https://www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org/worshiping-communities/
https://www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org/worshiping-communities/
Praying with Saint Phoebe, Deacon: Homily and Eucharistic Prayer
By Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
(Adapted From Praying with Women in the Bible by Bridget Mary Meehan)
Homily for the Feast of St. Phoebe
September 3
By Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
Scripture: Romans 16:1–2
“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, so that you may welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well.”
Honoring Phoebe’s Witness
Today we celebrate St. Phoebe, deacon of the church at Cenchreae, and we honor her as a trailblazer for women’s leadership in the earliest Christian communities. Paul himself commends her as diakonos—the very same word he uses for Timothy and Tychicus. He also calls her prostatis, meaning leader or patron. These words tell us something undeniable: Phoebe was not a helper on the margins. She was a leader, preacher, and benefactor whose authority was recognized in her community.
Scholars believe Phoebe carried Paul’s letter to the Romans, proclaiming and interpreting it to the house churches in Rome. Imagine this: the most theologically rich text of the New Testament was first proclaimed by a woman. As Carolyn D. Baker writes, “Paul wrote the doctrines. Phoebe explained them. No Phoebe, no Romans.”
From the Early Church to Today
Phoebe’s story is not simply an ancient memory. It is a living challenge to the Church today. She shows us that women were leaders, apostles, and missionaries from the very beginning. They preached the Word, presided over communities, and provided resources for the growth of the Gospel.
And just as Phoebe’s witness was later diminished by translations that called her “helper” or “deaconess,” so too has the authority of women been diminished throughout history. Yet the Spirit has never ceased to call and empower women for leadership in the Church.
Today, that Spirit is alive in the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests (ARCWP) and the wider RCWP movement. Like Phoebe, women priests and deacons today proclaim the Gospel with courage, preside at Eucharist around open tables, anoint the sick, marry the loving, baptize the newly born, and bury the beloved dead. In inclusive Catholic communities across the world, Phoebe’s voice is rising again through their ministries.
A Renewed Priestly Ministry
In grassroots house churches and sacred circles, we see a renewal of the earliest Christian model: small, Spirit-filled communities led by all genders together. These gatherings embody what Paul asked of the Romans—to “welcome Phoebe as is fitting for the saints.”
ARCWP priests and deacons, like Phoebe, are independent, confident, and generous. They use their gifts and resources to empower the marginalized, to care for the poor, and to proclaim the Good News that God’s love knows no boundaries of gender, sexuality, or status. Their very existence is a reminder that the Church is not complete until women are fully recognized as leaders in ordained ministry.
A Prophetic Invitation
Phoebe’s feast is not simply about honoring the past; it is about listening to the Spirit’s invitation for the present. The Gospel cannot be proclaimed fully while half of the Body of Christ is silenced. The world needs women deacons and priests who, like Phoebe, proclaim the Word with passion and preside at Eucharist with inclusive love.
The witness of Phoebe and the ARCWP movement together challenge the Church: Will we continue to diminish women’s voices, or will we welcome them as “fitting for the saints”?
Imagine
Let us pause for a few minutes before we share and imagine Phoebe alongside today’s women leaders, gathering in sacred circles, breaking bread, proclaiming the Gospel, and empowering others with Spirit-filled courage.
Shared Homily:
Discussion Starters: ( Some suggestions for sharing)
- 1. Phoebe was independent, confident, and generous. How do these same characteristics shine in the witness of women priests and deacons today?
- 2. In what ways is Phoebe a model for contemporary inclusive Catholic communities?
- 3. How do Phoebe and Paul illustrate partnership in the gospel? How is this echoed in coequal leadership today?
- 4. What impact do women who preach, teach, and preside at Eucharist have on the mission of Jesus Christ today?
Statement of Faith:
We believe in the Creator within all, moving through all and beyond all dancing with joy and love beyond imagination.
We believe that we are the beautiful images of the Holy One called to love tenderly and to serve all.
We give thanks for the gift of life and for all our companions especially St. Phoebe, deacon, preacher, leader, and our companion on the journey.
We give thanks for all the saints who have inspired us and who have in every age
proclaimed the Gospel with courage.
We believe that the Spirit who empowered Phoebe and our favorite saints, living and dead,
empower us to live our call to the fullest.
We believe that like Phoebe, and all holy people, we are called to bold leadership in a Church of equals, where we are partners in the Gospel, and where all are welcomed as is fitting for the saints.
