Theme: How is The Cross Any Kind of Victory?
Welcome and Centering
Prayer
Presider: Oh Holy One, we gather with you as we share
this sacred space and as we celebrate our oneness in you. Our faith sustains us in all that we do. We recognize that if we had the faith of a
mustard seed, we could move mountains. We envision moving mountains. We know
that you are with us as we walk each day in conscious awareness of our
responsibility to bring forth your kindom on Earth. And to this, we say,
All:
Amen.
Gathering Hymn: “We Gather Here To Celebrate” (Mindy Lou
Simmons)
We gather here to celebrate one God universal
We gather here to celebrate the Joy within In
unity we celebrate the beauty of diversity.
Come join us in our fellowship, welcome friends.
You are my sister you are my brother
In the one divine mind we are one with each other
So join with me in unity, let us celebrate, our divinity Repeat:
We gather here…..
Opening Prayer
Presider: Compassionate God, as we celebrate the victory
of the cross, help us to be mindful of the challenge set before us by Jesus to
allow His message to transform our lives. As we journey, strife to build the
kindom and profess Christs message of love and forgiveness, grant us the
courage to accept his transforming power. Our desire is to be continually conscious of
this in our own lives and recognize this in all we do with others.
All (with an outstretched arm): May we reach deep within ourselves to hear
Wisdom’s many messages, to faithfully understand them, and to respond to them
with compassionate actions to our brothers and sisters. May we emulate the virtues of pardon and
peace that Jesus taught us so that we may- in turn-be more forgiving in our
care for ourselves, for one another and for our planet Earth.
May we gather strength
through your Divine Presence within us, to extend your merciful and forgiving
presence that is your gift – through us – to everyone, everywhere - with whom
you share your unending love. We ask
this in the name of all that is. Amen.
Gloria
All (Sung): Glory to God, glory, O praise God,
Alleluia. Glory to God, glory.
O praise the name of our
God. (3X)
Community
Reconciliation
(Pause briefly
and reflect on the need to grow more in love with others and with creation.)
Presider: Creator God to whom all hearts are open, no
desires unknown, and from whom no secrets can be hidden, cleanse our hearts by
the inspiration of Holy Wisdom.
All:
We take your Word into our minds and hearts and we open them to new
understanding.
Presider: We ask for the grace to continually
acknowledge our need to grow in goodness and caring for ourselves, for others
and for our earth.
All:
We accept your love and understanding of the frailty of our human
nature.
Presider: And we join with you, Jesus the anointed one,
believing the strength and insight of Spirit Sophia will lead us to deeper
dedication to justice, equality and peace in our world. All: Amen.
Liturgy of The Word
First
Reading: Numbers 21:4b-9
The first reading: Numbers 21:4b-9
The Israelites traveled from Mount Hor along the road to the
see of Reeds in order to avoid Edom. But the people grew impatient along the
way, and they addressed their concerns to God and Moses: “Why have you brought
us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? We have no bread! We have no water! And
we are disgusted with this terrible food!
Then YHYH sent venomous snakes among the people. They
fatally bit many of the people. So the people came to Moses and said: “We
sinned when we spoke against YHWH and against you. Intercede for us, and ask
that God remove the snakes from us.”
So Moses prayed for the people. And YHWH said to Moses,
“Make a snake and put it on the end of a pole. Anyone who is bitten and looks
at it will live.” So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then
whenever the people were bitten by a snake, they looked at the bronze snake and
lived.
These are inspired words found in the Book of Numbers
And we respond: Thanks be to God
Psalm
78
Responsorial: Listen well, O peoples of the earth, to inner
promptings of the Spirit.
Let Silence enter your house that you may hear!
For within your heart Love speaks: not with words of deceit,
But of spiritual truths to guide you upon the paths of
peace. Response……..
Since the birth of consciousness armed with free will, many
have rebelled against the Creator.
They have refused to live according to Love’s way. They
forgot their purpose and the beautiful Plan, and all that had been given as
gift.
Response……..
All through the ages the earth has yielded its bountiful
harvest; yet valleys and mountains, forests and fields have been misused. Greed
has become the great destroyer of life, taking without offering back, consuming
the earth with abandon. Generations to come will suffer from our willful
ways. Response……..
Even so, the Source of all life remains faithful, ever ready
to lead us out of the wilderness, to speak to us in the Silence of our
hearts. Love will guide us to the New
Jerusalem, to the mountain of Hope, the
City of Light! Love will be an everlasting Presence to all who call upon Love’s
Name. to all who open their hearts to Love. Response
Second Reading: “Passion of Christ, Passion of the World”
The 2nd Reading is taken from “The Passion of
Christ, Passion of the World”
Where God seems not to be, where God seems to have
withdrawn, there we shall find God most intensely present. This logic contradicts the logic of reason. This
is the logic of the cross. The logic of
the cross is a scandal to reason, and must be maintained as such. Only
thus shall we have access to God. Otherwise we should never surmise it. Reason
seeks the cause of suffering. Reason seeks reasons for evil. The cross seeks no
causes. God is to be found in suffering, and most intensively of all. Where
reason sees the absence of God, the logic of the cross sees God’s full
revelation…. The cross must remain the cross: the blind spot in the eye of the
reasoning, and the wisdom of the world.
