Theme: Be Transformed- Water From Another’s Well
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 respectful and reading related sharing following the homily. All are welcome to share intentions at the prayers of the faithful and to be a “Voice” as they appear throughout the liturgy. Everyone prays the words of Consecration in the Eucharistic Prayer. If you are with us for the first time or are returning and would like to introduce yourself we would be delighted to have you do so at the announcement time after Communion. All are invited to join us for supper at a local restaurant after liturgy. For our safety and the wellbeing of all who attend our liturgies, we are introducing a few new protocols which will remain in effect until this Coronavirus is behind us. Let us now take a deep breath and be conscious of the presence of the Divine within us. Is transformation possible during this Lenten season? Let us open our hearts to that possibility at this very moment.
Gathering Song: Come to the Water #14
And let all who thirst, let them come to the water. And let all who have nothing, let them come to our God: Without money, without price. Why should you pay the price, Except for our God?
And let all who seek, let them come to the water. And let all who have nothing, let them come to our God: Without money, without strife. Why should you spend your life, Except for our God?
Opening Prayer
Presider: Holy One, you revealed your presence to Moses as the One Who Causes All to Be. You send him to the Israelites with the message that You are the God of the Ancestors: Sarah and Abraham, Rebecca and Isaac, Leah and Rachel and Jacob. Today you reveal your divinity in each of us as we are transformed into sparks of love bearing fruit that will last.
Presider: Holy One, you revealed your presence to Moses as the One Who Causes All to Be. You send him to the Israelites with the message that You are the God of the Ancestors: Sarah and Abraham, Rebecca and Isaac, Leah and Rachel and Jacob. Today you reveal your divinity in each of us as we are transformed into sparks of love bearing fruit that will last.
Transformation Rite Presider: We pause now to remember the times we have not born fruit in our lives and our service to others. Take a moment to recall one missed opportunity, one broken or damaged relationship. Now imagine this person or situation in the light of healing love as we ask for forgiveness.
(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: Exodus: 17: 3-7 In those days the people were thirsty for water out in the wilderness. They complained to Moses “Why did you take us from Egypt and drag us out here with our children and animals to die of thirst?” Moses cried out in prayer to God. “What can I do with these people? Any minute now they’ll kill me!” God said to Moses, “Go on out ahead of the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel. Take the staff you used to strike the Nile. And go. I’m going to be present before you there on the rock at Horeb. You are to strike the rock. Water will gush out of it and the people will drink.” Moses did what he said with the elders of Israel right there watching. He named the place Massah(Testing-Place) and Meribah(Quarreling) because of the quarreling of the Israelites and because of their testing of God, when they said, “Is God here with us, or not?” These are the inspired words of Moses, leader and liberator of our ancestors, the Israelites, and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Responsorial Psalm: 95 (Adapted from Nan Merrill)
Response: I will not leave you comfortless, I will not leave you alone. I am the air you breathe in, I’m the light in every star and every dawn. ~The Beloved is infinite, the Breathing Life of all. The depths of the earth belong to Love; the height of the mountains as well. The sea and all that is in it, the dry land and air above were created by Love. Res: I will not…….. ~The Beloved is Supreme, and we are blessed to be invited to friendship as companions along the way. O that today we would harken to the Beloved’s voice! Harden not your hearts as in the days of old, that you be not separated from Love. Res: I will not………. ~For life is but a breath in the Eternal Dance, a gift to be reverenced with trust, an opportunity to grow in spirit and truth, that in passing into new Life, you enter into the new Jerusalem. Res: I will not……..
Response: I will not leave you comfortless, I will not leave you alone. I am the air you breathe in, I’m the light in every star and every dawn. ~The Beloved is infinite, the Breathing Life of all. The depths of the earth belong to Love; the height of the mountains as well. The sea and all that is in it, the dry land and air above were created by Love. Res: I will not…….. ~The Beloved is Supreme, and we are blessed to be invited to friendship as companions along the way. O that today we would harken to the Beloved’s voice! Harden not your hearts as in the days of old, that you be not separated from Love. Res: I will not………. ~For life is but a breath in the Eternal Dance, a gift to be reverenced with trust, an opportunity to grow in spirit and truth, that in passing into new Life, you enter into the new Jerusalem. Res: I will not……..
