Upper Room Liturgy - September 10, 2017

Deb Trees and David DeBonis led the Upper Room Community's Eucharistic liturgy with the theme: By loving each other and ourselves as God has loved us and we can bring healing to each other. 

This is Deb's Homily Starter based on the readings below:

A week and a half ago, Louise Hay crossed over. She was over 90 years old, and a pioneer in what she called “mirror work”. This was only one of many gifts and accomplishments in her life.

Mirror work is the act of looking into your own eyes and saying wonderful things to you, including “I love you”. As anyone knows who has tried it from our particular group of human cultures, this can seem almost false.

The simple act is difficult to do in a culture steeped in original sin.

Jesus knew that. The more we watch Jesus walking in his ministry, the more we see the psychic washing away of hate, even of self. We can experience the presence of love at our core. Whether we call it hate, sin, or dysfunction, it is not the truth.

And as Jesus has told us and we all know in our hearts: “The truth, Love, will set you free!”

What did you hear? What will you do?  What will it cost you??            

First Reading

So, I can see there is a wound-a painful event-well, a number of events, say hundreds of events-that could not be processed. Healing was not available, so the hurt was repressed in my body, and my body-mind created an armor to shield all these tucked away aches. The shield gets built to protect from this raw pain. This is sometimes called ego, and is the source of all the repression, resistance, and avoidance. It’s on the firing line all the time, but it’s really just a protective mechanism but a protection you don’t really need. My shield around this huge rage sounds like this: “I hate you, I hate this, I hate everyone.”

When I was a child and a lot of violence was going down, I used to scream “I hate you.” My system made these thoughts to armor from the excruciating pain tucked away in my little body. I had a violent history, lots of memory of trauma and crazy events. So, my amazing system created an enemy, an enemy to save me from pain that could not be processed.  My system set up: “I hate these people; I hate them so much.” That’s the core story from the pain, from the residual wounds. That is the sound of the armor that was set up to protect me from the wound.

And I can bow to that shield and I can profoundly bow to the pain; I can bring immense compassion and love to all of this. And eventually, it’s that love and compassion that will crack the armor and begin to heal and transform the pain.

These are the inspired words of Kiran from her book Tools for Sanity.

Second Reading

Owe no debt to anyone-except the debt that binds us to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you have fulfilled the Law. The commandments-no committing adultery, no killing, no stealing, no coveting, and all of the others- are all summed up in this one: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love never wrongs anyone-hence love is the fulfillment of the Law.

These are the inspirited words from Romans 13: 8-10 and this community responds by saying AMEN.

'The Remarkable Gospel of Mary; a Review of the De Quillan Translation & Commentary" by Lynn Kinlan ARCWP

Mary of Magdala 

Anyone looking to understand Jesus and the early church must look toThe Gospel of the Beloved Companion; it realistically presents the man Jesus and his times in a voice knowledgeable and intimate which knows and respects the customs of first century Judaism including, respect for the Feminine Divine. This gospel offers a consistent, unredacted view of Jesus and the disciples without the confusion and contradictions of the canonical gospels. Mary’s gospel hasn’t the sanction of these others but there is much in it that argues in favor of it being genuine.

First, a few of the features which are strikingly unique about Mary’s gospel:

∞     Jesus employs the phrase Spirit in place of Father as in, None come to me unless the Spirit who sent me, draws them or, My words are given of the Spirit, and no one comes to the Kingdom except through her (35, 65). Jesus encourages us to become children of the living Spirit (14).

∞      In a few cases where Jesus anthropomorphizes God, he calls her Mother as in his discussion of what will happen when he is no longer around: I will not leave you orphans. When a father goes away, it is the Mother who tends the children * (65). Responding to people grumbling about his being merely the son of Mary whom they all know and not as he claims, the son of humanity,Jesus says,  You speak well when you say that my mother gave me birth but, only from the truth I tell you, it was my true mother who gave me life (35). Notably, the father of Jesus is never seen or heard from in this gospel although he has three siblings.

* De Quillan also suggests that this mother reference could mean Mary Magdalene herself as the person that Jesus will entrust his fearful followers to. She comforts and directs them as apostle to the apostles following his death.

