Homily at Holy Spirit Catholic Community, First Sunday of Lent A, March 5, 2017, Beverly Bingle RCWP

Today’s scriptures pose the same question we heard last Sunday:

will we serve God

or will we serve money?

This time it’s phrased in terms of obedience.

We hear lots of commentary about this Genesis creation story

that focuses on the subservience of women to men,

or the dogma of original sin,

or the idea that humans

are the be-all and end-all of God’s creation.

It’s important to remember

that these beginning chapters of Genesis are not history.

They are story, myth in the true sense of the word.

Sister Mary McGlone reminds us

that the Genesis myths have been preserved

not to record historical or scientific events

but to communicate timeless truths.

Among other things, McGlone says,

the creation myth tells us

about human rebellion against God’s reign,

our susceptibility to selfishness

that leads to lies and hate and killing,

and the rupture in right relationship

of humans to God and creation.

Scripture scholar Reginald Fuller

sees the theological insight in this Genesis myth

as pointing to human responsibility for evil in the world.

____________________________________

The teaching of this Genesis passage

is repeated in other stories in the Hebrew Scriptures.

One of the well-known passages

is where Joshua challenges the Israelites

to choose whether or not they will follow God.

Joshua tells them to choose who they will serve

and makes his own pledge, saying,

“As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

The book of Joshua was compiled

about 500 to 600 years before Christ,

the same period that produced the compilation of Genesis.

The question of who we serve, of who we follow,

is the basic question of faith.

Every one of us has to answer that question for ourselves.

____________________________________

Paul’s letter to the Romans,

even though it takes a literal approach to the Genesis myth,

also centers on obedience to God as crucial to faith.

____________________________________

The Gospel story of Jesus’ temptation in the desert

continues the idea of obedience to God.

Scripture scholars call Matthew’s temptation passage a legend,

a story based on what Jesus’ followers imagined he did

when he was alone in the desert.

Matthew and Luke both adapt this story from earlier writings,

a dramatization of the internal struggles

that come from grappling with the basic question of faith:

who will you serve?

Scholars find it plausible, but not certain,

that Jesus actually went on a vision quest in the desert

or that he fasted for an extended period

and went hungry as a result.

We can be certain, though, that he would have spent time

in thought and prayer about the meaning of life and God,

and that his teaching is the fruit of his pondering,

wherever and however he did it.

____________________________________

Just as in the Genesis story,

the truth of the temptation story does not lie in its historicity.

The truth is in Jesus’ example of saying no to the idolatry of power,

no to the spiritual laziness that asks for miracles

and refuses to take responsibility,

no to a life dedicated to serving only himself.

The truth lies in the choice between the good and evil.

In Evangelii Gaudium Pope Francis describes it as the choice

between the reign of God and the places

where everything comes under the laws of competition,

where the powerful feed on the powerless.

____________________________________

Today, on this first Sunday of Lent,

we begin the traditional process

of checking up on our spiritual selves.

We look for the things that tempt us to serve that which is not God,

and biggest one for us in the first world in the 21st century

is the temptation to put our time and energy

into money, power, and stuff.

____________________________________

Who do we serve?

We can find out by keeping watch

on what we are really doing

as we go about our daily life.

We can learn more about ourselves and our motivations

and how we can turn them into actions

that bring about the reign of God,

here and now.

That is the challenge of our journey through Lent.

Let’s get going.

Amen!

-- 

Holy Spirit Catholic Community

Saturdays at 4:30 p.m./Sundays at 5:30 p.m.

at 3925 West Central Avenue

Toledo, OH 43606

(Washington Church)

www.holyspirittoledo.org

Rev. Dr. Bev Bingle, Pastor

Mailing address: 3156 Doyle Street, Toledo, OH 43608-2006

Reflection on Immigration and Deportation by Silvia Brandon-Pérez ARCWP

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/french-historian-henry-rousso-us-immigration-deportation-10-hours-detention-holocaust-expert-a7601786.html

