Donna Rougeux,
ARCWP, and Kim Panaro, ARCWP, led the Upper Room Liturgy with the theme: The
call to cultivate the gifts in ourselves and in others.
Welcome and theme
Welcome to you all. Today we are praying a special liturgy in
solidarity with our friends in Ohio who are dedicating Hildegard Haus. On September 28 one of our ARCWP
priests, Rev. Dr. Shanon Sterringer, will be here to lead us in a retreat on the
theme of Hildegard of Bingen. Hildegard
has been named a saint and a doctor of the church because she
contributes unique and timeless wisdom to our understanding of the gospel. As Hildegard House, a center for Hildegard
based teaching is dedicated, we pray for the success of that ministry. We also
introduce ourselves in the first reading to a piece of her wisdom. Both
Hildegard and the gospel writers known as Luke challenge us to look at the need
to focus on that which is in need of help, that which is lost and that which
can be unseen and unattended.
Opening Prayer
We are in the
presence of all that is holy and lifegiving. We need only to breathe, pay
attention and listen with the ears of our heart to the wisdom available to us.
We dedicate this time together to hearing the words that will challenge us to
look within our own hearts and minds to illuminate the places where we need to
grow in courage , generosity and understanding. Amen
Opening: We Are
Many Parts by Marty Haugen
First Reading
Letter from
Hildegard to Pope Anastasius IV
You, O man, who are
too tired, in the eyes your knowledge, to rein in the pomposity of arrogance
among those placed in your bosom, why do you not call back the shipwrecked who
cannot rise from the depths without our help? And why do you not cut off the root
of evil which is choking out the good and beneficial plants of sweet taste and
delightful aroma? You are neglecting the King’s daughter who was entrusted to
you, that is, heavenly Justice herself. You are allowing this King’s daughter
to be thrown into the ground; her beautiful crown and tunic torn asunder by the
crudeness of those hostile people who bark like dogs and who, like chickens
trying to sing at night raise up their ineffectual voices. They are charlatans,
crying out, ostensibly, for peace, but, all the while, biting each other
in their hearts, like a dog that wags its tail among those known to him, but
bites the honorable knight indispensable to the king’s household…But you, O
man…rise up and run quickly to Justice, so that you will not be accused before
the great physician of failing to cleanse his sheepfold and of neglecting to
anoint his flock with oil.
Luke 15:1-10
Meanwhile, the tax
collectors and the “sinners” were all gathering around Jesus to listen to his
teaching, at which the Pharisees and the religious scholars murmured, “This
person welcomes sinners and eats with them!”
Jesus then
addressed this parable to them: “Who among you, having a hundred sheep and
losing one of them, doesn’t leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and
search for the lost one until it’s found? And finding it, you put the sheep on
your shoulders in jubilation. Once home, you invite friends and neighbors in
and say to them, ‘Rejoice with me! I’ve found my lost sheep!’ I tell you, in
the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one repentant sinner than
over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent.
What householder,
who has ten silver pieces and loses one, doesn’t light a lamp and sweep the house
in a diligent search until she finds what she had lost? And when it is found,
the householder calls in her friends and neighbors and says, ‘Rejoice with me!
I’ve found the silver piece I lost!’ I tell you, there will be the same kind of
joy before the angels of God over one repentant sinner.”
Donna’s Homily Starter: Lost and Found
This strong letter from
Hildegard to Pope Anastasius IV vividly names central Christian truths that
were being lost. What was being lost was proper focus to what matters. She courageously laments a lack of compassion
to lost ones and says that evil is “choking out the good and beneficial
plants.” She is pointing out the need to take care of the lost but more
importantly she challenges us all to look at why people are lost in the first
place. Hildegard sees the need for healthy spiritual and physical growth of
individuals and communities who are like plants in a garden. The implication is
the pope needs to be a leader in inviting all people to the table and to be a
strength spotter instead of a fault finder. Belongingness, talent finding and
nurturing are core elements of a heathy community.
Her message to the pope is
the solid wisdom that we today still find challenging and are called to
implement. We must begin with the care we give ourselves then expand that care
to others.
It is challenging to nurture
our own strengths and talents when we listen to negative voices inside
ourselves that say we are not thin enough, smart enough or not doing enough. We
must replace these thoughts with positive awareness of what God has given us.
When we are able to nurture our own strengths, we become equipped to spot and
focus on the talents of others. This then emerges into a desire to nurture our
community by asking and encouraging others to share their unique strengths.
To be better strength
spotters we need to identify the uncelebrated gifts like a listener who doesn’t
interrupt, or one who sets up the chairs and makes the coffee, the one who
remembers to pray for those in need, the one who looks up and smiles and says
“hello” to a stranger. Generosity of time, presence and hospitality are
foundational to these uncelebrated talents.
As we reflect on Jesus’s
lost and found parables we must ask ourselves if we are part of creating lost
people, lost gifts and lost growth or are we part of celebrating found
people. We must celebrate the way our
community flourishes when all are invited to the table and all are using their
unique talents. This is the way we build the kingdom. We are many parts but one
body which means that we each need to see ourselves and the other though the
eyes of the creator who bestowed these qualities on us.
What did you hear? What will
you do? What will it cost you?
Communion: St.
Teresa’s Prayer. Sung by John Michael Talbot
Closing: City of
God by Dan Schutte
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