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Welcome to our liturgy
Katy: Today, we honor Jewish born, Edith and Rosa Stein who were murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau on August 9, 1942. We understand as we remember these saints:
1.The Dutch Bishops wrote a Pastoral Letter condemning Nazism and antisemitism in 1942. The Nazis retaliated by rounding up all Jewish born persons in The Netherlands. Dr. Edith Stein and her sister Rosa were included because of their Jewish birth, not because they became Catholic. We understand the controversy of identifying Edith as a Catholic Saint and Martyr. On the internet we often find her labeled as a Jewish-Catholic Saint.
Jane S. 2. Dr. Edith Stein received her PhD in 1916; the first woman to receive a PhD in Philosophy in all of Europe. She left behind volumes of wisdom writings, preserved by The Carmelites as non-Aryan persons were not allowed to publish. We are aware that Edith Stein’s writings were used later by John Paul II in his Letter to Women published in June 1995, as a resource to craft his concept of the feminine genius. John Paul II canonized Edith Stein in October 1998.
Katy: 3. There is a movement for making Edith Stein a Doctor of The Church. Keep in mind that Stein’s writings were heavily influenced by theologies of The Fall and Thomas Aquinas.
Opening Song:
“Here I Am, Standing Right Beside You” written by Tom
htps://www.youtube.com/embed/legbWzz_oFc?feature=oembed
Opening Prayer
Katy: Our Beloved God, fill our souls with holy joy, courage and strength to serve You. Enkindle Your love in us and then walk with us along the next stretch of road before us. We do not see very far ahead, but when we have arrived where the horizon now closes down, a new prospect will open before us and we shall meet with peace. Edith Stein, Patron of Political Resistance and Feminism. (Edith Stein, adapted)
Katy& All: Be Present Here and Pray with us! May It Be So!
Overview of St Edith’s life and her response to the call of Sophia Spirit
Andrea S. Over the course of four decades, Dr. Edith Stein dedicated her life to civic engagement and political resistance.
From volunteering with the Red Cross in World War I, where she was assigned to the typhoid ward, a particularly dangerous placement.
Edith also participated in the women’s suffrage movement in Prussia.
Stein joined the newly founded German Democratic Party to work for the inclusion of women in the local and national political scene.
She fought for equal educational opportunities for women. Stein became an expert in women’s formation and education. Instructing young women at a teacher’s training college, she encouraged her students to study politics, philosophy, and the natural sciences, disciplines to which many women at the time were not exposed.
She also wrote against the rise of the Nazi regime:
"On April 12, 1933, Stein wrote a letter to the then-Pope, Pius XI, asking that he speak out against the 'war of exterminating Jewish blood' by the Nazis." Scholars do not know whether Pius XI ever saw her letter.
Finally, St Edith urged fellow people of faith to recognize the lack of Christian values in this tyrannical political hegemony.
LITURGY OF THE WORD
Joan P. First reading Inspired Words from St Edith Stein
(edited: she is used instead of he)
On truth-seeking
"Anyone who seeks truth seeks God, whether or not she realizes it."
On loving your neighbor
"Those who remain silent are responsible."
"Our love of neighbor is the measure of our love of God. For Christians — and not only for them — no one is a ‘stranger’. The love of Christ knows no borders.”
On vocation and finding your calling
For by doing what God demands of us with total surrender of our innermost being, we cause the divine life to become our own inner life. Entering into ourselves, we find God in our own selves.” (Edith Stein, adapted)
Jane S. : “Let go of your plans. The first hour of your morning belongs to God. Tackle the day’s work that she charges you with, and she will give you the power to accomplish it.”
“In order to be an image of God, the spirit must turn to what is eternal, hold it in spirit, keep it in memory, and by loving it, embrace it in the will.”
On women
"The world doesn't need what women have, it needs what women are."
“Each woman who lives in the light of eternity can fulfill her vocation, no matter if it is in marriage, in a religious order, or in a worldly profession.”
On rest and responsibility
“God is there in these moments of rest and can give us, in a single instant, exactly what we need. Then the rest of the day can take its course, under the same effort and strain, perhaps, but in peace. And when night comes and you look back over the day and see how fragmentary everything has been and how much you planned that has gone undone and all the reasons you have, just take everything, exactly as it is, put it in God’s hands and leave it with Her. Then you will be able to rest in Her – really rest – and start the next day, as a new life.” … The Inspired words of St. Edith Stein.
Response All: May the wisdom of Edith’s words be enfleshed through our lives in our time.