∞     Jehanne De Quillan, translator and commentary author, explains that the feminine pronoun for the Spirit is in keeping with first century usage; Hebrew scripture regards the spririt or ruach as female and in  Aramaic the Spirit word ruah is also feminine (5). This is one of many ways that the gospel respects Jewish custom, in a way that canonical gospels, redacted by later Christians unfamiliar or disdainful of Jewish practices, do not.

∞     The miracle at the Cana wedding is described as, This beginning of his signs, Jesus did at his wedding feast (emphasis mine). The event is attended by the Beloved Companion as well as Jesus’ mother, his brothers, Jacob and Joseph and his sister, Mary Salome as well as Martha and Lazarus (Mary Magdalene’s sister and brother), Mathew, Thomas and all of the other disciples (18-9). Could this be Jesus’ own wedding to Mary? The gospel shows how she interacts with Jesus in ways that only a spousal relationship would permit given the Jewish customs of the time. The specificity of naming the men and women who travel and stand by Jesus throughout the gospel is impressive. One gets the idea that this narrator really knows Jesus and his gang.

∞     Discussion of arresting Jesus and putting him to death are frequent and this determines where he lays his head at night. He often relocates to elude the Pharisees who are behind the threats (21, 28, 31, 38-39). At times, he travels in secret to elude those who would silence him or stone him and at least once, he seeks refuge in the house of his Beloved Companion in Bethany, near the Mount of Olives (47, 42, 51). Another time, he goes out into the wilderness for his own safety (56). The frequency of the mentions of his likely arrest make his itinerant preaching seem more subversive and his travels more crafty than in other gospels; he has been a fugitive long before the triumphant entry into Jerusalem at his last Passover. The Beloved Companion mentions several times that he could have been arrested but was not because his time had not yet come. Her specific knowledge of his whereabouts (or their whereabouts) and the reasons for relocation indicate a woman who knows Jesus well. She is clearly his confidante and shares his motivations. 

 ∞     The episode of Mary Magdalene using oil to lovingly anoint Jesus includes more loving support of her than in traditional gospels. Jesus tells the jealous disciples, When all have abandoned me, only she shall stand beside me like a tower. A tower built on a high hill and fortified cannot fall, nor can it be hidden…she shall be known as Migdelah, for she shall be as a tower to my flock, and the time shall soon come when her tower shall stand alone by mine. If these words had remained in other gospels, the prostitute reputation wouldn’t have been a credible caricature over centuries.

∞     Mary Magdalene as apostles to the apostles shows her as preaching an understanding of Jesus that the others, even Peter did not have. She is said by other apostles to have been loved more and known Jesus better than the others (76-82). She tells a story of a tree with eight great boughs bearing fruit and a guardian between each of the first seven boughs who ensure that only the worthy pass onto the next bough. The fruit resembles the fruits of the Spirit. The Spirit herself is on the highest, eight bough. (De Quillan wonders if this vision story is the genesis of the seven ‘demons’ that Mary was said to have been dispossessed of…..so perhaps she wasn’t crazy or depressed etc.) Following her preaching, the apostles bicker over her authority with some sounding jealous others supportive. They scatter, divided amongst themselves to preach in differing corners of the known world. Mary was the first one with Jesus and stayed to the last.

∞     References to Mary at the Last Supper, crucifixion and burial of Jesus in the canonical gospels are incomplete and confusing in what has likely been omitted or poorly translated from Greek. One example of how Mary’s gospel makes more sense is that she and Mary, the mother of Jesus are the ones to wash, purify the corpse with oils and embalm it before burial. John’s gospel has Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea completing the task which would be unacceptable for first century Jews. Only direct family and usually women would serve in this role. The three synoptic gospels have Jesus buried without purification; to think that his followers might neglect this protocol is unthinkable, a real humiliation to Jesus’ memory and his family who were right there at the end. The fingerprints of someone ignorant about Jewish life and possibly not fluent in Greek is all over the canonical gospels in these critical junctures. Or, someone who devalued the female role in ritual and in the life of Jesus….

∞     In some ways, the Gospel of Mary is quite similar to more sanctioned versions and extremely similar to John’s gospel. De Quillan makes detailed comparisons among the gospels and suggests that Mary might be source material for John. At one point, very briefly, De Quillan even suggests thatMary’s gospel could be the Q source for the synoptic gospels; a claim so apparently radical that she doesn’t bother to martial evidence to prove it.

Is this Gospel Authentic or Not?

