Zoom Link:
Welcome and Theme
Mary Theresa: Welcome, beloved companions on the journey. Today we gather in the presence of the Holy One, whose love is wider than our imaginations and whose grace is more generous than we often dare to believe. In a world that teaches us to measure worth by success and productivity, Jesus tells a story about a Sower who scatters seed with joyful abandon—on fertile fields, rocky places, thorny ground, and even the well-worn path. The Sower does not calculate, ration, or withhold. The Sower simply gives.
Today we come not to judge the condition of our own soil, but to encounter the God whose love refuses to discriminate, whose compassion knows no boundaries, and whose hope is never exhausted. May this gathering awaken in us the courage to become sowers of kindness, justice, compassion, and peace. We praise, You God of holy abundance. Amen.
Gathering Song: Table Plenty by Dan Schutte
https://youtu.be/nqVN0vYLHQo?si=6zibht-4ihMdttIU
Rite of Transformation
Anne: God of Infinite Compassion, too often we believe there is not enough, not enough love, not enough forgiveness, not enough hope, not enough room for everyone. We confess that we sometimes scatter judgment more freely than mercy, fear more readily than courage, and criticism more quickly than compassion. Yet your love never runs dry. Like the Sower, you continue planting possibilities within us, again and again. With an open heart we pray:
May we forgive ourselves. May we forgive one another. May we receive again
the abundant love that has never left us. Amen.
Gloria
https://youtu.be/udjH7EON5IY
Opening Prayer
Suzanne: Holy Mystery, Source of every living thing, You are the Sower who scatters love without measure, hope without condition, and mercy without counting the cost. Long before we knew your name, you planted within us seeds of compassion, wonder, justice, and joy. Open our hearts today, not to fear our imperfections, but to trust your extravagant grace. Where we have become cautious, make us generous. Where we have become discouraged, plant hope. Where we have become divided, grow community. May our time together nourish us so that we may leave this place ready to sow your love wherever life takes us. We pray in the Spirit of Jesus, who taught us the way of radical abundance. Amen.
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading
Anne: A reading from the Prophet Isaiah
Thus says the Holy One: Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.
We affirm these words with: Amen.
Responsorial: More Light by Christopher Gundy
https://youtu.be/a8XaUlqb8t0
Second Reading: Psalm 100
Suzanne: Sing a joyful noise to the Beloved all peoples of the earth!
Serve love with a glad heart!
Join hands in the great dance of life!
Know that the Beloved of your heart is the Divine Presence!
Love created us, and we belong to the Most High;
We are born to be loving expressions of the Creator’s Divine Plan.
Open the gates of your heart with gratitude
and enter Love’s court with praise!
Give thanks to the Beloved; bless Love’s holy name!
For love is of God, and lives in your heart forever with faith,
truth, and joy, now and in all that is to come.
Gospel Acclamation: Celtic Alleluia
Gospel
Joan C.: A reading from the Gospel of Matthew
On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
"A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear."
The Gospel of Jesus Christ.
All: Praise to you, Jesus Christ.
Homily: Mary Theresa
Community Statement of Faith
Mary Theresa: Let us pray together our statement of faith
We believe in the Holy One, a divine mystery
beyond all definition and rational understanding,
the heart of all that has ever existed,
that exists now, or that ever will exist.
We believe in Jesus, messenger of the Divine Word,
bringer of healing, heart of Divine compassion,
bright star in the firmament of the Holy One's
prophets, mystics, and saints.
We believe that We are called to follow Jesus
as a vehicle of divine love,
a source of wisdom and truth,
and an instrument of peace in the world.
We believe in the Spirit of the Holy One,
the life that is our innermost life,
the breath moving in our being,
the depth living in each of us.
We believe that the Divine 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 the Community
Anne: As we prepare for this sacred meal, we are aware of our call to serve, and just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. We bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns.
Anne: We bring these and all deeply held blessings, cares, and concerns to the table of friendship and peace.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Suzanne:
Blessed are you, Holy One.
Through your goodness we have this bread and wine.
They will become for us the bread of life and cup of blessing.
All: Blessed be You forever.