Our Response: (Because Edith Stein loved A Mighty Fortress is Our God we chose)
Our Strong and Tender God We Praise by Jann Aldredge-Clanton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dfD5MfNBhw
Andrea S. Second Reading: Isaiah 58:6-12
This is the sort of fast that pleases me: Remove the chains of injustice! Undo the ropes of the yoke! Let those who are oppressed go free, and break every yoke you encounter! Share your bread with those who are hungry, and shelter homeless poor people! Clothe those who are naked, and don’t hide from the needs of your own flesh and blood!
Do this, and your light will shine like the dawn—and your healing will break forth like lightning! Your integrity will go before you, and the glory of YHWH will be your rear guard. Cry, and YHWH will answer; call, and God will say, “I am here” provided you remove from your midst all oppression, finger pointing and malicious talk!
If you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted then your light will rise in the darkness, and your shadows will become like noon. Holy Mystery will always guide you, …God will give strength to your bones and you will be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never run dry. You will rebuild the ancient ruins, and build upon age-old foundations. You will be called repairer of Broken Walls, and Restorer of Ruined Neighborhoods. These are the inspired words of the prophet Isaiah
Response All: May these words become our spiritual and material reality
Bridget Mary: Our Gospel The TEXT OF LETTER TO THE POPE FROM EDITH STEIN
Holy Father!
As a child of the Jewish people who, by the grace of God, for the past eleven years has also been a child of the Catholic Church, I dare to speak to the Father of Christianity about that which oppresses millions of Germans. For weeks we have seen deeds perpetrated in Germany which mock any sense of justice and humanity, not to mention love of neighbor. For years the leaders of National Socialism have been preaching hatred of the Jews. Now that they have seized the power of government and armed their followers, among them proven criminal elements, this seed of hatred has germinated. The government has only recently admitted that excesses have occurred. To what extent, we cannot tell, because public opinion is being gagged. However, judging by what I have learned from personal relations, it is in no way a matter of singular exceptional cases. Under pressure from reactions abroad, the government has turned to "milder" methods. It has issued the watchword "no Jew shall have even one hair on his head harmed." But through boycott measures--by robbing people of their livelihood, civic honor and fatherland--it drives many to desperation; within the last week, through private reports I was informed of five cases of suicide as a consequence of these hostilities. I am convinced that this is a general condition which will claim many more victims. One may regret that these unhappy people do not have greater inner strength to bear their misfortune. But the responsibility must fall, after all, on those who brought them to this point and it also falls on those who keep silent in the face of such happenings.
Everything that happened and continues to happen on a daily basis originates with a government that calls itself "Christian." For weeks not only Jews but also thousands of faithful Catholics in Germany, and, I believe, all over the world, have been waiting and hoping for the Church of Christ to raise its voice to put a stop to this abuse of Christ's name. Is not this idolization of race and governmental power which is being pounded into the public consciousness by the radio open heresy? Isn't the effort to destroy Jewish blood an abuse of the holiest humanity of our Savior, of the most blessed Virgin and the apostles? Is not all this diametrically opposed to the conduct of our Lord and Savior, who, even on the cross, still prayed for his persecutors? And isn't this a black mark on the record of this Holy Year which was intended to be a year of peace and reconciliation?
We all, who are faithful children of the Church and who see the conditions in Germany with open eyes, fear the worst for the prestige of the Church, if the silence continues any longer. We are convinced that this silence will not be able in the long run to purchase peace with the present German government. For the time being, the fight against Catholicism will be conducted quietly and less brutally than against Jewry, but no less systematically. It won't take long before no Catholic will be able to hold office in Germany unless he dedicates himself unconditionally to the new course of action.
At the feet of your Holiness, requesting your apostolic blessing,
(Signed) Dr. Edith Stein, Instructor at the German Institute for Scientific Pedagogy, Munster in Westphalia, Collegium Marianum.
Response All: These are wise words by Saint Edith Stein PhD. May we make them so with our lives.
Homily Starter: Katy Three questions for reflection
- How am I feeling after hearing these readings and your experiences under this administration?
- Where is Holy Mystery, Jesus, The Universal Christ and Sophia Wisdom in our country, community and family?
- What does Holy Mystery want me to see, to reflect on my values, to learn and what to do? How am I to live The Compassion of Christ in this time and place?
Statement of Faith
Joan P.: Please join in praying our Statement of Faith:
Joan P. & 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. Especially today Sr Edith Stein and her sister Rosa Stein.
As we observe The 80th Anniversary of The Bombing of Nagasaki, We believe that we are called to follow Jesus as divine sisters and brothers 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 the wisdom, fortitude and courage to make it happen.
Prayers of the Community:
Jane S. : As we prepare for the sacred meal, we bring to this table our blessings, cares, and concerns. Response All: May our prayers and actions bring healing and justice.