There are solid reasons to believe in the authenticity of the Gospel of Mary, only a few of which can be briefly mentioned in the time and space available here. First, the gospel sustains a consistent writing style and rich voice that suggests a single author and not a cabal of heretical conspirators.  Second, the specificity of precise geographic detail, adherence to Jewish customs and family relationships, informed recognition of tensions in the Jewish synagogue and between Jesus and the Pharisees and intimate appreciation for the wit and irony of Jesus, the man, all argue in favor of someone who walked the walk with Jesus, who was part of his times and his culture, who embraced his message sufficiently to preach it herself even in mourning after his young and violent death.

Here, the same criterion for distinguishing between a genuine painting or music composition and a fake must be used; which item has the most specific, nuanced, masterful detail? Which has broad brushstrokes or confusing notations that are cosmetic additions to hide an amateur’s skill level? Which is the hydra-headed work of committee with an agenda and which rings true as the work of an informed one’s heart and soul?

Ironically, remaining outside the canon may someday be the greatest favor that ancient and medieval scribes could’ve ever given Mary Magdalene – leaving her work alone, not redacting or adding to it, may in time, help to show her writing as the most genuine of those handed down over millennia.

Source Information:

The Gospel of the Beloved Companion: The Complete Gospel of Mary Magdalene

by Jehanne de Quillian

https://smile.amazon.com/Gospel-Beloved-Companion-Complete-Magdalene-ebook/dp/B0053HPQ2C/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1505343631&sr=8-3&keywords=gospel+of+mary+magdalene

The Gospel of the Beloved Companion is the first English translation of a previously unpublished first-century gospel of the same name. Originally written in Alexandrian Greek, and brought from Egypt to the Languedoc during the early to middle part of the first century, this exceptional manuscript has been preserved within the author's spiritual community since that period. In this extraordinary book, the Gospel of the Beloved Companion comes alive to bring us a luminously poetic yet starkly objective insight into, and perhaps a new perspective on, the teachings and philosophy of one of the greatest spiritual teachers the world has ever known. 

Author Jehanne de Quillan presents this translation along with a detailed comparative study between the Gospel of the Beloved Companion and the canonical and gnostic Gospels in a clear and easy-to-read format, leading the reader step-by-step to a deep understanding of this remarkable text and, perhaps for the first time, a clear and unsullied view of the woman known to most as Mary Magdalene.

Thanks for Your Prayers/ Hurricane Irma/Florida

Ireland

I am grateful to all for your loving thoughts and prayes for me, for ARCWP members in Florida and for all who were in the path of Hurricane Irma.
My little home, "Mary's House" was not damaged and I will be returning to Florida on Wednesday.
A special thank you to Kathryn Shea and her husband Stephen for taking my precious photos, music, vestments and Barry's Tea out of harms' way.
Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP
(in Ireland)

Statement from 37th Congress of the Association of Theologians Challenging Excommunication of Women Priests, Presentation by Christina Moreira ARCWP

http://www.periodistadigital.com/religion/espana/2017/09/10/teologia-religion-iglesia-congreso-juan-xxiii-mujeres-patriarcado-ordenacion.shtml

Inauguration of the Congress of Theology

RD

Final message of the 37th Congress of the Association of Theologians "John XXIII"

"We denounce the punishment of women ordained priests in the Catholic Church with the excommunication"

"Between feminism and religion there is no contradiction, one can be a believer and a feminist"

Jesus Pretty, September 10, 2017 at 18:09

• The Pope asks not to reduce women and lay people to "servants of our recalcitrant clericalism"
• "Women and religion: from discrimination to gender equality"
• Tamayo attacks the "androcentric discourse" and the "macho morality" of organized religion

The exclusion of women from the ordained ministry does not respond to biblical, theological or historical reasons, but is the result of the survival of the patriarchy installed in the leadership of power and in the organization of religious institutions

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Charamsa, at the Congress of John XXIII

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( Jesus Bastante ) .- "The lesson we learned in this Congress is that between feminism and religion there is no contradiction and it is possible to be a believer and a feminist . That is the challenge we have to answer." This Sunday concluded the 37th Congress of the Association of Theologians "John XXIII" , which revolved around "Women and religion: from discrimination to gender equality."

