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https://zoom.us/j/93473708926?pwd=VHFKZGJ5N3ljbzZtVU1qQVRZY1lodz09
Meeting ID: 934 7370 8926
Passcode: 552967
Welcome and Gathering
Katy: Welcome to our Zoom liturgy at Mary Mother of Jesus, an inclusive Catholic Community where all are welcome: Whoever you are, Wherever you are, just as you are, You are welcome at this table to affirm our call to be the Body of Christ in our time and place. (Integral Christianity by Paul Smith)
Parts of this liturgy are adapted from the last liturgy created by Dena O’Callaghan ARCWP (my ordination partner Feb 2010) and her priest spouse John for their Catholic House Church of Mary and Joseph located in Ocalla FL for 15 years. They returned to MI in 2020. Dena and I celebrate a liturgy together each month. Dena presided in May 2023 and used this liturgy. I chose this liturgy to honor Dena’s continuing priestly ministry with family and friends and the memory of Fr John her beloved spouse now deceased.
-All participants will be muted during the liturgy except for the presiders and readers.
-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.
-Please light your candle now.
Elena: Let us now take a few minutes to collect ourselves as we prepare to open our minds and our hearts to our knowledge that we are One, brought together to transform ourselves and Sophia Creator’s world through Her Love; our love for the Holy One, Her Love for our neighbors, Her Love for ourselves, and Sophia’s Love for Her Blue planet
. Let us begin our liturgy by expressing
Holy Mystery’s unconditional Love through song.
Gathering Song: The Summons (Will you come and follow me)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiXnbOORTAU
Joan Pesce: Opening Reflection: Living with Spiritual Resilience
Prof Delores spoke to Brian Thomas Swimme, “One last thing. Now listen to me. When things get hard, and they will, you will sometimes wonder if you should have stayed here. When that happens, I want you to remember what I am about to tell you. You will find a guide. You have a path ahead of you, a path I cannot travel. But you can. You have the necessary spiritual resilience.”
(Brian) “Spiritual resilience…Which means?”
(Prof Delores) “The ability to leap off cliffs.”
(Christogenesis by Brian Swimme pg. 166)
Liturgy of the Word
Anna Davis: First reading: Brian T Swimme from “Prologue* of Cosmogenesis
The theories of quantum mechanics, the general theory of relativity, plate tectonics…have enabled us to discover our cosmic genesis, which can be summarized in a single complex sentence: the universe began fourteen billion years ago with the emergence of elementary particles in form of primordial plasma, which quickly morphed into atoms hydrogen, helium, and lithium; a hundred million years later, galaxies began to appear, and in one of these, the Milky Way, minerals arranged themselves into living cells that constructed advanced life, including evergreen trees, coral reefs and the vertebrate nervous systems that humans used to discover this entire sequence of universe development…Let us remember that not one of the 10,000 previous generations of humans knew the cosmic sequence of transformations that brought us forth. These words are inspired by Sophia Wisdom for all of humanity evolving to our Wholeness. All: We give thanks
Response to our reading:
Canticle of the Sun - Michelle Sherliza
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfJ6WJPUff8
Jerry Bires: Second Reading: Brian T Swimme from “Cosmogenesis: Chapter Our Common Human Destiny” pg. 314
The universe rests on relationship. The first elementary particles, such as protons, neutrons and electrons, deepened their relationships and gave birth to a trillion galaxies. No new particles came along. It was done by the original set. I need to say it again. These particles constructed the galaxies by doing one thing: deepening their relationships…Unicellular organisms, each one smaller than the sharp end of a pin, entered into relationships with each other and ended up constructing lions...In our universe, ultimate creativity rests upon the union of things. Humans took this magic and ran with it. Genetically, we are practically identical with all the other apes, but we found ways to deepen our relationships, which brought forth new capacities to see and to listen. Because of these new capacities, we can hear the universe tell the story of how it created us, how each of us is a billion-year process. These words are inspired by Sophia Wisdom for all of humanity to our Wholeness. All: We give thanks (author’s emphasis)
Joan P: Gospel is taken from Matthew 10:26-28
Don’t let people intimidate you. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, and nothing is hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in darkness, speak in the light. What you hear in private, proclaim from the housetops. Don’t fear those who can deprive the body of life but can’t destroy the soul. The inspired words from Matthew.
All: Amen.
Mary Al: “Teilhard de Chardin did not see the human person lost or insignificant in light of evolution; rather, he saw the human person as the arrow of evolution, the self-conscious “mind” of evolution, one who influences the direction of evolution.” (Ilia Delio, Making All Things New”)
Katy: Meditation on the universe and relationship with Jesus
Questions to go deeper:
What challenged or affirmed your thoughts and values in these readings?
Do you accept that you are a child of Holy Mystery?
Do you accept that you are a brother/sister of Jesus?
