Feast of Mary’s Assumption

 

Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community

Feast of Mary’s Assumption

August 13, 2022

Zoom link for video - 4:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81534075389?pwd=TTdGY2NxS3AzTW13ODJESkdYME9aUT09

Meeting ID: 815 3407 5389

Passcode: 803326

(Note -- if you have a problem with the above link, open your ZOOM app and insert the Meeting ID number and Passcode)

One tap mobile: 1-312-626-6799

Presiders: Kathryn Shea ARCWP & Pat Lewis 

Readers: Pat and Bob Ferkenhoff

Prayer Leaders: Jill Striebinger ARCWP and Lee Breyer

Music Minister: Linda Lee and Rick Miller

IT Team: Cheryl Brandi and Peg Bowen 

Theme: “Walk With Us on Our Journey”

Welcome and Gathering

Pat L: 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. 

-Please have bread and wine/juice nearby as we pray our Eucharistic prayer.

Whoever you are, 

Wherever you are, 

Just as you are, 

You are welcome at this table. (Integral Christianity by Paul Smith)

Let us now take a few minutes to collect ourselves as we prepare to focus our minds and our hearts on our knowledge that we are all one, brought together at this time to transform ourselves and our world through love; love for our Holy One, love for our neighbors, love for ourselves, and love for our planet.  Let us begin our liturgy by expressing this love through song.  

Gathering Song: “Hail Mary, Gentle Woman” Hail Mary, Gentle Woman | Carey Landry | Catholic Hymn | Choir (SATB) with Lyrics | Sunday 7pm Choir - YouTube

Opening Prayer

Kathryn: Oh Holy One, we are delighted to gather with you and one another today as we share this sacred space and as we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, our Holy Mother.  She was lifted up to the heavens and joined with you, her precious son, Jesus, and all the angels and saints; 

her Earthly journey completed.  We thank you for the gift of Mary and the gift of your son, Jesus.  We give thanks that you chose Mary to be the human mother of Jesus and the spiritual mother of us all.  They were both the personification of pure unconditional love and they shared this love with all whom they met.  We know their love for us continues and works through us so that we too can be unconditional love for one another.  We rejoice today and every day that we have been given all we need to be the “Way, the Truth and the Light” as Jesus was.  We are grateful that our spiritual family walks with us each day as we navigate this glorious and challenging journey.  We await the day we are called to be with you in the glory of the heavenly kindom.  And to this, we say, AMEN.

Rite of Transformation

Lee:  We pause now to remember the times we have not born fruit in caring for self and others. Take a moment to recall one missed opportunity, one broken or damaged relationship.  

(Pause briefly and extend your hand over your heart)

ALL: As we ask for and receive forgiveness, we open our hearts to Infinite Love embracing and healing us. Let it be so, Yes, Alleluia!

A Joyful Gloria: Linda Lee Miller and graphics by Rick Miller

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lA5I0nODZI

Liturgy of the Word

Jill: First Reading: The Assumption of Mary: Proof of the Divine Dignity of Women in Infallible Terms by Jill Striebinger

If I was born to embody Christ, to bring forth Christ, in my lifetime, I would know how to go back in time by traveling in my twilight between sleep and awake.  I would go and speak softly into the children’s ears in Fatima and I would whisper into the ears of the Popes and I would tell them Truth; and holy people would write down the Divine revelations of what was conveyed to them, in documents with fancy names like MUNIFICENTISSIMUS DEUS, translated the Most Bountiful God, a document defining the Dogma of the Assumption of Mary,  and in this one would be astounding statements including, “it is reasonable and fitting that not only the soul and body of a man, but also the soul and body of a woman should have obtained heavenly glory.”  And they will get it, mostly right, as they listen through their human filters of what they can possibly conceive.  They will document the proof of the Divine dignity of women in infallible terms.

