Entrance Hymn: #581 - Companions
on the Journey, v. 1 & 3
P: Today,
we celebrate the Feast of St. Hildegard of Bingen, born in 1098 in
Germany,
and died on September 17, 1179. She was
an extraordinary,
multi-faceted
woman. She was an abbess and prophetic
visionary, and
had
a phenomenal impact on the people of her day.
She possessed great
musical
talent as a composer of unique forms of medieval chant. She
developed
extensive knowledge of plants and their healing properties.
She
experienced ‘visions’ that brought awakenings and deep spiritual
insight. While formed by and rooted in Christianity,
her spirituality was
at
the same time cosmic and earth inclusive.
She coined the term
“viriditas”—the
greening power of God, a divine attribute, that was the
animating
life-force within all creation, giving it life, moisture and vitality.
Justice
was her passion, her impulse. It
permeates her writings and her
life
was exhausted in its service. Right to
the end, she strove against the
clergy
of the area because of what she saw as unjust demands.
Hildegard
was a woman who knew there was a law above the law and
adhered
to it at any cost, in the face of opposition, despite any popular
concepts
to the contrary. She was stubborn,
strong, visionary, and
ardently
prophetic. She was a woman for our twenty-first
century who
knew
that God spoke through women as well as through men. She
resonates
as a ‘kindred spirit’ to many through the world. Since her
death,
and for over eight centuries, she was the people’s ‘Saint
Hildegard.’ She was officially canonized as such in May
of 2012, and
also
proclaimed a Doctor of the Catholic Church in October, 2012.
Many of the prayers
and readings in our liturgy today are taken from her
writings. As we take this liturgical adventure through the
visions and
writings of Hildegard,
we ask for the Divine Blessing, in the name of God:
Source of All Being,
Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit.
ALL: Amen
P: My
sisters and brothers, our God is with you!
ALL: And
also with you.
P: Welcome
everyone! I am so pleased to be back
with you!
For
those of you who do not know me, I am Mary Eileen Collingwood, your presider
here this evening. As a Roman Catholic
Woman Priest Community, we rejoice when people come and find a spiritual home
here with us. All are welcome at this
table.
You
will find in the liturgy tonight definitely some new words and expressions, as
we reflect on the life of Hildegard.
Also, you will find these words and phrases also reflect a renewed
priestly ministry within a community of equals. Our expression and prayers may
sound different as we embrace inclusive language within a renewed
theology. The liturgy guides provided will
help you through the prayers and responses.
PENITENTIAL RITE:
P: We
gather together to enjoy a sacred meal with our friends. As we
prepare
to celebrate the mystery of Christ’s love, let us ask our
compassionate
God to strengthen and enlighten us, and assist us in
doing
good deeds with kindness.
P: We
express our sorrow for the limits we have put on God’s Spirit at work
in
us, and ask that God be with us.
ALL: God
be with us.
P: We
express our sorrow for our unbelief and lack of understanding of
God’s
Presence in us, and ask that Christ be with us.
ALL: Christ
be with us.
P: We
express our sorrow for our deliberate words and actions that have
ruptured
our connectedness with others and all of creation, and ask that
God
be with us.
ALL: God
be with us.
P: Hildegard
reminds us that:
If
we give up the green vitality of virtues and surrender to the drought of
our
indolence, so that we do not have the sap of life and the greening
power
of good deeds, then the power of our very soul will begin to fade
and
dry up… But if we follow the right road, all our actions will give rise
to
good fruit. (DW 2, 18)
ALL: Amen.
GLORIA:
P: Glory
to God among us…
ALL: And
peace to God’s people on earth. Loving
God, we worship you, we
give
you thanks, we praise you for your glory.
Jesus the Christ, you
unbind
the burdens of the world, be with us now.
You who are one with
our
God, receive our prayer. For you alone
are the Holy One, you alone
are
the Anointed One, you alone are the Reflection of God among us,
with
the Holy Spirit in the glory of God.
Amen.
OPENING PRAYER: Let us pray…
P: In
the words of Hildegard as she expresses her awareness of the Divine
touch
of creative life happening all around us:
I
am the one whose praise echoes on high.
I
adorn all the earth.
I
am the breeze that nurtures all things green.
I
encourage blossoms to flourish with ripening fruits.
I
am led by the spirit to feed the purest streams.
I
am the rain coming from the dew
That
causes the grasses to laugh with the joy of life.
I
call forth tears, the aroma of holy work.
