Mary Magdalene: The Untold Story, At the Cross: A Reflection by Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP

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

 

I am Mary Magdalene.  I come from Magdala on the sea of Galilee. After I listened to Jesus teaching and experienced his healing love, I became a leader in the circle of women disciples along with Joanna, Suzanna and many others. We supported, really bankrolled, his ministry from our resources. (Luke 8:1-3). He showed us that discipleship is about being a reflection of divinity in our world and that men and women are both called by God to live as equals.

Standing near the cross, with the other women disciples,  I wept as I witnessed  the horror of Jesus’  suffering in a torturous, slow execution. I could not believe it. Rabbi, Jesus, our mentor, who showed the face of God’s, compassion for the least and the lowest, confronted religious leaders who abused their power, and  taught us to forgive our enemies was dying. All I could do, all the other women could do in his hour of need was to be there for him and offer the comfort of our loving presence as the tears flowed and our hearts broke.

Yet, I still wonder, what more could I have done?

Bridget Mary Meehan

Pema Chodron: Buddhist Nun -Reflection on Awakening, Loving Kindness and Compassion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxkQlUDP9As&feature=youtu.be

Lenten Mini Retreat: Healing Prayer with Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP and Rev. Paul Werner, Saturday, March 10th, 2018 at St. Andrew UCC, Sarasota, Florida

Ecumenical Ash Wednesday Service: Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community and Saint Andrew United Church of Christ, Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP and Rev. Paul Werner, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018 at 6:00 PM, St. Andrew UCC, Sarasota, Florida

"Louise Akers: Silenced or louder than ever?" , Sep 9, 2009, by Joan Chittister OSB, National Catholic Reporter

Sister Louise Akers SC

We have received word that Sr. Louise Akers is dying. We ask everyone to pray with her as she makes the transition into the fullness of Divine Presence. I am reprinting an inspiring article about Sister Louise's courageous witness for women's ordination  as an issue of conscience, and the Archbishop's dismissal and silencing of her. In the end , as the prophets like Gandhi and Dorothy Day demonstrate, history will lead us to always to "expose the injustice of the oppressor, and claim the conscience of the world." This was Sister Louise's witness for justice, this is the witness of Catholics today who support the Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement. There is no punishment, no excommunication that will shake our commitment to live full Gospel equality in an inclusive church and world today. Thank you Sister Louise for your solidarity and courage. Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP

https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/where-i-stand/louise-akers-silenced-or-louder-ever


"History is a dangerous thing. Somebody ought to be reviewing some of it carefully now -- for the sake of the church, if nothing else. There may be a lesson to be learned here.

In Richard Attenborough's film, "Gandhi," one scene of Gandhi's life and the revolt of Indian nationalists against British control stands out above all others. Intent on defying new British taxes on Indian salt, Gandhi leads a march to the sea to collect the salt water that would enable poor Indians to make their own.

It was an ugly sight.

As they march in silent ranks to the shore, the Indians are met head on by hundreds and hundreds of British colonial police -- many of them Indians themselves -- clubs and muskets in hand, who systematically beat every rank of unarmed demonstrators to the ground. But the ranks never stop coming. One after another they come, row after row of them. Beating after beating after beating, they walk over one another in ordered formation into the butt of British rifles, certain of their personhood, sure of their cause, convinced of its right.

The salt boycott -- the boycott that began with thousands of defenseless peasants risking beatings, imprisonment and even death -- led, in the end, to the Indian declaration of independence from England.

Gandhi was clear about the purpose of nonviolent resistance. It would expose the injustice of the oppressor and claim the conscience of the world.


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The lesson is a sobering one: Suppression does not end revolution; it breeds it. It solves nothing.

The kind of animal resistance the world saw directed at the voiceless in Gandhi's Salt March is, in most of the world, over. At the same time, women -- and those who support the pursuits of women for recognition as full human beings -- are getting a taste of the same kind of opposition. It is equally implacable. It is at least as powerful. It is universal. Fundamentalist extremists of all ilk and their interpretations of religion everywhere claim one way or another that God is sexist. With orthodoxy as an excuse and God as an argument, women are denied Torah study and rabbinates in some strains of Judaism. They are denied public access and made captives of their husbands in other places in the name of the Koran. They are condemned as lesser beings in behalf of the Hindu Vedas. They are forbidden ordination -- with everything that implies, including karma and financial support -- in defense of Buddhism. They are made consumers of the faith rather than ministers of the faith in various Christian denominations.

Most of all they, too, are silenced so that the rest of the community can not hear their concerns, examine their suppositions.

But rather than discouraging those -- men as well as women -- who argue for the rights and presence of women everywhere, suppression is simply alerting people everywhere that there is no possible justification, on the grounds of femaleness alone, for the elimination of women from public service, from public participation, from adult agency, from the holy halls of religious discipleship.

And that's where concern for Cincinnati Sister of Charity Louise Akers comes in. But that's where concern for the church comes in, too.