Shameful does not begin to describe it... What is happening in this country because of the policies of hatred and racism of the administration and the corrupt and racist immigration apparatus, which has always been the handmaiden of genocide and racism, is subjecting people to complete panic, disrupting households, and hurting our relationships with the rest of the planet. The people who are stopping travelers are poorly trained, if at all; in the same way that Border Patrol officers constantly commit crimes and outrages against immigrants and have been accused of raping women, beating people of all genders, and even murdering people (one of the most famous cases, that of Anastasio Hernández Rojas, the father of five US born children, whose case was the subject of a PBS video, is one of the most sickening cases I have seen, in a lifetime of interpreting for torture survivors. https://www.democracynow.org/…/death_on_the_border_shocking…).

To many of us who have suffered from the carelessly criminal policies of the United States in our own countries, this is more of the same, but what bothers me is that so many people are repeating racist remarks and demanding, even, that Trump DO MORE. I promised that just for today I wouldn't anger, which is one of Reiki's principles, but I said nothing about moral indignation...

Spanish:

Decir que es vergonzoso ni siquiera empieza a describirlo... Lo que está pasando en el país debido a las políticas de odio y de racismo de la administración y del aparato corrupto y racista del servicio de inmigración, que siempre ha sido la sierva del genocidio y el racismo, está exponiendo a la gente al pánico total, interfiriendo con los hogares y dañando nuestras relaciones con el resto del planeta. Las personas que están parando a los que viajan están muy mal entrenados, si es que han recibido algún tipo de formación; en la misma forma en que los agentes de la patrulla fronteriza cometen delitos y atrocidades contra los inmigrantes y han sido acusados de violar a las mujeres, golpear a la gente de todos los géneros, e incluso asesinar a las personas (uno de los casos más famosos, el de Anastasio Hernández Rojas, padre de cinco hijos nacidos en los EE.UU., fue el objecto de un vídeo de la PBS, y es uno de los casos más horripilantes que he visto, en una vida de interpretar para los sobrevivientes de la tortura. https://www.democracynow.org/…/death_on_the_border_shocking…).

Para muchos de nosotros que hemos sufrido de las políticas criminales y descuidadas de los Estados Unidos en nuestros propios países, esto es simplemente lo mismo, pero lo que me molesta es que tanta gente está repitiendo comentarios racistas y exigiendo, incluso, que Trump haga más cosas... Prometí que por el día de hoy no me enojaría, que es uno del los principios del Reiki, pero no dije nada de la indignación moral...

Ecumenical Ash Wednesday Service with Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community and St. Andrew UCC on March 1, 2017

"Remember the remarkable things God does with dust."

Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP and Rev. Greg Russell UCC Co-Lead Ecumenical Ash Wednesday Service
in Sarasota, Florida

Wisdom for living Lent in 2017

FAST and FEAST

Pope Francis—Lent

·       Fast from hurting words and say kind words

·       Fast from sadness and be filled with gladness.

·       Fast from anger and be filled with patience.

·       Fast from pessimism and be filled with hope

·       Fast from worries and trust in God

·       Fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity

·       Fast from pressures and be prayerful

·       Fast from bitterness and fill your heart with joy

·       Fast from selfishness and be compassionate to others

·       Fast from grudges and be reconciled

·       Fast from words and be silent so you can listen

By Rose Albano Risso

The season of Lent also throws me back to the messages of “fasting and feasting” that family and friends have always shared with me through the years. There are many variations to the theme and thought, and anyone can add their own to the list as they deem applicable to their own spiritual situation. Here are some of the really touching ones that have been passed on to me for my own Lenten spiritual journey:

FAST AND FEAST

Fast from bitterness, feast on forgiveness.

Fast from selfishness, feast on compassion for others.

Fast from discouragement, feast on seeing the good.

Fast from apathy, feast on enthusiasm.

Fast from suspicions, feast on truth.

Fast from talking, feast on listening.

Fast from anger, feast on patience. 

Fast from idle gossip, feast on purposeful silence. 

