift about five years ago. It was a small plant when it started and it took a long time to flower beyond a few blooms. With hope and patience, we cut and pruned it’s scraggily, long, thorny and uneven branches hoping for something beautiful to appear. We have the marks to prove that it did not like being pruned.  We first began to notice that at Christmas it bloomed beautifully and added to our Christmas joy. Then, by the fourth or fifth year it burst forth with blooms everywhere lasting all year.  It still needs occasional pruning, sometimes long asymmetric bloomless shoots dart forth. We cut them off and enjoy the abundant and magnificent color all year. The cut-off shoots wither and die quickly.

There are banana trees in our rear yard that also need pruning. When they are not cut properly no fruit is formed just big green leaves. Our friends from St. Lucia showed us how, when and where to cut them down or back. When pruned carefully clusters of bananas grow into maturity. This is nothing short of miraculous to one from the inner city of New York.

I remember climbing in the back yard grape vines of my Italian neighbors when I was a child. We were delighted when we found sweet edible grapes. Sometimes we bit into bitter sour grapes and we had no idea why some were sweet and some were sour and some had no fruit.

Jesus likened himself to the vine and his precious followers to branches of the vine. We are organically connected to Christ, one with Christ, as long as we practice what we have been taught-to love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbors-all of them-everywhere- as ourselves. On the Vine we are also organically connected to one another. The Epistle of First John (3:18-24) tells us that we cannot pay mere lip-service to love, we must live it, love is an action word. Mother Teresa of Calcutta said “My vocation is to love. Love is not words it is action”. I am so thankful for all of the volunteers and members who love and serve one another in our Good Shepherd church and for the other churches, individuals and groups that freely and generously give so that our people may be housed and fed, clothed and sheltered and receive the benefits of education and learning enrichment.

 

So to remain on the vine we must ask ourselves-what are we DOING to live love and justice?  What are we doing with and for the outcast of all types, the poor and the different, “the least of these our brothers and sisters?” What are we doing in the face of injustice toward people of difference-toward the LGBTQ community? Toward those with mental illness, mental challenges and AIDS and other horrible diseases? Toward those who experience licensed brutality of law authorities and to all of those who experience random violence from one another as well as from the Law? We all know about the death of Freddie Gray in Maryland and the response of some of the youth in the community. Rather than sit and condemn can we understand how it is to BE them and face police authority whether justly or unjustly apprehended. Here in SW Florida in Cape Coral, a young white man was unjustly apprehended and beaten badly by police authorities last year. There are protests here too. Here, as elsewhere, it is as much about class as race though the double whammy of both doubles the jeopardy of discrimination and pre-judging. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed when he allied himself with poor whites and others as well as blacks. Christ lives in the ghetto and in the hearts and hopes of all who are lowest income as well as the well to do. Where are we, the so-called followers of Christ? Have we followed him to where the rocks are flying and the guns are killing and the people are frightened?  Can we also understand how it is to BE law authority when random violence is directed at them for doing their very difficult jobs? Can we understand how it all has gone wrong-toward hate and not love. How lawlessness and violence are signs that love is dying on the vine.  Jesus is saying that if we do nothing but talk our faith we are not abiding in him, in his teaching, and we are bearing no fruit. We will become dead wood, dead branches, no longer connected to Love and Life.  Roger Karban once said-if we merely worship Christ and do not LIVE what Christ said and did we do not “get it”. And if we do not get it, our communities suffer and die as well.  Some die in conflagration. Some die in self-indulgence. Dying is dying-the question is how can the church be relevant to the death all around us if we too are dying on the vine?

To take it one step farther, the church itself is dying on the vine when it conveys lack of acceptance and injustice to any of our brothers and sisters in our communities and in our church.  To refuse anyone at the Table of Christ is unloving and unjust. To refuse anyone baptism or last rites, or burial in ‘hallowed ground’ is the opposite of Christ-like.  To refuse Holy Orders to anyone called by God and prepared is unloving and unjust. To attempt to cut ordained women and openly gay or married priests off from the sacrament of Holy Communion, use of faculties and Christian burial is vengeful, unloving and unjust.  It is also impossible as no one can undo our baptisms or our calls or sever us from the love of Christ. No one. We recall with Sunday’s reading from Acts (9:26-31) that the Apostle Paul was initially maligned and rejected by the disciples in Jerusalem and that Barnabas took charge and mediated for him, introducing him to the disciples. Today we are thankful that there are those like Barnabas who do this for women priests and others rejected by the church authorities.  So, it is not we who are ultimately cut off, nor have we cut ourselves off or died on the vine. It is the church itself that is being pruned by the God who loves it so that it can bear good fruit. Not the fruit of self righteous traditionalism, paternalism, or misogyny, or heterosexism, or class entitlement and greed but the true fruit of love, inclusion and connection to the Vine forever.

