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Monday, April 17, 2017
Sunday, April 16, 2017
On Maundy Thursday, Pope Washes 12 Prisoners' Feet, Including Women and Muslim Man, Sojourners
https://sojo.net/articles/maundy-thursday-pope-washes-12-prisoners-feet-including-women-and-muslim-man
The Vatican said the 12 included three women and a Muslim man who has decided to convert to Catholicism and is due to be baptized in June.
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Easter Hymn for Earth by Jan Phillips
 |
| photo by Mary Theresa Streck |
Easter Hymn for Earth
Jan Phillips 2017
Hallelujah! They have
risen!
Snowdrop, crocus,
bearded iris.
Exult and throw your
happy arms upward!
The trillium carpet
the forest floor.
The tulips, triumphant
in rainbow rows,
rise up singing
"our cups overflow."
The creatures dress in
their feast-day finest,
the loons and penguins in black tie and tux.
Hallelujah ushers forth from lips and beaks
as quacks, warbles, howls and hoots
fill the forests and fields with hymns of joy.
Let the Earth be glad and the sky shower praise
for the riot of color in her cloak of glory:
Purple Martin, Scarlet Tanager,
Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher,
Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret,
Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Indigo Bunting.
It is right to give thanks and to pray for the endangered,
relatives among us but not for long:
Bengal Tiger, Blue Whale, Leatherback Sea Turtle,
Asian Elephant, Javan Rhinoceros, Mountain Gorilla,
Snow Leopard, Red Wolf, California Condor.
It is fitting that we mourn our relations now extinct-
though the list is long, let us name a few:
Chinese River Dolphin, Japanese Sea Lion,
Caribbean Monk Seal, Cascade Mountain Wolf, Sardinian Lynx,
Bali Tiger, Mexican Grizzly, Eastern Cougar, Black Rhinoceros,
Koala Lemur, Barbary Lion, Laughing Owl.
For all that dies and rises, we bend our knee.
As creatures of the Cosmos, progeny of the Universe,
we give thanks and rejoice for the Flame within us.
With the bald eagles and hairy frogfish,
with the furry kittens and spiny hedgehogs,
with the runny-nosed bison and red-nosed reindeer
we stand in awe as Earth spins, tides change,
hearts beat, eyes see, hands comfort.
We who believe in Life give Life.
In adoration, we sing, we bow,
we weep tears of joy and anguish.
This feast marks the life of a prophet
who said, we're told, more than once,
"What you see me do, you can do, and more."
That is what this praise is for.
What rises today and every dawn
are these words that remind us:
There is nothing in the world we cannot do.
Let us rise, let us pray, let us sing.
Let us take this suffering world into our arms
and rock and rock and rock.
Hallelujah!
Happy Easter from the Upper Room - Albany, NY
Debra Trees and members of the Association of Roman Catholic Women
Priests led the Easter Vigil Liturgy. Deb Trees provided the homily starter
below. The community read the Story of Salvation History (below) adapted by Jay
Murnane (1945-2004) who continues to inspire this community with inclusive
liturgies written 20-30 year ago.
Homily Starter by Debra Trees
Every Easter season, we see the perennial renewal of life around
us; at least if we are in a wonderful place on Earth like the great Northeast. Trees that are bare begin to bud anew. Bulbs
from last year begin to peak green through the dark soil. Birds bop around,
making nests, tweeting their hearts out. Eggs and lilies and baskets are some
of our symbols for Easter, and just remind us again of new life.
But the surprise of Easter, are the words “He is risen!” Never, in our wildest dreams as human beings,
would we ever think that this was a possibility. In one instant of recognition,
when Mary heard her name as only Jesus could say it, we are given the witness
of all time, “Rabboni.”
Here, in your beautiful life, a gift from our Creator, each of you
is invited by this witness to hear your own name spoken, with pure knowing and
intimate love.
How will you respond?
Through this Lent and Easter season, What did you hear? What will you do anew? What will it cost you?