"Ashes to Go" Served with Glitter/LGBTI Solidarity

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/03/01/on-ash-wednesday-ashes-to-go-with-a-little-extra-sparkle/?utm_term=.c52d91376a8f&wpisrc=nl_buzz&wpmm=1

"Genevieve, like thousands of other Christians nationwide, got her ashes on this Ash Wednesday with a side of sparkles. The Glitter Ash project, created by New York nonprofit Parity, encouraged clergy to mix glitter into the ashes this year, to represent the inclusion of LGBT people in Christian life.

“People are responding with such joy that they can show their faith and show that they are LGBT,” said the Rev. Marian Edmonds-Allen, executive director of Parity. “LGBT people are people of faith, too. … "

Janice Sevre Duszynska ARCWP Witnesses for Peace with Activists in Baltimore, Maryland

Janice Sevre Duszynska ARCWP witnesses for peace

Last week, Feb. 21^st, after our regular Tuesday night witness at John Hopkins University, we held our banner outside the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall where retired General Martin Dempsey was speaking. We were there to say that war is not an entertainment exercise. Our government is engaged in war in at least seven countries, yet, there is no discussion and Trump wants to increase the military budget, which is now approximately 50 per cent of the discretionary federal budget. (Since then, he has requested $54 billion from the discretionary budget, a 10 percent increase. That money would be taken from the Domestic  Budget, possibly from Arts and Education).

Ellen Barfield, who stood alongside Max, is a consummate activist from Veterans for Peace. We were visited by Dr. Margaret Flowers. In the last election she was running as the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senator from Maryland. 

LAST REMAINING ABUSE SURVIVOR ON VATICAN COMMISSION RESIGNS IN FRUSTRATION 01 March 2017 | by Christopher Lamb in Rome

Marie Collins talks of lack of co-operation and constant set backs

"Pope Francis' efforts to grapple with the clerical sexual abuse scandal has been dealt a major blow after a highly respected abuse survivor resigned from his commission into child protection.  

Marie Collins’ Ash Wednesday announcement that she is stepping down from a papal safeguarding body set up by Francis calls into question the pope's handling of clerical sexual abuse. 

The Irish abuse victim’s announcement comes days after a report that the Pope was softening sentences for some priests recommended for laicisation.  

A statement from the commission said Mrs Collins had “cited her frustration at the lack of co-operation with the commission by other offices in the Roman Curia,” although she adds that she will continue to work with the body in an “educational role.” 

Her departure means there are no longer any abuse survivors actively serving on the body set up by Pope Francis with the other survivor, Peter Saunders, on an indefinite leave of absence.

But she has now become disillusioned by the slow pace of change. In an article published by the National Catholic Reporter she talks about resistance from inside the Vatican to recommendations from the commission along with a lack of resources. 

She vented her frustrations about about resistance to reform from inside the Roman Curia when I interviewed her last month. The problems, she said, were old attitudes and opposition to Pope Francis: this was a state of affairs Mrs Collins described as a “disgrace.”  

 She has stressed, however, that Francis does understand the problem of abuse and is serious when he talks about adopting a “zero tolerance” policy. 

"What he [the Pope] has said is a true reflection of what he feels about abuse. But I do believe there are elements in the Vatican thinking in the old way and who are not on board. And that is very dispiriting in 2017,” she told me.

"He has learned a great deal. No one starts out fully understanding everything. He may not always get it right and I'm sure he’s made mistakes, but basically he has got the right attitude."

Mrs Collins was also uniquely able to act as a bridge between survivors and church authorities. Her voice carries weight. At 13, she was raped by the chaplain at a Catholic hospital in Dublin where she was a patient. She has talked about the terrible damage she suffered; how she felt the abuse was her fault, how she was weighed down with guilt and lost her confidence. At the same time Collins has been able to live with the pain and work with bishops and church leaders to ensure children are protected. 

Some decisions from Francis concerning certain cases have been "hard to understand” Mrs Collins says but the Pope has been wiling to listen, and has adopted every proposal the commission has recommended. 

One of these has been the need to hold bishops accountable for covering up abuse. Initially this was due to take place by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). Later, however, the Pope announced this would be handled by other curial departments suggesting there was resistance from the CDF.  