Sr. Louise has been dismissed by Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk from all diocesan positions and/or conferences on Catholic soil in the archdiocese of Cincinnati due to her support for the ordination of women in the Roman Catholic church. She was willing, she says, to leave the advisory board of the Women's Ordination Conference and to have her picture removed from their Web site. She was not willing to be forced to retract her support for the continued study of the theological foundation upon which the exclusion of women from Catholic ordination is based -- a clearly intellectually honest position.


As a result, Sr. Louise, recently recognized by the city of Cincinnati as one of its outstanding civic leaders and, ironically, coordinator of Cincinnati's Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center, will be denied access to the idea development arena of the Catholic community where she is obviously needed most.

Comments that followed the news story detailing the dismissal lamented "the loss of a voice like this" to the church.

But they're wrong. The church faces precisely the opposite problem, whether it realizes it or not.

Voices like this, voices that cry for justice, voices that point out the lacunae in the thinking of the theological community and are punished for their continuing pursuit of truth are not "lost." On the contrary. Those voices ring loud and clear around the globe for all the world to hear. One after another after another. And little by little, one silenced voice recruits ten, a hundred, a thousand, a society worth of others. All of them talking. All of them refusing to be silent.

If you think not, think Martin Luther or Ulrich Zwingli or John Calvin or Mary Ward or Mary MacKillop or John Cardinal Henry Newman or Teilhard de Chardin or Hans Kung. Think of any number of others without whom we would still be selling relics or teaching merit theology or refusing to allow women religious on the streets or rejecting the concept of the sensus fidelium or refusing to attend the weddings of our children in Protestant churches or disdaining to deny science, scientists, the movement of the sun and evolution.

The continued suppression of thinkers who call for the discussion and study of the role of women in church and society is not suppressing anything. In fact, more and more men and women are beginning to speak out about it. Which is where Sr. Louise and Archbishop Pilarczyk come in: Like the English, he has the power of the past on his side; like Gandhi, she has the power of the present and the promise of the future on hers.

The truth is that suppression of thought is more dangerous to the church than any sin the church has ever committed. It has not only driven people away, it has stunted its own development, diminished its credibility.

From where I stand, it may be time to forget power and theology, magisteriums and inquisitions for a while. Maybe we should just all sit down and, if history is not convincing enough, read the New Testament. Read the parables, in fact, in which Jesus talks about how to distinguish between right and wrong, good and bad, true and false. Matthew 13:30 may give us a clue. It reads, "Let both wheat and weeds grow up together till the harvest. At that time, I will tell the harvesters 'First, collect the weeds and tie them together to be burned. Then, gather the wheat and bring it to my barn.' "

Point: Let them all talk until, as a church searching under the impulse of the Spirit, we hear clearly where truth lies for us.

Not a bad idea, perhaps, for times such as these."

Benedictine Sr. Joan Chittister is a best-selling author and international lecturer on topics of justice, peace, human rights, women’s issues, and contemporary spirituality in the church and in society.

Louise Akers, S.C., D. Min., has presented numerous workshops, courses and reflection days on justice related issues. Her past ministries include justice education & advocacy in formal classroom teaching on both the high school and university levels, parish coordinator in the Archdiocesan Social Action Office of Cincinnati, founder & coordinator of Cincinnati’s Intercommunity Justice & Peace Center, social concerns director of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) and coordinator of the Sisters of the Sisters of Charity Office of Peace, Justice & Integrity of Creation. In 1974 her master’s thesis in theology focused on the “Prophecy of Martin L. King, Jr.”, in 1996 she completed her Doctor of Ministry with a project entitled “Patriarchal Power and the Pauperization of Women”. Ministry opportunities include working with migrant farm workers, involvement with the civil rights & women’s movements along with international experiences in Malawi-Africa, Nicaragua; El Salvador; Mexico; Czechoslovakia; East/West Germany; Italy; Mondragon, Spain; Beijing, China; Paris, France; Canada. (Catholic Women Preach)

Homily at Holy Spirit Catholic Community, Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B), January 28, 2018, Beverly Bingle RCWP