The first Reading is the Story of Salvation History
(adapted from the books of the Hebrew Scriptures by Jay
Murnane)
In the beginning, there was only chaos and a void. God breathed
life into it and said, "Let there be light." And there was light: sun
and moon and stars in the heavens. There emerged vast bodies of water filled
with live creatures. Then, birds flying across the breadth of the skies, and on
the earth, reptiles and animals of every kind, color and shape. And all had a
purpose. God saw what had come to be, and God found it very good.
God then said: "Let us make human beings in the divine image;
women and men together to take care of all of this, and one another! When this
was done, God viewed the whole of creation, and loved it, for it was very, very
good.
But human beings did not take care of creation and each other.
Human beings corrupted the good-ness of what God had made. Rain fell, a
torrential, purifying rain, covering the earth and washing away all the
corruption to which people had given birth. Only Noah, his family, and living
creatures from every species on earth floated above the flood in an ark made of
wood.
After forty days, the rain subsided, so that the water was no
longer a flood, and the ark came to rest on high, dry ground. The people and
the animals looked up into the sky and saw something beautiful. God said:
"That is my rainbow, the sign of my presence with you and my love for you.
It will forever be the sign of my relationship with you, and your
responsibility to take care of creation, and each other."
From these survivors of the flood, creation was begun all over
again. Many, many years went by and there were many gatherings of people all
over the face of the earth. One of these was the people, Israel, and among all
of God's precious people, the Jews were very precious. During a time of famine,
the Jews were invited by the Egyptians, their neighbors, to share their land
and their food. But some centuries after this hospitality, a cruel leader in
Egypt forgot the old relationship and made the Jews into slaves.
They lived this way for a long time, until Moses came among them
and risked his safety and security to convince the Jews that God loved them and
wanted them to be free. So, they left Egypt, filled with the Spirit of God, led
by Moses and Miriam through the desert in search of a new home where they could
be free again.
During this difficult journey, they were often disillusioned and
resentful, and they complained bitterly. Moses asked God for help, and God
offered the ten commandments, so that the people might know the simplest
possible way to love God and their fellow human beings. And from these
survivors of oppression, Israel began all over again.
But the people forgot the simple way of God and were not always
faithful, and at times they were as oppressive to each other and to strangers
as the Egyptians had been to them. They paid lip service to God, but their
hearts were very far from God, and therefore, from justice and compassion.
People of wisdom came from among them to remind them of the rainbow of their
journey to freedom, and of their promise to God about caring for creation and
each other. These were the prophets, and like Moses, they risked everything to
convince the people to come home to freedom and responsibility, compassion and
justice, faithfulness and integrity.
The prophet Isaiah said: "God is displeased with your prayers
and your liturgies because the hands you lift in prayer are covered with blood.
God wants prayer from the heart. God wants justice for the oppressed. God wants
food for the hungry. God wants true peace!"
The prophet Amos said: "Some of you have grabbed power and
made your own people no better than slaves. You have stripped people of their
dignity as God's children, buying and selling them as if they were groceries or
sandals. Greed is your god and selfishness, your liturgy!"
The prophet Micah said:
"My people, you struggle blindly to know what God wants, and you act as if
you remember nothing from your history, as if you know nothing. From the
beginning of time, there has been one message from God. What God wants is this,
ONLY this: That we live justly, that we love tenderly, that we walk with
integrity in God's presence!
These are the inspired words of our prophets.
Homily for Holy Spirit Catholic Community for Easter by Beverly Bingle RCWP
Advances in scientific understanding
say that some experiences
that were once labeled “pathological”
are “normal,
among them religious ecstatic trance experiences.
Because of the work of cognitive neuroscientists
we now know
that our brains have many different levels of consciousness.
So far they’ve detected 35 of them.
Dr. Felicitas Goodman ‘s research shows that four elements
of ecstatic trance experiences exist in all cultures,
especially cultures where death is understood
as a process over time
rather than a point in time.
