Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81534075389?pwd=TTdGY2NxS3AzTW13ODJESkdYME9aUT09
Meeting ID: 815 3407 5389
Passcode: 803326
Theme: “Rise Up”
Welcome and Gathering
Kathryn: Welcome to our Zoom liturgy at Mary Mother of Jesus, an inclusive CatholicCommunity where all are welcome.
-We invite you to pray the liturgy and respond where it says “All.”
-All participants will be muted during the liturgy except for the presiders and readers.
-Please have bread and wine/juice nearby 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)
Let us now take a few minutes to collect ourselves as we prepare to focus our minds and our hearts on our knowledge that we are all one, brought together at this time to transform ourselves and our world through love; love for our Holy One, love for our neighbors, love for ourselves, and love for our planet. Let us begin our liturgy by expressing this love through song.
Opening Song
Rise Up by the Many
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Opening Prayer
Mary Kay: I Arise Today by John O’Donohue
I arise today in the name of Silence
Womb for the Word.
In the name of Stillness,
Home of Belonging.
In the name of the Solitude
Of the Soul and the Earth.
I arise today blessed by all things,
Wings of breath,
Delight of eyes,
Wonder of whisper,
Intimacy of touch,
Eternity of soul,
Urgency of thought,
Miracle of health,
Embrace of God.
May I live this day Compassionate of heart,
Clear in word,
Gracious in awareness,
Courageous in thought,
Generous in love. ALL: AMEN
Rite of Transformation
David: We pause now to remember the times we have not born fruit in caring for self and others. Take a moment to recall one missed opportunity, one broken or damaged relationship. (Pause briefly and extend your hand over your heart)
David and ALL: As we ask for and receive forgiveness, we open our hearts to Infinite Love embracing and healing us. Let it be https://youtu.be/udjH7EON5IYso, Alleluia!
Gloria: Glory to God by Marty Haugen
https://youtu.be/udjH7EON5IY
Liturgy of the Word
Beth: First Reading: “Still I Rise” by Mayo Angelou
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
’Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
’Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
Alleluia (Eightfold): by Jan Phillips
https://youtu.be/IC4nbwmQDVw
Jerry: Gospel Reading: John 14:15-21
If you love me you will keep my commandments.
I shall ask the Father, and he will give you another Paraclete to be with you for ever,
the Spirit of truth whom the world can never accept since it neither sees nor knows him; but you know him, because he is with you, he is in you.
I shall not leave you orphans; I shall come to you.
In a short time the world will no longer see me; but you will see that I live and you also will live.
On that day you will know that I am in the Holy Oneand you in me and I in you.
Whoever holds to my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me; and whoever loves me will be loved by the Divine, and I shall love them and reveal myself to them.
These are the words of the Gospel writer John and we affirm them by saying,
Jerry and ALL: Amen
Alleluia (Eightfold): by Jan Phillips
Homily/Community Sharing – Kathryn
May 20, 2023
Homily Starter – Kathryn Shea, ARCWP
Today’s Gospel describes the Ascension of Jesus after promising to send the Apostles the Holy Spirit as the source of Heavenly power and commanding them to bear witness to Him through their lives and preaching throughout the world. But the ascended Jesus is still with us because of His promise, "I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.” He is with us at all times and in all places, releasing a new energy upon the earth, the energy of the Holy Spirit.
But just before his Ascension, Jesus entrusted to the disciples the mission of preaching the Good News and evangelizing the whole world by bearing witness to him through their lives. This is essentially the Ascension message: "Preach the Good News and be my witnesses:" Matthew, Mark and Acts record Jesus’ last words differently: 1) “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). 2) “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). 3) “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15). All are in agreement that (a) Jesus gave the disciples a mission of bearing witness by preaching and living the Good News. They are to tell and re-tell the story of Jesus' life, suffering, death and Resurrection. (b) He assured them of the Divine assistance of the Holy Spirit in the carrying out of this mission. (c) He instructed them to baptize the believers: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Mt 16: 19-20).
We have a teaching mission: Jesus taught us lessons of Faith, Hope, forgiveness, mercy, redemption and Love. We cannot put these lessons on a shelf and ignore them. They stand before us in the person of Jesus. Although no longer visibly present in the world, Jesus is present in his words. and we must make these words real in our lives as well as in the lives of others. Christianity was meant to be a Faith in which Jesus’ followers would help and care for others, just as Jesus had done.
In my reflection on the Ascension this week, I was reminded of a writing by Paul Tillich in his book, A New Being. It is a section entitled “Yes and No”. He writes, “And does not Paul in this second letter to the Corinthians formulate the Yes and No in a most paradoxical way: ‘Unknown and yet well known, dying and behold we live, having nothing and yet possessing everything.’ ” This certainly is Yes and No. But in the Christ, he says, there is not Yes and No. Really not? Do we not come from Good Friday to Easter, which point to the deepest No and the highest Yes—that of the death and life of the Christ? Yes and No: This certainly is the law of all life, but not Yesalone and not No alone. Truth as well as life unite Yes and No, and only the courage which accepts the infinite tension between Yes and No can have abundant life and ultimate truth. How is such a courage possible? There is only one reality where there is not Yes and No but only Yes: Jesus as the Christ.
