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https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85108095506?pwd=Y3IyS0xkaWZ1WGRUOXlZMm5qcE1Fdz09
Zoom link for video- 4:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time
ID 851- 0809-5506
Passcode 1066
Theme: Small acts of kindness and courage can change the world
Welcome and Gathering: Linda Lee
Welcome to our Zoom liturgy at Mary Mother of Jesus, an inclusive Catholic Community, where all are welcome. We invite you to pray the liturgy and respond where it says, All. All participants will be muted during the liturgy except for the presiders and readers. During the shared homily and community prayers we ask you to unmute yourself if you would like to contribute. Please have bread and wine/juice in front of you as we pray our Eucharistic prayer.
Gathering Song: Room at the Table by Carrie Newcomer
https://youtu.be/FkY_qBFs_3g
Opening Prayer: Bridget Mary
Holy One, like our sister Rosa Parks, we walk by faith with a passion for justice to promote a world where all are equal and all have a place at the table. We trust in the power of your Spirit to speak and act through us to bless, heal and transform our world. We rejoice that our MMOJ faith community is sowing small seeds of Gospel hospitality and inclusivity.
Community Forgiveness
Linda Lee: Liberating Mother, we open ourselves to your grace within us empowering us to confront hate, violence and abuse of power in our world.
Bridget Mary and all. Let us hold our hands over our hearts and pause now to ask forgiveness of all victims of injustice for the times we have failed to speak truth to power.
Bridget Mary and All: I am sorry, Please forgive me. I love you. Thank you.
A Joyful Gloria: Linda Lee Miller and graphics by Rick Miller
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lA5I0nODZI
Liturgy of the Word
Mary Al: A Reading from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel (17:22-24)
Thus says the Holy One:
“As an eagle soars, so shall I. From the top of the tall cedar tree,
from the highest branch,
I shall take a tender shoot,
and plant it on a high and lofty mountain.
“On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it.
It shall put forth branches,
and bear fruit,
and grow into a noble cedar.
Birds of every kind shall roost beneath it.
Every kind of winged creature will nest in the shade of its branches.
“And all the trees of the field shall know that I, God, am the one who brings low the high tree
and lifts high the lowly tree; withers the green tree,
and makes the dry tree flourish.
“I, God, have spoken, and so I will do it.”
These are the inspired words of the prophet Ezekiel and we affirm them by saying
All: Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm 92:2-5, 13-16
Mary Al: The Psalm response is:
We proclaim your love at daybreak, your faithfulness at night.
What a beautiful thing to declare Your love in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night!
To the music of a ten-stringed harp,
to the sounding chords of the lyre, we sing.
For You, O God, have brought us joy. At the works of Your hands, we sing!
Mary Al and all: We proclaim your love at daybreak, your faithfulness at night.
The honorable will shoot forth like the palm tree, will grow like the noble cedar of Lebanon;
Planted in the house of the Holy One,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
Mary Al and all: We proclaim your love at daybreak, your faithfulness at night.
In old age the honorable will still bear fruit. They will remain green and full of sap.
They will sing of God’s unfailing nourishment.
For God is our mountain; in God there is no wrong.
Mary Al and all: We proclaim your love at daybreak, your faithfulness at night.
Second Reading
Jerry Bires: A Reading from “The Mustard Seed” in Short Stories by Jesus by Amy- Jill Levine
The parable {of the Mustard Seed} does mark a contrast between small and great. It may be read in light of the parables of the Leaven and the Seed that Grows Secretly. It has something to say about seeds and birds, growth and shelter. Instead of looking at the plant as a noxious weed, we might be better off seeing it as part of the gifts of nature, something so small, allowed to do what it naturally does, produces prodigious effects.
The parable speaks of the significance of the seed, that one seed grew into a plant. Thus, no seed is, or should be, seen as insignificant, each contains life within it.
Even small actions, or hidden actions have the potential to produce great things.
The kingdom of heaven is found in what today we might call “our own backyard.”
The kingdom is present when humanity and nature work together and we do what we were put here to do- to go out on a limb to provide for others, and ourselves as well.
These are the inspired words of scripture scholar Amy Jill-Levine and we respond to them by saying: Thanks be to God.
Alle, Alle, Alleluia: Linda Lee Miller
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID5UGWcS6Ws
GOSPEL
Linda Lee: A Reading from the Gospel Attributed to Mark (4:26-33)
Jesus continued speaking to the crowds, saying, “The reign of God is like someone scattering seed on the earth. The sower sleeps and rises, night and day. The scattered seed sprouts and grows, but the sower doesn’t know how. Of its own accord, the earth yields: first the shoot, then the head, then the full grain in the head. Then, when the grain is ripe, immediately the sower goes in with a sickle, for the harvest has come.”
