See our beautiful service and pics for our service in honor of the life and legacy of Dr. Jack Duffy, one of our MMOJ co-founders and member from 2006.
We give thanks for the life and prophetic witness, compassion and goodness of our dear Jack whom we will always carry in our hearts.
We miss him and know he is still inspiring our prophetic witness for the full equality of women in all ministries including ordination in the Roman Catholic Church.
Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP
OpeningHymn: Amazing Grace
Opening Prayer :
All: Loving God, we gather now to honor our beloved Jack. We give thanks for his life and the many blessings that he brought to us. Even though not visible to us, we believe that Jack still walks among us. He inspires, encourages, comforts and challenges us to be the hands and feet of Christ on earth. Today, we gather to celebrate Jack’s life, break bread and raise a glass in his honor.
First Reading
St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans (Romans 8:16-17, 35, 38)
God’s Spirit joins with our spirit to declare that we are God’s children.And if we are children, we are heirs as well: heirs of God and coheirs with Christ. What will separate us from the love of Christ? Trouble? Calamity? Persecution? Hunger? Nakedness? Danger? Violence?
For I am certain that neither death nor life, neither angels, nor demons, neither the present nor the future, neither heights nor depths – nor anything else in all creation – will be able to separate us from the love of God that comes to us in Christ Jesus.The Word of God.R. Thanks be to God!
Music for reflection:
Second Reading:
A Reading from the Gospel: (John14:1-3)
Don't let your hearts betroubled. You have faith inGod;
In God'shousethereare manydwellingplaces;
Otherwise, how could I have told you that I was going to prepare a place foryou? I am indeed going to prepare a place foryou
And then I will come back to take you, that where I am, there you may be aswell.
TributetoJack Duffy
Each of us have our own special, cherished memories.
The love we received from Jack will never die.
Now, we share our gratitude for the miracle of his magnificent life lived in service to others.
Kathryn: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 for the Celebration of Life of Marty, a beloved child of God.
-All participants will be muted during the liturgy except for the presiders and readers. When invited to share your thoughts/reflections, please unmute, speak, and then mute again. Where it indicates “ALL”, please respond silently.
-If you wish to share in our Eucharistic prayer, please have bread and wine/juice nearby.
Whoever you are,
Wherever you are,
Just as you are,
You are welcome at this table. (Integral Christianity by Paul Smith)
Kathryn:The songs throughout our liturgy are some of Marty’s favorite songs. Our opening Song is: In The Garden performed by Rosemary Siemens
Gracious God, we give thanks for Marty andthe many ways that he revealed you to us. We remember his loving and through his love we felt your generous Spirit. We are grateful for the ways Marty nurtured, encouraged, and supported us and through him we felt your nurturing Spirit. We have come to know you, Generous Spirit, through your son and our brother, Marty,
Almitra spoke, saying, We would ask now of Death. And he said: You would know the secret of death. But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life? The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light. If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life. For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond; And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity. Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour. Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king? Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun? And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing. And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.
Kathryn:(please share a story or gratitude for Marty. Family members will share first.)
Communal Statement of Faith
Beth:Please join in our Communal 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 for the Community
David:We now bring our prayer intentions to the Table, saying, “I bring to the Table…”
We pray for all who are suffering, lonely, and without faith or hope.
Our response is: Holy One, you love through us.
We pray for all those suffering as a result of the natural disasters taking place on our planet.
Response: Holy One, you love through us.
We pray for all those living in the conditions of war and fear.
Response: Holy One, you love through us.
We pray for the intentions in our MMOJ community prayer list. (Joan shares)
Response: Holy One, you love through us.
And, for what else should we pray?
Response: Holy One, you love through us.
David: We pray for these and all the unspoken intentions in our hearts. Amen.
Preparation of the Gifts
Kathryn: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.
Mary T: Blessed are You, O Loving One through Your divine providence we have this wine to share, our spiritual drink.
All: Blessed are, You, Holy One, forever.
