Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81534075389?pwd=TTdGY2NxS3AzTW13ODJESkdYME9aUT09
Meeting ID: 815 3407 5389
Passcode: 803326
Theme: Be Transformed- Water From Another’s Well
(Joan): We warmly welcome you to the inclusive Catholic Community of Mary Mother of Jesus in Sarasota. All are welcome here. We invite you to pray the liturgy where it says “All.” And please sing your heart out! Everyone will be muted during the service. Presiders, readers and anyone wishing to participate in the shared homily, please remember to unmute and remute before and after reading or speaking in order to avoid confusion and overlap of voices. Please have bread and wine or juice with you 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)
(Elena) We begin our joy filled celebration together in the name of the Holy One, Source of all Being; Jesus, Eternal Word; and Holy Spirit Sophia, our Wisdom within. Amen.
Gathering Song: Water is Life
https://youtu.be/KSRKTuImEW0
Opening Prayer
(Elena): Holy One, you revealed your presence to Moses as the One Who Causes All to Be. You sent him to the Israelites with the message that You are the God of the Ancestors: Sarah and Abraham, Rebecca and Isaac, Leah and Rachel and Jacob. Today you reveal your divinity in each of us as we are transformed into sparks of love bearing fruit that will last.
Transformation Rite (Joan): We pause now to remember the times we have not born fruit in our lives and our service to others. Take a moment to recall one missed opportunity, one broken or damaged relationship. Now imagine this person or situation in the light of healing love as we ask for forgiveness.
(Pause briefly. Then Extend arm over community)
All: Please forgive me, I am sorry, I love you, I thank you.
The Sign of Peace
(Elena) It is fitting that, having asked for Divine and mutual forgiveness, we now extend an expression of Peace to each other.
(Elena): Grant us Your peace, O Loving God, that following the example of Jesus and with the strength of the Spirit, we may be eager to spread that love and peace to everyone, everywhere, with no exceptions. All: Amen.
(Elena) Let us turn to each other and with praying hands offer one another a sign of peace. NAMASTE 3x
All: Eternal wellspring of peace-
May we be drenched with the longing for peace
That we may give ourselves over
As the earth to the rain, to the dew,
Until peace overflows our lives
As living waters overflow the seas. (Marcia Falk)
Liturgy Of The Word (Jack M) First Reading: Exodus: 17: 3-7 In those days the people were thirsty for water out in the wilderness. They complained to Moses “Why did you take us from Egypt and drag us out here with our children and animals to die of thirst?” Moses cried out in prayer to God. “What can I do with these people? Any minute now they’ll kill me!” God said to Moses, “Go on out ahead of the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel. Take the staff you used to strike the Nile. And go. I’m going to be present before you there on the rock at Horeb. You are to strike the rock. Water will gush out of it and the people will drink.” Moses did what he said with the elders of Israel right there watching. He named the place Massah(Testing-Place) and Meribah(Quarreling) because of the quarreling of the Israelites and because of their testing of God, when they said, “Is God here with us, or not?” These are the inspired words of Moses, leader and liberator of our ancestors, the Israelites, and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
(Jack M) Responsorial Psalm: 95 (Adapted from Nan Merrill)
Response: I will not leave you comfortless, I will not leave you alone. I am the air you breathe in. I’m the light in every star and every dawn.
~The Beloved is infinite, the Breathing Life of all. The depths of the earth belong to Love; the height of the mountains as well. The sea and all that is in it, the dry land and air above were created by Love.
Res: I will not…….. ~The Beloved is Supreme, and we are blessed to be invited to friendship as companions along the way. O that today we would harken to the Beloved’s voice! Harden not your hearts as in the days of old, that you be not separated from Love.
Res: I will not………. ~For life is but a breath in the Eternal Dance, a gift to be reverenced with trust, an opportunity to grow in spirit and truth, that in passing into new Life, you enter into the new Jerusalem.
Res: I will not……..