Amen.
Prayers of/for the Community
Presider:
We pray for our Church,
that it may embrace the equality of all the baptized in ministry.
All:
Phoebe, pray with us.
Presider:
We pray for our communities,
that we may be generous in service and fearless in love.
All:
Phoebe, pray with us.
Presider:
We pray for all who hunger and thirst,
for all who long for justice,
and for all who yearn to know God’s love.
(spontaneous prayers of community)
All:
Phoebe, pray with us.
Eucharistic Prayer for the Feast of St. Phoebe
Presider:
The Holy One is with you.
All:
And also with you.
Presider:
Lift up your hearts.
All:
We lift them up to the Holy One.
Presider:
Let us give thanks to the God of love.
All:
It is right to give God thanks and praise.
Preface: Remembering Phoebe
Holy One, Source of Life,
from the beginning your Spirit has moved among the people of God,
calling them to lead, to proclaim, to serve, and to love.
On this day we remember St. Phoebe,
deacon of the church at Cenchreae,
benefactor of many, preacher of the Word,
and trusted partner of Paul.
She carried the Good News of the Letter to the Romans
and proclaimed it with authority.
She was patron and leader,
independent, confident, and generous.
Through Phoebe, the Church was nourished and strengthened.
Today, we give thanks for the women of our own time
who, like Phoebe, answer the Spirit’s call
to preach, to preside, to baptize, to anoint,
to marry and to bury,
to proclaim God’s boundless love at open tables of welcome.
Together with Phoebe and with all who have gone before us,
we join the unending hymn of praise:
All:
Holy, holy, holy One,
God of love and life,
All of creation is filled with Your glory.
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed are all who come in Your name.
Hosanna in the highest!
Epiclesis
We praise you, O God, for the life of Jesus,
who broke bread with the excluded,
lifted up the outcast,
and entrusted women and men alike
to proclaim the Good News.
Send your Spirit upon these gifts of bread and wine,
that they may become for us
the Body and Blood of Christ,
nourishing us in courage, compassion, and justice.
Send your Spirit also upon us,
that we may become the living Body of Christ,
the hands, hearts, and voices of inclusive love in our world.
On the night before he died,
Jesus gathered with his friends around a table of blessing.
He took bread, gave thanks, broke it,
and shared it with them, saying:
All:
Take and eat: This is my body, given for you.
Do this in memory of me.
When supper was ended,
he lifted the cup of blessing,
gave thanks, and shared it with them, saying:
All:
Take and drink: This is the cup of my covenant,
poured out for you and for all,
Do this in memory of me.
Memorial Acclamation
All:
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ lives in us and through us in the world today.
Anamnesis
In memory of Phoebe and all who have gone before us in faith,
we celebrate this Eucharist.
We remember the women and men
who through the ages have kept the flame of justice alive.
We remember especially the women priests and deacons today
who, like Phoebe, proclaim the Word
and preside at open tables of welcome.
Doxology
Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honor is Yours, O God,
forever and ever.
All:
Amen!
The Prayer of Jesus
All:
Our Father and Mother,
who are in heaven and in every heart,
holy is your name.
Your kin-dom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kin-dom,
the power, and the glory,
now and forever. Amen.
Breaking of the Bread
All:
We are the Body of Christ,
broken and shared for the life of the world.
Communion
(Bread and cup are shared with all, with words such as:)
“The Body of Christ, Phoebe’s legacy alive in you.”
“The Cup of Love, poured out for all creation.”
Prayer After Communion
Holy One,
we have shared the bread of life and the cup of blessing.
Like Phoebe, we are sent forth
to proclaim the Good News with courage,
to lead with justice,
to serve with compassion,
and to live as partners in the Gospel.
Closing Blessing
Presider:
As Phoebe carried the Word to Rome,
may you carry the Word into your community.
All:
We go forth as bearers of the Good News.
Presider:
As Phoebe proclaimed Paul’s letter,
may you proclaim God’s justice and compassion.
All:
We go forth as prophets of equality and peace.
Presider:
As Phoebe led with courage and generosity,
may you lead with confidence in the Spirit’s power.
All:
We go forth as partners in the Gospel.
Presider:
May the God of Life bless you,
the Christ of Love, walk with you,
and the Spirit of Phoebe’s courage
burn bright within you—
today and always.
All:
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment