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Sunday, March 10, 2019

Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community Liturgy, First Sunday of Lent, March 9, 2019, Presiders: Kathryn Shea, ARCWP, Mary Theresa Streck, ARCWP, and John Dominic Crossan, Music Minister: Janet Blakeley ARCWP



Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community Liturgy, First Sunday of Lent, March 9, 2019, Presiders: Kathryn Shea, ARCWP, and Mary Theresa Streck, ARCWP and John Dominic Crossan, Music Minister: Janet Blakeley, ARCWP

Theme: Like Jesus, through struggles and adversity, we can journey more deeply into the mystery of divine love that is always with us.
Welcome and Greeting

Presider: Welcome to Mary Mother of Jesus, an inclusive Catholic Community where all are welcome to share Eucharist at the Banquet Table. We use inclusive language in our scripture readings and prayers. We invite all to share the prayers of the community and the words of Consecration in the Eucharistic Prayer. We welcome our newcomers at the announcement time after Communion.  All are invited to join us for supper after liturgy.

Opening Song: We Are Called by David Haas 
Opening Prayer
Presider: Holy One, as St. Paul reminds us, your word is on our lips and in our hearts. Like Jesus, we embrace our struggles with the domination systems of power and control in our world and in our Church. We trust in the power of your Spirit moving within us to make wise choices to liberate, heal and empower all as we work for justice and equality. Amen.

Communal Reconciliation Rite

Presider: We pause now to remember the times we have not asked for forgiveness for our failures to love one another.
(Pause briefly. Then Extend arm over community)
All: Please forgive me, I am sorry, I love you, I thank you.

LITURGY OF THE WORD

First Reading: Deuteronomy 26: 1-10

Moses told this to the people: Once you enter the land that our God is giving you as an inheritance and take it over and settle down, you are to take some of all the first fruits of what you grow in the land that our God is giving you, put them in a basket and go to the place set apart for you to pray.

The priest will take the basket from you and place it on the altar of our God. And there, in the Presence of the Holy One, you will recite the following:

 “A wandering Aramean was my father, he went down to Egypt and sojourned there, he and just a handful of his brothers at first, but soon they became a great nation, mighty and many.

The Egyptians abused and battered us, in a cruel and savage slavery. We cried out to our God who listened to our voice, and saw our destitution, our trouble, our cruel plight.

And our GOD took us out of Egypt with signs and miracle-wonders, brought us to this place, and gave us this land flowing with milk and honey.

So here I am. I’ve brought the first fruits of what I’ve grown on this ground you gave me, O Holy One.”

Then place it in the presence of our God, and bow low and rejoice!

These are the inspired words of Moses, leader and liberator of our ancestors, the Israelites, and we affirm them by saying, Amen.

Responsorial Psalm: 91
Response: Amen. Truly I say to you, gather in my name, I am with you. 
https://youtu.be/2mTVGj0jVRY 

Those who dwell in the shelter of infinite light,
who abide in the wings of infinite love,
Will raise their voices in praise:
“My refuge and my strength;
In you alone will I trust.


Response: Amen. Truly I say to you, gather in my name, I am with you.

For you deliver me from the webs of fear and allusion,
From all that separates and divide;
You protect me as an eagle shield its young,
Your faithfulness is sure, like an arrow set upon the mark.

Response: Amen. Truly I say to you, gather in my name, I am with you.

I will not fear of the shadow of the night,
Nor the confusion that comes by day,
nor the dreams that awaken me from sleep,
Nor the daily changes that life brings.
For you have sent your angels to watch over me,
To guide me in all my ways.

Response: Amen. Truly I say to you, gather in my name, I am with you. 

Second Reading: Romans 10:8-13

Brothers and sisters:
What does Scripture say?
The word is right here,
on your lips and in your heart
That is, the word of faith that we preach. 
You will be saved if you confess with your mouth belief in Jesus,
embracing, body and soul,
God’s work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. 

Faith in the heart leads to justification,
Confession on the lips to salvation.
For the Scripture says, 
No one who believes in the Holy One will ever regret it.