Second Reading: A Reading from “Preaching the New Lectionary” (Mary M)
Second Reading: A Reading from “Preaching the New Lectionary” (Mary M)
One would think that a God as magnificent and powerful as ours would not need intermediaries. Or if they were used, they would be of greater value than bushes in a mountainous wilderness or hired hands in orchards. Yet that is just the way God seems to work. God uses whatever or whoever is at hand. This is true whether it is an element of the natural world that is normally indifferent toward human beings or an uncomplicated person whose only concern is to do her or his job well, or an individual who has been thrust by circumstances into the limelight. In every life there are those who speak for or act in the place of God. Lent is a time given us to discern who these people or things are. Who communicates God to us? Who intercedes for us before the Holy One? On the other hands, in whose life do we act as emissary? How do we reveal to others the message of God we have received? How do we intercede on behalf of them? The challenge here is to listen to the messengers who bring us the name of God, even if it is not clearly defined.
These are the inspired words of Dianne Bergant, professor of biblical studies at Catholic Theological Union, and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Gospel Acclamation: Spirit of the Living God:
https://youtu.be/nkATdLfKufE
Gospel: John 4:5-42 This gospel event will be read by (Mary M.) as Narrator; (Jim B.) as Jesus and (Maryal G.) as the Woman at the well.
~NARRATOR: On his way back to Galilee, Jesus had to pass through Samaria. He came into a Samaritan village that bordered the field Jacob had given his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was still there. Jesus, worn out by the trip, sat down. It was noon. A woman, a Samaritan came to draw water. Jesus said, ~JESUS “Would you give me a drink of water?” ~NARRATOR: (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch) The Samaritan woman, taken aback asked, ~WOMAN: “How come you a Jew are asking me a Samaritan woman for a drink.?” ~NARRATOR: (Jews in those days wouldn’t be caught dead talking to Samaritans) Jesus answered, ~JESUS “If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh living water.” ~ ~WOMAN: “ Sir, you don’t even have a bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this ‘living water’? Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to us? ~JESUS: “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst ---not ever. The water I give will be an artisan spring within, gushing fountains of endless life.” ~WOMAN: “ Sir, give me this water so I won’t ever get thirsty, won’t ever have to come back to this well again!” ~JESUS: “Go call your husband and then come back.” ~ WOMAN “I have no husband,” ~ JESUS: That’s nicely put: ‘I have no husband.’ You’ve had five husbands and the man you’re living with now isn’t even your husband. You spoke the truth there, sure enough.” ~WOMAN: Oh, so you’re a prophet ! Well tell me this: Our ancestors worshiped God on this mountain, but you Jews insists that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right?” ~ JESUS: Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. You worship, guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God’s way of salvation is made available through the Jews. But the time is coming-it has, in fact, come-when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter. It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people our God is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship God must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration. ~WOMAN: “I don’t know about that. I do know that the Messiah is coming. When he arrives, we’ll get the whole story.” ~JESUS: “I am he,” “You don’t have to wait any longer or look any further.” ~NARRATOR: Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked. They couldn’t believe he was talking with that kind of woman. No one said what they were all thinking but their faces showed it. The woman took the hint and left. In her confusion she left her water pot. Back in the village she told the people, ~WOMAN: “Come see a man who knew all about the things I did, who knows me inside out. Do you think this could be the Messiah?” ~ NARRATOR: And they went out to see for themselves. Many of the Samaritans from that village committed themselves to him because of that woman’s witness: “He knew all about the things I did. He knows me inside and out!” They asked him to stay on, so Jesus stayed two days. A lot more people entrusted their lives to him when they heard what he had to say. They said to the woman, “We’re no longer taking this on your say-so. We’ve heard it for ourselves and know it for sure. He’s the Savior of the world!”
