Theme: “Let Peace Begin with Me”
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https://zoom.us/j/93473708926?pwd=VHFKZGJ5N3ljbzZtVU1qQVRZY1lodz09
Meeting ID: 934 7370 8926
Passcode: 552967
Welcome and Gathering
Cathy: 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.”
-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.
Gathering Song: Let there Be Peace on Earth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPH4LRASWbo
Opening Prayer
Elena: In the name of our Creator, Jesus our brother, and Holy Spirit Wisdom, we gather to celebrate our oneness with and in you and in all things. This Great Mystery is the foundation and template for the entire universe, and when fully experienced, has the capacity to change everything. We seek to fully understand this Great Mystery, but more importantly to understand how we live it in our lives. Let our ears hear, our eyes see, and our hearts receive as we remember and expand the power of love on Earth. During these dark days, we live with the certainty that you walk with us, Infinite One, as we continue to awaken to the fullness of grace consciousness, united as one people, one planet, one universe, expressing unconditional love toward all living things.
Rite of Transformation
Mary Al: 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)
Mary AL and ALL: As we ask for and receive forgiveness, we open our hearts to Infinite Love embracing and healing us. Let it be so, Yes, Alleluia!
A Joyful Gloria: Linda Lee Miller and graphics by Rick Miller
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lA5I0nODZI
Liturgy of the Word
Pat: First Reading: From Rabbi Sheila Weinberg, Jewish Community of Amherst, Amherst, MA.
Two peoples, one land,
Three faiths, one root,
one earth, one mother,
One sky, one beginning, one future,
One destiny,
One broken heart,
One God.
We pray to You:
Grant us a vision of unity.
May we see the many in the one and
The one in the many.
May you, Life of All the Worlds,
Source of All Amazing Differences
Help us to see clearly.
Guide us gently and firmly toward
Each other,
Toward peace. ALL: Amen.
These are the inspired words of Rabbi Weinberg and we affirm them by saying, ALL: Let it be so.
Responsorial – Spirit of the Living God by Linda Lee Miller
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfl1ZbTjluY
Cathy: Second Reading – Exodus 22:20-26
Thus says the LORD:
“You shall not harass the newcomer, nor shall you afflict him. For you yourselves were once newcomers in the land of Egypt.
You shall not harm a widow or an orphan.
If you hurt them, they will cry out to me, and I will hear their cry.
And my fury will be enraged, and I will strike you down with the sword. And your wives will become widows, and your sons will become orphans.
If you lend money to the poor of my people who live among you, you shall not coerce them like a collector, nor oppress them with usury.
If you take a garment from your neighbor as a pledge, you shall return it to him again before the setting of the sun.
For it is all that he has to cover himself, to clothe his body; nor does he have anything else in which to sleep. If he cries out to me, I will hear him, because I am compassionate.
Celtic Alleluia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1rc7ojQtJU
Elena: Gospel Reading: Matthew 22:34-40
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together,
and one of them, a scholar of the law tested him by asking,
Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
These are the inspired words of the Gospel writer, Mathew, and we affirm them by saying, ALL: Amen.
Celtic Alleluia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1rc7ojQtJU
Homily Starter and Community Sharing
Communal Statement of Faith
Mary Al and ALL: 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
Pat: We now bring our prayer intentions to the Table.
Our response is: All: Holy One, we know you walk with us in our hour of need.
We pray for all those who have died as a result of the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. We pray for those who are suffering and still missing. R
We pray for all who are suffering, lonely, and without faith or hope. R
We pray for all those suffering as a result of the natural disasters taking place on our planet. R
We pray for all the intentions in our MMOJ community prayer list. (Joan shares)
Response: Holy One, we know you walk with us in our hour of need. prayers.
And, for what else should we pray?
Response: Holy One, we know you walk with us in our hour of need.
Pat: Holy Mystery may we respond to the needs of our sisters and brothers in loving prayer and solidarity. Amen
Presentation of the Bread and Wine
Cathy: 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.
Cathy and All: Blessed are You, Holy One, forever.
Mary Al: Blessed are You, O Loving One through Your divine providence we have this wine to share, our spiritual drink.
Mary Al and All: Blessed are, You, Holy One, forever.
Pat: Let us lift up our hearts.
Pat and All: We lift them up to the Holy One, living in us and loving through us.
