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Monday, July 28, 2025

What Hans Would Say to Leo


Miriam Duignan

On the morning of the start of the Conclave in Rome, pink smoke billowed above one of the hills in Rome accompanied by song and prayer. Global advocates including Miriam Duignan, Executive Director of Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research, called for the cardinals gathering together to heed the voices, vocations, and longing of women of the Catholic Church who are denied ordination, leadership and  decision-making roles .
An American Peruvian Cardinal, Archbishop of Chiclayo Robert Prevost was elected and chose to became Pope Leo XIV. Francis’ Legacy continues. In one of his early pronouncements to his fellow cardinals, he promises to be a bridge of peace, guided by the Holy Spirit, opening hearts through dialogue and healing the wounds of a divided world.
Interestingly enough when the then Robert Prevost was studying for his Masters of Divinity at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, he chose Sister Lyn Osiek RSCJ as his spiritual director. Osiek is a leading authority on the role of women in the early church, she is co-author of two books on the subject: A Woman’s Place: House Churches in Earliest Christianity and Ordained Women in the Early Church: A Documentary History.  Pope Leo should be comfortable with working with women in ministry though he has expressed scepticism about ordaining women as Catholic clergy, repeating a line Francis often used about the risk of “clericalizing women”. One of the CTU’s slogans is ‘bold and faithful’ and their comment on one of their alumni being elected pope was that ‘Pope Leo would have been grounded in faithfulness to the Catholic tradition but bold in bridging the Catholic tradition into the future.’
It is this future that Dr John Wijngaards, known to his friends as Hans, was most concerned about. He fought for equality and justice in the Catholic Church, creating websites full of well researched information and shortly before his death in January 2025, his last book and testament ‘Why Christ Rejects all Church Prejudice Against Women’ was published. To order https://www.equalityforwomen.org/how-to-order/.


In an online session organised by Root and Branch group and hosted by Miriam, Dr Luca Badini Confalonieri (Director of Research, Wijngaards Institute) and Dr Kocurani Abraham, a theologian working in India, called ‘What would Hans say to Leo’, Miriam’s opening comment was that Hans would have said in his forthright Dutch way ‘For God’s sake do it now!’ She envisaged 7 discussions points that Hans would have wanted to stress

  1. He would have heartily agreed with Pope Leo when he said ‘An indispensable commitment for all those in the Church who exercise a ministry of authority is to move aside so that Christ may remain, to make oneself small so that He may be known and glorified, to spend oneself to the ultimate so that all may have the opportunity to know and love Him’. Hans was very adamant that the focus should be switched away from clericalism and focused on Jesus and what he taught. 
  2. Hans would have emphasised that both men and women have an equal capacity for exercising authority in the church, so that women’s equality must include their sacramental authority. 
  3. Hans was a fellow missionary and he was keen that the focus should be on a global church. The role that women play in keeping the Church flourishing should be recognized, as should the impact that denying women their priestly ministry makes on a local level. 
  4. Hans would urge the Church to tell the truth about the leadership role of women in tradition and the teaching of Jesus 
  5. Canon Law 10.24 (Only a baptised man can validly receive sacred ordination) hides the long history of women’s ministry in the Church and is a mediaeval and unjust law and should be scrapped. 
  6. Misogyny could be described as an illness and Professor Thomas O’ Loughlin describes Hans’ book as being a course of therapy for the dysfunctional church. 
  7. Finally, Hans would challenge Leo to be brave and be bold as he was throughout his ministry. 

