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Saturday, April 27, 2019

Easter Liturgy 2019 Heart of Compassion, Windsor; Ont. Canada by Sydney Condray ARCWP





Greeting:
(Leader) We are gathered here in the Presence of God – as a community of Faith – to, once more, re-live the Paschal Mystery, Jesus’ passing over from death to new life in you Great God of All.
Today’s liturgy is adapted, using inclusive language and contemporary images.  Some words in familiar prayers and responses are changed.   You are welcome to use these words or more familiar words at the same time, for example in the “Holy Holy” and the “Our Father.”  I am sure the Lord knows our intentions, so spoken words can be different yet carry similar meanings. 
I am convinced everyone is invited to co-celebrate this Mass, as a community, with the person leading the service, therefore all are asked to participate in the consecration along with the other responses in “bold” type.
So, let us begin with our opening song:
Song:  The Deer’s Cry”
Opening Prayer:
(Leader) Let us pray: Gracious God, we are gathered to testify to love,
Your love Great God, seen in the love of Jesus.
Once again, on this special day, we remember your love
poured out on the whole earth.
And we celebrate too, your love poured out on each of us
through the dieing and rising of Jesus, our Living Lord and brother.
Liturgy of the Word
(Leader continues): Since the Spirit is given to all here, we will have a dialogue homily. The gospel will be read slowly, twice.  Participants are asked to reflect on the reading for a few moments of silence, then feel free to share in any image or idea which comes to mind. 
A Reading from the Gospel according to Luke 24:1-12
(Reader) Read twice.  At daybreak, on the first day of the week, the women who had come from Galilee with Jesus, took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.  They found the stone rolled away from the tomb; but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
While they were puzzling over this, behold two men in dazzling garments appeared to them.  They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground.
 They said to the women “Why do you seek the living one among the dead?  He is not here, but he has been raised.  Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified and rise on the third day?”
And they remembered his words. Then they returned from the tomb and announced these things to the eleven and to all the others. 
The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; and the others who accompanied them also told this to the apostles, but their story seemed like nonsense and they did not believe them.
But Peter got up and ran to the tomb, bent down, and saw the burial cloths alone; then he went home amazed at what had happened.
The Gospel of the Lord
(R) Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ
Dialogue Homily - Shared Reflection
Ideas suggested by the readings related by the community
Leader summarizes contributions
Statement of Faith 
(Leader) Now let us, together, declare the mystery of our faith
(Adapted from MMOJ inclusive liturgy)
(All) We believe in the Holy One, who is a Divine Mystery, 
beyond all definition and rational understanding,
 who is the heart of all that has ever existed,
 exists now, or ever will exist.


We believe in Jesus, the human embodiment of this Divine Mystery, who is the Manifestation of Divine Compassion, who brings healing and hope to all humanity, and who is the 
guiding star in the firmament of the Holy One's 
prophets, mystics, and saints.
We believe that We are called to follow Jesus
, to also be a vehicle of divine love,
 to be a source of wisdom and truth,
 and act as an instrument of peace in the world.


We believe in the Spirit of the Holy One, who is 
the source of our life living in our innermost heart, who is 
the breath of our breath moving in our inmost being, who is 
the depth of our depth living in each of us.


We believe that the Divine kin-dom is here and now,
 stretched out all around us for those
 with eyes to see, hearts to receive it,
 and hands to make it happen.
This is our faith –This is what we believe, through Christ, our Lord.

Prayers of the Community: needs and concerns of the community
Response: Loving God, hear our prayer.
Liturgy of the Eucharist
 Song “Jesus Christ is Risen Today” Instrumental while altar table is set up
Offeratory
(Leader begins) Gracious God,
(All – continue) we offer you these gifts of bread and wine,
which earth has given and human hands have made,
 together with ourselves, our lives, our hopes,
our dreams, our loves, – our doubts and fears and failures too, –
uniting them with the offerings of all your people
wherever they may be,
for our good, and the good of all your people.
May you make of these gifts,
something which pleases you and gives you glory,
We ask this through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Dialogue
            (Leader) May the Holy One be with you.
            (Response) And also with you.
            (Leader) Lift up your hearts.
            (Response)We lift them up to our God.
            (Leader) Let us give the Holy One thanks and praise.
            (Response) It is right to give Yahweh thanks and praise.
Preface
(Leader begins) Let us pray:
(All – continue) Blessed be you, O Lord Our God
who walks with us and talks with us
and tells us we are your own.