Sources in Rome say that there is a tribunal in the CDF that could be used to investigate bishops who cover up but no case has so far been brought to it. Meanwhile the other Vatican departments can apply another legal process - known as the administrative trial - to deal with such cases. 

What all this shows is the difficulty the commission had in bedding down into the Church’s central administration. It is not technically a department of the Roman Curia and so other Vatican departments were not always sure how to relate to it or where the real authority lay. 

It had been set up on the recommendation of the Pope’s advisory council of cardinals, the C9, and is led by one of its members Cardinal Sean O’Malley. He is the the Archbishop of Boston who took over following the exposure of a cover-up of sexual crimes against children by priests and has been Francis’ point man on abuse. 

Today the Cardinal said: “We will certainly listen carefully to all that Marie wishes to share with us about her concerns and we will greatly miss her important contributions as a member of the commission.”

The problem facing the Pope is a perception that he is not able to take full control of the sex abuse crisis which has infected the Church worldwide. 

Adopting a merciful approach to survivors has backfired after he softened a sentence against abusive Italian priest Mauro Inzoli, after powerful figures allegedly lobbied the Pope on Inzoli’s behalf.

Collins disagrees withe Pope’s decisions on this case and was also worried by Francis' appointment of Chilean Bishop Juan Barros despite claims Barros had covered up abuse. 

But she points out that “none of his actions have put a perpetrator back into a position where children would be at risk.” 

Critics say the Pope needs to show that he “gets it” when it comes to abuse and adopt a stronger procedures based approach to the matter rather than adopting a case-by-case strategy. 

Francis has shown himself willing to try new ideas in all sorts of ways in what has been a “start-up” style papacy. Some things work, some don’t. In the case of the commission he needs to go back to the drawing board. "

Bishop Robert McElroy Calls for Leaders to Act as Disrupters in the Face of ICE Raids, Anti-Muslim Bigotry, and Economic Exclusion

http://popularmovements.org/news/message-from-modesto/
Message from Modesto
Grassroots popular movement leaders from across the United States, along with our brothers and sisters from 12 countries met for the First U.S. Regional Meeting of Popular Movements in Modesto California, February 16-19, 2017. Two-dozen U.S. Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Peter Turkson, staff from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and Vatican department for the Promotion of Integral Human Development joined us during our meeting.

We live every day the reality that Pope Francis describes when he says that our families and communities are being assaulted by a “system that causes enormous suffering to the human family, simultaneously assaulting people’s dignity and our Common Home in order to sustain the invisible tyranny of money that only guarantees the privileges of a few.” With the Pope we recognize that we are at a “historic turning-point” and that resolution of “this worsening crisis” depends on the participation and action of popular movements.

In this spirit, we transmit the following urgent message to popular movement members, and leaders in the United States and globally, and to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Pope Francis.

We believe that every human is sacred with equal claim to safe water, education, health care, housing and family-sustaining jobs. All people are protagonists of their future. We each have a right to be included in the decisions that shape our lives. Our faith leaders and congregations are called to stand with those whose backs are against the wall. We will be remembered not just by the empathy we express but by the actions we take. Our economy is meant to be in service of people not profit. Racism and all forms of human hierarchy, whether based on skin color, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, arrest and conviction records, immigration status, religion or ethnicity are immoral.

We experience the pain inflicted on people by racial discrimination and economic oppression. The lack of good jobs, affordable housing and clean water and air is literally killing people. Racism is stripping Black, Latino, Asian, Muslim, Native people of their humanity and fueling police abuse and mass-incarceration, and fueling a crisis of homelessness and displacement. Raids and Trump Administration Executive Orders are scapegoating immigrants and ripping families apart.

We understand that a small elite is growing wealthy and powerful off the suffering of our families. Racism and White Supremacy are America’s original sins. They continue to justify a system of unregulated capitalism that idolizes wealth accumulation over human needs. Yet too often our faith communities and religious leaders fail to heed the mandate to denounce greed and stand with the poor and vulnerable.  The issues we are facing are intertwined and require all of our voices and actions.