All four elements appear in our New Testament accounts
of people who saw Jesus alive after the crucifixion,
and it’s easy to recognize the parallels
between the resurrection gospels
and Dr. Goodman’s description.
First, she says, the visionary is usually frightened by the vision…
as it’s told in the resurrection appearances
in the gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke.
Second, the visionary doesn’t recognize who it is who’s appearing
or what it is that’s being seen…
as in the gospels of Mark, Luke, and John.
Third, the vision communicates calm assurance
followed by self-identification...
like the angel in Matthew’s gospel
telling Mary Magdalene not to be afraid.
Finally, the visionary receives some useful information,
like an answer, an insight, or a commission…
like Mary being told that Jesus has been raised
and given the commission to go tell the disciples about it.
______________________________
These ecstatic trance experiences can happen when we pray.
They are are common to grieving people,
especially when they visit burial sites.
Other cross-cultural psychiatric research shows that,
when death is seen as a process, a journey, or a transition,
survivors keep relating to the departed for many years,
most commonly within the first ten years after the loss.
This science can help us understand today’s Gospel
and the other resurrection reports.
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
report what fits the scientific description
of an ecstatic trance experience.
The other Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles,
and the letters of Paul relate the same kind of experiences.
______________________________
What about us?
In our culture we tend to think of death as a point in time,
not as a process,
so we’re less likely to be open
to the reality of post-death experiences.
At the same time,
we’ve all heard a bereaved widow
saying she felt her husband’s presence at certain times.
“It’s like he’s still with me,” she’ll say.
Maybe it’s a dream,
where the deceased person gives you a message.
I had one of those.
Maybe you’re praying, and you zone out,
and when you come back to your everyday consciousness,
you feel assured that it’s going to be okay.
I’ve had those, too.
Science now tells us that these are normal human experiences.
Our evolving brains
have developed multiple levels of consciousness.
As Professor John Pilch puts it,
good science can help us to understand and appreciate
the marvelous gifts to human beings from our Creator God.
______________________________
There’s not much reason to doubt
that Jesus’ disciples experienced his presence with them
after the crucifixion.
By the time the scriptures were written down,
the lived reality of Jesus’ resurrection
had found expressions in multiple levels of consciousness
of those witnesses and their communities.
As we know from trying to tell someone else
about our own spiritual insights and experiences,
the words don’t come easily.
The experience often defies description.
But our understanding grows
as we live with that experience
and embrace its meaning.
We believe, and we begin to act on our belief.
We carry Christ into the world, wherever we go.
Our families bask in the bright light
of our care and concern for them.
Our friends call on us for help
because they know how we are.
The poor find us with them,
providing for their urgent needs
and working to change the systems
that keep them from thriving.
______________________________
In John’s Gospel Mary of Magdala looks at the empty tomb
and laments, “We don’t know where they’ve put him.”
She will soon find out.
I know exactly where to find him,
where that unique expression of the Divine Presence lives:
in you!
In your heart, in your values, in your prayers,
in your reaching out, in all you do and all you are.
Yes, Christ has died.
But Christ is risen!
And Christ comes again!
Alleluia!
Public Domain
--
Holy Spirit Catholic Community
Saturdays at 4:30 p.m./Sundays at 5:30 p.m.
Holy Thursday, April 13, 5:30 p.m. Mass of the Lord's Supper
Easter Mass of the Resurrection, Saturday, April 15, 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
that were once labeled “pathological”
are “normal,
among them religious ecstatic trance experiences.
Because of the work of cognitive neuroscientists
we now know
that our brains have many different levels of consciousness.
So far they’ve detected 35 of them.
Dr. Felicitas Goodman ‘s research shows that four elements
of ecstatic trance experiences exist in all cultures,
especially cultures where death is understood
as a process over time
rather than a point in time.
All four elements appear in our New Testament accounts
of people who saw Jesus alive after the crucifixion,
and it’s easy to recognize the parallels
between the resurrection gospels
and Dr. Goodman’s description.
First, she says, the visionary is usually frightened by the vision…
as it’s told in the resurrection appearances
in the gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke.