Eucharistic Prayer
Mary Theresa: With open hands and open hearts, let us pray:
It is truly right to give you thanks, for you are the Sower of galaxies, gardens, dreams,
and every generous possibility. You breathe life into all creation without measure. You delight not in perfection, but in flourishing. When humanity forgot its sacred calling, you continued planting hope through prophets, poets, teachers, and visionaries. United with one another and You, Holy One, our spirits dance and sing this song of praise:
Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy
https://youtu.be/uXyu57tR2gk?si=GpSc8jRE9tVhtBzb
Anne: We thank you for our brother, Jesus. He showed us so simply, so tenderly, how the world is in our hands. He had nothing in this world but your love, companions on the journey, and his very self. Together, that was more than enough, and that remains our clarity in the midst of confusion: the miracle of healing, new hope, nurturance, nourishment, liberation, and life.
Epiclesis
Suzanne: Please extend your hands in blessing.
Your Spirit is upon the gifts of this Eucharistic table, bread of the grain and wine of the grape. They are gifts of wisdom, light and truth which remind us of our call to be the body of Christ to the world.
Consecration
Mary Theresa and All:
On the night before he faced his own death and for the sake of living fully, Jesus sat at supper with his companions and friends. He reminded them of all that he taught them, and to fix that memory clearly within them, he bent down and washed their feet.
When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted the Passover bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread, and offered it to them saying:
Take and eat.
This is my life,
given for you.
Whenever you share this bread,
remember me.
After supper he took the cup, blessed it, and said:
Take and drink.
This is the cup of the New Covenant,
poured out in love for all.
Whenever you share this cup, remember me.
Memorial Acclamation
Anne and All:
Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ lives in us.
Christ loves through us.
Christ transforms the world through us.
Suzanne: We give grateful thanks for those who came before us, for all those who gave from their hearts, who gave from their lives, that there might be a better world, a safer world, a kinder world. We pray for peace in their name.
Like Jesus, we will be filled with your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.
For it is through learning to live as he lived,
And why he lived,
And for whom he lived,
That we awaken to your Spirit within,
Moving us to worship you truly,
At this time and all time and in all ways.
And we say yes to You!
Communion Rite
Prayer of Jesus
Anne: Let us pray together the prayer of Jesus:
Holy One, who is within, around and among us,
We celebrate your many names.
Your Wisdom come.
Your will be done, unfolding from the depths within us,
Each day you give us all we need;
You remind us of our limits, and we let go.
You support us in our power, and we act with courage.
For you are the dwelling place within us,
the empowerment around us,
and the celebration among us, now and forever. Amen
(Miriam Therese Winter)
Sign of Peace
Mary Theresa: Let us offer one another a sign of peace-
All: Namaste, Namaste, Namaste
Prayer for the Breaking of the Bread
Suzanne: Please join in praying the prayer for the breaking of the bread:
Loving God, you call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice.
We will live justly.
Loving God, you call us to be Your presence in the world.
We will love tenderly.
Loving God, you call us to speak truth to power.
We will walk with integrity.
Mary Theresa: Let us pray our communion prayer together.
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. We are the Body and Blood of Christ in our world.
Please receive communion.
Communion Song: God of Abundance
Prayer After Communion
Anne: Generous God, You have nourished us with bread for the journey and hope for the world. May what we have shared here today become seeds of transformation.
Give us generous hearts, open hands, and courageous spirits, that wherever we go, Your love may take root. Amen.
Thanksgiving, Introductions and Announcements (Mary Theresa)
Final Blessing
Suzanne: Go now as sowers of hope. Scatter kindness without counting the cost. Offer forgiveness without measuring worthiness. Speak words that heal. Practice justice with courage. Welcome every person as beloved.
And may the God of holy abundance,
the Christ who embodied limitless compassion,
and the Spirit who keeps planting new life among us,
bless you, strengthen you, and send you forth
to sow love with joyful abandon. Amen.
Closing Song: Draw the Circle Wide Words and Music: Gordon Light
https://youtu.be/IiM0flTqD6s?si=UfotkfSVqtDB9qGZ