These are the inspired words of John and we affirm them by saying: Amen
Spirit of the Living God:
https://youtu.be/nkATdLfKufE
Homily: Elena Garcia ARCWP
Statement of Faith (Taken from “The Friends in Faith” and shared by Joan Meehan) (Mary M and All): Gathered together as people of faith, we profess our belief in a God who is larger than we can name, unable to be contained, yet present in each one of us. We have come to know this God in the living of our lives, and in the holiness of the earth we share. We believe in a God revealed in all peoples—all genders, religions, and orientations. We embrace a compassionate God, who champions justice and mercy, and is always faithful when we call. Our God gives and forgives, patiently loving without conditions. We gratefully believe in a God who feels our deepest struggles, and celebrates our greatest joys. A God who both dances with us in celebration, and holds us when we cry. This God is not “other” to us, but shares our breath in every moment, and promises we are never alone. We believe in a God who believes in us- believes that we are precious and incredible gifts, worthy to claim image and likeness to the divine. We hold fast to our God who journeys with us, who continually calls us to choose the shape of our days through the choices we make. This God accepts us as we are, and shares each hope we have for our becoming. This is the God in whom we believe, our Creator, our Mother and Father who became human in Jesus, our brother. Our God is the Spirit of Life, the voice that continues to speak love, and asks us to answer. In this God we choose to believe. AMEN
Prayers of The Community (Jim B): As we prepare for the sacred meal, we bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns.
Our response is: Holy One, You hear us. ~Jesus, prayer and fasting, You teach us to rid our lives of all that blinds us to your Holy Spirit. Holy One, You hear us . ~By your faithfulness to the word of God, help us to keep your gospel alive and meaningful in our culture. Holy One, You hear us. ~You revealed yourself to the woman at the well and she became your disciple announcing your truth to others. Let the voices of women be heard in your church, that your message to them may be given to the world. Holy One, You hear us. ~Moses was called to lead his people to water in the desert, lead those who thirst for truth to the words of the gospel. Holy One, You hear us. We pray for the devastated families suffering from all the natural disasters in our world. Holy One, You hear us. We pray for the people of Ukraine and Russia that they may live in peace without fear and that justice will prevail for all. Holy One, You hear us. We pray that world leaders will put the flourishing of all people before power and greed. Holy One, You hear us. Who or What else shall we lift up in prayer? R: Holy One, You hear us. We pray for our MMOJ intentions on our community prayer list. (Joan shares) R: Holy One, You hear us. (Jim B): We pray for these and all unspoken concerns we hold in the silence of our hearts. Amen.
Offertory Procession This River of Life by Annie Garretson
https://youtu.be/3sgGJQ-jfWM
(lift up the bread and wine) (Joan): 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 may we become your new creation as we respond to your call to use our gifts in loving service to our sisters and brothers. All: Blessed be God forever.
Liturgy Of The Eucharist (Joan): God is within you, blessing the world through you. All: And also within you. (Joan): Lift up your hearts. All: We lift them up in the Holy One.
(Joan): O Holy One, the first passion of Jesus was his passion for you and his passion for justice, namely, to incarnate your justice by demanding for all, a fair share of a world belonging to and ruled by your covenant with Israel. In solidarity with the unnamed woman who anointed Jesus, the first to recognize the cost of his fidelity to you, and with all believers who have gone before us, we lift up our hearts and sing:
Holy Holy Holy
https://youtu.be/orKBBIj5LZA
(by Karen Drucker)
Epiclesis (Invocation of the Holy Spirit ; Lay hands over the bread and wine) (Elena and All) We are indeed a holy people. We recognize the Spirit of Light, ever present, ever in our midst, ever part of our very selves. We call forth blessings on this bread and wine as we remember who Jesus was and all that he did to challenge the powers of oppression in his time. On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for the Seder supper with the people closest to him. Like the least of household servants, he washed their feet, so that they would re-member him.
