https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85108095506?pwd=Y3IyS0xkaWZ1WGRUOXlZMm5qcE1Fdz09
Zoom link for video- 4:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time
ID 851- 0809-5506
Passcode 1066
Theme: The Lesson: Listening and Learning
Welcome
JOAN P: Welcome everyone who came to celebrate today’s liturgy with the Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community. Here, all are welcome, those who have been with us for a while and those who may be new today. Again, to all we say: “welcome.”
We invite everyone to pray the liturgy. At the start, everyone will be muted (silenced) except for the presider and readers who will be unmuted so that what they say can be heard by everyone. Everyone else is invited to “pray out loud” - whether speaking or singing - in the parts marked by ALL. Although many of us may not hear everyone all the time, we know that Jesus does.
MARY AL: However, there are exceptions: During the shared homily (it is just after the Gospel), we ask you to raise your hand if you would like to contribute to it…(you will be noted when…), unmute yourself for that time so everyone can hear you, and then please re-mute yourself when you are finished talking, so that another person has the same opportunity you had to be heard.
Also, please have your bread and wine (or juice) near you as we pray the Eucharistic Prayer…and then they will be convenient for you at the Consecration and Communion times.
Gathering Song: Gather us In (Marty Haugen)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnom5mFwJaI Opening Prayer
LEE: Nurturing God, you gave us a human expression of yourself in the person of Jesus. Through him, you showed us how to both recognize what is “sacred” in your creation and to express it in our yearning to be an inspired and better person on the planet Earth. Jesus, through his teachings and examples, taught us how to live as you want us to do and also how to pray so that we may have your kindom come on earth as it is in heaven. His lived gospel-described time on earth was short, three years. In that relatively short time, from his baptism to his crucifixion, Jesus taught many lessons to his disciples and those he met on his earthly journey, many records of which are described in the holy scriptures. From them, we could – and many do – learn about how to live a Christ-like life, the type for which we pray when we say “… may his kindom come, his will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We pray that we will learn - during our time on the earth - the same lesson that Jesus taught us in the gospels.
Reconciliation Rite
JOAN P and ALL: Loving God, Father and Mother of mercy and compassion, we ask you to bless us so that we may not only learn to accept - but also to act upon - the beliefs that all peoples, wherever they may be on earth, are all one family … and that Family is Your Family.
We ask that you grant us the gifts of pardon and peace that were taught and demonstrated to us in the life and teachings of Jesus, even to his death on cross.
We also ask you for the grace of your forgiveness so that we may absolve from our minds any and all of our thoughts and actions that may be hurtful to people of other nationalities, beliefs, races and life styles.
And then, Merciful God, may we forgive each other for our mutual failures to care for one another and for our planet Earth.
We ask all this in the names of Jesus and of the Spirit, the model for our living and the wisdom to do it well.
Glory to Our God
MARY AL and ALL: Glory to God in the highest, and peace to God’s people on earth. Creator God, heart of the universe, we thank you for the breath of the Spirit at work in everything that exists, everywhere in this ever-expanding cosmos. Jesus, you have taught us, by your example during your time on the earth, how we are to live with one another in the Spirit of your love. Your grace can strengthen us in our attempts to do this in our life time on earth. For this, we give you glory.
Glory to God, Glory (Dan Schutte)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbarqE9o8QYThe Liturgy of the Word
LEE: The first reading is from the letter of Paul to the Ephesians, and it is from the opening passage of his message. He told them that God’s plan for us from our earliest time on earth has gone very wrong on our end, but it will be worked out, corrected, by Jesus -- but not by him alone; we are all participants in the process of its reconciliation. That is the setting for interpreting Paul’s message, chapter 1, verses 11 to 14 today. It will read for us by JOAN PESCE.
JOAN P: In Jesus, we were willed by God to have an inheritance. For in God’s plan, we were predestined to praise the glory of the Most High by being the first to place our hope in Christ. When you first heard the Good News of salvation, the word of truth, and also because you believed in it, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the pledge of our inheritance. The Holy Spirit is our sanctification.
JOAN P and ALL: And now we assert our acceptance of Paul’s story, the role of the Christ as an inheritance in our lives, by saying
Amen, Alleluia
MARY AL: Today’s gospel is a story from the sixth chapter, verses 7 to 13, of Mark’s gospel. It describes what is known by scholars and others as the historic “Mission of the Twelve Apostles.” It will be read for us by LEE BREYER.