As Pope Francis told us: “The system’s gangrene cannot be whitewashed forever because sooner or later the stench becomes too strong; and when it can no longer be denied, the same power that spawned this state of affairs sets about manipulating fear, insecurity, quarrels, and even people’s justified indignation, in order to shift the responsibility for all these ills onto a “non-neighbor.”

We propose the following actions:

1. Sanctuary

We urge every faith community, including every Catholic parish, to declare themselves a sanctuary for people facing deportation and those being targeted based on religion, race or political beliefs. Being a sanctuary can include hosting families at-risk of deportation, accompanying people to ICE check-ins, organizing to free people from detention, holding Defend Your Rights trainings and organizing rapid response teams. All cities, counties and states should adopt policies that get ICE out of our schools, courts and jails, stop handing over people to ICE and end practices that criminalize people of color through aggressive policing and over-incarceration.

As Pope Francis has said to us: “Who is this innkeeper? It is the Church, the Christian community, people of compassion and solidarity, social organizations. It is us, it is you, to whom the Lord Jesus daily entrusts those who are afflicted in body and spirit, so that we can continue pouring out all of his immeasurable mercy and salvation upon them.”

2. Disrupting oppression and dehumanization

We must put our bodies, money and institutional power at risk to protect our families and communities, using tools that include boycotts, strikes, and non-violent civil disobedience.

As Bishop Robert McElroy said to us, “We must disrupt those who would seek to send troops into our communities to deport the undocumented, to destroy our families. We must disrupt those who portray refugees as enemies. We must disrupt those who train us to see Muslim men & women as a source of threat rather than children of God. We must disrupt those who would take away healthcare, who would take food from our children.”

3. Bold prophetic leadership from faith communities

At this moment of fear and anxiety, we urge our clergy and faith communities to speak and act boldly in solidarity with our people. As Cardinal Tobin shared with us, sometimes our faith leaders need to walk out in front and show that they are not afraid either. We ask our Catholic Bishops to write a covenant that spells out specific actions that dioceses and parishes should take to protect families in the areas of immigration, racism, jobs, housing, and the environment.

4. One People, One Fight

We commit to break down the walls that divide our struggles. We will not let corporate and political elites pit us against each other. We are in one fight to rebuild a society in which every person is seen as fully human, has a full voice in the decisions that shape their lives and is able to thrive and reach their human potential.

5. International Week of Action May 1-7, 2017

We are calling on people in the U.S. and across the globe to stand together against hatred and attacks on families during a week of action May 1-7, 2017.

6. State and regional meetings of popular movements

We propose meetings of popular movements in each of our states over the next six months to bring this statement, the vision of the World Meetings and the Pope’s message of hope and courage to every community in the United States.

7. Popular education

We propose to develop a shared curriculum and popular education program to equip people with analysis and tools to transform the world. We will focus on the development and leadership of young people. We will draw on the wisdom of our faith and cultural traditions, including Catholic Social Teaching. We recognize that our spiritual and political selves are inseparable. We have a moral obligation to confront and disrupt injustice.

8. Political power

To defend our families and protect our values we must build political power. We must change the electorate to reflect our communities, through massive efforts to reach out to tens of millions of voters who are ignored and taken for granted by candidates and parties. We must hold elected officials accountable to the common good and encourage people in our communities to take leadership themselves, including running for office, so that we can govern the communities in which we live.

Modesto, California
February 19, 2017

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Bishop Robert McElroy Calls for Leaders to Act as Disrupters in the Face of ICE Raids, Anti-Muslim Bigotry, and Economic Exclusion

Opening Keynote Address Cardinal Peter K.A. Turkson, Prefect

"Giving Up Theories of Atonement for Lent in Favour of Listening for God’s Laughter" by Rev. Dawn Hutchings

