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Meeting ID: 815 3407 5389
Passcode: 803326
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Theme: WE must be transformed
Welcome and Gathering
Pat: Welcome to our Zoom liturgy at Mary Mother of Jesus, an inclusive Catholic Community in Sarasota, Florida.
-We invite you to pray the liturgy and respond where it says “All.”
-All participants will be muted during the liturgy except for the presiders and readers.
-Please have bread and wine/juice nearby as we pray our Eucharistic prayer.
-Our theme today is, “We must be transformed!”
Whoever you are,
Wherever you are,
Just as you are,
You are welcome at this table. (Integral Christianity by Paul Smith)
Let us focus our minds and our hearts on our knowledge that we are all one, one world, brought together at this time to transform ourselves and our world through love; love for our Holy One, love for our neighbors, love for ourselves, and love for our planet. Let us begin our liturgy by expressing this love through song.
Gathering Song: “When the Wolf is at the Door” by Carrie Newcomer https://youtu.be/u-9oAncqprY
Opening Prayer
Kathryn: Oh Holy One, we delight that you are here with us today as we gather with one another and as we share this sacred space and celebrate our oneness in and with You. You told us that “where two or three are gathered in my name, I am among them.” We are grateful you are among us today during these very difficult times on our planet Earth. In this time of great turmoil on our planet, and with an impending war in Ukraine, we need to more fully embrace and act upon Your Commandment to “Love One Another.” As we gather today, may we be ever more mindful of our call and responsibility to Be transformed so that we can truly love one another. We give thanks for our Brother Jesus who showed us how to Be love. We have been shown all we need to bring the true kin-dom of our Creator on Earth. Holy One, we live with the comfort of knowing You walk with us on our journey and that You continue to teach us through Spirit Sophia, Holy Wisdom. And to this, we say, AMEN.
Reconciliation Rite
Pat: Let us remember we are born in Divine Blessing and that we are perfect in the Holy One’s eyes. Let us also realize, and forgive ourselves, for not always acting in ways of Divine Blessing, both towards ourselves and others. Now, let us imagine all of the ways we can be brightly lit by a love that heals and transforms us as we evolve and grow in awareness of our divinity and our humanity.
(Pause for several moments…… Now place hand over your heart as we say the Ho’oponopono prayer)
All: I love you. I am sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.
Liturgy of the Word
Ann C: First Reading: Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15
Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro,
the priest of Midian.
Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb,
the mountain of God.
The messenger of YHWH appeared to Moses in fire
flaming out of a bush.
As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush,
though on fire, was not consumed.
So Moses decided,
“I must go over to look at this remarkable sight,
and see why the bush is not burned.”
When YHWH saw him coming over to look at it more closely,
God called out to him from the bush, "Moses! Moses!”
He answered, “Here I am.”
YHWH called out to him from the midst of the bush: “Moses! Moses!”
Moses answered, “I am here.”
YHWH said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet,
for the place where you stand is holy ground!”
I am the God of your ancestors,” the voice continued, “the God of Sarah and Abraham, the God of Rebecca and Isaac, the God of Leah and Rachel and Jacob.”
Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at the Holy One.
Then YHWH said, “I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt
and have heard their cries under those who oppress them; I have felt their sufferings. Now I have come down to rescue them from the hand of Egypt, out of their suffering, and bring them to a place that is wide and fertile, a land flowing with milk and honey.”
“But,” Moses said, “When I go to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ if they ask me, ‘What is this Gods name’? what am I to tell them?”
YHWH replied, ‘I AM AS I AM. This is what you shall tell the Israelites:
“I AM sent me to you.’ “
YHWH spoke further to Moses, “Tell the children of Israel: The Most High, the I AM” the God of your ancestors, the God of Sarah and Abraham, of Rebecca and Isaac, of Leah and Rachel and Jacob, has sent me to you.” This is my Name forever; this is the name you are to remember for all generations.”
With receiving hearts we affirm these words by saying, Amen!
Spirt of the Living God
Anna D: Excerpt from a Reading: from The Cry of the Prophet by Joan Chittister
It is so easy to make God to our own image and likeness. It is so easy to see only the images we make of the Unimaginable, to the exclusion of all others. It is so easy to make God small and call that faith.
The evidence in every sector of human life makes the point all too well: open-mindedness, breadth of vision, the universal mind rise all too rarely in the human heart.