Kochurani contributed an article for Hans’ last book to reflected on the pain and frustration that Hans felt about the injustices in the Church and described Hans as a prophet. Hans wrote in the forward to the section of the book that the church is far from getting rid of ancient prejudices. Undoubtedly Pope Leo comes across to the world a man committed to peace and social justice. Kochurani said she thinks Hans would remind Leo that true peace is founded on justice, justice that cannot be complete if women remain on the periphery only. Further she commented on Leo’s acknowledged intention to continue Francis’ commitment to a synodal church, but this cannot be a reality if the ecclesiastical clerical nature of the current church remains.
Luca in his contribution said ‘In order to survive as a force for good in the world, the Roman Catholic Church needs to update herself. Human rights – which official Catholic teaching encourage states to respect – should be fully incorporated in Canon Law. “Synodality”, co-responsibility, and democratic accountability should be implemented at all levels of church decision-making. Women should be restored to full equality, including access to ordained ministry. Sexual ethics must be stripped of ancient misunderstandings.’ Hans would challenge Leo to be brave and bold.
The full recording of the evening is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIDq7KgLxRY


We hope and pray that Pope Leo remains open and listens to the people in the pews.
 

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“We Should Learn Something New Every Day” Luke 11:1-13 July 27, 2025 Rev. Annie Watson, Holy Family Catholic Church



 

I was a public school special education teacher in Kentucky for many years, so nothing makes me happier than people who want to learn. Someone once said, “We should learn something new every day.” That’s not just an empty slogan. Learning something new every day is good for our minds, well-being, and quality of life. 

Jesus’ disciples wanted to learn something newOne day, after watching Jesus pray, one of them said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” Apparently, John was a teacher as well as a baptizer

Jesus loved teaching opportunities, so he taught them a verybrief prayer, one they could remember. This prayer is what Catholics call the “Our Father.” The version we read a moment ago from the Gospel of Luke is shorter and worded a little differently than what we recite during Mass, which is based on Matthew 6. But each version says pretty much the same thing.

So, let’s take a closer look at this prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. Afterwards, I hope we will all be able to say, “I learned something new today.” If not, there’s always tomorrow J.

Here’s what Jesus taught them (and us):

1. Jesus says, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name.”

Prayer is first and foremost an act of reverence for GodThis is important because it lays a foundation for the proper relationship between the one who prays and the One we pray to. It is an act of humility and reverence for God, which is always a good place to start. Prayer is a conversation with our Creator, so to get off on the right foot, we need to honor God.

2. Jesus prays, “Your kingdom come.”

This means that prayer is an act of welcoming the realm of God into our space and into our souls. This opens us to the presence of God in our lives, and increases an expectation that God will act on our behalf. It is a way of expressing the hope that the kingdom of God in heaven will now come near to us in the kingdom of God on earth

3. Jesus prays, “Give us each day our daily bread.”

Here, Jesus teaches us that there is room in our prayers for an expression of hope for our basic needs, such as our daily bread or sustenance. Notice that Jesus is not teaching us to pray thatGod will solve all our trivial problems, such as finding a parking space in front of Walmart. 

Instead, he is teaching us to pray for real problems, such as hunger. To put this in its proper context, Jesus is teaching poor people how to pray, because most of the people he ministered to were poor and hungry. So, as we pray, let us always remember those who are hungry and thirsty and hurting and suffering. 

4. Jesus prays, “And forgive us our sins.” 

Prayer should also include an expression of sincere guilt and our need for forgivenessThis moves us past our basic physical needs to our basic spiritual needs. It get to the heart of our deepest problem, which is our reluctance to recognize sin in our lives. We need to confront our sin so that we can free ourselves from the guilt that often overwhelms us. 

5. Jesus prays, “For we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us.”

Just as we should pray to be forgiven, we should also pray that God will give us strength to forgive othersThis is super-important because it moves our prayers from focusing on ourselves to focusing on others. Forgiving other people turns a potentially selfish prayer life into an unselfish prayer life.

6. Jesus concludes his lesson by praying that God does not “subject us to the final test.”

Prayer is a way to express our hopes about the future, even if we have to pass a “final test.” We’re not exactly sure what this testis, but as a retired teacher, that doesn’t sound like a fun test to me. Whatever the future holds for us, either in this life or the next, we pray that it doesn’t involve a difficult test, but if it does, we pray that Jesus has our back.

I hope we learned something new about prayer today. If not, there’s always tomorrow J. Amen.