I would then make sure that I was born on the date they declared to be the Assumption of Mary and make it so I could never be considered a “virgin” by the understanding of the day.  I would then come to understand that I am a virgin by the understanding of the day because I once had a son, an incarnation of myself whom people believed in, who said “. . . Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them?” (Mark 7:18) and I would understand that anything done to me does not make me unworthy of bearing the Light of Christ.  I would then become a priest on the same special day and in the same special church that declared for all of time that “it is reasonable and fitting that not only the soul and body of a man, but also the soul and body of a woman should have obtained heavenly glory.”  I would do this even if that church didn’t really quite get it yet.  I would like to know everyone’s magical story about when they remembered that they too bare Christ’s Light. If you don’t know your story yet, be assured that it is only a matter of time before you too remember.

These are the inspiring words of our sister Jill and we affirm them by saying, ALL: LET IT BE SO!

Celtic Alleluia:  

https://youtu.be/o1rc7ojQtJU

Pat F: Gospel Reading: Luke 1:39-56 

Preface to our Gospel Reading: Excerpts from Praying With Women of the Bible by Bridget Mary Meehan.

“We sustain a natural, psychological, and spiritual need for feminine metaphors that depict such a nurturing, comforting, God.  Mary was the ever-present, perfect metaphor - although not divine herself…of the mothering aspect of divinity that human beings craved. 

In praying the Magnificat, we stand with Mary, the simple, teenaged, pregnant but unmarried woman of faith, in her clairvoyant perception of God’s relationships with us. She is companion, champion, and change-agent for the righteous poor, who will triumph over oppression and experience the justice promised to them by God.  Today more than ever we need to discover a larger vision of the liberating of Mary’s women-spirit in our minds.”   

The Magnificat – Mary’s Song 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4laSBMSdZg

These are the glorious words spoken by Mary our Holy Mother and recorded by the disciple, Luke, and we affirm them by saying, 

ALL:  LET IT BE SO!

Celtic Alleluia:  

https://youtu.be/o1rc7ojQtJU

Homily/Community Sharing

Communal Statement of Faith

Bob: We believe in the Holy One, 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 in the Holy Spirit,

The life of God that is our innermost life,

The breath of God moving in our being,

The depth of God living in each of us.

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 and for the Community

Pat L:  We now bring our prayer intentions to the Table.

 

Our response is: ALL: You heal us as we awaken to your call.  

We pray for the devastated families of all those in Kentucky, California, and elsewhere impacted by deadly floods, wildfires, and other weather related disasters. R

We pray for the people of Ukraine and Russia that they may live in peace without fear and that goodness and sanity will fill the hearts and minds of those that would cause them harm.  R

We pray that our government puts children above guns, power, and greed.  R

We pray for our MMOJ intentions on our community prayer list. (Joan M shares)

For what else should we pray?  Begin with, “I bring to the table..”

Our response is: You heal us as we awaken to your call.

Holy Mystery may we respond to the needs of our sisters and brothers in loving prayer and solidarity. Amen

Liturgy of the Eucharist

Lee:  O Holy One, you have been called by many names by many people in the centuries of our planet’s life. Yet, no name truly defines you or describes you.  We celebrate you as the marvelous, loving energy of life who caused us and our world to be. We celebrate you as the Source of light and life and love, and we celebrate your presence and all-ways care.

Bob: Please join in praying the Eucharistic prayer together:  (Eucharistic prayer taken from the work of Diarmuid O’Murchu and Jay Murnane)

Bob and All: 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, Holy One, our spirits dance and sing this song of praise: 

Song:  Holy, Holy, Holy (Karen Drucker)

 

https://youtu.be/orKBBIj5LZA

 

Kathryn: 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 name. 

And 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 go on and on – we pray for peace, in their name. 

And 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 name.

Jill: 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.

(Please extend your hands in blessing) 

Pat L and All: We invoke Your Spirit upon the gifts of this Eucharistic table, bread of the grain and wine of the grape, that they may become gifts of wisdom, light and truth which remind us of our call to be the body of Christ to the world. 