Therefore, we are not asked to accept Him as the unquestionable teacher or as the always fitting example, but we are told that in Him all promises of God have become real, and that in Him a life and a truth which is beyond Yes and No has become manifest. This is the meaning of "Resurrection." The No of death is conquered and the Yes of life is transcended by that which has appeared in Him. A life which is not balanced by death, a truth which is not balanced by error is visible in His being. He shows the final Yes without another No. This is the Easter message; this is the Christian message altogether. And this is the ground of a courage which can stand the infinite tension between Yes and No in everything finite, even in everything religious and in everything Christian. We can stand the Yes and No of life and truth because we participate in the Yes beyond Yes and No, because we are in it, as it is in us. We are participants of His resurrection; therefore, we can say the ultimate Yes, the Amen beyond our Yes and No.” And to this we say YES and AMEN!
Communal Statement of Faith
David: 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 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 in the Holy Spirit,
The life of God that is our innermost life,
The breath of God moving in our being,
The depth of God living in each of us.
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
Beth: We now bring our prayer intentions to the Table.
Our response is: ALL: We rise up in prayer!
We pray for all suffering from natural disasters all over the world, that they not lose hope and that they feel the light of your love. R
We pray for the people of Ukraine and Russia that they may live in peace without fear and that goodness and sanity will fill the hearts and minds of those that would cause them harm. R
We pray that our government puts children above guns, power, and greed. R
We pray for our MMOJ intentions on our community prayer list. R
And for what else do we pray? Begin with, “I bring to the table.”
Our response is: ALL: We rise up in prayer!
Beth: Holy Mystery may we respond to the needs of our sisters and brothers in loving prayer and solidarity. Amen
Liturgy of the Eucharist
Mary K: O Holy One, you have been called by many names by many people in the centuries of our planet’s life. Yet, no name truly defines you or describes you. We celebrate you as the marvelous, loving energy of life who caused us and our world to be. We celebrate you as the Source of light and life and love, and we celebrate your presence and all-ways care.
Kathryn: Please join in praying the Eucharistic prayer together, (written by Jay Murnane).
We speak out words of joy and gratitude, for you are the source of universes and swirling galaxies, and what we know about you is light. You are the source of our world - all the wonders of air, and earth, and fire, and water - and what we know about you is life. You are the source and sustaining energy of the original communion, and every expression of that communion throughout our world, and what we know of you is love.
Jerry: Grateful for your covenant with us, which extends to us the heritage of light and life and love, we gather in a circle of hopeful openness, joined with all living creatures, and we sing:
Holy, Holy, Holy by Karen Drucker
https://youtu.be/nTewBnxBy30
Mary K: All of what we can ever say about you is revealed in the harmony of nature all around us, and in all right-relations. We have been taught that it can be found within us and among us, as well. We gratefully recall all your visionaries and wise ones throughout our history, in so many traditions, who have taught us of all that we are capable of being, who have reflected your light in their lives of wisdom and tenderness.
David: We are thankful for what Jesus expressed for all the world in the simplicity of his human-ness: that you are the very truth of love, and that we are to be love's vehicles and love's troubadours.
Davic and ALL: On the night before he died, so that he and all of us could really live, Jesus gathered for the Seder supper with his friends. Like the least of household servants, he washed their tired and dusty feet, so that they would never forget him and his work. Back again at the table, he lifted the Passover loaf, spoke the grace, and offered it to them: Take and eat; this is my very self.
Beth and ALL: Then he took the Cup of Blessing, spoke the grace, and offered them the wine: Take and drink of the covenant made new again through my life, for you and for all the world, that all oppression may cease. Whenever you do this, you re-member me.
There can indeed be light if we are willing to re-member, and not forget. For light will come from our struggle to be wise, and courageous, and true to our vision. There can be light if we are passionately doing the work of justice and right-relations, working skillfully to eliminate the shadow- illusion of separateness so that we can live together well and peace-fully.
Kathryn: We will learn to trust you, ourselves, and all of creation. And with that trust, we will open ourselves and our small circles, until they are as wide as your own love, and as warm and bright as your own light, as Jesus showed us. It is through him, with him, in him, in communion with your enlightening Spirit, that all which is yours is acknowledged as yours, Creator-God, now and all-ways and forever.
Great Amen: Linda Lee Miller
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy76fpfkNsg
Jerry: Let us pray together the prayer of Jesus:
You, the breath and life of all, Create, through your light, a heart-shrine within us, and your wisdom guides us, as oneness guides every-thing. Your one desire then becomes ours, as in all light, so in all forms. You grant what we need each day, in bread and insight. You loosen the cords of faults binding us, as we release the strands we hold of one another's faults. You guide us away from the deception of illusion; You guide us towards response at the moment of truth. To you belongs the wisdom, the life which creates and causes-to-be, the song that beautifies all, renewing itself forever. And we say yes!
Let us now share communion saying, “You are called to rise.”
Communion Song:
We Are Called by David Haas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DCzqHV-Xns
Introductions/Prayers of Thanksgiving/Announcements
Community Blessing (please raise your hands in blessing)
Mary K: God grants the gifts of strength and courage to all who work to bring light, and create a world of compassion and peace. The living light which is God's life magnifies the good within your heart of love and within the center of every living creature.
understanding, laughter, mercy, and creativity: You are called, consecrated, and sent forth with Spirit into this world for the fulfillment of creation, and the kin-ship of all life! ALL: Amen!
All: As we go now in peace, God's own peace be with you each and all,
all-ways!
Closing Song: The Rebel Jesus by Jackson Browne
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO3O2FhKqEc
This liturgy was written by Jay Murnane and adapted by Mary Theresa Streck and Kathryn Shea. We are forever grateful to have walked this Earth with Jay and to receive his many gifts and talents.
If you would like to add your intercession to our MMOJ Community Prayers book,
Please send an email to jmeehan515@aol.com
If you would like to invite another person to attend our liturgy please refer them to
www.marymotherofJesus.net where the day’s liturgy is found. Zoom instructions are also included there.