Saturday, July 26, 2025

Highlights of first Ordination of Roman Catholic Women on St. Lawrence River on July 25. 2005


I remember and rejoice on the 20th anniversary of the historic ordination of nine women on July 25, 2005 on the St. Lawrence Seaway that began the Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement in North America!

It was an unforgettable experience to be there. I immediately began my preparation for ordination the following year in the first US ordination on July 31 2006 in Pittsburgh.

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Christina Moreira fai historia ao converterse na primeira muller galega ordenada bispa A relixiosa pon en valor o papel das mulleres na Igrexa.

 


A bispa Christina Moreira, esta terza feira 24 de xuño, en Brión (comarca de Compostela). [Foto: Nós Diario]
photo_cameraA bispa Christina Moreira, esta terza feira 24 de xuño, en Brión (comarca de Compostela). [Foto: Nós Diario]

Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Joyful News: Upcoming Diaconal Ordination of Ines Leonor Pujol ARCWP


 Joyous Blessings to Ines Leonor Pujol ARCWP and Bishop Christina Moreira ARCWP 

Liturgy to Celebrate St. Mary Magdalene, Apostle to the Apostles by Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP





Theme:

We should clothe ourselves with the perfect Human, acquire it for ourselves as he commanded us, and announce the Good News. (Gospel of Mary 10:11-13)



Presider 1: Today we celebrate the feast of Mary Magdalene, first apostle. The lost gospel of Mary Magdalene, buried deep in the Egyptian desert in the fourth century by monks who were ordered by an edict to destroy all copies, was discovered in January 1896 at a market in Cairo by a German scholar named Carl Reinhardt. Written in Coptic on ancient papyrus, it reveals powerful teachings about a radical love at the heart of Christianity. 

Her gospel says that we are not sinful, nor should we feel ashamed for being human, but rather that we are a holy mix of a self that struggles and triumphs and a soul that is limitless- rooted in infinite love. 

There is no spiritual authority outside of us that is greater than the presence of God within us. Mary’s Gospel affirms a theology of interconnectedness echoing modern ecological and mystical understandings of creation. 


Welcome and Gathering


Presider 2:  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.” 

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


Gathering Song: Women of the Church  - Song by Carey Landry  - Video by MT Streck



https://youtu.be/Q-H1vOQDFEc
 


Refrain

Women of the Church, how rich is your legacy!

Women of the Church, how great is your faith!

Women of the Church, wellsprings of integrity,

Lead us in the ways of Peace!

 

1. Women at the foot of the Cross,

Fearless and truly faithful friends,

First ones to see the Risen One of Life

And the first to tell good news.


2. Companions and disciples of Jesus,

chosen and called by name,

witnesses of wisdom, weavers of the Word,

lead us in the ways of Truth!


© 2005, 2010, 2011, Carey Landry. Published by OCP. All rights reserved.





Communal Reconciliation Rite


Presider 1: We pause now to remember the times we have let false messages about our unworthiness cloud our vision of the infinite depth of love within us.  Now imagine the imperfections, chaos and messes of your life illuminated by a love within you that is healing and transforming you as you evolve and grow in awareness of your divinity and humanity.


(Pause briefly. Then extend arm over your heart)


All: I love you, I forgive you, I am sorry, I thank you.


Gloria: Glory to God by Marty Haugen - video by Bridget Mary Meehan and Mary Theresa Streck



https://youtu.be/udjH7EON5IY


Refrain:

Glory to God, in the highest (3x)

And peace to God’s people on earth.



Opening Prayer:


Holy One,
you called Mary of Magdala
in the garden of Resurrection
to be the first preacher of your Good News.
You entrusted her —
not with silence,
but with proclamation,
not with shame,
but with sacred authority..

May we, like Mary,
stand in the face of disbelief
and still speak love.
May we trust the voice of the Spirit
more than the voices of fear.
May we rise from all that has tried to bury us —
systems of oppression,
structures of exclusion,
walls built by those afraid of your freedom.

