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https://zoom.us/j/93473708926?pwd=VHFKZGJ5N3ljbzZtVU1qQVRZY1lodz09
Meeting ID: 934 7370 8926
Passcode: 552967
Theme: HOPE
Welcome: (Maryal) 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.
Keep in mind that all are welcomed at this table; Whoever you are, Wherever you are, and just as you are at this moment.
(Integral Christianity by Paul Smith)
Blessing of the Wreath and the Lighting Of The First Advent Candle
(Elena) The new Liturgical Cycle begins the Sunday following the Feast of Christ The King (Christ of The Cosmos) whom we celebrated last week. During this cycle we observe the season of advent that culminates with the commemoration of the birth of Jesus The Christ on Christmas Day. Like our ancestors, we honor the cycles and the seasons that remind us of the ever changing flow of life of which we are a part. Ritual acts give life meaning- they honor and acknowledge the unseen web of life that connects us all.
Creator God, we pray that the richness of your blessing will rest on this Advent wreath, ourselves and our Community as we prepare for the celebration of Jesus’ birth among us, on this earth. This wreath is a symbol of your never-ending care for us.
LIGHTING OF LARGE CENTRAL CANDLE.
(Maryal and All) We ask you to bless this central candle. May it be a constant reminder of your gift of Jesus, your beloved Son, as a light that will always shine in the darkness of our lives.
LIGHTING OF THE FIRST PURPLE CANDLE
(Maryal and All) May we during this Holy Season, reflect on the many different ways we can begin to make God’s compassion and love available to our broken world. Hope, like a seed buried deep beneath the earth; hidden, covered by layers of disappointment, struggle and pain; buried yetstretching, growing and becoming. Hope, like a seed becoming new life. We light a candle for Hope.
OPENING PRAYER FOR HOPE
( Elena and All) Creator of the stars of night, Your people's everlasting light, O Christ, Redeemer of us all, We pray you hear us when we call.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and set lights in the sky — sun and moon and stars. By these stars, our ancestors charted their journeys. By these stars, they knew God was with them.
Today we lit one candle to bring the fire of the stars down from heaven to earth, to nestle among the greens. We name this candle Hope.
We too are on a journey, and we do not always know the way. But we chart our path by the star of hope. Even when better days seem very far away and the weight of the world seems to crush your promises, we set our face steadily towards the light.
Listen now to the prayer of an ancient poet: “For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him. God alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God. Trust in The Holy One at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 67:5-8). F. Lord Jesus, as we search for signs of hope this week, help us to become the signs of hope that others are searching for. As this candle is but a glimpse of the light of the heavens, help us to be a glimpse of heaven’s hope. Amen.
OPENING SONG: O Children Come by Keith and Kristyn Getty
https://youtu.be/YU2DviZy0Dw?si=L45tUrQ1nGCeAaq-
RITE OF TRANSFORMATION
(Maryal) The one we await is already among us. Do we have the courage to see?
Most gentle and loving God, may we begin to see all that prevents us from finding Jesus in our midst.
Help us to clear away the clutter in our hearts and minds, distracting us from recognizing his gentle presence. (pause)
All: Transform us O God!.
LITURGY OF THE WORD
(Ann C) First Reading: MAGNIFICAT OF PROPHECY –LUKE 21:31-38
Jerusalem Leaps with Joy in the knowing of God and the core of the universe exults in the Creative One because this One has looked upon us with love.
Yes, from this day forward all people now and to come will be enriched by our choices for the Fertile Lover sows in each one of us a holy possibility.
Holy is the name of God and embracing all time and space, this gentle one nurtures those who cherish life and hope with open hearts.
Power resides in this One Alone, and in no other.
In places where pride and arrogance corrupt God’s work, a praying people will seek wisdom and act with discernment destroying the illusion of might.
There is but one Law, all pretenders will be driven out that the way may be made clear for the feet of the simple one.
There is nourishment in Jerusalem for those who hunger for peace and fairness.
For those who take more than their part, from them shall all real food be hidden and they shall lie gasping in their worthless largess.
God will walk with each one of us who quietly reaches out, mindful of intimate devotion and courage… for there are whispered promises between us… mindful of the intimate devotion and courage in knowing God we walk, in caring, with all people, all creation, and in this Truth
Jerusalem will live forever.
These are inspired words found in MIRYAM OF NAZARETH -Woman of strength & Wisdom by Ann Johnson and our response is AMEN
RESPONSORIAL PSALM 80 RESTORE US O HOLY ONE! LET YOUR FACE SHINE UPON US, TEACH US TO LOVE.
(Jim B) ~Receive our gratitude, O Heart of all hearts!
Look upon us and see what Love can do; rejoice in the new birth that You create!
RESPONSE: RESTORE US O HOLY ONE! LET YOUR FACE SHINE UPON US, TEACH US TO LOVE.
~Be glad where your seed has found fertile soil. How much more the return of on healthy plant than ten thousand useless weeds!