(Joan and All) 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 of the Bread of Life given to strengthen you. Whenever you remember me like this I am among you.” (pause) Jesus then raised a cup of blessing and spoke the grace saying: “Take and drink of the covenant made new again through my life in you. Whenever you remember me like this, I am among you.” (pause)
(Elena): In sharing this bread and cup, let us embrace the Gospel of justice and peace as we proclaim this mystery of our faith: In every person and creature that has ever breathed, All: Christ has lived. In every living being that has passed on before us, All: Christ has died. In the sharing of the Bread we are transformed, All: Christ is still with us.
(Jim B): Holy One, we celebrate the life of your son and our brother, Jesus. He lived his life and walked forward to his death knowing that you were leading him. We walk forward in his pathway and follow his teaching. We pray for compassion for all human beings, to feel empathy and love for everyone, especially the poor, oppressed, and mournful. We remember all those who suffer and die each year from war, poverty and unjust disease. We mourn for them, and for all creatures we destroy, and for the earth itself. We pray to be gentle, nonviolent, courageous and humble, like your saints. We pray to grow in awareness of our unity with all of creation and co-create with You, our earth as a sanctuary of peace.
(Maryal G) We pray for a pure heart, inner peace and holiness so that everything that comes from within us might be loving and holy. Opening ourselves up to your Spirit, may we see You everywhere, and may our hearts be receptive to drinking water from another’s well in the spirit of the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. We are called to do everything Jesus did, to be the living presence of a love that does justice, of a compassion that heals and liberates, of a joy that generates laughter, of a light that illumines right choices and confronts the darkness of every injustice and inequity. O Holy One, we pray to be filled with your Spirit, the Spirit that filled Jesus. It is through his life and teaching, his loving and healing that all honor and glory is yours forever and ever.
Great Amen: Linda Lee Miller
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy76fpfkNsg
(Jim B): Let us pray together as Jesus taught us: Our Father and Mother who are in heaven, whose presence is with us always, and whose spirit dwells within. Hallowed be your name. May your kingdom come, and may your will be done, in our lives, and on earth, just as it is in heaven. Thank you for giving us this day, all that we need for sustenance, nourishment and growth. Forgive us, forgive us when we turn away from your love, when we trespass against you and those you put in our lives. Help us to forgive those who turn away from love and who trespass against us. Keep us from yielding to temptation. Direct us away from anything or anyone that would distract us from your will, your highest good for our lives. Deliver us and protect us from all that is evil. For all glory and power is yours Almighty God just as it was in the beginning, it is now and always shall be, world without end. Amen
Please join in praying the Litany for the Breaking of the Bread:
(Mary M. and All)
O God of Courage, You call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice. We will live justly.
O God of Compassion, You call us to be Your presence in the world. We will love tenderly.
O God of Truth, You call us to speak truth to power. We will walk with integrity in your presence.
(Joan): This is the bread of life and the cup of blessing. Through it we are nourished and we nourish each other. All are welcome to the Feast.
(Elena): Holy One, prepare us to be your sanctuary, pure and Holy, tried and true. With thanksgiving, we’ll be a living, sanctuary, for you. What we have heard with our ears, we will live with our lives. As we share communion, we will become communion, both Love’s nourishment and Love’s challenge.
(Elena) Please receive/share Eucharist now, saying: “You are the bread of life.” And “You are the cup of compassion.”
I am the One Within You
https://youtu.be/2xpa1U_Pa-E (Karen Drucker)
Prayers of Gratitude, Introductions and Announcements
BLESSING
(Joan and All): Let us raise our hands and together bless each other. May vision and truth companion you. May beauty be in your eyes. May peace fill your being. May Love hold you close. May the Earth give you guidance. May the Stars give you hope. May the Blessings of life fill you!
(Elena): Commissioning ~Let us go with Hope ready to share our belief that we have the ability to heal our broken earth.
~Let us go in Peace, believing that the divisions and brokenness of our world will be healed by our hands. ~Let us go, with Hearts open to on-going transformation, willing to share waters from the Spirit living within us and willing to drink from another’s water. And Let us go into this week, held together by love, clothed with the nature of Jesus our Companion and strengthened by Sacred Spirit Divine.