Blessed be you, O Lord our God
Creator, Sustainer and Lover of all people
who comes to us in the most surprising ways.

Yes, blessed be you, O Lord our God
Who has Raised Up for us a Reclaimer and Advocate,
Jesus, Christ, our Brother and Friend.
So with all your angels and saints
We proclaim your wondrous goodness as we say: 
            Holy, holy, holy Lord,
            God of wonder, God of light,
            heaven and earth are full of your glory.
            Hosanna in the highest.
            Blessed are all who come in your love, oh Lord.
            Hosanna in the highest.
(Leader) Yes, we bless and thank you, Holy One,
For Jesus, our model, our mentor, – our Savior, the Risen One.
We bless and thank you gracious God,
for Jesus, – ALIVE – and with us today.
He speaks – to us your words of truth and love.
He opens our eyes to see your goodness.
He opens our hearts to know your love.
Your Spirit inspires us to invite your Presence,
to ask you to come, and stay with us.
And, amazingly – graciously – you do come and stay with us.
How great – how respectful – how considerate you are.
How gentle your touch.  How forgiving your heart.
Like your disciples of old, our eyes are opened,
our hearts assured, by the presence of Jesus – with us,
especially through the Mystery of the Breaking of the Bread.
Prayer of Consecration
(Leader)  So, once again, we remember Jesus.
How he loved us to the end.
How, on the night before he died,
he gathered with his friends for one last meal.
As he did then, so he does now,  we remember when he took the bread, –
he blessed and broke it, – saying:
(All) Take this, all of you, and eat it
this is my body, which is given for you.
(Leader)  And, when the supper was ended,  he took the cup,
again, he gave you thanks and praise, – gave the cup to his friends, saying:
(All) Take this, all of you and drink from it,
This is the cup of my blood,
the blood of the new and everlasting covenant.
It will be shed for you and for all, so that sins are forgiven.
Do this in memory of me.
(Leader) Thus with immense joy and gratitude
we declare this mystery of our faith:
(All) Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
(Leader) As we wait in hope for the final fulfilment of your promise.
(All – cont.) Take and transform us, Lord, by the power of your Spirit – in the New Life of Jesus,  the Risen One –
our Savior and our Friend, so that:
(Leader raises the plate and cup as all continue)
Through Christ, and with Christ and in Christ,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all honor and glory is yours, most Gracious God,
now and forever.  Amen
Communion Rite
(Leader) Now, with great joy, let us pray the prayer that Jesus taught us:
(All - continue) Our Father, Mother, Gracious One,
You who are with us everywhere: Your kin...dom come,
your will be done, on earth as it is with you always.
Give us this day, whatever we need.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Help us in every temptation and deliver us from all evil.
For yours is the kin - dom, the power and the glory, now and forever.  Amen.
Sign of Peace
(Leader) Now, let us share with each other Christ’s greeting of peace. . . at the end of which:
Lamb of God/Breaking of the Bread
 (Leader announces) Jesus, Lamb of God,
(All–cont.) you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us.
(Leader) Jesus, Bread of Life,
(All–cont.) you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us.
(Leader) Jesus, Prince of Peace,
(All–cont.) you take away the sin of the world, grant us your peace.
Invitation to Communion
(Leader) All are welcome at this table. Happy are we who are called to this supper.
(Leader) Passing of the Plate  each says: Receive the Body of Christ.
                    Passing the Cup each says: The Blood of Christ.

Period of silent reflection and personal prayer
Leader cleanses the vessels
Prayer of Thanksgiving
(Leader) We thank you Gracious God for all that you have done.
We thank you for coming to us in this Eucharist, and in one another.
May this, our sharing in your life, be a source of strength and hope,
as we go from here to love and serve you in our world. 
(All) Amen.
Concluding Rite
Greeting
(Leader) The Lord is with you.  
(All) And also with you.
(Leader) Let us bow our heads and ask God’s blessing.
Final Blessing
(Leader) May the Lord be with us in every need.
(All) Amen.
(Leader) May we see our God’s Presence
and know God’s Peace in all the moments of our lives.
(All) Amen.
(Leader) And may the Lord continue to bless us and our loved ones,
The Father-Mother - Beloved Son + and Holy Spirit. 
(All) Amen.
Song :”A Beautiful Noise”    by Neil Diamond

by Sydney Condray                                                                                   Public Domain