I
am the yearning for good. (Meditations with
Hildegard of Bingen,
Gabriele Uhlein, p. 31)
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: from Hildegard of Bingen
Who are the prophets? They are a royal people, who penetrate
mystery and see with the spirit’s eyes.
In illuminating darkness, they speak out. They are a living, penetrating clarity. They are a blossom blooming only on the shoot
that is rooted in the flood of light.
(Uhlein, p.126)
The Word of God as stated by Hildegard.
Responsorial: Rejoice now, and be glad!
O blooming branch,
Thick with leaves,
You stand upright in your nobility;
As breaks the dawn on high. R
Rejoice now and be glad,
And deign to free us,
Frail and weakened,
From the wicked habits of our age; R
Stretch forth your hand
To lift us up aright. R
Second Reading: Hildegard of Bingen’s words on “Receiving of
the Visions”
In the year 1141 of the incarnation of
Jesus Christ the Son of God, when I was forty-two years and seven months of
age, a fiery light, flashing intensely, came from the open vault of heaven and
poured through my whole brain. Like a
flame that is hot without burning, it kindled all my heart and all my breast,
just as the sun warms anything on which its rays fall. And suddenly I could understand what such
books as the Psalter, the Gospel and the other catholic volumes both of the Old
and New Testament actually set forth; but I could not interpret the words of
the text; nor could I divide up the syllables, nor did I have any notion of the
cases or tenses.
Ever since I was a girl—certainly from
the time I was five years old right up to the present—in a wonderful way I had
felt in myself (as I do even now) the strength and mystery of these secret and
marvelous visions. Yet I revealed this
to no one except for a very few people and the religious who lived in the same
community as I; but right up until the time when God’s grace wished it to be
revealed, I suppressed it beneath strict silence. The visions which I saw I did not perceive in
dreams nor when asleep nor in a delirium nor with the eyes or ears of the body. I received them when I was awake and looking
around with a clear mind, with the inner eyes and ears, in open places
according to the will of God. But how
this could be, it is difficult for us mortals to seek to know.
The Word of God as spoken by Hildegard.
ALL: 16-fold
Alleluia
Told to
expel from the abbey cemetery the body of a nobleman who had been
excommunicated, but subsequently reconciled to the Church, which the local
clergy disputed and ordered his body to be exhumed, Hildegard herself at the
age of eighty erased the markings on the grave to protect the body from
banishment and, with the support of her entire community, submitted to
interdict with its denial of Eucharist and liturgical chant rather than
surrender her commitment to truth. She explained, “When, a few days after his
burial, we were ordered by our superiors to fling him out of the cemetery,
I, seized with no little terror at this order. . . saw in my soul that,
if we followed their command and exposed the corpse, such an expulsion would
threaten our home with great danger, like a vast blackness—it would envelop us
like a dark cloud that looms before tempests and thunderstorms…. So we did not
dare expose him…lest we seem to injure Christ’s sacraments.”
The Good News from Hildegard as she
shares her letter to her Bishop:
You ask why I disobey you, my bishop;
I answer in a spirit of prayer,
As I hope you did too in addressing me.
As I hope you did too in addressing me.
I, the Abbess, disobey, and all my
sisters choose to disobey,
Because in such obedience is only darkness.
In our disobedience is light for our spirits,
So has God shown us.
I am not just disobedient,
I am outraged.
A thunderstorm of outrage shakes my soul.
In God’s truth I say to you:
‘You are wrong and we are right.’
We are obeying Christ,
We are following Christ,
We choose not to insult Christ,
As obeying you would force us to do.
Because in such obedience is only darkness.
In our disobedience is light for our spirits,
So has God shown us.
I am not just disobedient,
I am outraged.
A thunderstorm of outrage shakes my soul.
In God’s truth I say to you:
‘You are wrong and we are right.’
We are obeying Christ,
We are following Christ,
We choose not to insult Christ,
As obeying you would force us to do.
Because of what you call our
disobedience,
You have forbidden us to sing our psalms.
You have deprived us of the Food of Life.
You have cut off the streams of life, the sacramental graces.
God told me to tell you this also:
Beware of closing the mouths of those who sing God’s praises.
‘Who dares to de-string the harp of heaven?’ God asked me.
‘Only the devil,’ I whispered.
You have forbidden us to sing our psalms.
You have deprived us of the Food of Life.
You have cut off the streams of life, the sacramental graces.
God told me to tell you this also:
Beware of closing the mouths of those who sing God’s praises.
‘Who dares to de-string the harp of heaven?’ God asked me.