Scholars tell us that today’s gospel
   reflects the four elements of a typical exorcism
   as they’re usually described in ancient writings.
First, the demon recognizes the exorcist and struggles;
   then the exorcist orders the demon to leave;
   then the demon leaves but makes a scene as it goes;
   and finally the bystanders react to the feat.
So this evil spirit sent the man in Capernaum into convulsions—
   like people who get louder and louder
   as they argue their view is right and yours is not.
We know a lot of colloquial phrases to describe them:
   they get a burr under their saddle,
   they’re frothing at the mouth.
__________________________________________
We hear those voices in our world today,
   and some of them are really demonic.
We wonder what possesses a person to twist the truth,
   then start ranting and raving
   when facts are brought up.
Some of the voices in our world are false prophets.
Forty years ago 918 people were murdered or committed suicide
   because of the madness
   of Jim Jones and the People’s Temple.
We see televangelists
   interested only in putting more money in their own pockets
   while claiming to work for worthy causes.
We hear street corner preachers
   screaming of the end times
   and the fiery wrath of an angry God.
We’ve seen demons in many different forms:
   the holocaust, ISIS, Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
   ethnic cleansing, Larry Nassar.
__________________________________________
Some things have changed since Jesus’ time.
Unlike many first-century folks
   and Jim Jones in our time,
   most of us don’t live in anxious fear
   that the end of the world is imminent.
Well, maybe the Hawaiians do, after last week.
But Paul’s lesson still applies:
   when we focus on the things of God,
   everything else falls into the right place.
For the most part, we don’t call it a demonic possession
   when we see someone ranting and raving.
Depending on what the person is ranting and raving about,
   we may see it as mental illness.
Or sometimes these days, we call it politics.
__________________________________________
It’s not quite the same as when Jesus walked the earth—
   the people of his time had a different frame of reference.
They didn’t have the kind of power over their lives that we do.
For one thing, they didn’t hold the healing power that we do.
In spite of our power, sometimes we act
   like the people in today’s Deuteronomy reading,
   afraid we will get hurt or killed if we speak up and reach out,
   so we call on the Moses types to tell us what to do.
We call the fire department when we see a burning building.
We call the police if we see people waving guns at each other.
__________________________________________
Sometimes you can do more than call the police or the ambulance.
You have healing power over demons every day of your life.
You know the Heimlich Maneuver.
You know CPR.
And you know how to use prophetic power
   the same way as the major prophets of our lifetime,
   like Martin Luther King, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin,
   Gustavo Gutierrez, Pope John XXIII.
You reach out with a healing touch, like Mother Teresa.
You protest war through nonviolence, like Mahatma Gandhi.
You speak out to protect the environment, like Rachel Carson.
You help the poor and marginalized, like Dorothy Day.
__________________________________________
Sometimes it’s as simple as just being there.
As Fr. Tony Gallagher is wont to say,
   the 8th sacrament is showing up.
Going to the funeral.
Showing up at the birthday party.
Holding a sign at a street corner demonstration.
Sending a postcard from your vacation spot.
Volunteering at a soup kitchen.
Visiting your aunt in the nursing home.
Planting a tree.
Phoning a friend to see how they’re doing with the flu.
__________________________________________
You do it automatically.
It’s part of your life, part of who you are.
Reaching out with a helping hand,
   thinking of others,
   saying things to comfort,
   speaking truth to power.
You heal people every day.
You give prophetic witness.
__________________________________________
And you teach.
You don’t hesitate to show a grandchild how to tie shoes,
   or to offer advice to a friend out of your own experience.
You share your knowledge and insights.
You read books and go to lectures.
You talk about politics and religion,
   about the common good,
   about climate disruption.
You look at the impact of today's actions on tomorrow's children.
You share your hopes and your moral values.
__________________________________________
You should be the breaking news on CNN.
You are a prophet, the healer, the teacher in our world today.
Where do you get the authority to do that?
Where does your confidence come from?
Our tradition names the source:
   it’s the Spirit of God in you.
Thanks be to God!

Public Domain

-- 
Holy Spirit Catholic Community
Saturdays at 4:30 p.m./Sundays at 5:30 p.m.
at 3925 West Central Avenue
Toledo, OH 43606
(Chapel at Washington Church)

www.holyspirittoledo.org

Rev. Dr. Bev Bingle, Pastor
Mailing address:  3156 Doyle Street, Toledo, OH 43608-2006
419-727-1774

"Why Are Even Women Biased Against Women" BBC Radio

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/312fXcsr5T1V9p509XNMYC4/why-are-even-women-biased-against-women

"Spiritual Practices for Times of Crisis" --by Joanna Macy, syndicated from huffingtonpost.com, Jan 29, 2018

"At this turning in humanity’s journey, science and spirituality converge, and we can glimpse new possibilities for a life-sustaining civilization. But the going is rough. One mega-disaster follows another. Economic, political, and ecological systems spin out of control, in what David Korten aptly calls the “Great Unraveling.”

As the rug is progressively pulled out from under us, it is easy to panic, and even easier to simply shut down. These two instinctive reactions — panic and paralysis — are the roadside ditches that border our pathway to a livable future. To fall into either one is the greatest of all the dangers we face, for they deaden the heart and derail the mind. If ever we needed spiritual practices and disciplines for staying alert and connected, it is now.

The greatest gift we can give our world is our presence, awake and attentive. What can help us do that? Here, drawn from ancient religions and Earth wisdom traditions, are a handful of practices I have learned to count on. 

1. Breathe

Our friend the breath is always with us. When we pay attention to its flow, it merges mind with body, and connects inner world with outer world. Mindfulness of breathing in and breathing out can center and steady you.

“Feel how your breathing makes more space around you,” writes the poet Rilke.

“Pure, continuous exchange with all that is, flow and counterflow where rhythmically we come to be.”

Notice that you are not deciding each time to exhale or inhale; it’s rather that you’re being breathed. Breathed by life. And so are all the other animals, and plants too, in vast rhythms of reciprocity. Feel that web enlivening you and holding you.

The felt flow-through of matter/energy brings a measure of ease, and opens us to the flow-through of information as well. This lowers our usual defenses against distressing information, and begins to unblock the feedback loops, so we can more clearly perceive what we’ve caused to happen.

2. Come from Gratitude

As burning rain forests and dying plankton progressively diminish our oxygen supply, each breath seems more precious. Thankfulness for that precious gift galvanizes us to act, to protect.