Second, the visionary doesn’t recognize who it is who’s appearing
or what it is that’s being seen…
as in the gospels of Mark, Luke, and John.
Third, the vision communicates calm assurance
followed by self-identification...
like the angel in Matthew’s gospel
telling Mary Magdalene not to be afraid.
Finally, the visionary receives some useful information,
like an answer, an insight, or a commission…
like Mary being told that Jesus has been raised
and given the commission to go tell the disciples about it.
______________________________
These ecstatic trance experiences can happen when we pray.
They are are common to grieving people,
especially when they visit burial sites.
Other cross-cultural psychiatric research shows that,
when death is seen as a process, a journey, or a transition,
survivors keep relating to the departed for many years,
most commonly within the first ten years after the loss.
This science can help us understand today’s Gospel
and the other resurrection reports.
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
report what fits the scientific description
of an ecstatic trance experience.
The other Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles,
and the letters of Paul relate the same kind of experiences.
______________________________
What about us?
In our culture we tend to think of death as a point in time,
not as a process,
so we’re less likely to be open
to the reality of post-death experiences.
At the same time,
we’ve all heard a bereaved widow
saying she felt her husband’s presence at certain times.
“It’s like he’s still with me,” she’ll say.
Maybe it’s a dream,
where the deceased person gives you a message.
I had one of those.
Maybe you’re praying, and you zone out,
and when you come back to your everyday consciousness,
you feel assured that it’s going to be okay.
I’ve had those, too.
Science now tells us that these are normal human experiences.
Our evolving brains
have developed multiple levels of consciousness.
As Professor John Pilch puts it,
good science can help us to understand and appreciate
the marvelous gifts to human beings from our Creator God.
______________________________
There’s not much reason to doubt
that Jesus’ disciples experienced his presence with them
after the crucifixion.
By the time the scriptures were written down,
the lived reality of Jesus’ resurrection
had found expressions in multiple levels of consciousness
of those witnesses and their communities.
As we know from trying to tell someone else
about our own spiritual insights and experiences,
the words don’t come easily.
The experience often defies description.
But our understanding grows
as we live with that experience
and embrace its meaning.
We believe, and we begin to act on our belief.
We carry Christ into the world, wherever we go.
Our families bask in the bright light
of our care and concern for them.
Our friends call on us for help
because they know how we are.
The poor find us with them,
providing for their urgent needs
and working to change the systems
that keep them from thriving.
______________________________
In John’s Gospel Mary of Magdala looks at the empty tomb
and laments, “We don’t know where they’ve put him.”
She will soon find out.
I know exactly where to find him,
where that unique expression of the Divine Presence lives:
in you!
In your heart, in your values, in your prayers,
in your reaching out, in all you do and all you are.
Yes, Christ has died.
But Christ is risen!
And Christ comes again!
Alleluia!
Public Domain
--
Holy Spirit Catholic Community
Saturdays at 4:30 p.m./Sundays at 5:30 p.m.
Holy Thursday, April 13, 5:30 p.m. Mass of the Lord's Supper
Easter Mass of the Resurrection, Saturday, April 15, 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
A Reflection on Contemporary Beatitudes adapted from writing by Rev. Becky Withington of Pilgrim Congregational Church, Seattle, WA (Questions by Rev. Dr. Barbara Billey, Priest ARCWP)
 |
| Michele Birch Conery ARCWP with Gerry Moody |
 |
| In front Tish Rawles ARCWP and Michele Birch Conery ARCWP |
Blessed are the
marginalized, for they are welcome in the culture of the Sacred.
How am I welcoming? Period of silence ...
Blessed are those
who care for the earth, for they promote a healthy, dynamic ecosystem that
cares for us all.
How am I caring for the earth? Period of
silence ...
Blessed are the
bold, for they see the culture of the Sacred manifest before their eyes.
How am I being bold? Period of silence ...
Blessed are the
empathetic, for they heal the brokenness of our world and bring beauty.
How am I being empathetic? Period of silence
...