Do you agree with Diarmuid O’Murchu that humans should be known as Earthlings, not homo sapiens?
How do the words of Jesus and our continuing evolving story impact your fears?
How does knowing that humanity evolved over billions of years and through relationships at every level support or challenge your beliefs?
Because of scientific discoveries, has you image of God changed?
Communal Statement of Faith
(Adapted Fr John Shea, SJ CHC of M and J)
Jerry B and ALL:
We believe that where people are gathered together in love
We believe that we are immersed in Holy Mystery
We believe that Sophia Wisdom is present to us,
We believe that the Holy One loves us unconditionally
We believe that, in and with Jesus, each of us is embraced in the Oneness of Love which is God
We believe that the Spirit of Peace is present with us, the People of God,
We believe most deeply that in our struggle to love,
Amen. May this be so.
Prayers of and for the Community
Anna D: Let us pray for our personal, community, country, world’s needs;
Our response is: All: Beloved Creator, we know you respond to our prayers.
Anna: We pray for all the systems of planet earth that she and all her life may continue to evolve as your Love Energy calls from the future. R
We pray for all species of life on your blue planet especially human consciousness in relationship with Beloved Creator to the 7th generation. R
We pray “O Great Spirit, who made all races, look kindly upon the whole human family, and take away the arrogance and hatred which separates us from our sisters and brothers.” R (Cherokee Prayer American Indian).
Joan Meehan we pray for the intentions in the community prayer book. R
And, for what else should we pray?
Anna D: Holy Mystery may we your beloved daughters and sons respond to the needs of our sisters and brothers in loving words, kindness and solidarity. Amen
Presentation of the Bread and Wine
Joan: Gracious God, you have set the banquet table and have invited all of us to a feast of unending delight. 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.
Joan: Blessed are You, O Loving One through Your divine providence we have this wine to share, our spiritual drink.
Joan and All: Blessed are, You, Holy One, forever.
Joan Let us lift up our hearts.
Joan and All: We lift up our every thought, word and action of kindness and compassion of Jesus our Way to the Holy One, living in us and loving through us.
Communal Transformation Rite
Elena: As we gather at this table of abundant love and gracious care in memory of Jesus, we pause now to remember the times we did not treat others with kindness and compassion. Take a few moments to recall one missed opportunity, one broken or damaged relationship. (Pause briefly)
Hold your hands over your heart and remember the power of divine love within you to forgive and heal self and others. Now imagine this person or situation in the light of abundant grace as we pray for forgiveness. (Pause briefly.)
Elena and All: I love you, I am sorry, please forgive me, I thank you.
Eucharistic Prayer
(Adapted by Fr. Robert Daly, SJ; CHCofM&J)
Mary Al: CREATOR GOD, we praise you with all your creatures great and small,
From the expansive galaxies to the tiniest particles. They all come forth from your creative hand filled with your presence they are signs of your undying love.
Mary Al: Praise be to You!
All: Praise be to You!
Anna D: WORD OF GOD, Jesus, we praise you.
Through you all these things were made and have their being. And when you took your bodily shape in the womb of Mary, Our Mother, you entered into the chaos of human lives to bring us into the beauty of your Love.
Anna D: Praise be to You!
All: Praise be to You
Jerry B: HOLY SPIRIT SOPHIA, we praise you
Who breathed over your created world, spoke to us through your prophets’ voices, hovered over Mary’s womb and made us beloved daughters and sons of your Love, energy of evolution.
Jerry B: Praise be to You!
All: Praise be to You
Katy and All: HOLY MYSTERY, we now thank you for your greatest word to us: Jesus our Universal Christ. You sent Jesus to show us clearly who You are. And of all Jesus said and did, we thank You for his loving gift to us on the night before he was assassinated.
(Lifting up the bread, with an outstretched arm, we pray the consecration together.
Joan And All: Jesus gathered with his friends and family to share a final Passover meal. It was at that supper that Jesus took bread, gave You thanks and praise, broke it and shared it with them and us saying: “take this, all of you, and eat it. This bread is you; this bread is me. We are one body, the presence of God in the world. When you do this, remember me and all that I have taught you.
[short pause]
Elena and All: In the same way, Jesus took a cup of wine, again giving thanks to You O God, he blessed it and gave it to his friends and family, saying: take this, all of you, and drink it. This wine is you; this wine is me. We are one blood, the presence of God in the world. When you do this, remember me and all that I have taught you. This is the new and everlasting covenant.
With great joy then, let us proclaim the mystery of our faith…
Mary Al and All: Remembering the cross, death and mindful of Jesus’ loving words and healing actions, we give you thanks and praise and offer you, O God this blest bread and cup while offering ourselves until Christ comes again.