‘Only the devil,’ I whispered.
Ask yourself, O bishop, whose side are
you on?
The
Living Word of God as spoken by Hildegard.
Shared Homily
CREED
P: We
realize that God is a living experience, especially as we contemplate
the
words of Hildegard today. Talking about
that experience will take
different
forms in every generation. If your
comfort level allows, please
join
in as we proclaim these words of faith:
ALL: We
believe in God as our Creator and as the creator of the world which
God
sets before us as a gift for our joy and use, for us to tend in gratitude and
affection.
We
believe in Jesus. By his life and
ministry, he taught us how to love
God
and all that God created, especially other people. We take the
teaching
and example of Jesus as a model for our lives.
We
believe in the Holy Spirit, God’s abiding presence in this world, to
encourage
and direct us with joy, wisdom, and gentleness to live a holy
life. She guides us in the silence of our hearts.
We believe the Church,
as the People of God, is the faithful custodian of
the experience of God
in the Sacred Scriptures and in the lives of holy
women and men.
We believe that all
God’s children, those who lived long ago, those who
today are living, and
all those who will ever live are brothers and sisters,
and that the bond of
God’s love connects us across space and time.
PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL
P: We
are in the presence of our compassionate God.
Calling to mind
Jesus’ words to us:
“Ask and you will receive, seek and you will
find, knock and it
will be opened to you,” we now ask that God
have compassion on us
and consider our requests, as we respond
with “Life of all life, hear our prayer”
Petitions of the
Assembly
Leaders of our church
and country
And for all those
women who are contemplating joining the women priest
movement, as their
call becomes more clear and strong, may they be
animated by the Sprit
within to step forward, we pray…
P: O
God, hear the prayers of your people.
Hold them and all their
unspoken
desires close to your heart. Amen.
P: Life-giving
God, we celebrate your fruitful love as we embrace one
another
with joy. May the peace of God be always
with you!
ALL: And
also with you!
P: Before
we prepare the Table and join in the Eucharistic Prayer with one
mind
and one heart, I invite you now to extend a sign of communion and
charity
to one another. (sign of peace exchanged)
OFFERTORY PROCESSION
P: Blessed
are you, God of all life
Through
your goodness we have bread, wine, all creation, and our own
selves
to offer. May all our gifts provide us
the spiritual nourishment
that
you so generously provide.
ALL: Blessed
be God forever!
PRAYER OVER GIFTS
P: Let
us pray:
O
Abundant Blessing, we ask you to accept the gifts of Hildegard that we
now
embrace as hope for our own time. May
the blessings of your grace
strengthen
our minds and hearts as we continue to speak truth to power.
ALL: Amen.
EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
P: Our
God is with you.
ALL: And
also with you.
P: Open
your hearts.
ALL: We
open them up to our God.
P: Let
us give thanks to our Loving God.
ALL: It
is right to give God thanks and praise.
P: All
loving and ever-living God, we give you thanks for the gift of
awareness
that allows us to recognize your presence and action in our
universe. Everything we have, everything we see, everything
we do,
everyone
we love, and everyone who loves us, reveals your sustaining
presence. We thank you that you animate life and all
that exists. You are the hidden heart of
the universe, and when we turn our attention to the affairs of the heart, there
we find You, smiling and joyous. As the
Spirit whispers in us, we give you thanks as angels translate the longing of
our heart into this chorus of praise:
ALL: Holy,
Holy, Holy God
(sung) Spirit of Love and Peace.
Heaven
and earth are full of your glory:
Hosanna
in the highest!
Blessed
are all who come in the name of our God.
Hosanna
in the highest! (x2)
P: O
Holy One, you are the fountain of all holiness, and all creation rightly
gives
you praise. All life, all holiness comes
as you gather a people to
yourself,
so that from east to west a human blessing may be given for the
glory
of your name. We thank you for Jesus,
who loved so greatly,
taught
so clearly, and proclaimed so courageously.
He set people free from
images, ideas and religious practices that bound them in fear and a
false
sense of separation from you. Through Jesus,
we know our loving
actions
become a share in your life visible on earth.
We thank you for
you
Spirit of life and love among us. We are
grateful that Your Spirit sets
us
free to discover your presence within us and in all of creation. And
for
this we thank and praise you.
ALL: (extend hands over bread and wine)
P: Therefore,
we ask that you intensify the presence of your Spirit in these
our
gifts, as they, and we, become the +Body and Blood of Jesus the
Christ
for the sake of our wholeness and for the wholeness of all
creation.