Blessed are the inclusive,
for they see with eyes of love.
How am I being inclusive? Period of silence
...
Blessed are those
with integrity, for their hearts, minds, words and actions are one.
How am I living with integrity? Period of
silence ...
Blessed are those
who commit themselves to peace, for they disarm violence and oppression.
How am I committed to peace? Period of silence
...
Blessed are those
who organize, struggle and sacrifice for freedom and equality, for they bend
the moral arc of the universe towards justice.
How am I promoting justice? Period of silence
...
Blessed are we in
our difference - ethnicity, age, ability, and orientation, for we make our
Creator visible.
How am I embracing difference? Period of
silence ...
Refuse to Fall Down - clarissa pinkola estés
Refuse to fall
down.
If you cannot refuse to fall down,
refuse to stay down.
If you cannot refuse to stay down
lift your heart toward heaven
and like a hungry beggar,
ask that it be filled,
and it will be filled.
You may be pushed down.
You may be kept from rising.
But no one can keep you
from lifting your heart
toward heaven —
only you.
It is in the midst of misery
that so much becomes clear.
The one who says nothing good
came of this,
is not yet listening.
If you cannot refuse to fall down,
refuse to stay down.
If you cannot refuse to stay down
lift your heart toward heaven
and like a hungry beggar,
ask that it be filled,
and it will be filled.
You may be pushed down.
You may be kept from rising.
But no one can keep you
from lifting your heart
toward heaven —
only you.
It is in the midst of misery
that so much becomes clear.
The one who says nothing good
came of this,
is not yet listening.
-->
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Easter Vigil Liturgy with Women Priests in Kentucky
 |
| Left to right Debra Myers, ARCWP, Tish Rawles, ARCWP, Paula Hoeffer RCWP and Rosemare Smead ARCWP, not in photo |
Homily for Easter Vigil, 2017 at St. Bridget's Community by Mary Eileen Collingwood ARCWP
 |
| Music ministers Kate and Ann Klonowski with Dave Debic, and Mary Eileen processing with Gospel Book |
 |
Mary Eileen blessing the Easter water for the Assembly gathered.
|
Homily for Easter
Vigil, 2017
In the 1998 movie, You’ve
Got Mail, Tom Hanks plays an ambitious book store owner who opens one of his
stores in a New York City neighborhood. Meanwhile, Meg Ryan plays the local
children’s bookshop owner who goes out of business because of the big box
competition that lured her sales across the street. At one point in the film, Hanks’ interest in
this woman moves him to pay her a visit.
He finds Ryan in her apartment nursing a bad cold. Charming his way in
with a bouquet of daisies, they begin a conversation that develops into an
interesting exchange with Hanks claiming, “It wasn’t personal.” Ryan retorts with, “What does that mean
anyway? …whatever else anything is, it ought to begin by being personal.”
Our Lenten journey
as members of the Community of St. Bridget started out with a personal plan. It was suggested that we read the weekly
reflections in Sr. Joan Chittister’s booklet, The Prophet in You, that follow
the Gospel readings from the first week of Lent through the Resurrection on
Easter, seven weeks total. During that
journey of reflection, Sr. Joan challenged us to meditate on how we can grow,
heal others by our physical and spiritual touch, find a venue that would
fruitfully direct our passion, discover a new vision, love deeply to the point
of tears, improve the life of others so that Jesus’ face becomes clearer, and
find a way to live faithfully in a hostile world. Yes, this was our personal
beginning… It left some of us feeling
like the reflections before us were more like the big box behemoth in the movie
that moved in across the street, and they were sucking the life out of the
little we thought we had. Yep! This
assignment was a lot of work.
Leaving that aside,
tonight I want to share with you a very intimate thread that weaves through the
history of Christianity. Columnist Sr. Joan Roccasalvo, C.S.J. piqued my memory
with her writing on this theme.