LEE: Jesus called together the twelve disciples to send them out in pairs to preach to the people. He gave them authority over any unclean spirits that they might meet on their mission, as well as a few instructions for their journey. Jesus told them “do not even think you will need a lot of additional equipment for this, you are the equipment.” He told them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a staff, a walking stick – but no bread or other food, no bag, no money in their belts. And, as for clothing, he said that they were to wear sandals, and he also told them “Do not even take a spare tunic.”
Jesus also instructed them: “wherever you enter a house, stay there until you are ready to leave. If you find a place that does not welcome you or listen to you, quietly go. Then just shake the dust off the soles of your feet as a testimony against them.”
And so the disciples went off in pairs, preaching as they went. They cast out many demons along the way, and anointed many people who were sick and would be healed by them.
This is the good news that Mark has passed on to us today. And to show our acceptance of it we respond…
Thanks be to God.
Alle, Alle, Alleluia (Linda Lee Miller)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIHnZn3JjcMHomily Starter/Community Sharing
Lee Breyer
Our Community Statement of Faith
MARY AL: We believe in you, the Divine Mystery that is beyond all definition and understanding, the creator and heart of all that has ever existed, that exists now or that will ever exist in this ever expanding universe.
JOAN P and ALL: We believe in Jesus of Nazareth, the holy human and enlightened soul who carried the message of God’s Word to the world … the One, through whose time and lived example on earth, showed us how we are to care for ourselves and for others … the one who is the heart of God’s compassion. He is the bright star in the firmament of God’s prophets, mystics and saints. It is through the study of Jesus’ person and the grace for understanding what we learn about it that that we have a developing story of Salvation … in summary, the knowledge and belief that we are all holy persons, that we were all born holy and that we will be holy forevermore.
LEE and ALL: We believe in the Spirit, the one that inspires our innermost life. She keeps the Anointed One present to the awareness of those who are searching for meaning and wholeness in their lives. She strengthens our calls to follow Jesus as a human example of God’s love and She is the one who helps us to reach deep within ourselves so that we can find Her healing and energy in ourselves whenever our spirits grow weary.
And we believe that God’s kin-dom is here and now, stretched out all around us for those who with eyes to see it, hearts to receive it, and hands to bring it to fulfillment in our time on earth.
Prayers of the Community
LEE: With heads and hearts mindful of our Creator’s unconditional love for each one of us, let us bring our needs and those of our friends and family members to our Loving God. After each intercession, we respond:
God of compassion, to you we offer these prayers.
JOAN P: For those who are or have been injured in the tragedy of the Florida condo tower collapse, let us pray.
Our response is: God of compassion, to you we offer these prayers.
JOAN P: For the families and friends of those who have died in that disaster or who are unaccounted for, let us pray.
Our response is: God of compassion, to you we offer these prayers.
JOAN P: For Sally who has found her way home - and for Janet whose present time is painful and whose future is unsettled, let us pray.
Our response is: God of compassion, to you we offer these prayers.
JOAN P: For those people who are working so hard for peace and justice issues and have uncertain outcomes ahead of them, let us pray.
Our response is: God of compassion, to you we offer these prayers.
JOAN P: And for whomever or whatever do we want to bring to our prayers at this time?
[Pause briefly for any comments]
LEE: Holy Creator, we bring these requests to you, knowing well that you hear us, but at times your response to them might not be what we would expect in our expressed need.
LEE and ALL: Bless all of us in our concerns for our brothers and sisters, friends and family members, who are not with us now. May they find your gift of love for them and peace in their time of need.
Preparation of the Gifts
MARY AL and ALL: Blessed are you, O God. Through your goodness we have our bread for your blessing. It will become for us the Body of Jesus, the Christ.
Blessed are you, O God. And through your goodness we have this fruit of the vine. It will become for us the Blood of Jesus, the Christ.
Heavenly God, all of us united in this sacrament by the love of Jesus who proclaimed your power for the poor and oppressed. We pray that, like his first disciples, we may live as prophetic witnesses to the Gospel, as people who are versed with the wisdom of his teachings.
