(The American Legion conducted a full honors funeral for Joseph Hennessey, aWorld War 11 Veteran who spent 75 days in a fox hole at the Battle of the Bulge. After this ceremony concluded, I led the prayers of committal.)
April 28, 2021
Sarasota Memorial Cemetery
by Rev. Bridget Mary Meehan
Opening Prayer:
We gather with deep gratitude and affection for the gift of Joe Hennessey’s life as we commit his ashes to the earth.
We believe that one day we shall joyfully greet Joe again in the love of Christ, which conquers all things, even death itself.
Into your hands, Loving God, we entrust our beloved Joe.In life, You embraced him with love and now you offer him eternal rest in your loving presence.
May the angels come to meet him and the saints come to greet him, as Youwelcome him to the Table of Divine Love, where there is no sorrow, no weeping, and no pain, but only the fullness of joy and peace. We pray in Jesus’ name…Amen.
Blessing
May the God of love fill us with peace.
May the God of consolation comfort us.
May the God of tenderness embrace us up during times of sadness.
May the God ofstrength give us courage in the midst of our grief.
May Christ who wept when Lazarus died, be with June and all Joe’s family in their time of loss. .
May Christ who sent Mary Magdalene to proclaim the Resurrection help us to be messengers ofthe good news that, with Joe and all our beloved deceased,we too will rise from the dead.
Committal Prayer:
May the God of Love embrace you, Joe as we commit your ashes to the earth. We love you. We thank you. We bless you, Joe.
All: Eternal rest, grant to Joe, O God,and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and all the souls of the faithfully departed rest in peace. Amen.
Fr. Joe McVeigh who celebrated 50 years in the Priesthood.
My Response: Thank you, Fr. Joe McVeigh, for speaking out for justice and equality for women in all ministries in the RC Church. Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP https://arcwp.org
I hope that more priests and bishops speak out, like you, for women's equality in our church. So far, those who have spoken out have paid a steep price like Fr. Roy Bourgeois being dismissed from Maryknoll.
Zoom link for video- 4:00 PM Eastern Standard Time
ID 851- 0809-5506
Passcode 1066
Theme: “My grace is sufficient.”
Welcome
Lee:Welcome to our Zoom liturgy at Mary Mother of Jesus, an inclusive Catholic Community where all are welcome.
-We invite you to pray the liturgy and respond where it says “All.”
-All participants will be muted during the liturgy except for the presiders and readers.
-Please have bread and wine/juice nearby as we pray our Eucharistic prayer.
Let us now take a few minutes to collect ourselves as we prepare to focus our minds and our hearts on our knowledge that we are all one, brought together at this time to transform our beautiful planet Earth, to love our Holy One with all our hearts and to love one another.How better to express the oneness that we have with Jesus and with one another than by expressing that in song:
Kathryn: O Creator God, we thank you for our gathering here today so that we can celebrate our oneness with and in you and with each other.Our care for one another and for our Mother Earth is what you have called us to do and we journey as companions doing this work filled with joy.We live with the certainty that you walk with us, and as we continue to awaken to the fullness of grace consciousness we are more fully united as one people, one planet, expressing unconditional love toward all beings.
Communal Reconciliation Rite
Lee: We pause now to remember the times we have let anxieties sap our energy to live our mission to be the Christ Presence in the world. Let us place our concerns and issues in the loving hands of the Holy One, and open ourselves to recognize the Divine Spark dwelling within our hearts. (Pause briefly. Then extend arm over your heart)
Lee and All: Let it be so, Yes,Alleluia
A Joyful Gloria: Linda Lee Miller and graphics by Rick Miller
Beloved: See what love Abba God has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet in fact, that is what we are.
The reason the world does not recognize us is that it never recognized God.
My dear Friends,
Now we are God’s children; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like the Holy One, for we shall see our Abba God as he is.
Jesus said: I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them.
This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep and they know me,
In the same way Abba God knows me and I know God. And I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is why Abba God loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received, O my God.
Shared Homily
Communal Statement of Faith
Mary Al and ALL: We believe in one God, a divine mystery beyond all definition and rational understanding, the heart of all that has ever existed, that exists now, or that ever will exist.
We believe in Jesus, messenger of God's Word, bringer of God's healing, heart of God's compassion, bright star in the firmament of God's prophets, mystics, and saints.
We believe that we are called to follow Jesus as a vehicle of God's love, a source of God's wisdom and truth, and an instrument of God's peace in the world.
We believe that God's kin-dom is here and now, stretched out all around us for those with eyes to see it, hearts to receive it, and hands to make it happen.