Fundamentalism, biblical literalism, reactionism and ideological extremism–all dispositions designed to freeze spiritual and social development to a given period–ride high now. The condition is not uncommon during periods of great social change and deep social stress. The situation begs for it, in fact. Given the loss of past absolutes and the shift in the social consensus on national values that come with technological development, major cultural transformations and new social realities, people cling to old certainties like shipwreck survivors to lifeboats.
It is precisely in times like those a world in flux needs a prophetic commitment to principle in the face of practices long since gone awry or begging to be reviewed again. What the world needs then is openness to the Holy Spirit and a commitment to basic tenets of truth and justice and goodness and to the Will of God for all humankind. We need a faith than can function in the present, not a religion that mirrors the past.
Vision and courage and openness to the Spirit call us to breadth of vision, to softness of heart, to the expansion of our souls beyond our parochial worlds and chauvinistic politics and segregated social lives and intellectual blandness that mask as faith and parade as religion.
With receiving hearts we affirm these words by saying, Amen!
Spirt of the Living God
Gospel: Kathryn: A reading from the Gospel of Luke
(Lk 9:28b-36)
Jesus took Peter, John, and James
and went up the mountain to pray.
While he was praying his face changed in appearance
and his clothing became dazzling white.
And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah,
who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus
that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep,
but becoming fully awake,
they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus,
“Teacher, it is good that we are here;
let us make three tents,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
But he did not know what he was saying.
While he was still speaking,
a cloud came and cast a shadow over them,
and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.
Then from the cloud came a voice that said,
“This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”
After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.
They fell silent and did not at that time
tell anyone what they had seen.
These are the words of the Gospel writer known as Luke, and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Homily Starter – Kathryn
Community Sharing
Communal Statement of Faith
Pat and ALL 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 and for the Community
Ann C: We now bring our prayer intentions to the Table.
Our response is: ALL: You heal us as we awaken to your call.
We continue to pray for comfort, healing, and peace for Mindy’s and Pat’s family at this time of great loss. ALL: You heal us as we awaken to your call.
We pray for the people of Ukraine and Russia that they may live in peace without fear of invasion and that goodness and sanity will fill the hearts and minds of those that would cause them harm. ALL: You heal us as we awaken to your call.
We pray for our MMOJ intentions on our community prayer list. (Joan shares)
Our response is: You heal us as we awaken to your call.
For what else should we pray?
Our response is: You heal us as we awaken to your call.
Kathryn: Holy Mystery may we respond to the needs of our sisters and brothers in loving prayer and solidarity. Amen
Liturgy of the Eucharist
Anna D: O Holy One, you have been called by many names by many people in the centuries of our planet’s life. Yet, no name truly defines you or describes you. We celebrate you as the marvelous, loving energy of life who caused us and our world to be. We celebrate you as the Source of light and life and love, and we celebrate your presence and all-ways care.
Pat: Please join in praying the Eucharistic prayer together: (Eucharistic prayer taken from the work of Diarmuid O’Murchu and Jay Murnane, adapted)
Pat and All: O Holy One, we stand at a critical moment in Earth’s history – a time when humanity must choose its future.
As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future holds both peril and great promise.
May we recognize that, in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms, we are one human family and one Earth and world community with a common destiny.
United with our vast universe, with our Mother-Planet and her people everywhere, with one another and You, Holy One, our spirits dance and sing this song of praise:
Song: Holy, Holy, Holy (Karen Drucker)
Kathryn and ALL: We give grateful thanks for those who came before us, for all those who gave from their hearts, who gave from their lives, that there might be a better world, a safer world, a kinder world, we pray for peace in their name.
And for the children, that they may live, that they may have children of their own and that it will go on - this great blossoming that is meant to go on and on – we pray for peace, in their name.
And for all peoples of this earth who have no voice in this,
For the animals that have no voice in this,
For the plants, the trees, the flowers that have no voice in this,
For all who share this earth with us, we pray for peace in their name.
We thank you for our brother, Jesus. He showed us so simply, so tenderly, how the world is in our hands. He had nothing in this world but your love, companions on the journey, and his very self. Together, that was more than enough, and that remains our clarity in the midst of confusion: the miracle of healing, new hope, nurturance, nourishment, liberation and life.
(Please extend your hands in blessing)
Pat and All: Your Spirit is upon the gifts of this Eucharistic table, bread of the grain and wine of the grape, and they are gifts of wisdom, light and truth which remind us of our call to be the body of Christ to the world.