The Greek word for “prune” in the scriptures (kathairo) is also the word for “cleanse”.  Even as Jesus cleansed the Temple of cultic blood sacrifice, mercenary pursuits, excessive and unending legalisms, and hypocritical posturing, today Christ prunes the church of its adherence to traditions that exclude, vilify, and actually promote hate instead of love. For those who “get it” we are thankful to God. For those who respond with hateful vindictive words and ugly actions, we are praying for you.

This Sunday the Gospel text, John 15:1-8, is the seventh and final I AM statement of Jesus. Each statement reveals another unique and divine aspect of who Jesus is and how we are connected to him: Bread of life (Jn 6:35), Light (Jn8:12), door of the sheep (Jn 10:7,9), good shepherd (Jn:10-11,14), The Resurrection and the Life (Jn 11:25) the Way (Jn14:6) and finally the Vine (Jn15:1,5). In Aramaic this also allies Jesus, the Christ, with ‘true religion’.  Religion that is hateful and vengeful toward any of God’s people is not true. What is true is what is loving. What is true is living love.  This last claim and offering of himself to his followers as the Vine takes place shortly before he is betrayed by Judas and arrested. Jesus is assuring them and us that we are an organic part of him and of one another, and as we continue to follow/act on his words of love and justice we remain both connected and fruitful, come what may.

Thanks be to God!

With love and prayers,

Rev. Dr. Judy Lee, RCWP

Co-Pastor The Good Shepherd Inclusive Catholic Community of Fort Myers

" Education a Journey into Life, Away from Knowledge Factories toward Wisdom Schools"," The pure glory of God is in us", "the gate of heaven is everywhere."" Eckhart, Matthew Fox and Thomas Merton-Food for the Mystical Soul by Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP

"living offers the most noble kind of knowledge" Meister Eckhart

Many today, including the Dalai Lama, are sound warning bells that education around the world is in crisis. 

What can we learn from Meister Eckhart, a  medieval scholar and mystic, about living and loving in families, and inclusive communities today? How do we prepare future priests to be mystics?

"What is life? God's being is my life," Eckhart declares.  He believed that intuition was the "spark of the soul" and the highest faculty humans possessed. 

Matthew Fox, his book Meister Eckhart, A Mystic Warrior for Our Times argues that restoring intuiton to the core of education would involve a revolution  writes "All his work is a study of life and a study of God and our relation to both. 
Is education today a journey into life? 

Dr. Fox writes that we need to incorporate intuition and values.  "I am speaking of a sense of awe and wonder, of gratitude and reverence, I am speaking of an awareness of silence and emptiness and darkness and letting go. I am speaking of a relationship with the universe, of bringing psyche and cosmos together again....I am speaking of values that matter such as  justice and compassion and certainly creativity. ( Fox, Eckhart, pp. 252-255)

Living life fully, passionately and serving others generously and faithfully is one of the best preparation and ongoing education programs I know of for ministry. This is not to deny that academics play an appropriate  role, but a focus on a intellectual approach  devoid of  reflection on meaningful life experiences does not meet the needs of our contemporary world. 

There are lots of questions we can raise.  Here are a few to ask as we go deeper into the mystery of living and loving as mystical prophets and activists, channels of God's love in our world:

What are the values that we hold dear? 
Where do we see God in our lives and the lives of those we serve 
and what does this mean to us and to them?
Where is God when our/others hearts are breaking? 
How do we respond to the messes of life?
 How do we witness for justice and equality in the deep suffering, and global issues of violence, domination and abuse?
How can our movement help to transform patriarchal structures in the Roman Catholic Church?