These are the inspired words of Leonardo Boff, (Author of
“The passion of Christ, The passion of the World”)
Response: Thanks be to God
Gospel Acclamation:
Celtic Alleluia! (sung before and after
Gospel)
Gospel Reading:
A reading from the Gospel
according to John 3: 13-17
Jesus said to Nicodemus: “No one has gone up to heaven
except the One who came down from heaven--- the Chosen One. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the
desert, so the Chosen One must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in
the Chosen One might have eternal life.
Yes, God so loved the world as to give the Only Begotten
One, that whoever believes, may not die, but have eternal life. God sent the Only Begotten into the world not
to condemn the world, but that through the Only Begotten, the world might be
saved.
These are the inspired words found in the Gospel of John
We Respond: Praise to you Jesus the Christ!
Shared Homily/Community Reflection
Profession of Faith
All: I believe in you, O Holy One, Source of all,
the incomprehensible mystery of love beyond imagining.
I believe that
I am in you and that you are in me.
I believe that
our relationship is transforming my life.
I believe that
you surround me with forgiving, abounding kindness in the midst of darkness,
injustice, sin, and death.
I believe in
Jesus, anointed by Your Spirit, who embodies your ways in his ministry.
I believe that
Jesus did not come to die but to live and help others live in abundance on this
beautiful earth.
I believe that
Your Spirit anoints me to share in the same ministry by living justly, loving
tenderly and walking with integrity.
I believe that
you nourish and sustain me through prayer.
I believe that
you summon my conscience to action on behalf of justice that will change
oppressive structures.
I believe that
Your Spirit is at work in all of creation.
I believe that
you call me to be a co-creator with you and to join with companions on the
journey as you beckon us to birth with you a new creation.
Amen.
(Provided by Mary Theresa Streck, ARCWP
Prayers of the
Community
Presider: As the serpent was lifted up in the desert,
Jesus was lifted up on the cross. In exaltation we proclaim: Indeed
this is the Holy One of God!
P: Jesus,
through Your ignominious death on the cross;
All ~give comfort and hope to those who suffer
torture or imprisonment.
P: Jesus,
pierced with a lance;
All ~open our hearts in an outpouring of love
and care for the poor.
P: Jesus,
raised on high on the cross;
All ~help us to rise above our petty desires
and complaints.
P: Jesus
reviled and rejected on the cross;
All: ~deliver us from all forms of pride and
human respect that would separate us from you.
P: We are
people of faith. We believe in the power
of prayer. For what else shall we pray?
The response to each petition is
: Indeed Jesus is the Holy One of God
Presider:
Healing God, we know you attend to our prayers and respond with what is best
for all. In you, we place our
faith. All: Amen.
Offertory
Song: “I Will Not Leave You Comfortless” (Jan Phillips)
Preparation
of the Gifts
Presider: Blessed are you, Jesus of Nazareth, through
your goodness we have this bread and this wine and our own lives to offer. Through this sacred meal may we remember how
to live the new story.
All: Blessed be God forever.
Presider: Divine Presence, we believe that you are
always with us, loving in each of us and healing others through us.
All: Namaste (with a nod…3x)
Presider: Lift up your hearts.
All: We lift them up in tender love, open to
serve.
Presider: Let us give thanks for all that we have.
All: It is our joy to be
grateful for our many blessings as we gather at our family table.
(so… let us “gather at our family table”…)
Preface
Voice
1: O Holy One, we stand at a
critical moment in Earth’s history – a time when humanity must choose its
future. As the world becomes
increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future holds both peril and great
promise. May we recognize that, in the midst of a magnificent diversity of
cultures and life forms, we are one human family and one Earth community with a
common destiny. United with our vast universe, with our Mother-Planet and her
people everywhere, with one another and You, Loving God, our spirits dance and
sing this song of praise:
All: We are holy, holy, holy
(3x), we are whole. You are…I am… We are (Karen
Drucker)
Eucharistic Prayer (Diarmuid O’Murchu and Jay
Murnane))
Voice
2: We give grateful thanks for those
who came before us, for all those who gave from their hearts, who gave from
their lives, that there might be a better world, a safer world, a kinder world,
we pray for peace in their names. And we pray for the children, that they may
live, that they may have children of their own and that it will go on - this
great blossoming that is meant to grow and spread in all time – we pray for
peace in their names.
And we pray for all peoples of this earth who have no voice in this, For
the animals that have no voice in this, For the plants, the trees, the flowers
that have no voice in this, For all who share this earth with us we pray for
peace in their names.
Voice 3: We thank you for our brother, Jesus. He
showed us so simply, so tenderly, how the world is in our hands. He had nothing
in this world but your love, companions on the journey, and his very self.
Together, that was more than enough, and that remains our clarity in the midst
of confusion: the miracle of healing, new hope, nurturance, nourishment,
liberation and life.
Epiclesis (Please
extend hands in blessing toward the bread and wine for invocation of the Holy
Spirit)
Presider: Now as we share the bread of life and
lift the cup of joy, we pray, come Holy Spirit deepen your Presence within us,
and in these gifts of bread and wine.