On the night before he faced his own death and for the sake of living fully, Jesus sat at the Seder supper with his companions and friends. He reminded them of all that he taught them, and to fix that memory clearly within them, he bent down and washed their feet.
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; this is my very self.
(pause)
Anna D: and ALL: He then raised high the cup of blessing, spoke the grace, and offered them the wine saying:
Take and drink of the covenant made new again through my life,
for you and for everyone, for liberation from every oppression.
Whenever you do this, Re-member me and all that I have taught you!
(pause)
The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead showed us, by Her action, that life is eternal and that love is immortal. Loving Source of All, we have looked for others to save us and to save our world. Yet, we are called, and consecrated and sent into the world to establish justice and show the blessed fulfillment that comes with simplicity and the giving of ourselves in love. We will make new our commitment to the harmony of the original vision of creation.
We will open up wide all that has been closed about us, and our small circles. Like Jesus, in all openness, we will be filled with your own Spirit and renew the face of the earth.
For it is through learning to live as he lived,
And why he lived,
And for whom he lived,
That we awaken to your Spirit within,
Moving us to worship you truly,
O Holy One,
At this time and all time and in all ways.
And we say yes to You!
Great Amen: Linda Lee Miller
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy76fpfkNsg
The Abba Prayer
Pat::
Gracious Spirit,
Who loves us like a mother,
Whose realm is blooming among us now.
And within.
We pray that your compassion guide us in every action.
Give us what we need for each day,
and help us to be satisfied with the miracle of that alone.
Forgiver, whose embrace brings us to wholeness without our asking,
May we reconcile ourselves to one another in humility.
And may we cancel the crushing debts that imprison our neighbours
So that communities of joy and health may flourish.
May we neither profit from nor ignore evil.
But ever work to thwart it with non-violence
As we co-create the realm of peace in this world.
Now and each day.
Amen. (Bret Hesla/wsj)
Sign of Peace:
Kathryn: Jesus said to his disciples, “My peace I leave you. My peace I give you.” Let us now extend a sign of peace to one another as we pray for an adapted Celtic prayer for peace in Ukraine and our world.
Kathryn and ALL:
May our Holy One and the Saints stand between you and harm.
Mary and her Son.
Patrick with his staff.
Martin with his mantle.
Brigid with her veil.
Michael with his shield.
And God over all with a protective strong right hand. Amen.
Ann C: Please join in praying the Litany for the Breaking of the Bread:
Ann C and ALL: Holy One, You call us to speak truth to power; we will do so.
Holy One, You call us to live the Gospel of healing and justice; we will do so. Holy One, You call us to be Your presence in the world; we will do so.
Anna D: This is the bread of life and the cup of blessing. Blessed are we who are called to Christ’s table.
Anna D and All: What we have heard with our ears, we will live with our lives. As we share communion, we become communion, both Love’s nourishment and Love’s challenge.
Please receive/share Eucharist now, saying: “You are the bread of life.” And “You are the cup of compassion.”
Communion Song: Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream – For Ukraine
Introductions/Thanksgiving/Announcements
Closing Prayer
Pat: Oh Holy One, we go forth in our calling to serve and committed to our own spiritual transformation so that we might work together to transform our earth to one of peace, equality, and justice for all. Timeless One, Your eternal love wraps courage around us as we enter into your invitation to bring your Light into the world. Your ageless presence draws us to you as we step forward, ready to embrace where you lead us. Your sustaining peace rests within our every heartbeat and accompanies us into the unknown future. We have no fear. We are forever grateful to live in your presence and your love. Amen.
Community Blessing
Kathryn: Please raise your hands in blessing: And together with our arms extended to one another we say this Irish Blessing:
May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life’s passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!
ALL: Thanks be to God. Let it be so! Alleluia!
Closing Song: The Handing Over Time - By Carrie Newcomer & Gary Walters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTiFpbafj6k
If you would like to add your intercession to our MMOJ Community Prayers book,
Please send an email to jmeehan515@aol.com
If you would like to invite another person to attend our liturgy please refer them to
www.marymotherofJesus.org where the day’s liturgy is found. Zoom instructions are also included there.
Please support our community, send your check to:
Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community
% St Andrews UCC, 6908 Beneva Rd., Sarasota, FL 34328
Bridget Mary Meehan holds a doctorate in ministry from Virginia Theological Seminary, (1987) and a Masters in Religious Studies from Catholic University of America (1980). She is the author of 20 books including Praying with Women of the Bible, The Healing Power of Prayer and Living Gospel Equality Now.