It is exactly the same no matter what a person’s religious background may be: the same God for all of us acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help.

These are the inspired words of Paul, disciple of Jesus, and we affirm them by saying, Amen.

Gospel Acclamation: Spirit of the Living God by Michael Crawford

Gospel: Luke 4:1-15

Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wild. For forty wilderness days and nights he was tested by the Devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when the time was up he was hungry.

The Devil, playing on his hunger, gave the first test: “Since you’re God’s Son, command this stone to turn into a loaf of bread.”

Jesus answered by quoting Scripture: “It takes more than bread to really live.”

Then the Devil took Jesus up higher and spread out all the kingdoms of the earth on display at once. Then the Devil said, “They’re yours in all their splendor to serve your pleasure. I’m in charge of them all and can turn them over to whomever I wish. Worship me and they’re yours, the whole works.”

Jesus refused, again backing his refusal with Scripture: “You will do homage to God alone; God alone will you serve with absolute single-heartedness.”

For the third test the Devil took Jesus to Jerusalem and put him on top of the Temple. He said, “If you are God’s Son, jump. It’s written, isn’t it, that ‘God has placed you in the care of angels to protect you; they will catch you; you won’t so much as stub your toe on a stone’?”

 “Yes,” said Jesus, “and it’s also written, ‘Don’t you dare put our God to the test.’”

That completed the testing. The Devil retreated temporarily, lying in wait for another opportunity.

Jesus returned to Galilee powerful in the Spirit.

These are the inspired words of Luke, disciple of Jesus, and we affirm them by saying, Amen.

Gospel Acclamation: Spirit of the Living God by Michael Crawford

Homily: Dr. John Dominic Crossan


https://youtu.be/M9npXWJZlII

Statement of Faith

Presider: Let us pray together our Statement of Faith

We believe in the Holy One, a divine mystery
beyond all definition and rational understanding,
the heart of all that has ever existed,
that exists now, or that ever will exist.

We believe in Jesus, messenger of the Divine Word,
bringer of healing, heart of Divine compassion,
bright star in the firmament of the Holy One's
prophets, mystics, and saints.

We believe that We are called to follow Jesus
as a vehicle of divine love,
a source of wisdom and truth,
and an instrument of peace in the world.

We believe in the Spirit of the Holy One,
the life that is our innermost life,
the breath moving in our being,
the depth living in each of us.

We believe that the Divine kin-dom is here and now,
stretched out all around us for those
with eyes to see it, hearts to receive it,
and hands to make it happen.

Prayers of The Community

Presider: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns. 
Our response is: Holy One, You hear us.

At the end of prayers:
Presider: We pray for these and all unspoken concerns. Amen.

Procession of Gifts and Song

Blest are They by David Haas
(Presiders lift up the bread and wine)

Presider: Blessed are you, God of all life, through your goodness we have bread, wine, all creation, and our own lives to offer. Through this sacred meal may we become your new creation as we respond to your call to use our gifts in loving service to our sisters and brothers.

All: Blessed be God forever.

Presider: All are welcome to join us around the table.

LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

Presider: God is within you, blessing the world through you.
All: And also within you. 
Presider: Lift up your hearts.
All: We lift them up in the Holy One. 

Presider: O Holy One, the first passion of Jesus was his passion for you and his passion for justice, namely, to incarnate your justice by demanding for all, a fair share of a world belonging to and ruled by your covenant with Israel. In solidarity with the unnamed woman who anointed Jesus, the first to recognize the cost of his fidelity to you, and with all believers who have gone before us, we lift up our hearts and sing:

All: We are holy, holy, holy by Karen Drucker 
Voice 1: Holy One, we celebrate the life of your son and our brother, Jesus. He lived his life and walked forward to his death knowing that you were leading him. We walk forward in his pathway and follow his teaching.

Voice 2: We pray for the grace to let go of money, possessions, pride and privilege, to become vulnerable and open to you, to accept poverty of spirit and reliance on you.