The River of Life
https://youtu.be/ceVLJ2Xm1UM
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW PO BOX:
Please send donations to:
Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community
5342 Clark Road #3079
Sarasota, FL 34233
Please send intention for our community prayer book to Joan Meehan.
Jmeehan515@aol.com
www.marymotherofjesus.net
These are the inspired words of Dianne Bergant, professor of biblical studies at Catholic Theological Union, and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Gospel Acclamation: Spirit of the Living God:
https://youtu.be/nkATdLfKufE
Gospel: John 4:5-42 This gospel event will be read by (Mary M.) as Narrator; (Jim B.) as Jesus and (Maryal G.) as the Woman at the well.
~NARRATOR: On his way back to Galilee, Jesus had to pass through Samaria. He came into a Samaritan village that bordered the field Jacob had given his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was still there. Jesus, worn out by the trip, sat down. It was noon. A woman, a Samaritan came to draw water. Jesus said, ~JESUS “Would you give me a drink of water?” ~NARRATOR: (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch) The Samaritan woman, taken aback asked, ~WOMAN: “How come you a Jew are asking me a Samaritan woman for a drink.?” ~NARRATOR: (Jews in those days wouldn’t be caught dead talking to Samaritans) Jesus answered, ~JESUS “If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh living water.” ~ ~WOMAN: “ Sir, you don’t even have a bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this ‘living water’? Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to us? ~JESUS: “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst ---not ever. The water I give will be an artisan spring within, gushing fountains of endless life.” ~WOMAN: “ Sir, give me this water so I won’t ever get thirsty, won’t ever have to come back to this well again!” ~JESUS: “Go call your husband and then come back.” ~ WOMAN “I have no husband,” ~ JESUS: That’s nicely put: ‘I have no husband.’ You’ve had five husbands and the man you’re living with now isn’t even your husband. You spoke the truth there, sure enough.” ~WOMAN: Oh, so you’re a prophet ! Well tell me this: Our ancestors worshiped God on this mountain, but you Jews insists that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right?” ~ JESUS: Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. You worship, guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God’s way of salvation is made available through the Jews. But the time is coming-it has, in fact, come-when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter. It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people our God is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship God must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration. ~WOMAN: “I don’t know about that. I do know that the Messiah is coming. When he arrives, we’ll get the whole story.” ~JESUS: “I am he,” “You don’t have to wait any longer or look any further.” ~NARRATOR: Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked. They couldn’t believe he was talking with that kind of woman. No one said what they were all thinking but their faces showed it. The woman took the hint and left. In her confusion she left her water pot. Back in the village she told the people, ~WOMAN: “Come see a man who knew all about the things I did, who knows me inside out. Do you think this could be the Messiah?” ~ NARRATOR: And they went out to see for themselves. Many of the Samaritans from that village committed themselves to him because of that woman’s witness: “He knew all about the things I did. He knows me inside and out!” They asked him to stay on, so Jesus stayed two days. A lot more people entrusted their lives to him when they heard what he had to say. They said to the woman, “We’re no longer taking this on your say-so. We’ve heard it for ourselves and know it for sure. He’s the Savior of the world!”