In its final message, the association denounces patriarchy as "a system of domination against women, girls, children and the most vulnerable people in society." A system that "is in alliance with other models of domination: capitalism, colonialism, fundamentalism, depredation of nature, and causes discrimination of gender, class ethnicity, culture, religion, geographical origin and sexual orientation in all spheres of life language, everyday life, politics, economy, education, work, family, domestic space, culture, science, artistic creation, entertainment, media, advertising. "

The congressional critique "extends to religions" and its "patriarchal structure,"which "transmits an androcentric ideology, imposes a macho moral and develops sexist practices," which considers women "religious and ethical subjects, they exclude them from the spaces of the sacred, marginalize them from positions of responsibility, from the exercise of power and from the fields of decision, and in them they create attitudes of obedience and submission as virtues. "

After condemning violence against women, child abuse, trafficking in persons and aggression against gays, lesbians, bisexuals or transsexuals, especially recalling "the withdrawal of custody of the sons and daughters to the mothers and delivery to the parents condemned for mistreatment, "without citing the case of Juana Rivas.

"Religious leaders lavished on condemnations against abortion, divorce, premarital relations, contraceptive methods, gay marriage, in vitro fertilization, sexual and reproductive rights," said the final manifesto, which notes the "insensitivity to gender violence, patriarchy, sexism and LGBTophobia . "

"In the Catholic Church vetoes sexually dissident people access to priestly ministry and participation in pastoral activities," he adds.

"We value positively the fruitful encounter between feminism and Christianity, which has led to the rebellion of women against the patriarchal system and the birth of feminist theology, which recognizes the role of women in the movement of Jesus understood as egalitarian discipleship ," notes the note, which concludes by stating that "the exclusion of women from the ordained ministry does not respond to biblical, theological or historical reasons but is the result of the survival of the patriarchy installed in the leadership of power and in the organization of religious institutions ". "We denounce that the excommunication is punished with women ordained priests in the Catholic Church," culminates.

MESSAGE FROM THE 37TH CONGRESS OF THEOLOGY. WOMEN AND RELIGION: FROM DISCRIMINATION TO GENDER EQUALITY

1. From 7 to 10 September 2017 we have held the 37th Congress of Theology on "Women and Religion: From Discrimination to Gender Equality" in a climate of serene debate, sincere dialogue and fraternal-sororal encounter. We begin by keeping a minute of silence as an expression of condemnation for the terrorist attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils and solidarity with families, and another for the murders of women produced in Spain and around the world. We join with a new minute of silence to the pain of peoples affected by several hurricanes and earthquakes that have caused dozens of deaths in the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean.
2. We have made a critical analysis of patriarchy as a system of domination against women, girls, children and the most vulnerable people in society. This system is in alliance with other models of domination: capitalism, colonialism, fundamentalism, depredation of nature, and causes discrimination of gender, class ethnicity, culture, religion, geographical origin and sexual orientation in all spheres of life: language , daily life, politics, economy, education, work, family, domestic space, culture, science, artistic creation, entertainment, media, advertising.
3. Our criticism extends to religions, which have a patriarchal structure, transmit an androcentric ideology, impose a macho morality and develop sexist practices. In most cases women are not recognized as religious and ethical subjects, but considered as inferior, subordinate and dependent. They exclude them from the spaces of the sacred, marginalize them from positions of responsibility, from the exercise of power and from decision domains. They generate in them attitudes of obedience and submission described as virtues. 
4. We have critically analyzed and condemned violence against women and dissident sexual identities in their multiple manifestations: colonized bodies; sex abuse as a weapon of war, rape, prostitution, trafficking in women, rental wombs, sexual abuse of children, sale of stolen organs, children, death sentences, feminicide, aggression against gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals , intersexuals, child abuse, removal from custody of children and daughters to mothers and delivery to parents convicted of ill-treatment.
5. Religious leaders indulge in condemnation against abortion, divorce, premarital relations, contraceptive methods, homosexual marriage, in vitro fertilization, sexual and reproductive rights. They disqualify the theory of gender that they call "gender ideology" and consider it the most perverse of humanity. They condemn the feminist movements and the LGTBI and show their opposition to the laws of effective equality between men and women. In their documents and public declarations, they often generate different forms of gender violence: sexual, symbolic, religious, psychological, and promote macho and homophobic attitudes and behaviors in believers and in citizenship. They show, however, insensitivity to gender violence, patriarchy, sexism and LGBTophobia. In the Catholic Church, sexually dissident people are denied access to priestly ministry and participation in pastoral activities. 
6. We have given the floor to women activists who have exposed the contributions of feminist movements in different geocultural areas, especially in Latin America, Africa and Spain, and to women believers who have talked about Women's Movements in religions which, in harmony with the feminist movements, fight against all types of discrimination and in defense of gender equality. 
7. We value positively the fruitful encounter between feminism and Christianity, which has provoked the rebellion of women against the patriarchal system and the birth of feminist theology, which recognizes the role of women in the movement of Jesus understood as egalitarian discipleship, in the birth of the Christian Church as witnesses to the resurrection and in the first Christian communities where they exercised ministries and charisms without discrimination, according to the statement of Paul of Tarsus: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free; neither man nor woman, for you are all one in Christ Jesus "(Galatians 3:28).
The exclusion of women from the ordained ministry does not respond to biblical, theological or historical reasons, but is the result of the survival of the patriarchy installed in the leadership of power and the organization of religious institutions. We denounce the punishment of the excommunication of women ordained priests in the Catholic Church. 
8. Fecundus is the meeting between decolonial feminism and feminist theologies, which criticize Western-hegemonic feminism, question the coloniality of power, knowledge, having, being and gender, defending the decolonization of minds, theological discourse and the liberating practices of religions and recover the knowledge, symbols and spirituality of the native peoples.
9. We have discovered that spirituality and politics are two indissociable realities and we have become aware of the necessity and urgency of a political spirituality, which leads to hear the cry of the Earth and the heartbreaking cry of millions of people hungry for bread and rights and fight for Another World Possible.

