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Welcome
(Jeanne) We warmly welcome you to the inclusive Catholic Community of Mary Mother of Jesus in Sarasota. All are welcome here. We invite you to pray the liturgy where it says “All.” Everyone will be muted during the service. Presiders, readers and anyone wishing to participate in the shared homily, please remember to unmute and remutebefore and after reading or speaking in order to avoid confusion and overlap of voices. Please have bread and wine or juice with you 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)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8o4TrIA76U&t=3s Stop at 229
Theme: Doubt and Truth
(Jeanne) The French writer Georges Bernanos once said, “Faith is twenty-four hours of doubt, with a minute of hope.” Thomas, known as the doubter, was absent when Jesus appeared to the apostles for the first time. We don’t know why he wasn’t there. We only know that he wasn’t behind locked doors out of fear. His absence might have given him the freedom to reflect on his personal relationship with the Risen Christ. Thomas was a doubter but was open to the truth. His doubt helped him formulate a beautiful confession of faith.
(Kathryn) We begin the celebration of our Easter season, summoned together, in the name of the Holy One, Source of all Being; Jesus, Eternal Word; and Holy Spirit Sophia, our Wisdom within. Amen. This is the Day our God has made; let us give praise in Song Alleluia!!
Opening Prayer
(Kathryn) Our country is distraught and divided. We as citizens are not just
concerned, we are afraid. We have lost trust in those in the position to lead, our
government and our church. Like Thomas we seek assurances, and we find
none. We seek knowing, believing and it is hard. We are people of faith, of hope
and of love. When we look to Jesus who continues to teach us, we have a
powerful leader who is always in our midst. A leader who provides a roadmap. A
leader that we seek to emulate. It is Jesus who taught us the way to faith and
trust. We have the Divine in us and around us, in our world and in the Universe.
“Blessed are those who have not seen but believe.”
“I Believe” by Andrea Bocelli and Katherine Jenkins
https://youtu.be/OwHuUueUw7k?si=t85XncPeBgumJo5t
Glory and Praise
(Maryal & All) Glory to the Cosmic Christ whose Presence is everywhere in our Universe.
Glory to the Cosmic Christ who continues breathing life in us and into all the
birds of the air, the fish of the sea, the animals of the earth, the flowers and the
trees.
Glory to the Cosmic Christ filling human life with insight, vision, wisdom and
love.
Glory is the Cosmic Christ, the energy and presence that is within our very self
and all peoples of the earth.
Glorious is the Cosmic Christ who is everywhere, within us, around us, below us
beyond us.
For these things and more we give Glory to the Cosmic Christ. Alleluia! Alleluia!
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading Acts 2:42-47
(Jack) They devoted themselves to the apostle’s instructions and to the communal life, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.
A reverent fear overtook them all for many wonders and signs were performed by the apostles. Those who believed lived together and shared all things in common.
They would sell their property and goods sharing them with each other as each had need. They met in the temple area and broke bread together in their homes every day. With joyful and sincere hearts, they took their meals in common, praising God and winning the approval of all people. Day by day, God added to their number those who were being saved.
Community Response: All: So be it!
Psalm 71
"Even in My Old Age” by Aaron Shust Stop at 259
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeaDNylMvuo
Second Reading: “Lovely in Eyes Not His”
(Mary M) Mary Magdalen, who had eyes for Jesus alone, saw him and mistook him for the gardener. Two disciples walked miles with him between Jerusalem and Emmaus, talked hours with him, and thought him a stranger. To recognize the risen Jesus, you would have needed a special grace-as when Jesus murmured to Magdalene “Mary”, or broke with Cleopas and his friend Emmaus. And still, for all the mystery of this new Jesus, at once seated with [God] in glory and moving magically through the barriers of our earth, he is the same Jesus who was fashioned from a teenager’s flesh, the same Jesus who walked our dust and waked the dead, the same Jesus who hung three hours between two robbers, the same Jesus who, Scripture proclaims, “always lives to make intercession for [us]” (Heb.7:25). Without so risen a Christ, without so living a Lord, Christianity is a sham and a scam.
These are inspired words shared by Walter J. Burghardt and the Community responds: So Be It.
Alleluia Celtic Alleluia Christopher Walker
https://youtu.be/AFvdHcrPhkw?si=p4uQc9oG9RAMloTo
Gospel: John 20 (19-31) ( Jack ) In the evening of that same day of the week, the doors were locked in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Temple authorities. Jesus came and stood among them and said “Peace be with you.” Having said this, the savior showed them the marks of the crucifixion. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw Jesus who said to them again, “Peace be with you. As Abba God sent me, I’m sending you.” After saying this, Jesus breathed on them and said “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven, If you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained. It happened that one of the twelve, Thomas, nicknamed Didymus or “Twin”, was absent when Jesus came. The other disciples kept telling him, “We’ve seen Jesus. ” Thomas’ answer was “I will never believe it without putting my finger in the nail marks and my hand into the spear wound.”
(Mary ) On the eighth day the disciples were once more in the room
and this time Thomas was with them.
Despite the locked doors Jesus came and stood before them saying
“Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Take your finger and examine my hands.
Put your hand into my side. Don’t persist in your unbelief but believe.” Thomas said in response, “My Savior and my God!” Jesus then said, “You’ve become a believer because you
have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Jesus performed many other signs as well as signs not recorded here-in the
presence of the disciples. But these have been recorded to help you believe
that Jesus is the Messiah, the only Begotten, so that by believing you may have
life in Jesus’ name.