Second Reading: A Reading from Preaching the New Lectionary
One would think that a God as magnificent and powerful as ours would not need intermediaries. Or if they were used, they would be of greater value than bushes in a mountainous wilderness or hired hands in orchards. Yet that is just the way God seems to work. God uses whatever or whoever is at hand. This is true whether it is an element of the natural world that is normally indifferent toward human beings or an uncomplicated person whose only concern is to do her or his job well, or an individual who has been thrust by circumstances into the limelight. In every life there are those who speak for or act in the place of God. Lent is a time given us to discern who these people or things are. Who communicates God to us? Who intercedes for us before the Holy One? On the other hands, in whose life do we act as emissary? How do we reveal to others the message of God we have received? How do we intercede on behalf of them? The challenge here is to listen to the messengers who bring us the name of God, even if it is not clearly defined. These are the inspired words of Dianne Bergant, professor of biblical studies at Catholic Theological Union, and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Gospel Acclamation: Spirit of the Living God by Michael Crawford (https://youtu.be/G0_B0DpTbUI) ~Spirit of the Living God Fall afresh on us. Spirit of the Living God Fall afresh on us. Melt us, mold us, fill us, use us. Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on us.
Gospel: John 4:5-42 Please sit for this gospel event presented by Kevin, Sally, and Pat These are the inspired words of John and we affirm them by saying: Amen Repeat Acclamation: “Spirit of the Living God” Gospel: John 4:5-42
~NARRATOR: On his way back to Galilee, Jesus had to pass through Samaria. He came into a Samaritan village that bordered the field Jacob had given his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was still there. Jesus, worn out by the trip, sat down. It was noon. A woman, a Samaritan came to draw water. Jesus said, ~JESUS “Would you give me a drink of water?” ~NARRATOR: (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch) The Samaritan woman, taken aback asked, ~WOMAN: “How come you a Jew are asking me a Samaritan woman for a drink.?” ~NARRATOR: (Jews in those days wouldn’t be caught dead talking to Samaritans) Jesus answered, ~JESUS “If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh living water.” ~ ~WOMAN: “ Sir, you don’t even have a bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this ‘living water’? Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to us? ~JESUS: “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst ---not ever. The water I give will be an artisan spring within, gushing fountains of endless life.” ~WOMAN: “ Sir, give me this water so I won’t ever get thirsty, won’t ever have to come back to this well again!” ~JESUS: “Go call your husband and then come back.” ~ WOMAN “I have no husband,” ~ JESUS: That’s nicely put: ‘I have no husband.’ You’ve had five husbands and the man you’re living with now isn’t even your husband. You spoke the truth there, sure enough.” ~WOMAN: Oh, so you’re a prophet ! Well tell me this: Our ancestors worshiped God on this mountain, but you Jews insists that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right?” ~ JESUS: Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. You worship, guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God’s way of salvation is made available through the Jews. But the time is coming-it has, in fact, come-when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter. It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people our God is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship God must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration. ~WOMAN: “I don’t know about that. I do know that the Messiah is coming. When he arrives, we’ll get the whole story.” ~JESUS: “I am he,” “You don’t have to wait any longer or look any further.” ~NARRATOR: Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked. They couldn’t believe he was talking with that kind of woman. No one said what they were all thinking but their faces showed it. The woman took the hint and left. In her confusion she left her water pot. Back in the village she told the people, ~WOMAN: “Come see a man who knew all about the things I did, who knows me inside out. Do you think this could be the Messiah?” ~ NARRATOR: And they went out to see for themselves. Many of the Samaritans from that village committed themselves to him because of that woman’s witness: “He knew all about the things I did. He knows me inside and out!” They asked him to stay on, so Jesus stayed two days. A lot more people entrusted their lives to him when they heard what he had to say. They said to the woman, “We’re no longer taking this on your say-so. We’ve heard it for ourselves and know it for sure. He’s the Savior of the world!”
These are the inspired words of John and we affirm them by saying: Amen
Homily: Elena Garcia ARCWP Statement of Faith (Taken from “The Friends in Faith” and shared by Joan Meehan) ~All: Gathered together as people of faith, we profess our belief in a God who is larger than we can name, unable to be contained, yet present in each one of us. We have come to know this God in the living of our lives, and in the holiness of the earth we share. We believe in a God revealed in all peoples—all genders, religions, and orientations. We embrace a compassionate God, who champions justice and mercy, and is always faithful when we call. Our God gives and forgives, patiently loving without conditions. We gratefully believe in a God who feels our deepest struggles, and celebrates our greatest joys. A God who both dances with us in celebration, and holds us when we cry. This God is not “other” to us, but shares our breath in every moment, and promises we are never alone. We believe in a God who believes in us- believes that we are precious and incredible gifts, worthy to claim image and likeness to the divine. We hold fast to our God who journeys with us, who continually calls us to choose the shape of our days through the choices we make. This God accepts us as we are, and shares each hope we have for our becoming. This is the God in whom we believe, our Creator, our Mother and Father who became human in Jesus, our brother. Our God is the Spirit of Life, the voice that continues to speak love, and asks us to answer. In this God we choose to believe. AMEN
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. Presider: We pray for these and all unspoken concerns we hold in the silence of our hearts. Amen.