Jesus also said, “What else can we say the reign of God is like? What parable can we find to describe it? It is like a mustard seed which, at the time it is sown, is the smallest of all the seeds; yet, once sown, it grows into the greatest of shrubs and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
Using many parables like these, Jesus spoke the word to them, in as much as they were able to hear it.
These are the inspired words in the Gospel according to Mark and we affirm them by saying:
All: Thanks be to God.
HOMILY STARTER- Bridget Mary
In December 1955, when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger, her small act of resistance, ignited a flame for justice that helped launch the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. Barbara Reid notes the impact of her courageous action. “One small action by one previously unknown woman set in motion the whole struggle to begin to dismantle racism in this country.” Like a nearly invisible, tiny mustard seed that takes root and flourishes as a large, sheltering bush, “the ordinary actions of seemingly insignificant people, whose seeds of faith and passion for justice have the power to make hope blossom forth for a transformed world.”
Our faith community began with six people who wanted a woman priest to preside at Mass, and grew to an inclusive, empowered faith community of equals where the entire community celebrates Eucharist consecrating their own bread and wine at an open table. We changed the model from priest dependent to a people empowered inclusive community where everyone is welcome to receive Eucharist and celebrate sacraments.
Together, along with many other small faith communities we are sowing seeds of love and belonging, healing and empowerment to redefine the word catholic, as Irish writer James Joyce described, as “here comes everybody.” Let us continue to plant seeds of love that celebrate our mystical oneness and foster social justice in our world. Together we are changing the church and the world by our small acts of loving kindness and mighty faith in God’s Spirit always moving in us, with us and through us to do great things!
Community Sharing: How can small acts of kindness and courage bless our lives and our world.
STATEMENT OF FAITH:
Jack Duffy and All: We believe in one God, a divine mystery
beyond all definition and rational understanding,
the heart of all that has ever existed,
that exists now, or that ever will exist.
We believe in Jesus, messenger of God's Word,
bringer of God's healing, heart of God's compassion,
bright star in the firmament of God's
prophets, mystics, and saints.
We believe that we are called to follow Jesus
as a vehicle of God's love,
a source of God's wisdom and truth,
and an instrument of God's peace in the world.
We believe that God's kin-dom is here and now,
stretched out all around us for those
with eyes to see it, hearts to receive it,
and hands to make it happen.
PRAYERS OF THE COMMUNITY
Ann Cooke: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns.
Ann Cooke and all: Holy One, You hear our prayer.
Joan Meehan holds up Prayer Intentions for Week and shares the list of requests.
Joan Meehan and all: Holy One, You hear our prayer.
Ann Cooke: For what else shall we pray?
(Unmute your microphone Speak your concern when there is an opening, Re-mute your microphone)
Ann Cooke: We pray for these and all unspoken concerns that we hold in our hearts.
Ann Cooke and all: Amen.
PRESENTATION OF THE BREAD AND WINE
Bridget Mary: Blessed are you, God of all life, through your goodness we have bread, wine, all creation, and our own lives to offer. Through this sacred meal we become your new creation.
Linda Lee: My sisters and brothers, these gifts give glory to you, Holy One.
You dwell in us, and accepts the gifts that we offer in service to our faith community. We do this in memory of our brother, Jesus. Amen.
EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
Jack Duffy: The Spirit of the Living God is within you.
Ann Cooke and All: And also within you.
Jack Duffy: Lift up your hearts.
Ann Cooke and all: We lift them up to the Holy One, the Love of our Hearts.
Jack Duffy: We give thanks and praise to you Spirit of love for the grace of new beginnings.
Ann Cooke and all: It is a joy to be fully alive.
Bridget Mary: Glory be to you, Holy One, for the seeds of love that you have placed in the womb of earth and in human hearts. May we be enlightened by the law of harmony in all beings and enlivened to be part of the world’s healing each day
Linda Lee: We seek your touch of healing in the brokenness around us and in the sufferings of our world. In our hidden depths, you plant seeds of love and care for all things. We praise and exalt you forever with grateful hearts as we sing:
All: Holy, Holy, Holy Linda Lee Miller
(adapted from Holy, Holy, Holy by Karen Drucker)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orKBBIj5LZA
We are Holy, Holy, Holy…3x , You are Holy, Holy, Holy, I am Holy, Holy, Holy, We are Holy, Holy, Holy
Bridget Mary: God of Kindness, you reveal to us you infinite, boundless love for us. You fill us with new hope that our faith can grow like a tiny mustard seed that offers acceptance and healing to those who are rejected and lost. You show us that small acts of love is somewhere to begin when we are overwhelmed by the pressures and demands of life.