"Traditionally the season of Lent is a mournful time filled with calls to repentance and self-examination as we follow Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted and then on that long march to Jerusalem where the powers that be will have their wicked way with him. Our liturgies take a mournful tone as we lament our woeful human existence, confess our sinfulness, and hear exultations to take up our crosses so that we too can follow Jesus to the bitter end. Over and over again we are asked to remember that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves, as we gaze upon the cross remembering that Jesus our savior bled and died as a result of our wicked sinfulness. Lent is a strange season that harkens back to a forgotten era. Unlike so many of the seasons of the church year it’s not exactly a season that attracts people to church. Not many of you got out of bed this morning and said, “Yippy it’s the first day of Lent. Oh goodie!  We get to be reminded that we are sinful, that life is miserable and unless I’m willing to take up my cross and follow Jesus all the way to Golgotha, there’s precious little hope cause we’re all going to die and when the time comes we want Jesus to remember us.” Now I know that there are some people who just love Lent and I must confess that I like the quieter, more somber tone that our liturgies take. I actually enjoy the opportunity to slow things done and be more reflective in our worship together. I savor the silences and the opportunities to be more contemplative. I love the colour purple with all its vibrant hues and the best part of all is that the beginning of Lent means that spring is just around the corner. What I don’t like about Lent are the signs, symbols, hymns and stories that make it so easy for us to fall back into the 11th century." Read more of this post

Ash Wednesday - Video with Sister Simone Campbell/We are God's Body Caring for Immigrants, Orphans and Refugees, We are in this together"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ORuH10oJn4&feature=youtu.be

"We are called to communal act of conversion, let our hearts be broken open, respond to needs around us, weep for nation, take action...All are welcome."

Cardinal Ravasi: Women Deacons 'a Possibility,' Fixation on Women's Ordination 'Clerical'/ My Response

https://www.ncronline.org/news/world/cardinal-ravasi-women-deacons-possibility-fixation-womens-ordination-clerical

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said that the opening of the diaconate for women is a possibility in a long Feb. 24 interview with the German Catholic sitekatholisch.de."Women deacons would be a possibility in my eyes, but it would naturally have to be discussed first as the historic tradition is very complex," he said. The present continuous fixation on women's ordination was "clerical," he added.

Bridget Mary's Response: Cardinal Ravasi seems to be making the connection between gender equality in decision making and in presiding at the altar with diaconate ordination.  The full equality of women in all areas of the church includes a renewed priestly ministry in a non-clerical, inclusive, egalitarian community of faith. This is the vision of the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests. www.arcwp.org

"Ravasi recalled that when he first set up his women's only permanent consultation group two years ago, Pope Francis immediately visited the dicastery and listened to Ravasi's plans to give women a consultative role. Francis told him of several bishops who, after listening to their advisory councils in which only men were represented, had created women's councils and found their feedback better and more substantial. In other words, good advice is sometimes feminine," Ravasi said. "In the Vatican that is a new discovery."

Bridget Mary's Response: As my Irish mother often said, "words are cheap, it is actions that count"! While women's voices are being heard now by Pope Francis and bishops at the Vatican, are they being heeded? Where are the changes in teachings that impact world poverty and the destruction of the planet such as the ban on artificial birth control? A pro-life church must be pro-women and pro-responsible family planning by all effective means! 

Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP

703-505-0004

Sofiabmm@aol.com

www.arcwp.org

bridgetmarysblogspot.com

"Catholics Continue to Press Trump on Climate Change" by Brian Roewe, National Catholic Reporter

https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/eco-catholic/catholics-continue-press-trump-climate-change

More: Speak loud, act local, environmental groups tell Catholics in Trump era (Feb. 7, 2017)

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The bishops' letter, dated Feb. 17 and written by Bishops Oscar Cantu of Las Cruces, N.M., and Frank Dewane of Venice, Fla., along with Catholic Relief Services President and CEO Sean Callahan, was directed at Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Dewane is chair of the bishops' conference Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, while Cantu chairs the Committee on International Justice and Peace.

They urged the former Exxon Mobil CEO to keep the U.S. in the Paris Agreement and continue the country's support of the Green Climate Fund. The latter, which has a goal of $100 billion annually in financing by 2020 to developing countries to adapt to and mitigate climate impacts, has been a primary target of defense of Catholic environmental advocates in the first month of the Trump presidency.

