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Saturday, November 19, 2016

Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Liturgy, Nov. 19th, Co-Presiders Bridget Mary Meehan and Pastor Greg Russell, Music: Mindy Lou Simmons, Sarasota, Florida

Today we celebrated my 10th anniversary of priestly ordination with a beautiful liturgy that (big surprise! included bagpipes and a delicious Thanksgiving dinner after liturgy. Members of St. Andrew UCC also attended and our congregation doubled!

Celebrate Our Mystical Oneness in the Cosmic Christ

Welcome





Gathering Song: Companions on the Journey #581




Greeting:

Presider: In the name of God our creator, and of Jesus our brother, and of the Holy Spirit our wisdom        ALL: Amen.
Presider:  Holy One, we are one with You..

ALL:  And with all.

Penitential Rite:
(Pause briefly and reflect on the need to grow more in love with others and with creation)

General Absolution by Community: (All raise hands extended in prayer and recite together.)

God, the Father and Mother of mercies, through his living, dying and rising, Jesus has revealed that nothing can separate us from the infinite love of God. May God give us pardon and peace, and may we forgive each other our failures to care for one another and for our earth in the name of God our creator, and of Jesus our brother, and of the Holy Spirit our wisdom. Amen.


ALL:  Glory to God in the highest, and peace to God’s people on earth. Creator God, we give you thanks. We praise you for your glory. O Jesus Christ, Holy Child of our God, you reveal the love of God that permeates our universe. You, who are one in spirit with our God, receive our prayer. For you are the Cosmic Christ, one forever with the Holy Spirit. Amen.


Opening Prayer:

Presider: Nurturing God, You embrace each person and every living thing with delight.


May we, who are stardust, be filled with awe as we experience our mystical oneness, with all creation in the Heart of Love. May we cherish every amazing day, conscious of your presence and abundance all around us. We ask this through Jesus, our brother and the Holy Spirit, our wisdom.  ALL:  Amen

Liturgy of the Word:


First Reading: 2 Samuel 5:1-3

Responsorial Psalm: Jesus, remember me when you come into your kindom
(Taize) #410

Second Reading: Colossians 1:12,20

Gospel acclamation: Alleluia

Gospel: Luke 23:35-43



Homily Starter: Bridget Mary

Today we celebrate the feast of Christ of the Cosmos, the God-Presence evolving In us and in the universe, filling us with a deep caring for creation.

In the letter to the Colossians, Paul speaks of Christ as the firstborn of all creation, with all things being created in and through Christ who dwells in and through creation.

“The energy in the universe is not in the planets or in the protons or neutrons,” Richard Rohr writes, "but in the relationship between them.”

Christ of the Cosmos encompasses the spiritual energy in us, in all beings, and in God, in whose image we are created. In other words, the Spirit dwells in our deepest selves, embraces us and all creation with infinite love, healing and wisdom. This divine life energizes and empowers us in the cosmic dance of creation. All are interconnected. All are one.

In the Gospel the image of the solders at the cross jeering reminds us that human sinfulness can harden our hearts and resist the flow of love and compassion that we are called to share.

 Like, our holy brother, the condemned man on the cross, we know that God walks with us in love in the midst of hate and brings new life out of suffering.

We pray: “Jesus remember me.” Jesus remember us.
Jesus remember the oppressed ones, help us to work for justice and equality to “make a way out of no way”

 The words of Jesus in the Gospel: “this day you will be with me in paradise,” assures us that no one is alone in their sufferings.  Like Jesus, we can accompany others in their pain and work creatively for healing and empowerment, no matter the challenges we face..

In The Untethered Soul, a New York Times best-seller, Michael Singer offers an approach to unconditional happiness that advises us to make a decision that no matter what happens we can choose to be happy. Stuff will happen to upset us, but we do not need to let it make us unhappy, we can let it go. “You can still be concerned, aware and involved in whatever distressing situation comes your way, Singer explains, “but you can’t let it get in the way of your commitment to being happy. Well, you can, but it’s not the higher path to well-being.” (“Do you Dare to be Happy”, by Marilyn Preston, Sarasota Herald Tribune)

 “Neuroscience now tells us that fear, negativity and hatred stick like Velcro to the nerves,” Richard Rohr writes, “while positivity, gratitude, and appreciation slide away like Teflon from those same nerves- until we savor them for a minimum of fifteen seconds. Only then do they imprint. The only difference between people that matters is the difference between those who allow this space to fill with love- and those who don’t or won’t allow it. Like Mary, the model for contemplatives, “it is done unto you and you can only allow. ” (The Divine Dance, p. 116, 113)

The Spirit moves within us to fill us with love, in our joys and sorrows, our hopes and fears. Here we are united with the Holy One “who keeps sending out the signal to keep redirecting us toward enjoyment of our eternal union” (Rohr , p.110)

We don’t need to wait until after death to experience eternal happiness. We can experience infinite love, heaven on earth in God’s embrace now if we let go and let God fill our hearts with love and peace.