These are the inspired words of John and we affirm them by saying: Amen
Spirit of the Living God:
https://youtu.be/nkATdLfKufE
Homily: Elena Garcia ARCWP
Statement of Faith (Taken from “The Friends in Faith” and shared by Joan Meehan) (Mary M and All): Gathered together as people of faith, we profess our belief in a God who is larger than we can name, unable to be contained, yet present in each one of us. We have come to know this God in the living of our lives, and in the holiness of the earth we share. We believe in a God revealed in all peoples—all genders, religions, and orientations. We embrace a compassionate God, who champions justice and mercy, and is always faithful when we call. Our God gives and forgives, patiently loving without conditions. We gratefully believe in a God who feels our deepest struggles, and celebrates our greatest joys. A God who both dances with us in celebration, and holds us when we cry. This God is not “other” to us, but shares our breath in every moment, and promises we are never alone. We believe in a God who believes in us- believes that we are precious and incredible gifts, worthy to claim image and likeness to the divine. We hold fast to our God who journeys with us, who continually calls us to choose the shape of our days through the choices we make. This God accepts us as we are, and shares each hope we have for our becoming. This is the God in whom we believe, our Creator, our Mother and Father who became human in Jesus, our brother. Our God is the Spirit of Life, the voice that continues to speak love, and asks us to answer. In this God we choose to believe. AMEN
Prayers of The Community (Jim B): As we prepare for the sacred meal, we bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns.
Our response is: Holy One, You hear us. ~Jesus, prayer and fasting, You teach us to rid our lives of all that blinds us to your Holy Spirit. Holy One, You hear us . ~By your faithfulness to the word of God, help us to keep your gospel alive and meaningful in our culture. Holy One, You hear us. ~You revealed yourself to the woman at the well and she became your disciple announcing your truth to others. Let the voices of women be heard in your church, that your message to them may be given to the world. Holy One, You hear us. ~Moses was called to lead his people to water in the desert, lead those who thirst for truth to the words of the gospel. Holy One, You hear us. We pray for the devastated families suffering from all the natural disasters in our world. Holy One, You hear us. We pray for the people of Ukraine and Russia that they may live in peace without fear and that justice will prevail for all. Holy One, You hear us. We pray that world leaders will put the flourishing of all people before power and greed. Holy One, You hear us. Who or What else shall we lift up in prayer? R: Holy One, You hear us. We pray for our MMOJ intentions on our community prayer list. (Joan shares) R: Holy One, You hear us. (Jim B): We pray for these and all unspoken concerns we hold in the silence of our hearts. Amen.
Offertory Procession This River of Life by Annie Garretson
https://youtu.be/3sgGJQ-jfWM
(lift up the bread and wine) (Joan): 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 may we become your new creation as we respond to your call to use our gifts in loving service to our sisters and brothers. All: Blessed be God forever.
Liturgy Of The Eucharist (Joan): God is within you, blessing the world through you. All: And also within you. (Joan): Lift up your hearts. All: We lift them up in the Holy One.
(Joan): O Holy One, the first passion of Jesus was his passion for you and his passion for justice, namely, to incarnate your justice by demanding for all, a fair share of a world belonging to and ruled by your covenant with Israel. In solidarity with the unnamed woman who anointed Jesus, the first to recognize the cost of his fidelity to you, and with all believers who have gone before us, we lift up our hearts and sing:
Holy Holy Holy
https://youtu.be/orKBBIj5LZA
(by Karen Drucker)
Epiclesis (Invocation of the Holy Spirit ; Lay hands over the bread and wine) (Elena and All) We are indeed a holy people. We recognize the Spirit of Light, ever present, ever in our midst, ever part of our very selves. We call forth blessings on this bread and wine as we remember who Jesus was and all that he did to challenge the powers of oppression in his time. On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for the Seder supper with the people closest to him. Like the least of household servants, he washed their feet, so that they would re-member him.
(Joan and All) 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 of the Bread of Life given to strengthen you. Whenever you remember me like this I am among you.” (pause) Jesus then raised a cup of blessing and spoke the grace saying: “Take and drink of the covenant made new again through my life in you. Whenever you remember me like this, I am among you.” (pause)
(Elena): In sharing this bread and cup, let us embrace the Gospel of justice and peace as we proclaim this mystery of our faith: In every person and creature that has ever breathed, All: Christ has lived. In every living being that has passed on before us, All: Christ has died. In the sharing of the Bread we are transformed, All: Christ is still with us.