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More: Faith groups petition Congress to honor Green Climate Fund pledge (April 18, 2016)

Liturgy for Lent by Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP

Liturgy for Lent

GATHERING SONG AND GREETING

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

Presider:  My sisters and brothers, In Lent, we fast from all that holds us from living fully as the beloved of God, and feast on Infinite love moving through us as we do justice and live equality in our world. The Holy One is with us.

ALL:  and with all.

PENITENTIAL RITE

Presider:  As we pray, fast, and give alms, may we be face of God in our world by living Gospel compassion and justice.

Jesus, you are compassion. 

ALL:  Jesus, we live compassion and do justice.   

Presider: Jesus, your death reminds us that God is always on the side of those who suffer. Jesus, you walk with us in our sufferings.

 ALL: Jesus, we walk with others in their sufferings and challenge systemic injustice in our communities, nation and world.

Presider: Jesus, in your dying and rising, you show us the path to liberation from structures of domination, Jesus, you are liberator. 

ALL: Jesus, we live your vision of liberation and justice, one with your people and all creation.

Presider:  Let us pause now for reflection.  Place your hand over your heart and breathe in God’s compassionate love for you…be aware that God forgives, frees and heals us…Let us let go of guilt,  live justly, and love tenderly. We are the face of God in our world… (Extend hands and recite prayer of General Absolution)

ALL:  God, the Father-Mother of mercies through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus / God has reconciled the world and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins / through the ministry of the Church, the people of God, may God give us pardon and peace / and we forgive one another for our failures to love and to witness for justice in the name of the Holy One / Creator of life, and of Jesus,  our brother, and of the Holy Spirit, our wisdom, Amen.

OPENING PRAYER

Presider:  God of Love, during Lent you call us to renew our bodies, minds and spirits.  You call us to be mystics and prophets, unafraid to speak truth to power. May we experience your grace filling us with spiritual energy to live justly, love tenderly and work for justice in our world. We ask this, one with our brother Jesus, through the power of your Spirit.  ALL: Amen. 

LITURGY OF THE WORD

First Reading

Second Reading

Responsorial Psalm

Gospel Acclamation: Praise, honor and glory to our God.  Be compassionate and just as God is compassionate and just, praise honor and glory to our God.

Gospel --  Reader:  A reading from the Gospel according to . . .  ALL: Glory to you O God.

Reader:  The good news of Jesus, the Christ!

ALL:  Glory and praise to you, Jesus the Christ!

HOMILY

Profession of Faith:  ALL:  We believe in God who calls us to be the compassion of God in our world. We believe in Jesus, whose death and resurrection reveals that God’s liberating love overcomes all oppression, including death and evil. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the breath of Wisdom Sophia, who energizes and guides us to live Gospel equality in inclusive communities where all are welcome everywhere in our nation and world. We believe in the communion of saints our heavenly friends, who inspire us to live holy lives. We believe in the love that does justice and heals our world.

GENERAL INTERCESSIONS

Presider:  That we may live compassion and mutuality, letting go of all patterns of domination we pray.

Response: God of all ages, hear us!

Presider:  That those bound by hatred, hostility, and violence will be set free, we pray.  R.  

Presider:  That the sick may be healed, especially (mention names), we pray.  R.    

Presider:  That the dead may dwell forever in God's presence, we pray. R.   (Other Intentions)

PREPARATION OF THE GIFTS

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. 

ALL:  Blessed be God forever.

(All come around the table to pray the Eucharistic Prayer, background music may be played)  

Presider:  God is with you, proclaiming liberation ALL:  and also with you. 

Presider:  Lift up your hearts that Jesus proclaims healing, justice and peace for all people.  

ALL:  We lift them up to God. 

Presider:  Let us give thanks to our God.

ALL:  It is right to give God thanks and praise.