With gratitude we affirm our birthright to be here in Earth, endowed with self-reflexive consciousness, the power to choose. To be here in solidarity with each other. To be a living, intrinsic, blessed part of this living Earth.

We have excellent teachers of gratitude in indigenous peoples the world over, and especially Native Americans. In every council meeting of the Six Nation confederacy of the Haudenosaunee, the thanksgiving address constitutes “the words that come before all else.” Spoken afresh each time with spontaneous variations, these words offer not only “thanks,” but also “greetings” to each being and element of the natural world they honor. I think this practice is at the root of the dignity and self-respect that has survived centuries of dispossession and humiliation.

As we adapt this practice to our own lives, say at the start and close of each day, and even bring into meetings, we make two discoveries. The first is that gratitude is not dependent on external circumstances. The second is that gratitude is a revolutionary act. Helping us realize how much we already have, it helps to free us from the grip of the consumer society.

3. Respect your Pain for the World

We are in grief.. With all that’s being inflicted on the natural world and the social fabric of our lives together, there’s fear too, anger as well. These responses are natural and healthy. If we disown them, we cripple our vitality and intelligence.

So we bow to them instead. When pain for the world arises within you, recognize it and pause. Pause and breathe, as if making room for it, as if letting that pain flow through your heart. Realize that you are capable of suffering with your world. Suffering-with is the literal meaning of compassion. It is proof positive of our interconnectedness, indeed of our inescapable inter-existence.

“There is no birth of consciousness without pain” said Carl Gustav Jung. Our pain for the world releases us from the illusion of separation. It has a key role to play in birthing the collective consciousness that may well be the only resolution to the global crisis of our time.

4. Engage the Power of Benevolence

Metta or loving kindness is a Buddhist meditation-in-action that many today are finding wonderfully efficacious. It is good for dispelling fear and ill-will, as well as generating care and understanding.

This practice functions not as a vague, diaphanous feeling, but as a series of fairly precise person-by-person intentions. One traditional Burmese practice, for example, takes a four-fold form such as this:

May (a specific person) be free from physical suffering.

May he/she be free from mental suffering.

May he/she be free from conflict.

May he/she have ease of well-being.

It’s important to extend this to oneself as well (“May I be free from mental suffering” etc). Variations are encouraged (“May he/she be free to develop the beauty of his/her mind.”) This practice, when in play, cannot co-exist with fear.

5. Inhabit Larger Fields of Time

We are relating to time today in a way that is surely unique in human history. The growth economy and nano-technologies require decisions made at lightning speed for short-term goals, cutting us off from nature’s rhythms and from the past and future as well. Both the legacy of our ancestors and the needs of our descendants become less and less real to us.

This relation to time is not innate. Throughout history men and women have labored at great personal cost to bequeath to future generations monuments of art and learning they’d not see completed in their lifetimes. And they honored through story and ritual those who came before.

We, too, can broaden the temporal context of our lives. To help us do that, cosmology and evolutionary sciences now offer vast vistas into the past. As to connecting with the future, ten thousand generations are now brought within our reach by nuclear wastes. The consequences of our actions (our karma) play out on a geological time scale.

Our moral imagination is the essential tool for opening us up to the depths and breadths of time to which we belong. Extend it both backwards and forwards. Open your mind’s eye to the immense journey of life on our planet by meditating on your hand. “See” its evolutionary development, one life-form to another from its origins as a fin in primordial seas. Behold in it also the countless generations of human hands whose tasks and skills shaped our world.

Invite the future ones into your awareness. Feel the strength of your desire that they find clean air to breathe, water to drink, trees, topsoil. Try asking for their guidance in the work that is now to be done. And, for a practice I hope you’ll enjoy as much as I have, imagine a person of a century or two hence (perhaps related to you, perhaps not) who can see back through time, and sees you at this moment of your life. And then write yourself a letter from this future person. "

Pope Francis Sends Maltese Archbishop to Investigate Chilean Bishop Cover-Up Case

https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/pope-sends-maltese-archbishop-investigate-chilean-bishop-abuse-cover-case

Pope Francis is sending Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta to Chile to take testimony about Bishop Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid of Osorno, Chile, who is accused of covering up allegations of abuse by a Chilean priest who was found guilty of abuse.

The Vatican announced Scicluna's trip to Chile in a statement this morning.

Scicluna was in charge of sexual abuse cases in the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith from 2002 until 2010. Francis appointed him to lead a commission in the doctrinal congregation  to hear appeals of priests accused of sexual abuse.

"Following recently received information regarding the case of H.E. Msgr. Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid, Bishop of Osorno (Chile), the Holy Father Francis has arranged for H.E. Msgr. Charles J. Scicluna, Archbishop of Malta and President of the College for the examination of appeals (in matters of delicta graviora) at the Ordinary Session of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to go to Santiago de Chile to hear those who have expressed their willingness to submit elements in their possession," the Vatican press office statement read.

