Easter Vigil Liturgy at Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community, Co-Presiders: Bridget Mary Meehan and Ministry Team

Mary, Mother of Jesus, Catholic Community

Inviting, inclusive, inspiring, interesting, involving

                                           Part 1: Service of Light

Blessing of the Fire and Paschal Candle

(We will gather around the place of the new fire- in the courtyard outside the main doors of the sanctuary.  Presiders will invite each person to mention the names of those who have gone before and who have ignited faith and love and wisdom in her/his life.  After each set of names, the congregation will respond: Presente!

Lee: On this most sacred night, in which Jesus Christ passed over from this earth to a new life, the People of God everywhere come together to watch and pray.  If we listen to the word of God and live it, and if we honor the memory of his death and resurrection,  we will have the sure hope of sharing his victory over death and living a resurrected life with our Creator.

Lee sets the fire.  When lit, the fire is blessed.

Presider: Let us pray.  O God who, through Jesus, bestowed upon us the fire of your glory, sanctify (+) this new fire --  and grant that, by these paschal celebrations, we  may be inflamed with new hope.  Purify our minds by this Easter celebration and bring us one day to the feast of eternal light.

Preparation of the Paschal Candle

Lee:  Christ, yesterday and today    (pause)   The Beginning and the End 

While saying:                 The Alpha and Omega                              (put in the first pin)

While saying:     All time belongs to God                                         (put in the second pin)

While saying:     And all the ages                                                     (put in the third pin)

While saying:                 To Jesus, be glory and power                   (put in the fourth pin)

While saying:     Through all time and all places, Amen       (put in the fifth pin)

ALL: May the light of Christ - rising in glory - dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds.

(Alternate sides – left and right – for each paragraph)

We Rejoice. We Remember.

The Christ - a spark that lit the cosmos at the beginning of time.

We Rejoice. We Remember.

The Christ - a spark that is expanding across time.

We Rejoice. We Remember.

The Christ - a spark that was borne, sheltered and passed to us by our ancestors.

We Rejoice. We Remember.

The Christ - a spark that was fanned into flame by those who ignited our lives in love and wisdom and joy.

We Rejoice. We Remember.

The Christ - a spark that is a sacred trust held by us to pass on to generations yet to come.

ALL:  We rejoice. We remember. We celebrate.                                                Alexander J. Shaia

Procession

Michael will bring the candle into the Sanctuary singing 3 times: “The Light of Christ”

Response: Thanks be to God!

Michael (at the front in the sanctuary) sings:  The Exultet, “Rejoice, heavenly powers!

Presider:  Our God is with you.                       ALL:  And also with you.

Presider:  Lift up your hearts.                          ALL:  We lift them up to our God.

Presider:  Let us give thanks to our  God     ALL:  It is right to give God thanks and praise.

Part II: Liturgy of the Word

First Reading: Genesis 1:1–2:2

Psalm Response:  “All Praise Glory and Honor to you, God of great love” (Monica Brown #8)

Second Reading:  Exodus 14:15-15:1

Psalm Response:  “We are Called”  #628 

Third Reading: Isaiah 55:1-11

Psalm Response:   “Come to the Water”  #612

Fourth Reading: Sirach 3:9-15, 32-44

Psalm Response:  “Holy Sacred Spirit, breathe your breath on us.  Holy Sacred Spirit, breathe your life in us.”   Repeat 2x   (Monica Brown #10) 

Epistle: Romans 6:3-11

Responsorial:  “Alleluia, Alleluia, let the Holy Anthems Rise” #174

Alleluia   “Alleluia”  (eightfold charismatic alleluia)

Gospel :   Mark 16: 1-8

Part III:  Liturgy of Baptismal Water

Blessing of the Water

Presider: May God renew us and keep us faithful to the Spirit we have all received.

ALL (with arms extended):

God, our Father and Mother, we know you are with us as we recall the wonders of creation.  Bless this water that you have made a servant of your loving kindness to us.  Your Spirit, “in the beginning of the universe, hovered over the surface of the waters” so that its very substance would take on the power to sanctify.   Through water, you set your people free from bondage and quenched their thirst in the desert.  With water, your prophets announced a new covenant that you would make with humanity. By water, you made holy by Jesus in the Jordan.  Let this water remind us of our baptism and of our covenant with all of creation.  Amen

Presider:  Holy people of God, through the Pascal Mystery we have been buried with Christ in Baptism and we now walk with our God in newness of life.  And so let us renew the promises that brought us to this point in our lives and will support us until we walk with our God in the next.

Hymn: “Come to the Water” #612 (during the water sharing rite)

Renewal of Baptismal Promises  (adapted from Jay Murnane)

Presider:   Let us renew the promises we made in baptism and try to fulfill in the years since.

ALL:   I promise to see what is good for my sisters and brothers everywhere, rejecting injustice and inequality, and living with the freedom and responsibility of the family of God.

I promise to work for the realization of God’s vision of harmony and right relations among people, rejecting the idols of money, property, race, gender, and position.

I promise to seek peace and live in peace in one human family, rejecting prejudice in every form, and all barriers to unity.

I promise to cherish the universe and this precious planet, working creatively to renew and safeguard the elemental sacraments of air, earth, and water.