With Mary,
we say “Yes” to the call
to proclaim, to lead, to bless, to build
a Church and world where all are welcome
and no one is left behind.

With Mary, we rejoice that our oneness with Christ frees us from rules, projections and expectations that limit our ability be a radiant reflection of the Holy One’s love and compassion. 

With Mary, we walk with the Risen Christ to love as Christ loves.

Amen.

Liturgy of the Word


 First Reading Mary Magdalene Revealed


Mary Magdalene’s gospel starts with missing pages. These are the word we can’t get back , this is the wisdom, the voice of Christ from the heart of a woman, that was torn out and most likely destroyed before the rest of her gospel was buried.  There was something so incendiary in these first six pages that her gospel starts on page 7.


The point of Mary’ s gospel is not to suggest that we need to become someone else, someone “better.”


It’s about acquiring a vision that allows us to see what has always been here, within you. It’ about the quality and intensity of our existence. It’s about the possibility of actually being present, instead of being caught without even realizing it in the endless stories the ego tell; from the second we wake up, dividing us from what’s already here, dividing us from each other and ourselves, dividing us from what we consider good, or god. It’s about really waking up to the fact that our system of understanding the world is no longer serving us.


It’s more of a series of perpetual moments when you remember that you don’t have to feel separate from love-if you don’t want to. Even in the midst of the worst of what we say to ourselves, even when someone we love most in the world can't see us at all, we can practice a way that humbles us, that disrupts the ego's grasp, and let us return again, with ease (even eventually, with levity) to love. 


And in that moment of recognition, this is when we save ourselves from the self that was never real to begin. This is where we see with the eye of the heart. 


These are the sacred words of Meggan Watterson, in the Introduction to Mary Magdalene Revealed and we affirm them by saying, 

All: Amen


Responsorial: Psalm 119

Our response is:

All: I radiate your love within me.


Breathe on me, O breath of Inspiration, in the silence of my tranquil heart, infill me with your wisdom. O that I might radiate the compassion and peace, truth and beauty of the Beloved!

All:  I radiate your love within me.


Direct my steps, Oh Holy One, that I may humbly walk with you.  The witness of your Life is my model; therefore, my soul yearns for You. The unfolding of your Way gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.

All:  I radiate your love within me.


My mouth pours forth praise continually, for I am ever grateful for your Promises, You come to me and are gracious to me, as You are to all who open their heart’s door.

All:  I radiate your love within me.


Guide my steps according to your Wisdom, and show me how to lovingly co-create with You. Let me not be lured by the world’s values, that I may walk the path of wholeness.

All: May I radiate your love within me.

 (Adaptation by Nan Merrill, Praying the Psalms; An Invitation to Wholeness)


 Second Reading: Letter to the Romans (8:26-27)

All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult time of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs and enlarged in the waiting. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.


Meanwhile the moment we get tired in the waiting God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. God’s Spirit does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. She knows us far better than we know ourselves; knows our pregnant condition and keeps us present before God. 


That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.  


These are sacred words of Paul, apostle to the Gentiles, and we affirm them by saying:

  All: Amen.


Alleluia: Jan Phillips



https://youtu.be/IC4nbwmQDVw


Gospel: John 20: 11–18 (NRSVUE)

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet.
 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”
 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.
 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?”
Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”
 Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher).
 Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and she told them that he had said these things to her.

These are the sacred words in the Gospel of John and we respond to them by saying Amen


A Reading from the Gospel of Mary Magdalene (4:3-7)

Mary teaches that salvation is not through external rituals but through inner spiritual transformation:

“The Savior said, ‘There is no sin, but it is you who make sin when you do the things that are like the nature of adultery… This is why the Good came into your midst, to the essence of every nature, in order to restore it to its root.’” (Gospel of Mary 3:3–7)

This reflects an early Christian mystical tradition emphasizing the divine presence within each person.