Upper Room Liturgy - Sunday January 28, 2018

Kathleen Ryan, ARCWP, and Dave Debonis led the Upper Room Liturgy on Sunday, January 28, 2018. Dave's Homily starter based on Mark's Gospel and a reading by Michel Morwood is posted below.

First Reading" Excerpts from It’s Time, by Michael Morwood 

Divine Presence is embedded in our existence and conduct. It is a Presence writ deep into the human psyche, as it is written deep into every particle, atom, and cell. The lesson Jesus was trying to get across is that the Holy One is always at work in the human community.

Jesus was never concerned with getting people into heaven, but rather he consistently preached the “kingdom of God” here and now.

It is time to see Jesus and his preaching in the context of Divine Presence here on earth, and always active in the human community. 

These are the inspired words of Michael Morwood, a disciple of Jesus.

Dave Debonis' Homily Starter

When Kathie and I first read the Gospel reading for today, we both had the same reaction: “What are we going to do with this?”

But with some thought, discussion, and reading of some published commentaries, we found, as so many times is the case here in the Upper Room, some messages that can guide us on our journey to living the gospels.

First, note that in the gospel reading Mark uses the word “authority” twice: those being taught by Jesus state that Jesus taught “with an authority that was unlike their religious scholars.” And later, after the exorcism, they ask: “Who is this? A new teaching and with such authority!” Scholars note that the word “authority” used in this way actually means “freedom” or “independence.” Where did such a freedom come from? Jesus was not a religious scholar or a scribe or a Pharisee. He was not an expert on Jewish law. No, his freedom came from his knowledge that he was teaching a new way based not on learning laws, rules and traditions, but rather based on love. Jesus’ confidence in delivering his message, which Mark states left his listeners “spellbound,” came from knowing the truth of his message.

Taking this one step further, the authority that Jesus possessed gave him power. Not the kind of power that would be possessed by a King or a political or military person, but rather the power of a new way of thinking and living; a power that was disruptive to the status quo; a power used not for the benefit of oneself, but rather to serve humanity.

But what about the exorcism? How could that possibly be relevant to us today? There are different ways to look at this. First, just as the unclean spirit seeks to control a person, the Pharisees seek control of the Jews by requiring strict adherence to their rules and laws. Jesus sets them all free with a new message.

Second, Kathie and I both agree that this story is an opportunity for each of us to think about those things we carry inside us which control or limit our ability to share the gospel message. Maybe it is fear that the price will be too high. Or perhaps the fear is that we are not good enough, not smart enough or not strong enough. But as Kathy said to me during our discussion, the only thing that Jesus had was love—that’s it. We have that same thing and yes, we can do what Jesus did.

What are the things inside you that need to be expelled so that you can live out the gospel message? And how can each of us be sensitive to those false and limiting beliefs in others and help cast them out by reminding our brothers and sisters that they are a spark of the Divine. And as we do this, we will speak with an authority and power that comes from those who know that they have been called.

Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community Liturgy, Feb. 1, 2018 at Sun City, Katy Zatsick ARCWP

Being the Compassion of God-

Lenten Reflections 

Feb 1, 2018 MMOJ at Sun City Center

“Kindness has converted more people than zeal, science or eloquence, 

Holiness grows so fast where there is kindness” St. Theresa of Calcutta. 

Walt and Mary co-preside

Suzanne, Don seated, Paddy Cooney 

Connie Meade, Roman's Sister

Paddy Cooney and Connie Meade

Community blessing

Presider:  In the name of God, Fountain of Compassion, of Jesus our Brother who forgives us our faults, and of the Holy Spirit Sofia who heals all our wounds.   ALL:  Amen.

All:  We gather at your table to reflect on our Lenten journey to deeper awareness and need for our own healing.  As we begin Lent, O holy God, strengthen us in our endeavors against evil.  Help us to discover whatever interferes with loving each other. Bless our efforts to live in union with you and all the people of the world. We ask your blessings in union with all followers who begin this season of Lenten reflection in your name.  Amen

HEALING OUR SELFISHNESS and our wounds

Voice:  O God, may we see your face in all who are demonized so that the bullying, bigotry and hate will stop. All:  May we open our hearts like Mary, to God’s mothering love, affirming fullness of life for all. Jesus the Christ, may we see the divine reality in victims, especially in all who suffer violence, and discrimination. May we like Mary, champion the oppressed and protect the abused.

Voice:  O Wisdom Sophia, may we see your face in people who are ill, unemployed, uneducated, are hungry and homeless, anxious and stressed.  ALL:  May we, like Jesus, care for all those in need. 

All: (holding hand up in blessing) God of Love we ask our sisters and brothers to forgive our failures to serve them in works of mercy and justice. As we heal, may we become your ongoing Compassion in the world. Amen. 

ALL:  Glory to God, glory; O praise God alleluia, glory to God, glory, O praise the name of our God, 3x (sung) 

Readings: see separate sheet. 

Profession of Faith:   

All:  We believe in God who is creator and nurturer of all. We believe in Jesus, the Christ, who is our love, our hope, and our light. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the breath of Wisdom Sophia, who energizes and guides us to build caring communities and to challenge exploitation and injustices.  We believe that all of humanity and creation are one in the Heart of God. We believe that God loves us passionately and forgives us everything.  We believe that God calls us to be the saving presence of the Holy One in the world. We believe that we are called to love those in need in the most practical everyday ways.  We believe in the communion of saints our heavenly friends, who support us on life’s journey. Here we are called to dwell in loving relationships with our brothers and sisters and all life of Mother Earth.  Here we live our prophetic call of Gospel compassion. Amen

GENERAL INTERCESSIONS

Presider:  Aware that God, like a fierce mother bear, who protects her young, is a defender of the oppressed and pursuer of justice, we now bring the needs of the suffering, in our church and world, before you. Response:   God of forgiveness and healing, hear our prayer.

Voice:  For those who have been rejected and demonized, our brothers and sisters who are LGBTQ, those of color and of the Muslim faith, we pray for acceptance and fullness of life.  God of forgiveness and healing, hear our prayer.

Voice:  For the hungry, lonely, homeless and for all those without basic human needs. God of forgiveness and healing, hear our prayer.

Presider: For other intentions…

Presider O Holy One, we walk in our Christian faith this Lent knowing that for you nothing is impossible and we can care for others in need through the power of your Spirit Sofia working in us.   ALL: Amen 

PREPARATION OF THE GIFTS

Co-Presider:  Blessed are you, O God, Creator of all.  This bread is your MMOJ community ministering with others to be your Compassion in our community and throughout our country. Through your divine providence, we have this bread to offer, it will become for us the Bread of Life. All:  Blessed be God forever.

Co-Presider:  Blessed are you, O God, source of compassion and forgiveness.  This wine is our desire to come closer to you especially during the quiet times in our Lenten journey. Through your divine providence we have this wine to offer, it will become our spiritual drink.  ALL:  Blessed be God forever.

Presider: Divine Presence, we are united in this sacrament by the love of Jesus Christ in communion with all who live as the Compassionate presence of God in our world ALL:  Amen.

 EUCHARISTIC PRAYER

Voice:  Holy One, it is right that we give you thanks and praise at this table of boundless compassion. Your empowering presence is revealed in the friendship meals where Jesus dined with tax collectors, lepers, sinners, and women.  All are accepted, loved and forgiven. In joyful thanksgiving for your extravagant affection for all of us, we join with the angels and saints in an unending hymn of praise: 

ALL: (sing) We are holy, holy, holy…, you are holy…I am holy…we are holy  (Music by Karen Drucker) 

Co-presider: Jesus taught his disciples how to love with a compassionate heart.  May we learn his lessons anew during our Lenten journey. Healing Spirit, we trust that your love flows through us as we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick and imprisoned, and assist the dying and work to change a system of injustice. 

ALL:  As we come together in memory, Jesus we pray that Your Spirit will come upon these gifts of bread and wine and upon us, that we may become the body and blood of Christ blessed, broken and shared.  (pause as bread is lifted) 

ALL:  We remember how, on the night before he died, Jesus was at table with those he loved.  He took bread and blessed you, God of all creation. He broke the bread shared it with his friends and said, “Take this, all of you and eat. This is my body. Do this in memory of me. “

(pause as wine is lifted) 

Co-presider:  Then Jesus took the cup of blessing, spoke the grace, and offered us the wine: 

ALL: “Take this all of you and drink. Do this in memory of me.” 

MEMORIAL ACCLAMATION

ALL:  The Body of Christ is blessed, broken and shared every time we comfort the troubled. The Body of Christ is blessed, broken and shared every time we counsel the confused. The Body of Christ is blessed, broken and shared every time we advocate for justice. 

Voice:  Heart of Love, we celebrate our Lenten journey in memory of Jesus our brother, who reminds us that we are the face of God, through whom the Spirit redeems injustice by Compassionate caring for our sisters and brothers in our world today. 

Voice: Creator of the Universe, your love flows through all beings to heal our earth.  As we work for environmental healing, your sacred energy transforms the cosmic Body of Christ. 

Voice:  Energizing Spirit, we are one with the cloud of witnesses who have lived your works of mercy during their lives.  As we serve human needs with generous hearts, we are channels of your tender compassion. We ask that you heal us on our Lenten journey with Jesus our Brother. 

ALL:  Through Christ, with Christ and in Christ, all glory and honor is yours, loving God forever and ever.  Amen. 

We pray with Jesus as we walk with him this Lent:   Our Father and Mother….

Sign of Peace: Peace is flowing like a river, joy….hope… (by Carey Laundry) 

LITANY OF THE BREAKING OF BREAD

Presider:  Loving God, we will serve the least and the last in our world ALL:  Namaste (translation: The Spirit in me greets the Spirit in you)

Presider: Loving God, we will care for our sisters and brothers who need our help. All:  The Spirit in me greets the Spirit in you 

Presider: Loving God, we will advocate for non-violence and a more just world. All: The Spirit in me greets the Spirit in you 

COMMUNION

Presider: There is room at the table for everyone.  Let us share the Body of Christ with the Body of Christ. 

AFTER COMMUNION

Prayers of Thanksgiving from the community, announcements

All:  Nourished at this open table where all are welcome, may we live the saving presence of God by doing works of mercy. Go, now and live the Gospel of Jesus!!