On the night before he faced his own death and for the sake of living fully, Jesus sat at the Seder supper with his companions and friends.  He reminded them of all that he taught them, and to fix that memory clearly within them, he bent down and washed their feet.

When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted the Passover bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread and offered it to them saying:

Take and eat; this is my very self.

(pause)

Lee and ALL: He then raised high the cup of blessing, spoke the grace, and offered them the wine saying: 

Take and drink of the covenant made new again through my life,

for you and for everyone, for liberation from every oppression.

Whenever you do this, Re-member me and all that I have taught you!

(pause)

Pat F: Loving Source of All, we have looked for others to save us and to save our world. Yet, we are called, and consecrated and sent into the world to establish justice and show the blessed fulfillment that comes with simplicity and the giving of ourselves in love. 

Bob: 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 about 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.

Lee and ALL: For it is through learning to live as he lived,

And why he lived,

And for whom he lived,

That we awaken to your Spirit within,

Moving us to worship you truly,

O Holy One,

At this time and all time and in all ways.

And we say yes to You!

The Abba Prayer

Jill and All: 

Gracious Spirit,
Who loves us like a mother,
Whose realm is blooming among us now.
And within.
We pray that your compassion guide us in every action.
Give us what we need for each day,
and help us to be satisfied with the miracle of that alone.
Forgiver, whose embrace brings us to wholeness without our asking,
May we reconcile ourselves to one another in humility.
And may we cancel the crushing debts that imprison our neighbors
So that communities of joy and health may flourish.
May we neither profit from nor ignore evil.
But ever work to thwart it with non-violence
As we co-create the realm of peace in this world.
Now and each day.
Amen. (Bret Hesla/wsj)

Sign of Peace:

Kathryn: Jesus said to his disciples, “My peace I leave You.  My peace I give You.”  Let us now extend a sign of peace to one another by saying, “Namaste, Namaste, Namaste”.

Pat F:  Please join in praying the Litany for the Breaking of the Bread:

Pat F and ALL: Holy One, You call us to speak truth to power; we will do so.

Holy One, You call us to live the Gospel of healing and justice; we will do so. 

Holy One, You call us to be Your presence in the world; we will do so.

This is the bread of life and the cup of blessing. Blessed are we who are called to Christ’s table.  

Bob and All:  What we have heard with our ears, we will live with our lives.  As we share communion, we become communion, both Love’s nourishment and Love’s challenge.                          

Please receive/share Eucharist now, saying: “You are the bread of life.” And “You are the cup of compassion.”

Communion Song: I Want Jesus to Walk With Me 

I Want Jesus to Walk 👣 With Me (Negro Spiritual)/Acapella by Shirley Cogen - YouTube

Introductions/Thanksgiving/Announcements

Community Prayer

Pat L: As the anointed people of Holy Mystery, we go forth with gratitude in our hearts, strong conviction of our faith in our minds, and a fierce determination to dream new dreams.  We do this with a consuming hunger for justice and nonviolence in ourselves, our homes, our country, and the world in which we live…with no exceptions.  With the grace of God, the fellowship of Jesus, the loving arms of Mary our Mother holding us, and the  strength of the Spirit, we believe we can do all this.  Let it be so.

Kathryn: Please raise your hands in blessing: And together with our arms extended to one another we say: 

May our lives radiate the love and the mothering of our Holy Mother, Mary, 

May we have the courage to speak truth to justice in our church and in our world.  

May we be humble enough to be like children in receiving the kin-dom of our Holy One.  

May we be a blessing in our time and the Face of God to all whom we meet. 

ALL:  Thanks be to all that is holy! Go in Peace to be love in the world!  Alleluia! 

Closing Song:  “The Assumption of Our Lady”

THE ASSUMPTION OF OUR LADY#a Beautiful Meditative Song#Lyrics by Nellita Goes - YouTube 

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.

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