Anna and All: Send us Gracious God, the Spirit Jesus promised us. Open our eyes to your presence in us, in Francis, our Pope, Bridget Mary our bishop, in all our brothers and sisters, and in your sacred created world of planet Earth.
Joan: We remember also all those, living and dead, who touched our lives and left their footprints on our hearts. We remember especially….(mention names here, if you would like to..)
Jerry and All: Finally, we pray that through this meal we may be strengthened to become more of what you want us to be: your community of Love, the Body of Christ for others whom we meet on our journey home to you.
COMMUNION RITE
The Prayer of Jesus
Katy and All: Let us pray as Jesus taught us.
Father-Mother, Source of all that is, your light radiates throughout the cosmos. Let us be a resonant space for your vibrations, like the space inside a violin. May your heart’s desire for unity and harmony penetrate all and radiate throughout every part of the cosmos. May we have each day, bread and wisdom to sustain us, so that we might love beyond our ideals and show compassion for all creatures. Untie the tangled threads of our mistakes and failures that tie us in knots as we also release the strands of others’ guilt that we hold. Don’t let surface things delude us, but free us from what holds us back from our true purpose. Amen. (Translated version of Aramaic Our Father based on Patricia Fresen RCWP and Douglas-Klotz, compiled by Rader and Pawloski)
Sign of Peace:
Mary Al: Jesus said to his disciples and to us, “My peace I leave you. My peace I give you.” Let us now extend a sign of peace to one another as we say, “Namaste, Namaste, Namaste.”
Joan: Let us pray the Litany for the Breaking of the Bread:
Joan and 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 compassion and kindness to all life of Earth;
We will do so.
(Joan lifts the bread, Katy lifts the wine)
Anna and All: This is the bread of life and the cup of blessing. Blessed are we who are called to Christ’s table. Jesus, your Love makes us worthy to receive you and to become the Body of Christ for others
Elena and All: May we live as the Body of Christ’s kindness and compassion in the world, serving all in need, especially those living on the margins and suffering in any way..
Communion Song:
Holy Mystery by Hillary Musgrave (fade at 3 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijFxTGeXvUk
Reflection after Communion
Mary Al: “The very meaning of Creation is seen to be an act of worship, a devoted proclamation of the splendor, the wonder, and the beauty of God. In this great Sanctus, all things justify their being and have their place”
(An observation from Evelyn Underhill (1875–1941), an English theologian and mystic)
Words of Thanksgiving
Introductions, Announcements,
Closing
Katy: “My place to stand” means that I belong. I have a family; I have a tribe. And because of those connections, my feet are rooted firmly in the earth of my ancestors and I have my place. I am not confused about who or what I am. I know, I have the blood of my ancestors surging through my veins, and no one can take this identity from me.”** Holy Mystery may your sustaining peace rest within our every heartbeat and accompany us into the unknown of your creative evolving future. We have no fear. Amen.
Joan and All: And together with our arms extended to one another we pray:
May you dwell in the Heart of Love,
May you act justly, with integrity,
May you join in the Dance of Life,
And sing with joy!
May your family, friends and, indeed,
The world be blessed by your Love. (Psalm 15:6)
Closing Song:
I Danced in the Morning (Lord of the Dance)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR2tkQJFEB8
To be alive in this beautiful self-organizing universe — to participate in the dance of life with senses to perceive it, lungs that breathe it, organs that draw nourishment from it — is a wonder beyond words. Joanna Macy
RESOURCES TO CONTINUE TO LEARN
*Cosmogenesis: An Unveiling of the Expanding Universe; Brian Thomas Swimme; Counterpoint publishing 2022. Brian’s own journey to his meeting with Thomas Berry and Matthew Fox and his journey in understanding the unfolding cosmology.
Sr Ilia Delio “Center for Christogenesis” https://christogenesis.org/ Holds regular webinars and will hold a three-day conference this fall. All things Teilhard de Chardin and beyond. MMOJ members may remember Janet Blakeley led us in a study of her book “The Unbearable Wholeness of Being: God, Evolution, and Power of Love” I am currently reading her, “The Hours of the Universe: Reflections on God, Science, and the Human Journey.” 3-5 page articles on the hours of the office for the universe and related.
Deeptime Network hello@dtnetwork.org Founder is Sarbmeet Kanwal. All things Quantum Science, evolution, etc. I met the founder via an Illia Delio webinar. Took a webinar course from the group. Website includes all kinds of ways to interact and learn about the cutting-edge scientific knowledge. (Which for me sheds light on how Holy Mystery interacts with the material universe, you know that “On the first day…” verse.)
**Native Wisdom for White Minds: Daily Reflections Inspired by the Native Peoples of the World: Anne Wilson Schaef: One World, Ballantine Books, NYC 1995: Pg June 29
If you would like to add your intercession 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
www.marymotherofJesus.net where the day’s liturgy is found. Zoom instructions are also included there.
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