May those who have born the fruit of love radiate your Spirit into the world!
RESPONSE: RESTORE US O HOLY ONE! LET YOUR FACE SHINE UPON US, TEACH US TO LOVE.
~May we always walk and co-create with You; receive the gratitude of our hearts, as we share in the Great Plan!
Sing in unison to the Most High, our strength; shout for joy and join the celebration!
RESPONSE: RESTORE US O HOLY ONE! LET YOUR FACE SHINE UPON US, TEACH US TO LOVE.
(Ann C) Second Reading: 1Corinthians 1: 3-9
Every time I think of you- and I think of you often!- I thank God for your lives of free and open access to God, given by Jesus. There’s no end to what has happened in you---it’s beyond speech, beyond knowledge. The evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in your lives.
Just think---you don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all! All God’s gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that.
These are the inspired words written by Paul to the Community at Corinth and we respond AMEN
Alleluia (Eightfold) – Jan Phillips
https://youtu.be/IC4nbwmQDVw
(Maryal) GOSPEL READING: Mark 13:33-37
Jesus said to the disciples: “Be constantly on the watch! Stay awake! You do not know when the appointed time will come. The exact day and time? No one knows that, not even heaven’s angels, not even the Son. Only the Holy One. So keep a sharp lookout, for you don’t know the timetable. It’s like a man who takes a trip, leaving home and putting his servants in charge, each assigned a task, and commanding the gatekeeper to stand watch. So stay at your post, watching. You have no idea when the homeowner is returning, whether evening, midnight, cockcrow, or morning. You don’t want him showing up unannounced with you sleeping on the job. I say it to you and I’m saying it to all: Stay at your post. Keep watch.”
These are the inspired words of the evangelist Mark and we affirm them by saying: AMEN
Alleluia (Eightfold) – Jan Phillips
https://youtu.be/IC4nbwmQDVw
SHARED HOMILY
PROFESSION OF FAITH
(Cathy and All) O Holy One, Creator of this vast universe,
We believe that you are not far from us, and that your loving care is shown in the life, ministry , death and continued presence of Jesus the Christ, whom you sent to show us the way to your loving presence.
We believe that each of us is called to continue your presence and your work in this world, by loving and caring for one another.
We believe that no one is beyond the reach of your love, and so no one should be beyond the reach of our caring.
We believe that you call us to be one with you and with one another.
We believe that we have in our hearts the grace and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to live fully in your love when we are open to you.
We believe that you pardon our weaknesses and use them to teach us how to come to you.
We believe in the resurrection of Jesus in our lives, and life everlasting in your Divine Presence.
May God , the source of all patience and encouragement, enable us to live as we believe, in harmony with one another so that with our hearts and voices and lives we may glorify the God who names us and calls us to live in the fullness of being. Amen
PRAYERS OF AND FOR THE COMMUNITY
(Jim B) We now bring our prayer intentions to the Table.
Our response is: We awaken to your call
~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 the silence of our hearts. R
We pray for all the intentions in our MMOJ community prayer list. (Joan shares)
Response: We awaken to your call.
And, for what else should we pray? Response: We awaken to your call
(Jim B) Holy Mystery may we respond to the needs of our sisters and brothers in loving prayer and solidarity. All: Amen
Come , Lord And Tarry Not
https://youtu.be/J1-8Kg2ngxw?si=qYpIR__vQISqi1RR
OFFERTORY SONG: BY THE BROTHERHOOD OF HOPE
Refrain: You, O Lord, are the Christ, whose coming was foretold.
We long for you to come and set your people free.
1. Come, Lord, and tarry not! Bring the long looked for day!
O why these years of waiting here, These ages of delay?
2. Come, for Your saints still wait, Daily ascends their cry;
The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come!" Do You not hear our cry?
3. Come, for creation groans, Impatient of Your stay,
Worn out with these long years of ill, These ages of delay?
4. Come, and make all things new, Build up this ruined earth;
Restore our faded paradise, Creation's second birth.
5. Come, and begin Your reign Of everlasting peace;
Come, take the kingdom to Yourself, Great King of righteousness!
PRESENTATION OF THE BREAD AND WINE
(Maryal) 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.
(Maryal and All) Blessed are You, Holy One, forever.
(Elena) Blessed are You, O Loving One through Your divine providence we have this wine to share, our spiritual drink.
(Elena and All) Blessed are You, Holy One, forever.
(Maryal) Let us lift up our hearts.
(Maryal 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
(Jim B) Creator God, we see around us the work of your hands, the fruit of your wisdom and love. The unfolding story of creation witnesses unceasingly to your creative power. We, your creatures, often deviate from that wisdom, hindering your creative presence in our midst.
(Ann C) O Holy One, by sending among us Jesus, our brother, you birth afresh in our world the power of Sophia-Wisdom, and in the gift of the Spirit, your creative goodness blooms anew, amid the variety and wonder of life.