Linda Lee: Inviting God, in you we live and move and have our being. In you, we are part of the world's healing each day. With you we bless all that exists. In you, with you and through you, these gifts of bread and wine, and our lives are filled with boundless grace that nourishes and sustains us and all creation on our journey.
(Please extend Your hands in blessing.)
Bridget Mary and All: You pour out Your spirit anew upon this bread and wine and upon us as we become more deeply the Christ Presence in our world.
On the night before he died, Jesus came to table with the women and men he loved.
Jesus took bread blessed and broke it, saying,
“Take, eat, this is my body. Do this in memory of me.”
(pause)
Linda Lee and All: After supper, Jesus poured a cup of wine and shared it with his friends, saying,
“This is the cup of the covenant of my love. As often as You drink of it, remember me.”
(pause)
Linda Lee: Let us proclaim the mystery of wonder in our midst:
Linda Lee and All: Christ of the Cosmos you are the spark of love in whom we believe; the Wisdom of Sophia in whom we trust; and the desire for justice that consumes us.
Bridget Mary: As we celebrate the memory of Jesus, we remember our political and religious leaders, especially President Joe Biden, Pope Francis and all God's holy people. We remember the communion of saints and all who have inspired and loved us.
(pause to remember your loved ones who have gone before us)
Linda Lee: May we recognize the face of God in every person everywhere. May we, grow like mustard seeds and be fruitful. May we sow small seeds of love everywhere we go everyday.
(Presiders hold Bread and wine.)
Bridget Mary: For it is through living as Jesus lived,
That we awaken to your Spirit unfolding within us,
Moving us to birth new life,
O Holy One,
At this time and all ways.
Great Amen: Linda Lee Miller
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy76fpfkNsg
COMMUNION RITE
Linda Lee and all : Let us pray as Jesus taught us.
O Holy One, you are within, around, and among us.
We celebrate your many names. Your wisdom come, your will be done, unfolding from the depths within us. Each day you give us all we need. You remind us of our limits, and we let go. You support us in your power, and we act with courage. For you are the dwelling place within us, the empowerment around us, and the celebration among us, now and forever. Amen (Adapted, Miriam Therese Winter, MMS)
Bridget Mary: Jesus said to his disciples, “My peace I leave You. My peace I give You.”
The peace of the Holy One enfolds You.
Let us share a cyber hug as we sing:
Peace is flowing like a River by Carey Landry: Linda Lee Miller
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrLnCPq1GJk
Linda Lee: Please join in praying the prayer for the breaking of the bread:
Linda Lee and All: Loving God, You call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice.
We will live justly.
Linda Lee and all: Loving God, You call us to be Your presence in the world.
We will love tenderly.
Linda Lee and all: Loving God, You call us to speak truth to power.
We will walk with integrity.
(Presiders hold up bread and wine)
Bridget Mary: Let us pray our communion prayer together.
Bridget Mary and All: Nourished by the Body of Christ, may we scatter seeds of love in our words and actions as we serve our sisters and brothers especially those most in need.
Linda Lee: Let us share Communion with the words “ I am (You are) the Body of Christ” and “I am (You are) the Blood of Christ”
Communion Song: Somewhere to Begin by Sara Thomsen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei54clvS1m4
Thanksgivings, Introductions and Announcements
Final Blessing:
Bridget Mary and All: God’s Spirit strengthens us to sow seeds of kindness everywhere.
God’s Spirit empowers us to be part of the world’s healing every day.
God’s Spirit guides us to be prophets for justice and peace for all people.
God’s Spirit enlivens us to live courageously no matter the consequences.
Linda Lee and All: Together, we are one in Christ, loving and serving God’s holy people.
Linda Lee: Go in peace and joy to sow small seeds of love each day.
All: Alleluia:
Closing Song: We are called, we are chosen- Linda Lee Miller
https://youtu.be/Ft7EA-7Vo00
This Liturgy was written by Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP
If you would like to add your intercession to our MMOJ Community Prayers book,
Please send an email to jmeehan515@aol.com
If you would like to invite another person to attend our liturgy please refer them to
www.marymotherofJesus.org where the day’s liturgy is found. Zoom instructions are also included there.
Please support our community, send your check to:
Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community
% St Andrews UCC, 6908 Beneva Rd., Sarasota, FL 34328