Our response is: Holy One, You hear us. Presider: We pray for these and all unspoken concerns we hold in the silence of our hearts. Amen.
Offertory Procession (As gifts are brought to the table all sing) “Blest are They” (David Haas #631 https://youtu.be/FV8nrwJG1-w)
(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: “Please remain in your seats as together we celebrate the Liturgy of the Eucharist”
Presider: “Please remain in your seats as together we celebrate the Liturgy of the Eucharist”
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 (You,I am,We) (by Karen Drucker https://youtu.be/J3r-3TFB6wI)
Epiclesis (Invocation of the Holy Spirit) Presider: We are indeed a holy people. We recognize the Spirit of Light, ever present, ever in our midst, ever part of our very selves. We call forth blessings on this bread and wine as we remember who Jesus was and all that he did to challenge the powers of oppression in his time.
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 the community, with hands extended, joins in the words of consecration:)
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.
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 the community, with hands extended, joins in the words of consecration:) 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)
Whenever you remember me like this, I am among you. (pause)
Presider : In sharing this bread and cup, let us embrace the Gospel of justice and peace as we proclaim this mystery of our faith:
Presider: In every person and creature that has ever breathed, All: Christ has lived. Presider: In every living being that has passed on before us, All: Christ has died. Presider: In the sharing of the Bread we are transformed, All: Christ is still with us.
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 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 3: 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 4: 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, and may our hearts be receptive to drinking water from another’s well in the spirit of the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman.
All: 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: O Holy One, we pray to be filled with your Spirit, the Spirit that filled Jesus. It is through his life and teaching, his loving and healing that 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 Presider: Let us pray as Jesus taught us: All: Our Father and Mother who are in heaven, whose presence is with us always, and whose spirit dwells within. Hallowed be your name. May your kingdom come, and may your will be done, in our lives, and on earth, just as it is in heaven. Thank you for giving us this day, all that we need for sustenance, nourishment and growth. Forgive us, forgive us when we turn away from your love, when we trespass against you and those you put in our lives. Help us to forgive those who turn away from love and who trespass against us. Keep us from yielding to temptation. Direct us away from anything or anyone that would distract us from your will, your highest good for our lives. Deliver us and protect us from all that is evil. For all glory and power is yours Almighty God just as it was in the beginning, it is now and always shall be, world without end. Amen
Sign of Peace
As we pray for peace and justice to spread through our world, let us sing “Peace is flowing like a River” (Reminder: Setting all the people free)
Prayer during the Preparation of the Bread (Presiders wash hands)
All: O God of Courage, You call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice. We will live justly.
All: O God of Compassion, You call us to be Your presence in the world. We will love tenderly.
All: O God of Compassion, You call us to be Your presence in the world. We will love tenderly.
All: 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.
Sanctuary Chant: God prepare me to be your sanctuary, pure and Holy, tried and true. With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living, sanctuary, for you. 2x
Please form a single line to approach the table for communion. The host will be placed in your hand by a Presider and you may take the consecrated wine from a mini cup held on a tray by a presider and return to your seat. You may place the empty cup on the tray found at the back of the church on your way out.
Communion Song: Meditation: “In the Stillness” (Karen Drucker Tay Tunes) (Utube)
Presider: Prayers of Gratitude, Introductions and Announcements
BLESSING
Presider: Let us raise our hands and bless each other.
Presider: Let us raise our hands and bless each other.
All: May vision and truth companion you.
May beauty be in your eyes. May peace fill your being. May Love hold you close. May the Earth give you guidance. May the Stars give you hope. May the Blessings of life fill you!
Presider: The time has now come for us to leave this sacred place.
As we do so, may we embrace the challenges of our lives and of our world.
Presider: ~Let us go with Hope ready to share our belief that we have the ability to heal our broken earth.
~Let us go in peace, believing that the divisions and brokenness of our world will be healed by our hands. ~Let us go, with hearts open to on-going transformation, willing to share waters from the Spirit living within us and willing to drink from another’s water.
Presider: Go into this week, held together by love, clothed with the nature of Jesus our Companion and strengthened by Sacred Spirit Divine.
Closing Hymn: El Templo Del Senor
~I am the temple 2x I am the temple of our God.
Sister come help me, Brother come help me.
Help me build the temple of our God.
~You are the temple 2x…………..
~We are the temple 2x ……………
SPANISH: ~Yo soy el templo 2x Yo soy el templo del Senor
Hermana ayudame,
Hermano ayudame.
Construir el cuerpo del Senor.
~Yu eres el templo 2x ……….
~Somos el templo 2x ………..
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