In the Old
Testament are poor people of every sort: the vulnerable, the marginalized, and
socio-economically depressed, those of lowly status without earthly power, a
group of people referred to in Hebrew as the anawim. This expression is used frequently in the
Bible, especially in the Psalms, and is the basis for Jesus’ belief that the
poor are those blessed among us. The anawim
are a people who lovingly surrender to Holy Mystery, remaining faithful and
waiting for the Holy One to fill their emptiness.
Mary of Nazareth
belonged to the anawim. Her life of
fidelity and free acceptance in allowing the Spirit to work in her came to voice
in the Magnificat, where she acknowledged that the Almighty had done great
things for her in her lowliness. Mary is
the star among the anawim about whom Jesus later speaks in the Sermon on the
Mount, “Blessed are the poor.” In a letter to the Philippians, Jesus is said to
have “emptied himself,” freely choosing to give up wealth of any kind, and become
poor in many earthly ways, even to the point of feeling spiritually abandoned. Jesus and his Mother embraced their station
in life knowing the embrace of the Divine in their doing so.
Our Old Testament
readings tonight are messages that look toward the future, much like the anawim
looked ahead and believed they would be eventually and eternally satisfied.
As we reflect on
the readings offered at this Easter Vigil, religious writer Rita Ferrone sheds
light that provides some clarity. Our
faith is in the creation story, showing the power of the Holy One to give life
and to create a new world, always poised to act again in our liturgy.
In our Exodus
reading, the events at the Red Sea underscore the Christian conviction that
true freedom comes by passing through the water.
Isaiah offers us a
compelling invitation to come to the water and partake of a feast. These passages sing to us of the loving and
generous promises of the Sacred Presence that holds us together. They awaken hope and expectation not only for
the sacred moments we celebrate, but for the life into which these moments
welcome us.
The passage from
the Book of Baruch uses the title “Divine Wisdom” as a figure of Christ, who we
now believe is among us on Earth and converses with us.
These readings are from
the past, but they tell us more than how the Divine acted a long time ago. They
illuminate what that Divine Presence is still doing and will continue to do for
us. They speak of origins and destiny
together. Much like what our liturgy
celebrates for us today.
In the New
Testament reading tonight, St. Paul’s letter to the Romans lays out very
clearly that if we follow Jesus through death, through hardships, through
uncertainties and fear, we will rise with Jesus and live a new life forever.
And the best part,
the Gospel story of Mary Magdalene who is charged with being the first
evangelist -- the first apostle among them all -- was sent to tell the
disciples that Jesus had risen. This is
indeed a saving event not only for humankind as a whole, but specifically for
all women.
Tonight, there is
very real reason to celebrate! As we
gather together, we are the anawim spirit.
This Community has gathered and includes those who are frustrated over
the lack of vision and inclusivity in our church, who are indignant over the
lack of transparency and equality in her leadership, are disappointed in the
restoration of ancient prayers that do not reflect the understandings of an
enlightened people, and those who are excluded from a traditional faith
community because their lifestyles and those they love are not recognized as
part of the Creator’s plan for life. Women
are major players in the anawim of today.
In addition to all the social and religious oppression we continually
face in our world, we have endured the exclusion from lawful ordination in the
Roman Catholic Church based on culturally conditioned and long documented discrimination. Ann and I are now leading the prayer of our
sacred liturgies, and there are other women tonight, spanning five continents across
the planet, who are doing the same. The anawim
spirit has been resurrected once again among us and is coming to light in the
face of bias, prejudice, and injustice. The lowly have once again come into the Light!
Tonight, we are the
anawim -- living examples of new hope entering our world and our church.
My friends, we
began with a personal journey that was before us, and, as was stated in the
words of the shop girl character in You’ve Got Mail, “Whatever else anything
is, it ought to begin by being personal.”
But our journey is more than personal, isn’t it? We are a community, and, as such, we enjoy
the harvest of our faith together -- our own personal resurrection and our
communal resurrection in Christ. We are
truly an Easter People! May you know and
experience the effects of this sacred event as your joy and resurrected hope is
shared with all you encounter.
Happy Easter!
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