Eucharistic Prayer
JOAN P and ALL: Gracious God, you embrace us with your extravagant affection in our times of both blessedness and weakness. You are always with us…you live in us and we live in you. In this festive meal, your Spirit is poured out on each of us gathered in this Zoom group of your friends and disciples. We ask that your Spirit spread herself to those of our more extensive community who are not with us at this time. So, Loving God, we rejoice in the grace with which you have blessed as we sing the results of your blessings.
Holy, Holy, Holy (Linda Lee Miller)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orKBBIj5LZA
MARY AL and ALL: We thank you for the gift of Jesus of Nazareth in history – and the gift of Jesus in faith. Through him, you breathe life into us. He was moved by his vision of your constant presence in everyone he met, everywhere he went. He revealed you in everything did in his life well lived. And when his time on earth had come to an end, Jesus – aware of and accepting his destiny – gave up 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 people in ages to come, he opened wide his arms…and died. Shortly later, the Spirit that lived in Jesus resurrected him to a new life, a promise she made to each one of us too. He showed us, through his experience on this earth, that life is truly eternal and that love is immortal. And so, we know that Jesus is with us today and with our sister, Sally– as he will be through the end of time.
[With an outstretched arm to our bread and wine, we pray the Consecration together.]
LEE: 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]
LEE: 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.
MARY AL: 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.
Jesus has died. Christ is risen. The Divine Presence lives in us - and through us - in the world today.
JOAN: Caring 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, all members of your Blessed Family. We remember also those, living and dead, who touched our lives and left their footprints on our hearts. We remember especially... (mention a name here, if you wish to.)
[ make a short pause here]
JOAN and 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, that all glory and honor is yours, Creator God, forever and ever.
Great Amen (Linda Lee Miller)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy76fpfkNsg
The Sharing of Peace
MARY AL: Jesus, you said to your disciples and, through them, to each one of us…“my peace I leave you; my peace I give you.” Friends, let us extend that peace now to one another as we raise a hand in a blessing and say: “Let us share the peace of Christ among us and may it always be with us.”
Peace is flowing like a river
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qWnEIX5YUEThe Prayer of Jesus
JOAN P: Holy One, you are in, around and among us. We celebrate your many names. May your Wisdom come, your will be done, now and always as She does from the depths within us. Each day you give us all we need. You support us with your power, so that we may act wisely and with courage. For you, Loving God, are always in the dwelling place within us, the empowerment around us, and the celebration among us, now and forever. Amen. (Adapted, Miriam Therese Winter, MMS)
Community Communion
JOAN P and ALL: And now we consume the Body and Blood of Christ that we consecrated here today. And when we are doing that, we say “I am (or ‘you are’) the Christ in the world; we are his Body and Blood. And may I (or ‘you’) reflect it well.
We are called (David Haas, verses 1 and 3)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkTtr7SxgzoIntroductions/thanksgiving/announcements
MARY AL: We are now at that part of today’s liturgy when we would like to hear more from you, … some of those thoughts on your minds. When you share these comments with us, please unmute yourself…say what you would like to say…and then re-mute yourself so that others can be heard as well..
Pause briefly for people to collect their thoughts…and share them.
Do we have any newcomers here today, or those who are returning from some time away and would like to say “hello” to us today?
And do we have some of you who are gifted in your lives with blessings that you would like to share – in thanksgiving for them - with us today?
How about announcements…does anyone have any information about something that they would like to share with us at this time?
Pause for people to think of a response to our questions
Closing Blessing and Commissioning
LEE and ALL: May our hearts be glad on our journeys as we dream new dreams, see new visions, and create a new heaven and earth.
May we live and work for compassion and peace as well as justice and non-violence in our hearts and promote those in the hearts of those we meet.
May we learn to bless and honor and hold in reverence one another, the earth, and all creation.
May we make a real difference in our part of the world—and help bring forth and develop the kin-dom of God on earth.
Thanks be to God! Bring it on! And to all, we say “Alleluia! Alleluia!!
Closing Song Here I am Lord (Dan Schutte)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2HRisoyi2A
If you want to add an intercession to our MMOJ Community Prayer book, please send an email to Joan Meehan jmeehan515@aol.com
If you want to invite someone to attend our liturgy, please refer them to the day’s liturgy at MaryMotherofJesus.org
To support our community, please send your check to:
Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community
St Andrew UCC, 6908 Beneva Rd, Sarasota, FL 34238