After Jesus departs, the male disciples are afraid and uncertain. It is Mary who encourages and teaches them:

“Then Mary stood up, greeted them all, and said to her brothers and sisters: ‘Do not weep and be distressed nor let your hearts be irresolute. For his grace will be with you all and will shelter you.’” (Gospel of Mary 5:3–5)

She then shares a vision or teaching she received from the Savior, positioning herself as a leader among the disciples.

The text includes a powerful moment when Peter questions Mary’s role, asking:

“Did he really speak with a woman without our knowledge and not openly? Are we to turn and all listen to her? Did he prefer her to us?” (Gospel of Mary 9:5–7)

Levi (likely Matthew) defends her:

“If the Savior made her worthy, who are you to reject her? Surely the Savior knows her well. That is why he loved her more than us.” (Gospel of Mary 9:9–10)

This section reveals the tension between emerging patriarchal structures and women's early leadership in Christian communities.



Homily  by Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP for the Feast of Mary Magdalene: Apostle to the Apostles
July 22 – Celebrating the Gospel and Witness of Mary of Magdala

Beloved community, on this Feast of Mary Magdalene, we gather to honor a woman whose voice still echoes with courage, wisdom, and radical love. Mary of Magdala was not only a faithful disciple of Jesus — she was the first apostle, the first to proclaim the Resurrection, the first to be sent forth with the Good News. That’s why the early Church called her apostola apostolorum — apostle to the apostles.

In this liturgy honoring Mary Magdalene we focus not only on her role in the canonical Gospels but also on her lost Gospel — the Gospel of Mary, unearthed in the sands of Egypt, silenced for centuries, yet pulsing with spiritual insight for our time.

As Karen King, Harvard scholar and translator of the Gospel of Mary, reminds us, this text reveals a vibrant early Christianity where women’s voices and visions mattered. The gospel portrays Mary as a teacher of wisdom, a bearer of inner revelation, and a spiritual authority whose leadership came directly from her experience of Christ — not from institutional permission.

Three ancient manuscripts of the Gospel of Mary survive, but all are incomplete. The first six pages are missing — and four more in the middle. One has to wonder: what was so threatening, so revolutionary, that those pages were torn out?


Let us consider what did survive.

Mary’s gospel offers five profoundly liberating teachings:


1. We are not inherently sinful.

Mary’s Jesus rejects the doctrine of original sin. Instead, he calls us to awaken to the goodness that already lives within us — the divine spark waiting to be rekindled.


2. Salvation is transformation.
Rather than focusing on external rituals or punishments, Mary’s gospel teaches that salvation is an inner journey — a turning toward the love within that heals, integrates, and makes us whole.


3. We are called to become “the child of true humanity.”
This phrase invites us to fully embrace our human and divine nature — to become who we truly are in the image of God.


4. The Spirit speaks from within.
No external authority — no bishop, no pope — can override the authentic voice of the Spirit alive in our hearts.


5. Mary’s Gospel affirms a theology of interconnectedness echoing modern ecological and mystical understandings of creation. “Every nature, every modeled form, every creature exists in and with each other.” (Gospel of Mary 4:22)

These teachings challenged the patriarchal structures forming in the 2nd–4th centuries — when church leadership was aligning with empire, and women’s leadership was being erased.


Mary Magdalene is a radiant reflection of the feminine face of God,”whose legacy continues to inspire a Church rising from the margins. In my book Praying with Women of the Bible, I wrote the following spiritual dialogue with Mary which I invite you now to close your eyes and engage Mary Magdalene in a prayer:

“Imagine Mary of Magdala standing today in St. Peter’s Basilica. What would she say about women’s leadership? About exclusion at the altar? About the Spirit’s call and presence in inclusive spiritual communities?”

I imagine Mary standing tall in the center of the Vatican, proclaiming:

“The Risen One chose me to proclaim life, not to be silenced. The Spirit that called me calls women still. You cannot suppress what God has anointed.”