FINAL BLESSING (extend your hand in blessing)

All: During this season of Lent, make us reconciled to you, O God, that we may put on the holiness of Christ and give you glory.  Help us to live this season as true disciples on our way to transformation and fullness of life.  Grand this as we journey to you with Jesus, our brother.   We love, bless and serve one another in the name of God our Creator, Jesus our brother, and Holy Sofia our Wisdom living in you through all eternity. Amen. 

Adapted from the liturgy by Bridget Mary Meehan,  2017 www.arcwp.org

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Readings for our Lenten Reflections

February 1, 2018

LITURGY OF THE WORD

First Reading: Acts 22:3-16

Paul addressed the people in these words: “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus I Cilicia, but brought up I this city.  At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in our ancestral law and was zealous for God, just as all of you today.  I persecuted this Way to death, binding both men and women and delivering them to prison.  Even the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify on my behalf.  For from them I even received letters to the brothers and set out for “Damascus to bring back to Jerusalem in chains for punishment those there as well. 

“On that journey as I drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from the sky suddenly shone around me.  I fell to the ground an heard a voice saying to me, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” I replied, “Who are you, sir?” And he said to me, “I am Jesus the Nazorean who you are persecuting.”

My companions saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who spoke to me.  I asked, “What shall I do, Sir?” Jesus replied, “Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything appointed for you to do.” Since I could see nothing because of the brightness fo that light, I was led by the hand by my companions and entered Damascus.” 

“A certain Ananias, a devout observer of the law, and highly spoken of by all the Jews who lived the, came to me and stood there and said, “Saul, my brother, regain your sight.” And at that very moment I regained my sight and saw him.  Then he said, “The God of our ancestors designated you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of his voice.  For you will be his witness before all to what you have seen and heard.  Now why delay? Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins washed away, calling up the name of Jesus.” The Word of God. All: Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm: Taken from Psalms for Praying, an Invitation to Wholeness, Nan C Merrill

Response All: May we be known for mercy rendering justice for those who are poor. 

The Beloved loves justice and will enable all who call upon Love to grow in love. The upright of heart know Silence; when they speak, it is with wisdom and justice.  Love abides in their hearts; their way is made sure. (Psalm 37)

All: May we be known for mercy rendering justice for those who are poor. 

Bring justice to the peoples, O Beloved, and your mercy to all generations!  May the people be known for mercy, rendering justice to the poor! …May we heed the cry of the poor---the young and the old, helping to free all those in need, awakening the souls of oppressors! (Psalm 72)

All: May we be known for mercy rendering justice for those who are poor. 

Great peace have those who co-create with You, who share the living wine of your Spirit Sofia.  They know that all goodness comes from your Divine Love, the Source and Foundation of all life.  Fill us, O Gracious One, with your loving wisdom, guide all hearts on paths of peace.  When the journey seems long, when we become discouraged along the way, You uphold and sustains us, you restore us with your blessed grace. 

All: May we be known for mercy rendering justice for those who are poor. 

Second Reading: “Today’s Good News” Sr. Melannie Svoboda, SND, pg 173 in Living with Christ

The Gospel is clear; all disciples of Jesus are sent. Some are sent to faraway places as many of the first apostle were. Being sent can be dramatic too. Consider the account of the calling of St. Paul to conversion…But distance and drama need not be a part of being sent.  We can be sent without leaving our own neighborhood or even our own home, without blinding lights or mysterious voices.  As Christians, we are sent no matter where we are ---even if we are hearing this in a prison cell or a hospital room.  Being sent simply means we carry God’s love in our hearts and share that love with whomever God puts into our lives.  We might ask ourselves where am I being sent this Lent? To Whom? The inspired word of Sr Melannie.  All: Thanks be to God.

Gospel:  A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew 5: 1-10

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the mountainside, and after he sat down and disciples had gathered around, Jesus began to teach them: 

Blessed are those who are poor in spirit; the kindom of heaven is theirs.  

Blessed are those who are mourning, they will be consoled. 

Blessed are those who are gentle; they will inherit the land. 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice; for they will have their fill.  

Blessed are those who show mercy to others; they will be shown mercy.  

Blessed are those whose hearts are clean; they will see God. 

Blessed are those who work for peace; they will be called children of God.  

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of their struggle for justice; the kindom of heaven is theirs.  The good news of Jesus, the Christ!  

All:  Glory and praise to you, Jesus our Compassionate and Forgiving Brother! 

Shared homily: 

Has my understanding of the meaning of Lent changed?  Childhood, adult life, Senior? 

What has been my experience of meeting Jesus/walking with Jesus in past Lents? 

Have I changed my behavior over the years because of my Lenten practice? 

What is the most important lesson I have learned during my Lenten practice? 

Does any Lenten experience stand out in your memory? 