Eucharistic Prayer
Elena: Gracious Wisdom, you embrace us with your extravagant affection in our times of both blessedness and weakness. Even though we have times of doubt, we know You are always with us…you living in us and we living in you. In this festive meal, your Spirit is poured out on each of us gathered in the circle of your friends and disciples, we also ask that your Spirit be spread to those of our community who are not with us today.
Let us rejoice as we sing:
All: Holy, Holy, Holy Linda Lee Miller
(adapted from Holy, Holy, Holy by Karen Drucker)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orKBBIj5LZA
Mary Al: We thank you for the gift of Jesus of Nazareth in history -- and the gift of Jesus in faith. On earth, his life burned with the vision of his mission on earth. Through the example of his life – his teachings and actions - he showed us not only how we should live, but also what was worth even dying for.
Cathy: When his time on earth had come to an end, Jesus – aware of and accepting his destiny – gave us his life for the values that he deeply believed, lived and taught…his conviction that love is stronger than death. And then, in providing an example of this wisdom for all people in ages to come, he opened wide his arms…and died. And the spirit that lived in Jesus resurrected him to a new life, a promise made to all of us too who live the new story. Jesus is with us today and he will be through the end of time.
(With an outstretched arm, we pray the consecration together. We remember the gift that Jesus gave us on the night before he died. He gathered with his friends to share a final Passover meal. And it was at that supper that Jesus took bread, said the blessing and shared it with them 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. This is the new and everlasting covenant.
[short pause]
Pat: In the same way, Jesus took a cup of wine, said the blessing and gave it to his friends 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.
Mary Al: Jesus, who was with God “in the beginning of the creation of the heavens and the earth,” is with us now in this bread. The Spirit, of whom the prophets spoke in history, is with usnow in this cup. Let us proclaim this mystery of faith.
Mary Al and All: Jesus has died. Christ is risen. The Divine Presence lives in us and through us in the world today.
Elena: God, we know that you bless your church throughout the world. We, your people, ask for your grace that we may continually grow in our love and caring for Francis, our Pope, Bridget Mary, our Bishop and for everyone with whom we come in contact, especially those who live on the margins of church and society. They are all our brothers and sisters, members of your Blessed Family. 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..)
Elena and All: We believe that the Spirit of God is at work in and among us and will do more than we could ever ask or imagine. We believe that it is through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, Creator God, forever and ever.
Great Amen: Linda Lee Miller
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy76fpfkNsg
COMMUNION RITE
The Prayer of Jesus
Pat: Let us pray as Jesus taught us.
Pat and All: O Holy One, you are 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 your 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 Adapted, Miriam Therese Winter, MMS
Sign of Peace:
Cathy: Eternal wellspring of peace-
May we be drenched with the longing for peace
That we may give ourselves over
As the earth to the rain, to the dew,
Until peace overflows our lives
As living waters overflow the seas. (Marcia Falk)
Jesus said to his disciples, “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.”
Cathy: Please join in praying the Litany for the Breaking of the Bread:
Cathy 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 presence in the world; we will do so.
Mary Al: This is the bread of life and the cup of blessing. Blessed are we who are called to Christ’s table.
Mary Al and All: May we live as the Body of Christ in the world, serving all in need, especially those living on the margin.
Mary Al: Please receive/share Eucharist now, saying: “You are the bread of life.” And “You are the cup of compassion.”
Communion Song: There is only Love by Karen Drucker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdDhH8hoQ5c
Introductions/Thanksgiving/Announcements
Closing Community Prayer
Pat: A Prayer for Peace
For those who are fleeing: sanctuary
For those who are staying: safety
For those who are fighting: peace
For those whose hearts
are breaking: comfort
For hose who see no future: hope
Pat and All: Amen
Closing Community Blessing
Elena: And together with our arms extended to one another as we say this Native American Blessing:
May the sun
Bring you new energy by day.
May the moon
Softly restore you by night.
May the rain
Wash sway your worries.
May the breeze
Blow new strength into your being.
May you walk
Gently through the world and know
Its beauty all the days of your life. – Apache Prayer
ALL: Thanks be to God. Let it be so! Alleluia!
Closing Song:
What a Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong) | Playing For Change | Song Around The World
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddLd0QRf7Vg
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.
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Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community
5342 Clark Road #3079
Sarasota, FL 34233