All: 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 I have taught you. (pause a
moment, then continue….)
All: In the same way, Jesus
took a cup of wine, said the blessing and gave it to his friend 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 all I have taught you.
Presider: 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 our faith.
Anamnesis
All: The Anointed One lives in us and through us
in the world today.
Voice 4: Loving God, we have looked for others to save us and
to save our world. Yet, we are called, and blessed and sent into the world to
establish justice and show the blessed fulfillment that comes with simplicity
and the giving of ourselves in love. We will make new our commitment to
the harmony of the original vision of creation. We will open up wide all that
has been closed around us, and our small circles. Like Jesus, in all openness,
we will be filled with your own Spirit and renew the face of the earth.
All: We believe that the Spirit of God is at work
in and among us and can do more than we can ask or imagine. Amen. (sung)
The Prayer of Jesus
Presider: Let
us join hands and raise our voices as we say the Prayer Jesus taught us:
All:
(sung) Our Father and Mother…….
The Sign of
Peace
Presider: God, we know that you give us peace and unity
beyond what any words can express. You
are here with us as we join hands in a circle of love and sing our prayer: “Let there be peace on earth.” (#526)
“With God as Creator,
family all are we, let us walk with each other in peaceful harmony.”
Litany at
the Breaking of the Bread
Presider: Loving God…All: you call us to Spirit-filled service and to live the Gospel of
non-violence for peace and justice. We
will live justly.
Presider: Loving God….All: you call us to be your presence in the world and to be
bearers
of
forgiveness and understanding, healing and compassion everywhere in your
name. We will love tenderly.
Presider: Loving God….All: you call us to speak truth to power. We will walk humbly with you.
Presider: This is Jesus, who calls us to open doors
that are closed and share our bread and wine on the altar of the world. All are
invited to eat and drink at this sacred banquet of love.
All: When we share in this meal, we who have
always been worthy, commit to live your teachings, dear Jesus, and to tell your
stories that allow Spirit to rise up within us and empowers us to bring the
kin-dom of God to this world. This is
the good news of salvation.
Presider: Let us share and spread this good news! All: Amen
Chant Before Communion:
“Sanctuary” God prepare me, to be your sanctuary, pure and holy, tried
and true. With thanksgiving I’ll be a living sanctuary for you. 3x
As we share
this sacred meal, we say to one another with the passing of the bread,
“You are the love of God in
the world.”
When we
share the wine we say,
“You are the peace of God in
the world.”
Communion
Music: Instrumental
Post-Communion
Meditation and Reflection – I am the One within you (Karen Drucker)
Prayer of Thanksgiving
after Communion
Presider: May wonder and thanksgiving fill us, may
compassion fully fill our beings, that you may heal the numbness that continues
because of our society’s injustices. May you know that we are eternally grateful
for our many blessings. All:
Amen.
Gratitudes/Introductions/Announcements
Closing Prayer
All: ~ May our hearts be
glad on our journeys as we dream new dreams and see new visions.
~May we live and work for
mercy, peace and justice, in our hearts for ourselves and our brothers and sisters…whoever
they are and wherever they are.
~May we learn to bless,
honor and hold in reverence one another and the planet Earth.
~May we continually strive
to be the faith of a mustard seed, so we can move mountains that are barriers
to injustice and inequality.
~And may we be the face of
God to the world, reflecting a compassionate and caring presence in us to
everyone we meet.
Closing Community
Blessing
(Everyone
please extend your hands in mutual blessing.)
All: May our gracious God, bless us all gathered here,
in the name of God our Creator, in the name of Jesus our brother, and in the
name of the Spirit Sophia, as we care and minister to one another, and all
those we meet, in love. We rest assured
you are with us as we continue on our path and follow in the footsteps of
Jesus, for we ARE your face oh God, to the world. Amen
Commissioning
Presiders: May we all go
in the peace of Christ and our caring love for one another. Let our service continue!
All: Thanks be to God; let it be so, let it be
now, let it be.
We Gather Here to Celebrate (Mindy Simmons)
We gather here to celebrate one
God universal
We gather here to celebrate the Joy within
In
unity we celebrate the beauty of diversity.
Come join us in our fellowship, welcome friends.
You are my sister you are my
brother
In the one divine mind we are one with each other So
join with me in unity, let us celebrate, our divinity
We gather here to celebrate one God universal We
gather here to celebrate the Joy within
In unity we celebrate the beauty
of diversity.
Come join us in our fellowship, welcome friends
Closing Song: Let Your Light Shine In Us
(Kathy Sherman)
s
Let your light, shine in us
3x
And we will be light for the
world
Let your light, shine in us
3x
And we will be light for the world.
We will be one and the kindom
will come.
Let your heart, beat in us 3x
And we will be love for the world.
We will be one and the kindom
will come.
Let your joy sing in us 3x
And we will be hope for the world.
We will be one and the kindom
will come.
Let your peace live in us 3x
And we will be one for the world.
We will be one and the kindom
will come. Repeat 1 and 2
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