Pope Francis in his encyclical, Laudato Sí, calls us to contemplate Christ of the Cosmos “The universe unfolds in God, who fills it completely. Hence, there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, in a poor person’s face. The ideal is not only to pass from the exterior to the interior to discover the action of God in the soul, but also to discover God in all things. Saint Bonaventure teaches us that ‘contemplation deepens the more we feel the working of God’s grace within our hearts, and the better we learn to encounter God in creatures outside ourselves’.” (233)

Mini-Meditation:
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So now, let us take a few minutes to contemplate the Cosmic Christ as the spiritual energy of the divine- flowing within us and within all creation. The Cosmic Christ is infinite love at work everywhere  …

Dialogue Homily:
How do you experience the Cosmic Christ as infinite love at work in you, in our community and in our world?



Profession of Faith: 
ALL: We believe in God, the fountain of life, flowing through every being. We believe in Jesus, the Christ, who reflects the face of God and the fullness of humanity. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the breath of God in the cosmos, who calls us to love and serve without counting the cost. We believe in our global communion with all in the circle of life. Amen to loving actions on behalf of justice, healing, compassion and equality for all in our world!

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

Response after each petition: Loving God, hear our prayer

Presider: Healing God, we trust that you hear our prayers.  May we celebrate our planetary oneness in our works for justice, equality, and peace. We make this prayer through Jesus, our brother, in union with the Holy Spirit.
ALL: Amen



Collection and procession with gifts: instrumental music

Preparation of the Gifts:



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

Presider: Pray that we become one with all in the Cosmic Christ.      ALL:  We are gathered as a community to celebrate the gift of life pulsating around us in the glories of Nature everywhere.




Eucharistic Prayer

PresiderOur Birthing God, who stirred the waters of creation, dwells on earth,


ALL: And in every living being

Presider: Lift up your hearts.

ALL: We lift them up to our Creator in whom all is created.

Presider: Let us give thanks for the Source of life. 

ALL: It is right to give the God of Glory present everywhere and in everything, thanks and praise.

ALL sing: We are holy (x3), You are holy (x3),
I am holy (x3) Karen Drucker


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

                                                                                                    

(All Extend Hands) ALL: On the night before he died, while at supper with his friends, Jesus 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.”

The Mystery of Faith:
ALL: This bread is       you, this bread is me. We are one body, a reflection of God’s treasures, in communion with all creation.

Voice 1: Christ of the Cosmos, we thank you that there are 18 galaxies for every person, that our bodies are made of stardust. You call us, “beloved” and invite us to join the dance of creation in a mystical celebration of our  oneness with all living things,

Voice 2: Christ of the Cosmos, we rejoice that You, who are more than we can imagine or dream of, dwell in love beyond all comprehension. 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.”

Voice 3: Christ of the Cosmos, you pray within us as we remember women and men who are leaders in our church and world especially……

Voice4: Christ of the Cosmos, we remember Mary, mother of Jesus, faithful disciple and St. Francis who sang canticles to brother sun and sister moon. We remember our sisters and brothers, the great cloud of witnesses who have cared for earth’s creatures and have blessed our world with their loving service to God’s people.  We praise you in union with them and give you glory by working for a more just and peaceful world.

Great Amen:

ALL:  Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in unity with the Holy Spirit, all glory, honor and praise to you, loving God forever and ever. Sing: Amen, Amen, Amen

ALL sing: Prayer of Jesus (“Our Father and Mother”)

Sign of Peace: Peace is flowing like a River by Carey Laundry

Litany for the Breaking of the Bread:
All: Christ of the Cosmos, we will live our oneness with you and all creation.
Christ of the Cosmos, we will work for healing of the earth.
Christ of the Cosmos, we will celebrate justice rising up in a global communion everywhere.

Communion:

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

Communion :  Room at the Table Carrie Newcomer

Meditation: Woman’s Spirit Rising by Karen Drucker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4UTqvXeyl8

            Prayer after Communion:
Presider: Lover of the Universe, we are full of awe at your extravagant love flowing through all living things. We contemplate “earth crammed with heaven” each day. You enable, energize and embrace all things. As it was in the beginning, is now and will forever be.    ALL: Amen

Gratitude, Introductions, Announcements

Concluding Rite
Presider: Christ of the Cosmos fills the space between us with loving kindness. ALL: We belong to each other.

Blessing:

(with hands extended in prayer):

ALL: The blessing of God is upon us, and fills us with joy and peace. Thanks be to God.


Presider: Go in the creative energy of the cosmic Christ, let the service begin!   ALL: Thanks be to God.

Recessional: When the Saints Go Marching In





Bridget Mary Meehan

Association of Roman Catholic Woman Priests

http://bridgetmarys.blogspot.com/