Thomas Merton,  in Conjectures of a Guilt Bystander reflects Eckhart's mystical vision:
"At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusion, a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God...This little point ... is the pure glory of God in us. It is like a pure diamond blazing with the invisible light of heaven. It is in everybody, and if we could see it we would see billions of points of light coming together in the face and blaze of a sun that would make all the darkness and cruelty of life vanish completely. I have no program for this seeing. It is only given. But the gate of heaven is everywhere."

"Pope Stokes Flames Ahead of US Trip Even as He Ends Problems"AP/NYTimes / Women Priests Are Visible Witnesses t o Gender Equality- Invite Dialogue with Pope Francis

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/05/01/world/europe/ap-eu-rel-vatican-us-pope.html?_r=1

VATICAN CITY — When Pope Francis visits the United States this fall, he can expect the same rock-star adulation that greets him wherever he goes. But his positions on hot-button issues such as the death penalty andclimate change could quickly set the stage for conflict. That may explain why Francis has been clearing the decks on a host of less high-profile matters of contention that could also have marred the visit.

In a matter of a few short weeks, Francis abruptly ended the Vatican's deeply contested investigation of U.S. nuns and engineered the removal of an American bishop who failed to report a suspected sex abuser. Had he left those issues to fester, they would certainly have cast a cloud over the historic trip — which will include the first papal address to the U.S. Congress.


Bridget Mary's Response;

There are over 210 in our worldwide Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement.

There are over 160 in the United States. In 35 states, Catholics are worshiping in women priests' communities.

Women Priests are leading the way foward toward the full equality of women in the church.

We invite Pope Francis to come and see for himself what a discipleship of equals looks and feels like. In our Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community, we have married and celibate, male and female priests and a empowered circular, non-clerical model of liturgical sharing at Eucharist each week. There are numerous stories on this blog and photos and videos on the internet. www.marymotherofjesus.org

Check out our website at www.arcwp.org

"Pope Demands Equal Pay for Women But Still Doesn’t Intend to Hire Any" Barbie Latza Nadeau/ Pay Equality is Great, So Are Women Priests

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/04/29/pope-demands-equal-pay-for-women-but-still-doesn-t-intend-to-hire-any.html

Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community Celebrates Liturgy in Sarasota, Florida

"Pope Francis defended pay equality today, calling it 

“pure scandal”

 to pay women less than men. 

But when will the pontiff make

 women equal in the Church?

Rome — "During his regular Wednesday blessing,

 Pope Francis called it “pure scandal”

 to pay women less than men for equal jobs,

 though he gave no indication that

 he would be testing that theory any time soon at the Vatican.

“Why is it expected that women must earn less than men?” he said.

 “No! They have the same rights. The disparity is a pure scandal.” 

He has also made what could be considered serious gaffes when

 referring to 

women in the past.

 He called a group of intellectual female theologians 

“strawberries on the cake” at a ceremony inducting them into the 

Vatican’s Theological Commission and he likened the

 European Union to a “grandmother who is no longer fertile or vibrant.” 

However, there is still no indication that the head of the

 Catholic Church

 is willing to put them on equal footing within the

 Church itself.

 The pontiff has recently championed for 

women in more leadership

 roles in the church, although on the issue of women’s ordination,

 the door is still closed.

 Last year he told La Stampa’s Vatican Insider

that he doubted ordaining women into the priesthood was a

 good idea.

“I don’t know where this idea sprang from,” he said.

 “Women in the Church must be valued, not clericalized. 

Whoever thinks of women as cardinals suffers a bit from clericalism.” 

AP Article

:http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_REL_VATICAN_WOMEN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT=

Bridget Mary's Response:

 Pope Francis calling for pay equality is good news.

Until Pope Francis affirms the full equality of women,

 including women priests, women will remain 

second class citizens in our church.

One of the Pope's arguments 

against women's ordination is mentioned above- clericalism.

A renewed priestly ministry is not about clericalism,

 it is about service in inclusive communities of equals.

 It is happening in our grassroots communities where we gather to 

celebrate Eucharist in a sacred circle of equals.

 Perhaps, Pope Francis could come and see for himself 

when he visits in Septembers. in addition, equal pay

 must be applied to the

 women the institutional church employs.

So, let us pray a spark of hope has been ignited and that

 this is the first step toward the full equality of women

 in a Spirit-filled community of faith. Let it be so!

Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP, 

www.arcwp.org