These Let it Be So
( Kathryn ) Shared Homily
( Jeanne ) 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.
( Maryal ) Prayers for the Community
This is the day our God has made. Let us give praise in song, alleluia! ~Response: You have risen, O Christ, let heaven and earth rejoice!
You taught the ways of peace and forgiveness in your return to us, Christ Jesus. All: Transform our own longings into deeds of mercy. ~Response: You have risen, O Christ, let heaven and earth rejoice!
You appeared to many in their varied needs. All: Help us to respect the differences we see in one another and learn to appreciate them. ~Response: You have risen, O Christ, let heaven and earth rejoice!
You died for us and have risen to help us come to wholeness and holiness. All: May we, with renewed courage, uphold the Human rights of all peoples. ~Response: You have risen, O Christ, let heaven and earth rejoice!
Lamb of God, in your brokenness you sought to mend. All: Through your passion and death may we become healers of relationships and true lovers of humanity. ~Response: You have risen, O Christ, let heaven and earth rejoice!
Please share your intentions beginning with the words: “I Bring to the table…
Special Request from our community prayer book. (Joan Meehan)
We pray that the concerns and desires we hold in our hearts will come into
fruition and together we respond: Let it be So
Offertory Presentation of Ourselves
“Here is My Life” by Joe Wise
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsHM7_XZT5A
( Mary M ) Holy One, blessed are we as we gather around our tables to
celebrate the memory of Jesus. He lived among us teaching us to dream of a
world healed and made whole, to believe in the power of Divine Presence within us. We accept our call to serve others. We are committed to the teachings and the ministry of Jesus.
Liturgy of the Eucharist adapted from Diarmuid O’Murchu
( Jack ) With open hands let us pray our Eucharistic Prayer together.
Holy One, source and sustenance of life, redeeming presence to the pain and
brokenness of our world, we celebrate the Life and Ministry of Jesus as people of
Faith.
Down through the ages, you rescue us from darkness.
You light up our ways with wise and holy people. You restore our spirits and you
revive our dwindling hope.
May the Spirit of life and wholeness transform us that we may be refreshed in our
inner being and be empowered to bring mercy, love, and healing to those whose
lives we touch.
For all you bring to our lives, and for all we seek amid pain and suffering, we proclaim your love and greatness, and we join with all creation to sing our hymn of praise:
Holy, Holy, Holy: Here in this Place –by Christopher Grundy
https://youtu.be/cVWY9ourooI
( Kathryn ) Holy One, when opposing forces in us tug and pull and we are caught in
the tension of choices, inspire us to make wise decisions toward what is good.
We thank you for our brother, Jesus, and for all our sisters and brothers who
have modeled for us a way to live and love in challenging times.
Inspired by them, we choose life over death. We choose to be light in dark times. We walk in the Light of the Cosmic Christ so that all may see the Real Presence of the Divine.
We exemplify the way Jesus lived as we speak truth to power. We follow his example as we commit to challenge systems of oppression. We proclaim his mission of love and peace to all people free of our own prejudices.
( Jack )Source of our health and wholeness, healer of body, mind, and spirit, we bring
before you the darkness of our world, and the pain and suffering of your people.
We seek to be healed and made whole. We seek to be reconciled and united. We seekpeace in our hearts and in our world.
Extend hands over the bread and wine for the Epiclesis
( Mary M ) We are grateful for your Spirit at our Eucharistic Table and the
blessing of the Cosmic Christ on this bread of the grain of the fields and wine,
from the grape of the vine. We are once again reminded that we are the body of
Christ in the world.
On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for supper with the people closest to
him. Like the least of household servants, he washed their feet. Once again, he
showed us how to love one another.
All lift the plate and pray:
(Jeanne & All ) When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted the bread, spoke the blessing,
broke the bread and offered it to them saying:
Take and eat, this is my very self. (pause)
All lift the cup and pray:
( Kathryn & 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.
(Kathryn ) What we have heard with our ears, we will live with our lives. As we share communion, we will become communion, both love's nourishment and love's challenge.
Please join us in praying the Litany for the Breaking of the Bread
( Jack & 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.
Communion
( Jeanne) Let us share this bread and cup to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace, remembering that we are bearers of light and hope.
I am the One within You ---Karen Drucker
https://youtu.be/wXZ6Je4xeRU
Prayer After Communion
( Kathryn ) In faith and hope we are sustained. In grace our dignity is reclaimed.
In praise we thank our God. Grant that we may strive to create a world where suffering and pain are diminished, where justice and peace are restored, and where all people can live in
health and wholeness, united in acclaiming the God of life, whose abundance is
offered to each and to all, until the Kin-dom arrives in the fullness of time.
( Maryal ) Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
O Holy One, who is 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 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 (Miriam Therese Winter)
INTRODUCTIONS, THANKSGIVING, AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Blessing
( Jeanne ) Let us raise our hands and bless each other.
Holy One, we to choose to support and challenge one another in living a
resurrected life of bravery and trust. Jesus our brother changed the world with no
more than himself, his community and trust in you. Those same precious
relationships are ours. With them, may we heal ourselves, each other and our
hurting, waiting world. Amen
Closing Song
“Be Strong” By the Martins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCfkruqYCWI
Please send intentions for our community prayer book to Joan Meehan Jmeehan515@aol.com