EUCHARISTIC PRAYER

Voice One:  Lifegiving Love, You have called us to be midwives of grace, radiant reflections of your holy presence on earth. United with You, we are one with all beings in the community of creation as we celebrate the new life occurring in our expanding cosmos. And so we join the angels and saints as we say: 

ALL: Sung “We are holy, holy, holy, you are holy, holy, holy, I am holy, holy, holy” chant by Karen Drucker

Voice Two:  Gracious God, you set the banquet table and invite all to the feast that celebrates your boundless love in the universe.  As mystics and prophets we are Your hands, lifting up those who suffer, the vulnerable and excluded in our world today

Voice Three: We especially thank you, Holy One, for Jesus, the Compassion of God, who came to show us a new vision of community where every person is loved and all relate with mutual respect. As midwives of grace we welcome all God’s family into the Circle of Life at the Banquet of Love.

Voice Four: Jesus threatened the religious and political leaders of his time and so they put him to death.  Like Jesus, the holy ones throughout the ages have been executed for their prophetic witness by the oppressive systems they challenged.  As God’s beloved, we speak truth to power and work for justice and equality, no matter what the cost.

All: (please all extend hands as we recite the consecration together)

Let your Spirit come upon these gifts as we pray:

 On the night before he died, Jesus took bread into his hands and said:

ALL: This is my body, he said. Take it and eat of it. Do this in in memory of me.

Pause

All: At the end of the meal Jesus took a cup of wine, raised it in thanksgiving to you, and said:

Take and drink of the covenant made new again through my life in you. Do this in memory of me.

Presider:  Now then, let us proclaim the mystery of the Christ Presence made new again through you:  

ALL:  In every creature that has ever breathed, Christ has lived; in every living being that has passed on before us, Christ has died;  in everything yet to be, Christ will come again! 

Voice Five:  We honor the holy women and men who have revealed your compassion and justice in our world.  We thank you for ordinary people in our lives who show us how to love tenderly and have revealed the heart of our God, especially  (pause to remember and name some of these holy women and men). 

Voice Six: And so, liberating God, Midwife of Grace, we hold our religious ministers and political leaders in the light of Christ Sophia, Holy Wisdom.  We pray for our pope and bishops, the young and the elders, and all God’s holy people.

Voice Seven:  We remember those who are sick and suffering.  May they be healed and comforted.  We remember Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary Magdala, Peter, Paul, Junia, our patron saints and all the saints and angels who surround us with loving prayer each day.   We remember our loved ones and all those who have died, that they may experience the fullness of life in the embrace of our compassionate God.

ALL:  Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, all praise and glory are yours, Holy God, through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

THE PRAYER OF JESUS

ALL:  Our Father and Mother . . .

THE SIGN OF PEACE

Presider:  Let us pray for the peace of Christ in our world as we sing and hold hands in a community prayer for peace (Peace is flowing or other appropriate hymn)

   LITANY FOR THE BREAKING OF BREAD

ALL:  Loving God, You call us to speak truth to power, we will do so. Loving God, You call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice, we will do so. Loving God, You call us to live as Your welcoming presence in the world.  We will do so.

Presider:  This is Jesus, who called women and men to be partners and equals, and who liberates, heals and transforms our world and us.  All are invited to partake of this sacred banquet of love. 

ALL:  Jesus you make us worthy to receive you and become you for others.  We are the Body of Christ. 

Presider:  Let us share the Body of Christ with the Body of Christ!  ALL:  Amen.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Presider:  Life-giving God, Jesus showed the way to overcome all oppression through his death and resurrection. Through the power of the liberating Spirit at work within us, and our world, we will comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable by living as the Compassion of God the Gospel values of justice, peace and equality in our lives and communities.   ALL:  Amen

CONCLUDING RITE

Presider:  Our God is with you.

ALL:  and also with you. 

BLESSING

(everyone please extend your hands in mutual blessing)

ALL:  Holy One, Love of all, we bless one another as we, like Jesus, live Your generous service to all especially the least and the last.  Amen.

DISMISSAL

Presider:   Go, bring forth life as co-creators, healers, and doers of justice in our world.  Let the service continue!  ALL:   Thanks be to God.

CONCLUDING HYMN

Bridget Mary Meehan

Association of Roman Catholic Woman Priests

http://bridgetmarys.blogspot.com/

www.arcwp.org