10. The lesson we learned at this Congress is that between feminism and religion there is no contradiction and one can be a believer and a feminist. That is the challenge to which we must respond. 
Madrid, September 10, 2017
From Christina Moreira ARCWP: Presentation at Congress of the Association of Theologians in Madrid Spain

Buenos días queridas amigas y compañeras de fatigas y danzas

Desde mi casa ya os envío mi reporte del congreso desde mis vivencia.

Ruego a Silvia que tenga la bondad de traducirme porque sería incapaz de rendir cuentas con precisión y sin tergiversar en vuestro idioma.

Aquí el enlace: http://congresodeteologia.info/ 

donde se anuncia mi comunicación el sábado a las 16h00 (se publicará una grabación que os enviaré tan pronto como la cuelguen)

Enviaré las fotos en otro mensaje aparte para que no se pierdan.

Mi presencia en el Congreso se manifestó con forma de participación activa en los diálogos y en encuentros con multitud de personas por pasillos y en reuniones informales a las puertas y en cafeterías en las pausas y comidas. En España hacemos los mejores tratos con una copa en la mano o un café.

De modo que ya el primer día me puse en el micrófono (v. foto) para decir que yo era presbítera católica y hacer preguntas. Salí a dialogar con casi todas las mesas de ponentes. Os garantizo que la gente me vio y se quedó con la información: hay presbíteras católicas romanas válidamente ordenadas y una de ellas está aquí, es Española de A Coruña (la gente quería saber dónde vivo, donde está mi comunidad...etc.)

Fue interesante el encuentro con la rvda Debora Chapman de la iglesia anglicana que comparte con nosotras bastante ideario e incluso tuvo un encuentro privado conmigo porque conocía nuestro movimiento. Nos volveremos a encontrar, probablemente cuando yo vaya a Barcelona, muy pronto.

Se habló mucho, sobre todo por parte de los representantes del MOCEOP, del sacerdocio común de los miembros de la comunidad, que el sacerdocio ordenado tiene que desaparecer. Eso se suele decir desde la experiencia del ministerio ejercido por los varones desde el poder. En mi ponencia dejé claro que "nosotras lo solucionamos con una completa circularidad y colegialidad de iguales en democracia donde todo se consulta y nadie está por encima ni por debajo de nadie. Nuestro ministerio es puro servicio, sin mando."

Fue muy interesante comprobar, en la mesa redonda del viernes por la tarde que los movimientos feministas son plurales, están enraizados en las diversas culturas y visiones, desde África, Latinoamérica... Todas cabemos en nuestra diversidad, esa es nuestra riqueza, también en ARCWP.

La diversidad de opciones sexuales tuvo su buena reprentación con Violeta Assiego (España) y Krzysztof Charamsa, cura gay, teólogo y expulsado del Vaticano cuando salió del armario, en pleno sínodo de la familia, para denunciar su incoherencia. Recomiendo escuchar su ponencia o traducirla. Voy a pedirle el texto por si os interesa.