On
the night before he died, Jesus gathered for the Seder supper with
the
people closest to him. Like the least of
household servants, he
washed
their tired and dusty feet, so that they would re-member him.
Back
at the table, he took the Passover bread, spoke the grace, broke the
bread
and offered it to them saying:
ALL: Take
and eat, all of you.
This
is my body, which will be given up for you.
P: When
supper was ended, Jesus took the cup of wine, spoke the grace,
and
offered it to them saying:
ALL: Take
and drink this cup of my life-blood, the life of the new and
everlasting
covenant. It is poured out for you and
for all, so that you
might
be free. Whenever you remember me like
this, I am among you.
P: Let
us proclaim the sacred presence of our Loving God:
ALL: Nurtured
by your love, nourished by your food, called anew to feed your
people,
we acclaim your praise!
P: Loving
God, through Jesus you entrusted this pledge of love to us. We
celebrate
the memory of his life, death, and rising to new life, and bring
to
You the gifts You have given us: reconciliation, justice, and peace.
You
fill us with Your Spirit in the sharing of this meal. You keep us in
communion
with one another and with all living beings.
Your Spirit
makes
us a sign of unity, a model of equality, and instruments of Your
peace.
Inspire
Pope Francis, all our bishops, and all religious and political
leaders
throughout the world, so that they act without fear to bring your
justice. May they become peacemakers who transform
your church and
society
so that all living beings and our planet may thrive.
You
have gathered us around this table in friendship with Mary, the
Mother
of Jesus, the apostles, and all the saints.
May all who are
suffering
in any way be strengthened and consoled by Your Presence.
You
bless all who have gone before us and bring them into the lasting joy
and
peace of your Eternal Light. We praise
you in union with them, and
give
you glory through Jesus, our brother.
ALL: Through
Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
(sung) may all glory and honor be Yours, all-loving
God, forever and ever.
Amen.
COMMUNION RITE
P: And
we pray together: God, Mother and Father
to us all…
ALL: You
exist within all of creation,
Holy
is your name.
Your
kin-dom come, your will be done,
On
earth as it is within your Eternal Presence.
Give
us this day all that will sustain us
And
forgive us our selfish ways
As
we forgive those
Whose
selfish ways have harmed us.
Lead
us away from temptation
And
deliver us from all that is evil.
For
the kin-dom, the power, and the glory are yours
Now
and forever. Amen.
P: Protect
us O God, from every evil, and grant us peace in our day. In your
kindness
and compassion, lighten our burdens and rid us of all anxiety
as
we wait in joyful hope for life within the glory of your everlasting
Presence.
ALL: Amen.
P: The
highest form of appreciation is not to just utter words, but to live by
them. It is in this spirit we now pray as the bread
of life is broken and
shared
by all:
ALL: Loving
God, you call us to speak truth to power, we
will live justly.
Loving God, you call us to live your Gospel of
justice and peace, we will
love tenderly.
Loving God, you call us to be your Presence in
the world, we will walk
humbly with our God.
P: This
is Jesus, the Bread of Life.
How
blessed are we who are called to this Table.
ALL: Jesus,
you affirm our worthiness and
Through
your word, we will heal the world.
P: Those
who desire may come forward to receive Holy Communion. All are
welcome
at the Table.
COMMUNION MEDITATION: Hildegard’s Euchari
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
P: Let
us pray in the thought patterns of Hildegard:
The feather flew, not because of anything in
itself, but because the air
bore it along. Thus I am a feather on the breath of God.
ALL: Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
FINAL BLESSING:
P: Our
God is always with you!
ALL: And
also with you!
P: In
the words of Matthew Fox, Hildegard’s influence in our world today
has
been felt and believed by many. And so,
we can truthfully declare
today
that:
Hildegard is a woman
who found her voice.
ALL: Amen.
P: Women
the world over today are learning to find their voice, to be the
prophets
and truth tellers all adults are called to be.
ALL: Amen.
P: Hildegard
leads from a silenced God to a God who speaks through a
woman.
ALL: Amen.
P: The
Divine Feminine is back!
ALL: Amen.
P: God
of all, come live is us, your people, and strengthen us by your grace.
Help
us to remain close to you in prayer and give us a true love for one
another.
ALL: Amen
P: And
may God: +Source of All Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit bless
us
all! We are sent forth. Let our service continue!
ALL: Praise
be to God!
RECESSIONAL HYMN: #609 - We
Are the Light of the World, v. 1,4,7
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