Pope Francis Issues New Education Standards for Future Priests, ARCWP and People's Catholic Seminary Offers An Innovative Model for Education in Contemporary Theology for Women Priests, Deacons and Pastoral Ministers

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/01/29/pope-francis-issues-new-education-standards-future-priests

www.arcwp.org

https://pcseminary.org/

My Response: The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests have designed our preparation program for ordination to integrate contemporary theology, spirituality and pastoral care. Like the new education standard announced by Pope Francis, we have been finding ways to respond positively to the call of the Second Vatican Council "to overcome this divorce between theology and pastoral care, between faith and life."

We believe that the Spirit of God is speaking through the people of God. As co-creators and companions on a journey, we share the wisdom of God in our sacred texts, theologies, sacred practices, sacramental celebrations, and lived experiences.  ARCWP provides units and competency courses that will appeal to the mainstream and the margins where our liberating God of compassion dwells and works through all for systemic change. The People's Catholic Seminary provides an affordable, interactive forum online to engage both those preparing for ordination and members of our inclusive Catholic communities in dialogue about spiritual transformation, contemporary theology, our lived experiences of pastoral care in sacramental communities and action on behalf of peace,  equality and non-violence in our world. In partnership with Global Ministries University, we now offer a Masters in Pastoral Ministry Degree that is available and affordable for our candidates, communities and those interested in a  professional degree program to prepare for a renewed model of inclusive ministry in our world today. 

The ordination units and competency courses integrate the evolutionary consciousness of the new cosmology with the community of empowerment presented in feminist, liberation, mujerista, womanist, evolutionary, mystical and sacramental theologies (theologies of blessing). As a new paradigm of priestly ministry ARCWP believes that we cannot put new wine into old wineskins. Therefore, our mission is to live as co-partners with God in the cosmic community moving our world in inclusive love toward the flourishing of all creation.  

The focus in these units is to prepare candidates to minister in a community of equals that is egalitarian, empowered, inclusive, mystical and prophetic. Conscious of our vocation to live God’s loving presence in the world in vibrant faith communities, we work for justice and equality for all, especially those on the margins of our church. 

For more information about ARCWP, contact Janice Sevre Duszynska ARCWP - rhythmsofthedance1@gmail.com,  
People's Catholic Seminary, contact Bridget Mary Meehan - sofiabmm@aol.com
Mary Theresa Streck, mtstreck@gmail.com

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Catholic university programs in philosophy, theology and canon law -- especially those designed for future priests -- must be marked by fidelity to church tradition, academic rigor and an awareness of the challenges to belief in the modern world, Pope Francis said.

In the apostolic constitution "Veritatis Gaudium" ("The Joy of Truth"), the pope issued revised norms for what are known as "ecclesiastical universities and faculties" -- those that grant Vatican-recognized degrees, which are necessary for teaching most philosophy, theology and canon law courses in seminaries and pontifical universities.

Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, presented the document to the press Jan. 29 at the Vatican, saying it "indicates the meaning and, more specifically, the basic criteria for a renewal and relaunching of the contribution of ecclesiastical studies to a missionary church that 'goes forth.'"

The constitution replaces "Sapientia Christiana" ("Christian Wisdom"), an apostolic constitution issued by St. John Paul II in 1979; the new document includes the amendments made to the norms in "Sapientia Christiana" by St. John Paul in 2002, by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011 and by Pope Francis in 2015, the cardinal said.

Pope Francis wrote in the new constitution that it was time "to promote with thoughtful and prophetic determination the renewal of ecclesiastical studies at every level, as part of the new phase of the church's mission, marked by witness to the joy born of encountering Jesus and proclaiming his Gospel."

A key motivation, he said, was to find ways to respond positively to the call of the Second Vatican Council "to overcome this divorce between theology and pastoral care, between faith and life."

The study of theology, Pope Francis wrote, "is fruitful only if it is done with an open mind and on one's knees," so it must be based both on sound academic investigation and a deep faith.

...However, he said, he hoped the new document would inspire all Catholic universities to ensure their theology departments "are not left in a corner by themselves," but are actively in dialogue and wrestling with the questions posed by other university departments, especially as regards Catholic social teaching.

The archbishop also said the new constitution, for the first time, makes provisions for those pursuing ecclesiastical degrees to complete a portion of their studies online and, recognizing the reality of the migration phenomenon, provides guidance for evaluating the studies completed previously by migrants who do not have the documentation to prove they successfully completed some of their studies.

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Unlike "Sapientia Christiana," the new constitution foresees the possibility of an ecclesiastical faculty including a professor or professors from other Christian churches or other religions, he said. The document insists, though, that they not teach students in the "first cycle," the initial years of study.

The first cycle, Archbishop Zani said, is designed to provide students with a foundation in Catholic philosophy, Scripture and Catholic theology. Once that foundation is laid, he said, "it is a great gift to be able to have the expertise and knowledge" of professors who respect the Catholic Church but have studied the Christian community or religion to which they belong.

The archbishop pointed to Rome's Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies where, he said, it would make little sense not to offer students a chance to learn from and dialogue with professors who have studied Islam from the inside.

Many of the articles in the new constitution are taken directly from "Sapientia Christiana," including the regulation that from ecclesiastical faculties "honorary doctorates are not to be conferred except with the consent of the chancellor, who, having listened to the opinion of the university or faculty council, has obtained the nihil obstat of the Holy See."

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