I would thank her — not only for her steadfast witness in the face of disbelief and dismissal — but for lighting a path for us: a path of courage, compassion, and communion. She shows us what it means to be a Spirit-led Church — where gender does not determine authority, and where each voice is cherished as part of the Body of Christ.

Joan Chittister names Mary Magdalene a model for every woman called to leadership:

“She calls all of us to faith and fortitude, to unity and universalism, to a Christianity that rises above sexism, a religion that transcends the idolatry of maleness, and a commitment to the things of God that surpasses every system.” (A Passion for Life, p. 46)

On this day, we honor Mary Magdalene not as a figure of the past, but as a living presence in the movement for a renewed Church — a Church where the gifts of women are not feared, but embraced. A Church where every baptized person is recognized as a full participant in Christ’s mission.

Let us remember that Mary’s gospel survived not by chance, but by grace. Hidden, buried, preserved in fragments — it waits now to be received and lived.

As we continue our celebration this week, may we open ourselves to the Spirit speaking through Mary’s voice, through our own voices, through the voices of all who have been silenced — and may we rise together, apostles of a new day  inclusive communities around the world.

Amen.


Community Sharing: What did you hear in our readings today?



Communal Statement of Faith


All: (Presider 2) 

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 and for the Community


Presider 1: We now remember all those who are suffering especially from oppression in our country especially migrants who are facing deportation and separation from their families. 

Our response is: 

All: Your Love calls us to action.


Presider 2: For all those suffering from violence, discrimination and hatred, we pray…

All: Your Love accompanies us.


Presider 1: For all those suffering  the rages of war in Ukraine, Russia and the Middle East.

All: Your Love comforts and challenges us.


Presider 2: That the Federal and State governments will work together for justice and the upholding of the human rights of all, we pray.. All: Your Love empowers us.


Presider 1: We pray for our MMOJ intentions. (Joan shares)

For what else should we pray?


Presider 2: Holy Mystery we respond to the needs of our sisters and brothers in loving prayer and solidarity. Amen


Preparation Of The Gifts


Presider 1:  Blessed are You, Holy One, through Your divine providence we have this bread, to share, the Bread of Life. 


All: Blessed are You, Holy One, forever.  


Presider 2:  Blessed are You, O Loving  One through Your divine providence we have this wine to share, our spiritual drink. 


All: Blessed are, You, Holy One, forever.


Presider 1:  Nurturing One, we are united in this sacrament by the love of Christ, whose presence we are as we proclaim the liberating power of your Spirit Sophia, in our humanity and divinity, calling us to build the unity of Love in a more compassionate and just world.  All:  Amen.



Eucharistic Prayer

Presider 2: Your Spirit, who raised Jesus from the dead, is rising up in all who work for humanity’s healing and well-being. With thankful hearts, in the company of all holy women and men, your liberating Spirit rises up within us, works through us and we sing:


All:  Holy, Holy, Holy (adapted from Holy, Holy, Holy by Karen Drucker)



https://youtu.be/orKBBIj5LZA


We are Holy, Holy, Holy…3x , You are Holy, Holy, Holy, I am Holy, Holy, Holy, We are Holy, Holy, Holy


Presider 1: O Heart of Love, Your Spirit moved through Mary of Magdala as she taught us that we are unified and undivided in continuous communion with you.  Your Spirit moves through  our humanity and our divinity. Your Spirit moves through the love within us, expanding out in widening circles to embrace all people and creation in our evolving universe.

 Please extend Your hands in blessing.


All: (Presider 2)  Pour out Your Spirit Sophia anew upon this bread and wine and upon us as we become more deeply the Christ Presence in our world.


All (Presider 1): On the night before he died, Jesus came to table with his family and 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)


All (Presider 2) : 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.”


Presider 2:  Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:


All: Christ has died in all those who have passed away from the Coronavirus and from police brutality.

Christ is rising in all those working for the well-being of humanity; searching for a vaccine, treatments and dismantling institutional racism and sexism.