Voice 3: We pray for compassion for all human beings, to feel empathy and love for everyone, especially the poor, oppressed, and mournful. We remember all those who suffer and die each year from war, poverty and unjust disease. We mourn for them, and for all creatures we destroy, and for the earth itself.

Voice 4: We pray to be gentle, nonviolent, courageous and humble, like your saints. We pray to grow in awareness of our unity with all of creation and co-create with You our earth as a sanctuary of peace.

Voice 5: We pray for a heart that hungers and thirsts for justice for all people who live in poverty, imprisonment and war.  We pray for the courage to carry on your struggle for justice for the world’s oppressed as we challenge the world’s domination systems.

Voice 6: We pray to be merciful, especially toward those whom the culture deems unworthy of your mercy and care. We embrace everyone with compassion and respect.

Voice 7: We pray for a pure heart, inner peace and holiness so that everything that comes from within us might be loving and holy. Opening ourselves up to your Spirit, may we see You everywhere, especially in every human being.

Voice 8: We pray to be Your peacemakers, to renounce violence and to serve your movement for the abolition of war and all oppression. We pray to make peace everywhere.

Voice 9: We thank you for your presence within, around and among us. We arise and walk forward even when rejected and persecuted while working for justice and peace. With you we will not retaliate but respond with love and compassion.

Voice 10: We rejoice, O Holy One, and we are glad as we join the lineage of Your prophets of justice and peace. We, Your daughters and sons, continue to work with your grace as we arise and walk forward in the footsteps of our brother, the nonviolent Jesus.

All: On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for the Seder supper with the people closest to him. Like the least of household servants, he washed their feet, so that they would re-member him.

Presider: (lifts bread as community prays the following:)

All: When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted the Passover bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread and offered it to them saying: 
Take and eat of the Bread of Life 
Given to strengthen you  
Whenever you remember me like this  
I am among you. (pause) 

Presider: (lifts the cup as community prays the following:)

All: Jesus then raised a cup of blessing, spoke the grace saying: 
Take and drink of the covenant 
Made new again through my life in you. 
Whenever you remember me like this, 
I am among you.  (pause)

All: Let us share this bread and cup, 
and welcome everyone to the Banquet as we live the gospel of justice and peace in our world.

Voice 11: We are called to do everything Jesus did, to be the living presence of a love that does justice, of a compassion that heals and liberates, of a joy that generates laughter, of a light that illumines right choices and confronts the darkness of every injustice and inequity.

All: So, we trust you, O Holy One, to continue to share with us your Spirit, the Spirit that filled Jesus, for it is through his life and teaching, his loving and healing all honor and glory is yours forever and ever. 

All sing: Amen.

Presider: Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
All: Our Father and Mother ….

Sign of Peace

Presider: Let us hold hands and sing “Peace is flowing like a River” as we pray for peace and justice to spread through our world.

Prayer for the Breaking of Bread

Presider:  Please join in the prayer for the breaking of the bread:
(Presiders break the bread)

All: O God of Courage, You call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice.  We will live justly.
O God of Compassion, You call us to be Your presence in the world.  We will love tenderly.
O God of Truth, You call us to speak truth to power.  We will walk with integrity in your presence.

(Presiders hold up bread and wine)

Presider: This is the bread of life and the cup of blessing. Through it we are nourished and we nourish each other. All are welcome to the Feast.

All: What we have heard with our ears, we will live with our lives; as we share communion, we will become communion, both Love’s nourishment and Love’s challenge.

Communion Song: Instrumental

Communion Meditation: Standing on the Shoulders by Joyce Johnson Rouse

Presider: Prayers of Gratitude, Introductions and Announcements

Blessing

Presider:  Let us raise our hands and bless each other.

All: May you be blessed with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships.
May you seek truth boldly and love deeply within your heart.
May you continue to be the face of the Holy One to all you meet. 
May your name be a blessing in our time.

Closing Song: Sing a New Church by Michelle Sherliza and Delores Dufner

(Liturgy written by Bridget Mary Meehan and Mary Theresa Streck.The Eucharistic Prayer was adapted from Beatitudes for Peace by John Dear.)




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