(At the end)
Jane S.: We pray for these and all unspoken concerns. Amen.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Preparation of the Gifts:
Andrea S. : Blessed are You, Holy One, through Your divine providence we have this bread to share, the Bread of Life for the members of MMOJ and the world.
Andrea S. and ALL: Blessed are You, Holy One, forever.
Joan P. : Blessed are You, O Loving One, through Your divine providence we have this wine to share, our spiritual drink that we may be the Compassion of Christ in our time and place. .
Joan P. and ALL: Blessed are You, Holy One, forever.
Our table has been prepared, and all are invited to the Banquet of love. We offer these gifts and the gifts of our own lives to our loving God.
Transformation Rite:
Jane S.: You, who are closer to us than we are to ourselves, who are more inward than our own hearts, and yet elusive, inconceivable, beyond every name, Holy Spirit, eternal Love! (Edith Stein)
Andrea S.: We pause to pray for protection and a path toward justice for those who are most targeted during these dangerous times. We know there are members of ARCWP, our inclusive communities and many others who are supporting marginalized people and doing works of direct action in resistance and resilience in a variety of ways to protect democracy. We pray that the better angels of our values will nonviolently prevail. We also pray for those who are choosing to take advantage of those burdened by fears.
Joan P. & All: Bless the bent spirits of those whom griefs oppress,
The bitter loneliness, in their hearts’ depths,
The restlessness within their very being,
The sorrow that within our souls we share.
Jesus too struggled in fear and sweated blood,
Begging his Abba in ardent prayer…
For now, the world consists of opposites…
But in the end, none of those contrasts will remain.
There will only be the fullness of love.
With Jesus, our unity is in The Kin-dom,
Where limits and boundaries,
Separations and distances,
Do not exist. How could there be otherwise? (Edith Stein)
Jane S. Cross your hands over your heart and pause
Jane S. We ask the courage, strength and compassion of St Edith Stein to infuse us for the ministry that lays ahead for each of us and all of us. May we live and offer our minds, hearts and souls in the face of the repression and cruelty by political administrations-Federal, State and local.
Eucharistic Prayer:
Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy (lyrics and video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9LZURdBJxE&list=RDV9LZURdBJxE&start_radio=1
Andrea S. : Who are you, sweet light, who fills us and illuminates the darkness of our hearts? Like a mother’s hand, you drive us, and if you let go of us, we can’t take one more step. You are the space surrounding our being and sheltering it in you. (Edith Stein)
Joan P. O Beloved, you who breathe new life into us in the midst of pain and darkness; may we love all people in all places, especially the poor, the refugee, the immigrant, the oppressed and marginalized. May we support them in their needs and empower them to speak with their own voices.
Jane S: We open ourselves to your Spirit present in Jesus and within us who transforms the bread and cup and all of us gathered here into the Body and Blood of Christ. We remember that the night before Jesus died, he washed his disciples’ feet to show the depths of a love that serves others.
All lift the bread and pray:
Katy & All: When he returned to his place at the table, Jesus lifted the bread, spoke the grace and said: Take and eat. This is my body given for you. Do this in memory of me.
(Pause)
All lift the cup and pray:
Katy & All Then he took the cup of the covenant, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying: Take and drink. Whenever you remember me like this, I am among you.
(Pause)
Andrea S. Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:
Andrea S. & ALL: Christ has died in all those who have passed away. Christ is rising in all who serve their sisters and brothers. Christ will come again and again through the self-emptying love of your people gathered in worship here today.
Joan P. : Holy One we know that for the Christian there is no such thing as a “stranger”. There is only the neighbor. We pause now to remember the person next to us and the person in most need of our help. (Edith Stein, adapted)
(Pause)
Jane S. : Holy One we remember all the companions who have gone before us: Mary, Mother of Jesus, Mary of Magdala, Peter and all holy women and men whose loving service has blessed our lives and world. We pause now to remember our personal communion of saints. (Pause)
(Presiders hold bread and wine)
Katy: For it is through living as Jesus lived, and loving as he loved, that we awaken to your Spirit drawing us into the fullness of life and loving service where Christ’s love knows no boundaries and stops at no limits.
The Prayer of Jesus
Andrea S. : Let us pray as Jesus taught — in the Aramaic translation — the language of Jesus:
Andrea S. & ALL: Abwoon, Mother/Father God of the Cosmos,
Breathe life into our hearts.
May your power and counsel rule our lives
And the whole creation.
May your will to love find its home in each human heart
As it is at home throughout the Cosmos.
Grant us today both bread and wisdom
that we may in turn become bread for others.