Prayers of and for the Community
Kathryn.: We now bring our prayer intentions to the Table
Our response is: All: Your love fills our hearts.
We pray for our MMOJ intentions on our community prayer list. (Katy shares)
For what else should we pray?
Kathryn: Holy Mystery, may we respond to the needs of our sisters and brothers in loving prayer and solidarity. Amen
Preparation Of The Gifts
Lee: Gracious God, you have set the banquet table and have invited all of us to a feast of unending delight.Blessed are You, Holy One, through Your divine providence we have this bread, to share, the Bread of Life.
All: Blessed are You, Holy One, forever.
Kathryn: Blessed are You, O Loving One through Your divine providence we have this wine to share, our spiritual drink.
All: Blessed are, You, Holy One, forever.
Lee; Let us lift up our hearts.
All:We lift them up to the Holy One, living in us and loving through us.Namaste (3x)
Eucharistic Prayer
Ann C: Gracious Wisdom, you embrace us with your extravagant affection in our times of both blessedness and weakness.You are always with us…you living in us and we living in you.In this festive meal, your Spirit is poured out on each of us gathered in the circle of your friends and disciples, we also ask that your Spirit be spread to those of our community who are not with us today.
Let us rejoice as we sing:
All: Holy, Holy, Holy Linda Lee Miller
(adapted from Holy, Holy, Holy by Karen Drucker; performed by Linda Lee Miller)
Joan M: We thank you for the gift of Jesus of Nazareth in history -- and the gift of Jesus in faith. On earth, his life burned with the vision of his mission on earth. Through the example of his life – his teachings and actions - he showed us not only how we should live, but also what was worth even dying for.
Mary AL: When his time on earth had come to an end, Jesus – aware of and accepting his destiny – gave us his life for the values that he deeply believed, lived and taught…his conviction that love is stronger than death.And then, in providing an example of this wisdom for all people in ages to come, he opened wide his arms…and died.And the spirit that lived in Jesus resurrected him to a new life, a promise made to all of us too who live the new story.Jesus is with us today and he will be through the end of time.
(With an outstretched arm, we pray the consecration together.We remember the gift that Jesus gave us on the night before he died.He gathered with his friends to share a final Passover meal.And it was at that supper that Jesus took bread, said the blessing and shared it with them saying: take this, all of you, and eat it.This bread is you; this bread is me.We are one body, the presence of God in the world. When you do this, remember me and all that I have taught you.This is the new and everlasting covenant.
[short pause]
In the same way, Jesus took a cup of wine, said the blessing and gave it to his friends saying: take this, all of you, and drink it.This wine is you; this wine is me.We are one blood, the presence of God in the world.When you do this, remember me and all that I have taught you. This is the new and everlasting covenant.
Lee: Jesus, who was with God “in the beginning of the creation of the heavens and the earth,” is with us now in this bread. The Spirit, of whom the prophets spoke in history, is with us now in this cup.Let us proclaim this mystery of faith.
All:Jesus has died.Christ is risen.The Divine Presence lives in us and through us in the world today.
Kathryn: God, we know that you bless your church throughout the world. We, your people, ask for your grace that we may continually grow in our love and caring for Francis, our Pope, Bridget Mary, our Bishop and for everyone with whom we come in contact, especially those who live on the margins of church and society. They are all our brothers and sisters, members of your Blessed Family.We remember also all those, living and dead, who touched our lives and left their footprints on our hearts.We remember especially….(mention names here, if you would like to..)
All: We believe that the Spirit of God is at work in and among us and will do more than we could ever ask or imagine.We believe that it is through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, Creator God, forever and ever.
Lee and All: O Holy One, you are within, around, and among us.
We celebrate your many names. Your wisdom come, your will be done, unfolding from the depths within us. Each day you give us all we need. You remind us of our limits, and we let go.
You support us in your power, and we act with courage. For you are the dwelling place within us, the empowerment around us, and the celebration among us, now and forever. AmenAdapted, Miriam Therese Winter, MMS
Sign of Peace:
Kathryn: Jesus said to his disciples, “My peace I leave You. My peace I give You.”
Let us join in singing Let “There be Peace on Earth”
And together with our arms extended to one another we say:
May our hearts be glad on our journey as we dream new dreams, see new visions, and create a new heaven and earth.
May we live and work for compassion and peace, justice and non-violence in our hearts and in those of everyone we meet.
May we learn to bless and honor and hold in reverence all creation, the earth, and one another.
May we live in the grace given to us by our Holy One for all of our lives.
Lee: We are the Face of God in the world; may we reflect God well.So, as we leave here in the peace of Christ, let us be the people that God created us to be.Let our service continue.