(Jim B): Holy One, we celebrate the life of your son and our brother, Jesus. He lived his life and walked forward to his death knowing that you were leading him. We walk forward in his pathway and follow his teaching. We pray for compassion for all human beings, to feel empathy and love for everyone, especially the poor, oppressed, and mournful. We remember all those who suffer and die each year from war, poverty and unjust disease. We mourn for them, and for all creatures we destroy, and for the earth itself. We pray to be gentle, nonviolent, courageous and humble, like your saints. We pray to grow in awareness of our unity with all of creation and co-create with You, our earth as a sanctuary of peace.
(Maryal G) We pray for a pure heart, inner peace and holiness so that everything that comes from within us might be loving and holy. Opening ourselves up to your Spirit, may we see You everywhere, and may our hearts be receptive to drinking water from another’s well in the spirit of the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. We are called to do everything Jesus did, to be the living presence of a love that does justice, of a compassion that heals and liberates, of a joy that generates laughter, of a light that illumines right choices and confronts the darkness of every injustice and inequity. O Holy One, we pray to be filled with your Spirit, the Spirit that filled Jesus. It is through his life and teaching, his loving and healing that all honor and glory is yours forever and ever.
Great Amen: Linda Lee Miller
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy76fpfkNsg
(Jim B): Let us pray together as Jesus taught us: Our Father and Mother who are in heaven, whose presence is with us always, and whose spirit dwells within. Hallowed be your name. May your kingdom come, and may your will be done, in our lives, and on earth, just as it is in heaven. Thank you for giving us this day, all that we need for sustenance, nourishment and growth. Forgive us, forgive us when we turn away from your love, when we trespass against you and those you put in our lives. Help us to forgive those who turn away from love and who trespass against us. Keep us from yielding to temptation. Direct us away from anything or anyone that would distract us from your will, your highest good for our lives. Deliver us and protect us from all that is evil. For all glory and power is yours Almighty God just as it was in the beginning, it is now and always shall be, world without end. Amen
Please join in praying the Litany for the Breaking of the Bread:
(Mary M. and All)
O God of Courage, You call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice. We will live justly.
O God of Compassion, You call us to be Your presence in the world. We will love tenderly.
O God of Truth, You call us to speak truth to power. We will walk with integrity in your presence.
(Joan): This is the bread of life and the cup of blessing. Through it we are nourished and we nourish each other. All are welcome to the Feast.
(Elena): Holy One, prepare us to be your sanctuary, pure and Holy, tried and true. With thanksgiving, we’ll be a living, sanctuary, for you. What we have heard with our ears, we will live with our lives. As we share communion, we will become communion, both Love’s nourishment and Love’s challenge.
(Elena) Please receive/share Eucharist now, saying: “You are the bread of life.” And “You are the cup of compassion.”
I am the One Within You
https://youtu.be/2xpa1U_Pa-E (Karen Drucker)
Prayers of Gratitude, Introductions and Announcements
BLESSING
(Joan and All): Let us raise our hands and together bless each other. May vision and truth companion you. May beauty be in your eyes. May peace fill your being. May Love hold you close. May the Earth give you guidance. May the Stars give you hope. May the Blessings of life fill you!
(Elena): Commissioning ~Let us go with Hope ready to share our belief that we have the ability to heal our broken earth.
~Let us go in Peace, believing that the divisions and brokenness of our world will be healed by our hands. ~Let us go, with Hearts open to on-going transformation, willing to share waters from the Spirit living within us and willing to drink from another’s water. And Let us go into this week, held together by love, clothed with the nature of Jesus our Companion and strengthened by Sacred Spirit Divine.
The River of Life
https://youtu.be/ceVLJ2Xm1UM
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW PO BOX:
Please send donations to:
Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community
5342 Clark Road #3079
Sarasota, FL 34233
Please send intention for our community prayer book to Joan Meehan.
Jmeehan515@aol.com
www.marymotherofjesus.net