I believe in God, the Creator, in Jesus, the teacher of justice and love, who lived among us so that all might live with abundant fullness;

I believe in the Spirit, the breath of God, who continues the work of birthing and blessing, of forgiveness and reconciliation, of challenge and hope, so that together we all can continue the work of creation.

Presider:  God has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and forgiven all our sins. May God also keep us faithful to Jesus the Christ forever and ever.  Amen.

Part IV:  The Prayer of the Faithful

Presider:  Always mindful of God’s love and care for all creation, we bring the needs of the  people to our loving God.  Response: Loving God, hear our prayer.

Presider: Healing God, we know that you hear our prayers.  May we celebrate our planetary oneness in our works for justice, equality, and peace.  We ask this through the risen Jesus, our brother, and the Spirit, our sanctifier.  Amen.

Part V:  Liturgy of the Eucharist

Preparation of the Gifts

Presiders (raise the bread and the wine):  Ever gentle God, as co-creators of our planet, we offer you these gifts of bread, wine and our lives.  May we celebrate our oneness with all creatures, large and small, in your earthly family.  We ask this of you through Jesus, our brother, and Sophia, our wisdom.  ALL: Amen

Presider: Pray that we become more aware of our oneness in the Cosmic Christ through the grace of the Risen Jesus.

ALL:  We are gathered as a community to celebrate the gift of life pulsating in the glories of Nature everywhere.

Eucharistic Prayer

Presider:  Holy One, You stirred the waters of creation, and you dwell in us.

ALL:  And in every living being.

Presider: Lift up your hearts.

ALL:  We lift them up to our Creator in whom all are one.

Presider:  Let us give thanks for the Breath of life in all forms throughout the Universe.

ALL:  It is right to give glory to God, present everywhere and in everything, with thanks and praise.

ALL (sing):  We are holy (3x); You are holy (3x); I am holy (3x); We are holy (3x).  (Karen Drucker.)

ALL:  Holy One, we bring you these gifts that they may become the Christ Presence.  Fill us with reverence for all creatures, great and small.

ALL: (extend arms):  On the night before Jesus died, while at supper with his friends, he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to them saying:  Take this all of you, and eat.  Do this in memory of me.  (Pause)

In the same way, Jesus took the cup of wine.  He said the blessing, gave the cup to his friends and said:  Take this all of you and drink.  Do this in memory of me.

Presider: Let us proclaim the mystery of faith.

ALL:  This bread is you; this bread is me.  We are one body in communion with all creation.

Voice 1:  Christ of the Cosmos, we thank you that our bodies are made of stardust and that every place we turn, you are present, loving us.  You invite us to join the dance of creation in a mystical celebration of our oneness with all living things in your divine love.

Voice 2:  Risen Christ, we remember that it was you who said:  “Anything I have done in the name of the Creator, you can do too…and even more.”  So we remember all those in our world who are working for environmental healing, human rights and justice for all.

Voice 3:  Christ of the Cosmos, we remember Mary, mother of Jesus, faithful disciple,  and we remember St. Francis who sang canticles to brother sun and sister moon.  May we praise you in union with them and live your compassion now.

Presiders:  Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in  unity with the Holy Spirit, all glory, honor and praise to you, loving God, forever and ever.  ALL: (sung): Amen (5x)

ALL (sung): Our Father and Mother, who are in heaven….

Sign of Peace

Presider:  Risen Christ, you said to your disciples, “My peace I leave you, my peace I give you.”  Look on the faith of all those gathered here.

ALL: May we spread your peace throughout the world, always and everywhere, no exceptions.  Amen

Presider:  Let us join hearts and hands as we pray for peace in all our relationships and in our world.

Peace hymn:  “Peace is Flowing Like a River”  #535

Litany for the Breaking of the Bread

ALL: Christ of the Cosmos, we live our oneness with you and all creation… we work for the healing of the earth…we celebrate justice rising up in a global communion everywhere.  Amen.

Communion

Presider:  This is the Cosmic Christ in whom all creation lives and moves and has its being.  All are invited to share in this banquet of love and celebrate our oneness with all living beings on the planet.

ALL:  We are the Body of Christ.

ALL (sing):  You are the face of God; I hold you in my heart.  You are my family; you are the face of God.  (Chant by Karen Drucker)

Communion hymn: “I am the Bread of Life”  #343  (verses 4 & 5)

Bright Morning Stars Rising: Solo by Mindy Lou Simmons

Prayer after Communion

Presider:  Lover of the Universe, we are full of awe at your extravagant love flowing through us.  May we immerse ourselves in the beauty of nature speaking to us each day.  We live this through the Cosmic Christ, in union with the Holy Spirit.  ALL:  Amen.

Concluding Rite

Presider:  The Risen Christ is with us.  ALL: and loves through us.

ALL: Christ has come back as spring comes back out of the ground, renewing the earth with life, to be a continual renewing of life in our hearts, that we may continually renew one another’s life in … love, that we may be … Resurrection in the world.  We are the resurrection, always on going, always giving back Christ’s life to the world.

Caryll Houselander, The Risen Christ.

Closing hymn: “Jesus Christ is Risen Today”  #164

Closing Community Blessing

All (with arms extended):  The blessing of God is upon us as we go in the peace of the Cosmic Christ to live justice!  Thanks be to God.

Presiders:  Let us go forth in peace and share the good news: The Risen Jesus is with us today and for all time.

All: Thanks be to God. Let it be so!