Loose the cars of the secret debts that bind us
and In the strength this freedom gives us,
help us to lose the cords we hold of others’ guilt.
Don’t let surface things delude us, but free us from unripeness,
from all that holds us back from loving.
For from you is born the astonishing fire,
the ruling will, the power and son that gives life to all,
here and now and forever. Amen.
Joan P. Jesus said to his disciples, “My peace I leave You. My peace I give You.”
(Let us place our hands in front of us, palms up, as we sing, “Peace is flowing like a river…” you may change “captives” to “peoples”)
Sign of Peace: Peace is flowing like a River by Carey Laundry, sung by Linda Lee Miller
On
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrLnCPq1GJk
Joan P. Please join in praying the Litany for the Breaking of the Bread
Aware of our sisters and brothers who suffer injustice in housing, health care, and education, Response All: We will speak truth to power.with words and actions
Jane S. Aware of the ongoing attacks upon our Constitution and Rule of Law, discrimination and exploitation of women, LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, different faiths, ethnic groups, immigrants and refugees
Response All:: We will work and minister for justice and equality
Joan P. Aware of our connection with everyone on earth, those who have died and those to be born and all of creation including trillions of stars, solar systems and black holes
Response All: We are becoming who we are called to be in our time and place.
Jane S: Filled with the peace we have shared and in communion with all people and all creation, come and share at this table. The bread of life, the cup of blessing.
Communion Song: You can’t kill the Spirit (stop at about 3 minutes)
https://youtu.be/WKNumHwjWPA?feature=shared
Refrain:
You can’t kill the Spirit
She is like a mountain
Old and strong
She goes on and on.
After Communion Reflection
Andrea S. & All: Who are you, kindly light, who fills us now,
and brightens all the darkness within our hearts?
You guide us forward, like a mother’s hand, and if you let us go,
We could not take a single step alone.
You are the space embracing all our being, hidden in it.
Loosened from you, we would fall into the abyss
Of Nothingness, from which you draw our lives.
You are nearer to us than we are to ourselves,
And more within us than our inmost selves.
You are outside our grasp, beyond our reach,
And what name could contain you?
You, Holy Spirit, you, Eternal Love! (Edith Stein)
Katy: Holy living God, your presence points to the absolute future, present intrinsically in the world throughout its history—as that which provides its ultimate consummation.
You are in the world as ground, inspiration, and goal of all our struggles.
We know your presence when we stop a moment to ground ourselves in your and our reality.
We feel your presence also when something in your creation suddenly awes us.
But we are most linked to your passionate caring presence when we join the struggle for justice and freedom, whether we know you explicitly in the midst of it or not.
All: Dynamic God, empowering and freeing, in you we live and move and have our being. (Adapted from “Prayers to She Who Is” Linked to You #7)7
Thanksgiving: Please unmute yourself if you have a thanksgiving to share
(Introductions and Announcements)
Closing Prayer
Joan P. On this special feast of Saints Edith and Rosa, we remember the act of service by Jesus, who washed the feet of his disciples and called us to serve others in our communities. Help us to embody his Love and Compassion in our lives, to care for the marginalized, and to work toward a world where justice, peace, and inclusion prevail. May the Eucharist be a source of strength and unity for our lives as the Body of Christ, reminding us that with all creation, we are one family on earth. Amen.
Concluding Rite:
Katy: Please extend your hands in blessing and pray together:
May you celebrate our Beloved’s love for all of creation.
Knowing that our Holy One is the trusted center of your life,
You are free from fear.
Because you know deep down, God’s infinite care for you,
You are free to care for others.
As you live the interdependence among all creatures and persons
May you be inspired to ever work for greater justice for all living things.
May you always sing with gratitude and
Be filled with the peace of Jesus Christ Universal
That will never be taken away. May it be so
(Adapted from O Gracious One, 150 Psalm Inspired Prayers by Sydney Condray ARCWP #107)
Closing: The Justice Song: written by IJM Ghana
https://youtu.be/IASdERt3-m0?feature=shared
RESOURCES
Edith Stein Foremother of Catholic Feminism
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1025&context=student-research-papers
Edith Stein: Patron Saint of Political Resistance. Sojourners. October 2018.
https://sojo.net/articles/edith-stein-patron-saint-political-resistance
Edith Stein Woman Essays on Women. The Collected Works of Edith Stein. Second Edition. 2000
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/essays-on-woman_edith-stein
Edith Stein. A Biography. Waltraud Herbstrith. Ignatius Press.
https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/edith-stein-a-biography
We are the Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community.
If you wish to add an intercession or Thanksgiving to our MMOJ Community Prayer book, please send an email to Joan Meehan jmeehan515@aol.com