Christ comes each day in our ministry, prayers and actions for a renewed world with justice and equality for all.


Presider 1:  Embracing Presence, we remember all the companions who have gone before us:  Mary, Mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and all holy women and men who are rising up in loving service to heal our world.  We pause now to remember our personal communion of saints. 

(pause)


(Presiders hold bread and wine)

All: Presider 2: For it is through living as Jesus lived, and loving as he loved, that we awaken to Your Spirit empowering us to work for justice and equality for all citizens in our country and for the life of your planet Earth. All: AMEN.


The Prayer of Jesus

Presider 1:  

Let us pray as Jesus taught — in the Aramaic translation — the language of Jesus:

ALL:     Abwoon, Mother/Father God of the Cosmos,

Breathe life into our hearts.

May your power and counsel rule our lives

And the whole creation.

May your will to love find its home in each human heart

As it is at home throughout the Cosmos.


Grant us today both bread and wisdom 

that we may in turn become bread for others.

Loose the cords of the secret debts that bind us 

and in the strength this freedom gives us, 

help us to loose the cords we hold of others’ guilt.


Don’t let surface things delude us, but free us from unripeness,

from all that holds us back from loving.

For from you is born the astonishing fire,

the ruling will, the power and sun that gives life to all, 

here and now and forever. Amen. 




Sign of Peace: Peace is flowing like a River by Carey Laundry


Presider 2:  Jesus said to his disciples, “My peace I leave You.  My peace I give You.” 

(Let us place our hands in front of us, palms up, as we sing, “Peace is flowing like a river…” you may change “captives” to “peoples”)




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YRM-eHgXCY


Peace is flowing like a river, flowing out of you and me. Flowing out into the desert, setting all the people free. Love is flowing like a river, flowing out of you and me. Flowing out into the desert, setting all the captives free. Healing's flowing like a river, flowing out of you and me. Flowing out into the desert, setting all the people free. Alleluia


Communion


Presider 1: Please join in praying the Litany for the Breaking of the Bread All:

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.


Presider 2:  This is the bread of life and the cup of blessing. Blessed are we who are called to Christ’s table.  All:  We are the Body and Blood of Christ for the world.                         


Pease receive/share Eucharist now.


Communion Song:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SR5k0UC9Vg

Come Be Beside Us

© Jan Phillips

Come Be Beside Us by Jan Phillips

Come be beside us.

Come be around us.

Come be within us.

Come be among us.



Presider 1: Thanksgiving: Please unmute yourself if you have a thanksgiving to share.                      


Concluding Rite


Presider 2:   The Holy One is within You. As you go forth to continue your ministry for justice and equality, and peace for all life and earth itself, may you be a radiant reflection of Christ in our world. 

All:  And also within You.


Presider 1: Please extend Your hands as we pray our final blessing.


Blessing: Apostolic Courage with Mary Magdalene

Presider 1 and All:

Mary of Magdala,
First Apostle,
Teacher of Wisdom,
Bearer of Resurrection —

Walk with us now as we go forth to serve our sisters and brothers. .

May your courage embolden our witness.
May your love deepen our compassion.
May your joy give us strength in the struggle.

Presider 2 and All:

And may the God who called you —
the Christ who rose to meet you —
the Spirit who spoke through you —
bless us,
send us,
and rise within us as we go forth to celebrate the Love that is within us
now and always.

In the name of the Source of Life,
Jesus, our brother
and the Spirit who liberates.

Amen.


Closing Song: 

Recessional: Women Spirit Rising by Karen Drucker, Video by Mary Theresa Streck and Juanita Cordero 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT4S7aNHzQA


If you would like to add your prayer request to our MMOJ Community Prayers book,

Please send an email to Joan Meehan jmeehan515@aol.com




If you would like to invite another person to attend our liturgy please refer them to

Marymotherofjesus.net


where the day’s liturgy is found. Zoom instructions are also included there.



Liturgy adapted from Mary Magdalene Liturgy written by Bridget Mary Meehan