(Elena) That same Spirit we invoke now upon the gifts we have presented for this Eucharistic Feast, bread of the grain and wine of the grape, as they become for us the body and blood of Jesus--- to nurture afresh in us the discerning gifts of wisdom, light and truth.
Gathering the disciples around the table of shared wisdom, Jesus took bread, blessed you God of all good gifts, broke the bread and handed it to those seeking nourishment, with these words: “Take and eat; this is my very self.”
(Maryal) Then taking the cup of wine, Jesus gave thanks, and shared the cup with those gathered at Table, with these words:
“Take and drink of my cup of life, through which the covenant is made new again, for you and for everyone, for liberation from every oppression. Whenever you do this, remember me.”
(Ann C) Jesus, who was with God “in the beginning of the creation of the heavens and the earth,” is with usnow in this bread. The Spirit, of whom the prophets spoke in history, is with us now in this cup. Let us proclaim this mystery of faith.
(Ann and All) Jesus has died. Christ is risen. The Divine Presence lives in us and through us in the world today.
(Jim B) 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, that all glory and honor is yours, Creator God, forever and ever.
Great Amen: Linda Lee Miller
https://www.youtubom/watch?v=Dy76fpfkNsg
COMMUNION RITE
THE PRAYER OF JESUS
(Cathy) Let us pray as Jesus taught us.
(Cathy 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:
(Jim) O Life-giving God, we celebrate your fruitful love as we embrace one another with joy. May the peace that our brother Jesus, offers ,always be with us! All: AMEN
Before we prepare the Table and join in prayer with one mind and heart, let us extend a sign of Peace and Hope to one another as we say : All: Namaste, Namaste, Namaste
LITANY OF THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD
(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.
(Elena) This is the bread of life and the cup of blessing. Blessed are we who are called to Christ’s table.
(Elena and All) May we live as the Body of Christ in the world, serving all in need, especially those living on the margin.
(Maryal) Please receive/share Eucharist now, saying: “You are the bread of life.” And “You are the cup of compassion.”
Communion Song: Savior of the Nations, Come
https://youtu.be/6yKMI0kdXnU?si=rTLtReMV0Ard8XtZ
COMMUNION SONG: BY THE BROTHERHOOD OF HOPE
1. Savior of the nations, come; Virgin's Son, make here Thy home!
Marvel now, O heav'n and earth, That the Lord chose such a birth.
2. Not by human flesh and blood, By the Spirit of our God
Was the Word of God made flesh —Woman's offspring, pure and fresh.
3. Wondrous birth! O wondrous Child Of the Virgin undefiled!
Mighty God and man in one, Eager now His race to run!
4. God the Father is His source, Back to God He runs His course,
Down to death and hell descends, God's high throne He re-ascends.
5. Thou, the ageless Father's peer, Gird Thy might in mortal gear;
Take on flesh to rout the wrong, Make our flesh in frailty strong.
6. Praise to God, the Father, sing, Praise to God the Son, our King,
Praise to God the Spirit be Ever and eternally.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
(Elena) We rejoice in your amazing love, O Holy One!
We rejoice in the life changing opportunities you open to us.
Out of that joy, we offer our thanks and praise as we go forth challenged, encouraged and empowered. May we continue to live as hope filled partners in creating a world filled with love and ruled by justice. All: AMEN
INTRODUCTIONS/THANKSGIVING/ANNOUNCEMENTS
CLOSING COMMUNITY PRAYER
(Maryal and All)
Gathered together, we WAIT for the light.
Standing together, we TRUST in the light.
Praying together, we HOPE for the light.
Seeking together, we STEP out with the light.
Singing together, we are BLESSED by the light.
CLOSING COMMUNITY BLESSING
(Elena) And together with our arms extended to one another let us together share this Blessing:
May vision and truth companion you.
May beauty be in your eyes.
May PEACE fill your being, LOVE hold you close, EARTH give you guidance, STARS give you HOPE .
Blessings of life to you! (Jan Novotka)
(Maryal) Go into this week, held together by the love of God,
Clothed with the nature of Jesus our Companion,
and reinforced by the strength of Holy Spirit Sophia Wisdom,
during this holy season of Advent HOPE. All: AMEN
(Elena) Indeed! Let us go in faith and hope to ponder in our hearts the mystery and the wonder of this Holy season.
All: Thanks be to God. Let it be so! Alleluia!
CLOSING SONG: Revelation Canticle
https://youtu.be/hviSWWe-C5Q?si=jyPYB5wl77Y4AX2u
CLOSING SONG: BY THE BROTHERHOOD OF HOPE
REFRAIN: Now have salvation and power come,
the reign of our God and His Anointed One!
The accuser of our brothers is cast down,
defeated by the blood of the Lamb!
1. We praise You Lord Almighty
who is and who was.
Robed in Your great power
You have begun Your reign.
2. The nations raged in anger.
Then came Your day to judge,
to bless those who revere You,
the great and small alike.
3. Though death did confront them
they did not cling to life.
So rejoice you heavens
and you that dwell therein.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
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
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