De entrada ya os digo que él estaba en la Congregación por la doctrina de la fe y dice lo siguiente:

- Francisco no hizo cambios a pesar de las grandes palabras y hermosa intenciones... es muy posible que no los haga: nos toca a nosotrxs cambiar lo que se necesite.

- La comisión sobre las diaconisas es un engaño, una "cortina de humo" (lo dijeron varios ponentes). Ya están entregadas las conclusiones y no lo dicen. A lo sumo saldrá un falso diaconado, sin ordenación (lo que yo siempre he pensado a pesar de lo que me dijo nuestro amigo en el Vaticano)... vean la ponencia.

- El tema del sacerdocio de las mujeres es el peor tema para Roma, el que nadie quiere tocar y causa más pavor y molestia.

Me conmovió la solidaridad de este hombre (envío foto luego. Nos hicimos amigos y nos dimos abrazos inolvidables. Pienso verlo de nuevo en Barcelona. Pienso que una relación con él beneficia a nuestro movimiento. Como él bien dijo, nuestra causa y la causa LGBTIQ es la misma: es la causa por defender "lo femenino". Los gays son maltratados por ser "femeninos". Así lo creo yo también.

Se habló de la historia de los ministerios en las Iglesias: lo hizo magistralmente Lidia Rodríguez, con una perspectiva histórica y ecuménica. Enumeró todos los retos que nos toca lidiar y recomiendo también traducir su ponencia, muy panorámica y consonante con nuestros puntos de vista.

Finalmente yo hablé el sábado con la sala casi llena y gente que me miraba con ojos como platos. Presenté el ideario de ARCWP y algo de mi recorrido personal. Os envío la ponencia en otro mensaje pero espero que ellos la publiquen para que podais verme y oirme.

Lo mejor fue la reacción de muchas mujeres y hombres que vinieron a darme la mano al salir del estrado y toda la tarde, pidiendo mi tarjeta, preguntando toda clase de detalles y dos mujeres insistieron sobre si yo "podía consagrar". Ambas tienen comunidad pero no "consagran". Puede que de ahí nos salga alguna candidata. De hecho una de ellas me dijo que había quedado impactada y que al verme y oírme sintió que tenía vocación sacerdotal que eso era lo que ella "había sentido siempre sin saberlo". Espero que me llame, lo prometió... No imagináis lo feliz que me hizo esto.

Una persona comprometida con misiones en África, Rosa, me regaló una preciosa tela verde para que me fabrique una casulla. Fue su forma de honrar mi ministerio... más emoción. El representante de Redes Cristianas se quedó con mi tarjeta y prometió llamarme. La ponente del primer día, Soledad Murillo (creadora de la primera ley de igualdad en España, bajo el gobierno de Rodriguez Zapatero (partido socialista), y con cargo en la ONU, véase su presentación en la página del Congreso), se llevó mi tarjeta porque se quejaba de que faltaban testimonios de mujeres en la ONU sobre situaciones de desigualdad. La situación de las mujeres en la Iglesia romana es injusta, antievangélica e ilegal desde los DDHH así que me declaré dispuesta a testimoniar. Se mostró agradecida y empática con nuestra causa.Espero que la relación sea fructífera.

Otra buena noticia es que pidió permiso la coordinadora centrar del Blog Fe Adulta http://www.feadulta.com/es/(la coordinadora) para colgar un diaporama con el powerpoint que utilicé y más fotos que quiere utilizar para ilustrar un artículo sobre nosotras... ¡genial! También quedamos en que yo colaboraría con el blog. Siendo española, esto me comunica con miles de lectorxs de este blog... la mejor plataforma de iglesia progresista de España, así que me siento colmada.

Como pueden ver, me dediqué a sembrar a tiempo completo y el Dueño de la mies se encargará de hacer fructificar lo que le plazca. Dejo todas estas perspectivas de crecimiento y realización en Sus Manos y en sus oraciones, hermanas.

No pude estar el domingo en la celebración porque tuve que marchar apresuradamente para acompañar a mi esposo al sepelio de su madrida y tía preferida. De modo que no asistí a los actos del domingo.

Hasta luego... envío ahora reportaje fotográfico en mensaje separado.