Mary Al:Nurturing One, we are united in this sacrament by the love of Christ, whose presence we are as we proclaim the liberating power of your Spirit Sophia, in our humanity and divinity, calling us to build the unity of Love in a more compassionate and just world. All: Amen.
Eucharistic Prayer
Jerry Bires:Extravagant Lover, in you, with you and through your endless outpouring of grace, we are blessed with joy amidst the wrong and suffering of our world. In you, we live and move and dwell in love beyond our deepest desires.
Dotty Shugrue:Generous Giver, you give us wise companions on our journey who work for humanity’s healing and well-being and for the flourishing of all creation.
With thankful hearts, in the company of all holy women and men, your liberating Spirit rises up within us, works through us, and we sing:
All:Holy, Holy, Holy (adapted from Holy, Holy, Holy by Karen Drucker)
Dotty Shugrue: Conscious of the Oneness, we pray that we may serve others with generous hearts especially the least and the last, the oppressed and marginalized. The bread we break and the cup we share are symbols of the fullness of life that all are invited to share.
Lee:Please extend your hands in blessing and pray together.
As we bless this bread and wine, we are ever aware of Your Spirit in us and among us at this Eucharistic table. We remember our brother Jesus whose life and teachings reflected the depth of divine love beyond our hopes and dreams.
Anna D:On the night before he died, Jesus came to table with his family and the women and men he loved. Jesus took bread blessed and broke it, saying, “Take, eat, this is my body. When you do this remember me and all that I have taught you.”
(pause)
Stephen: After supper, Jesus poured a cup of wine and shared it with his friends, saying,
“This is the cup of the covenant of my love. When you do this remember me and all that I have taught you.”
Michael: Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died in all those who have passed away from violent hate crimes.
Christ is rising in all those working for the well-being of humanity, dismantling institutional sexism, racism and all that divides us.
Christ comes each day in our ministry, prayers and actions for a renewed world with justice and equity for all.
Beth:Embracing Presence, we remember all the companions who have gone before us: Mary, Mother of Jesus, Mary of Magdala, and all holy women and men who are rising up in loving service to heal our world. We pause now to remember our family and loved ones in the communion of saints.
(pause)
(all hold bread and wine)
David:For it is through living as Jesus lived, and loving as he loved, that we awaken to Your Spirit empowering us to work for the flourishing of life on for all people and for planet Earth. All: Great Amen (Sung) Linda Lee Miller
All: Holy One, who is within, around, and among us, we celebrate your many names. Your wisdom comes. Your will be done, unfolding from the depths within us. Each day you give us all that 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.
The Prayer of Jesus as interpreted by Miriam Therese Winter
Bridget Mary:Sign of Peace: Please bow to each other with the words: Namaste 3 times
Communion
Kathryn:Please join in praying the Litany for the Breaking of the Bread
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 T:This is the bread of life and the cup of blessing. Blessed are we who are called to the Feast.
We are the Body and Blood of Christ for the world.
Receive the Bread of Life and the Cup of Blessing.
Communion Song: Everything is Holy Now by Peter Mayer
Mary T: Holy One, we go forth in our calling to serve and committed to our own spiritual transformation so that we might work together to transform our earth to one of peace, equality, and justice for all. Timeless One, Your eternal love wraps courage around us as we enter into your invitation to dance and to bring your Light into the world. We shall forever remember your loving servant and our brother, Marty, “who lived justly, loved tenderly, and walked humbly with You.” We have no fear, for we live with the assurance that you are always in us and we in you. We are forever grateful to have lived on this Earth with Marty and to live in your presence and your love. Amen.
Closing Community Blessing
Kathryn: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 away 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! And so it is! Alleluia!
Closing Song:Gathering of Spirits by Carrie Newcomer sung by Dan Murphy
The family of Marty Cummins extends much gratitude to all who have offered love, prayers, and heartfelt wishes during this difficult time of loss. Marty loved our MMOJ community and he felt the love and prayers from all of you. A special thanks to Mary Theresa Streck for her beautiful homily video and assistance in preparing Marty’s Celebration of Life.
“All shall be well. All manner of things shall be well.”