Nuevamente gracias a Silvia por su esfuerzo, espero que sus indispensables manos ya están mejor. 

besos y bendiciones para todas, me sentí muy apoyada por su presencia invisible pero fuerte.

Christina Moreira Vázquez, Presbítera ARCWP/Asociación de Presbíteras Católicas/Association des femmes prêtres catholiques 

Pope Francis' Homily Reflects Women Priests Vision of Healing, Compassion, and Justice, Olga Lucia Alvarez Benjumea ARCWP

https://zenit.org/articles/popes-homily-during-mass-in-medellin-colombia-full-text/

"This is what he wants for us, to follow him in such a way as to go to what is essential, to be renewed, and to get involved. These are three attitudes that must form our lives as disciples.

Firstly, going to what is essential. This does not mean “breaking with everything” that does not suit us, because Jesus did not come “to abolish the law, but to fulfil it” (Mt 5:17); it means to go deep, to what matters and has value for life. Jesus teaches that being in relationship with God cannot be a cold attachment to norms and laws, nor the observance of some outward actions that do not lead to a real change of life. Neither can our discipleship simply be motivated by custom because we have a baptismal certificate. Discipleship must begin with a living experience of God and his love. It is not something  static, but a continuous movement towards Christ; it is not simply the fidelity to making a doctrine explicit, but rather the experience of the Lord’s living, kindly and active presence, an ongoing formation by listening to his word. And this word, we have heard, makes itself known to us in the concrete needs of our brothers and sisters: the hunger of those nearest to us in the text just proclaimed, or illness as Luke narrates afterwards.

Secondly, being renewed. As Jesus “shook” the doctors of the law to break them free of their rigidity, now  also the Church is “shaken” by the Spirit in order to lay aside comforts and attachments.  We should not be afraid of renewal. The Church always needs renewal – Ecclesia semper reformanda. She does not renew herself on her own whim, but rather does so “firm in the faith, stable and steadfast,  not shifting from the hope of the gospel” (Col 1:23). Renewal entails sacrifice and courage, not  so that we can consider ourselves superior or flawless, but rather to respond better to the Lord’s call.  The Lord of the Sabbath, the reason for our commandments and prescriptions, invites us to reflect on regulations when our following him is at stake; when his open wounds and his cries of hunger and thirst for justice call out to us and demand new responses. In Colombia there are many situations where disciples must embrace Jesus’ way of life, particularly love transformed into acts of non-violence, reconciliation and peace.

Thirdly, getting involved. Even if it may seem that you are getting yourself dirty or stained, get involved. Like David and those with him who entered the Temple because they were hungry and the disciples of Jesus who ate ears of grain in the field, so also today we are called upon to be brave, to have that evangelical courage which springs from knowing that there are many who are hungry, who hunger for God, who hunger for dignity, because they have been deprived. As Christians, help them to be satiated by God; do not impede them or stop this encounter. We cannot be Christians who continually put up “do not enter” signs, nor can we consider that this space is mine or yours alone, or that we can claim ownership of something that is absolutely not ours. The Church is not ours, she is God’s; he is the owner of the temple and the field; everyone has a place, everyone is invited to find here, and among us, his or  her nourishment. We are simple servants (cf. Col 1:23) and we cannot prevent this encounter. On the contrary, Jesus tells us, as he told his disciples: “You give them something to eat” (Mt 14:16); this is our service. Saint Peter Claver understood this well, he whom we celebrate today in the liturgy and whom I will venerate tomorrow in Cartagena. “Slave of the blacks forever” was the motto of his life, because he understood, as a disciple of Jesus, that he could not remain indifferent to the suffering of the most  helpless and mistreated of his time, and that he had to do something to alleviate their suffering.

Brothers and sisters, the Church in Colombia is called to commit itself, with greater boldness, to forming missionary disciples, as the Bishops stated when they were gathered in Aparecida in 2007. Disciples who know how to see, judge and act, as stated in that Latin-American document born in this land (cf. Medellín, 1968). Missionary disciples that know how to see, without hereditary short- sightedness; looking at reality with the eyes and heart of Jesus, and only then judging.  Disciples who  risk, act, and commit themselves..."

This is a very significant message from Pope Francis! I encourage all to read it-- it will affirm our movement in all aspects of our prayer and ministry. Olga Lucia Alvarez Benjumea ARCWP, www.arcwp.org