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Welcome. Michael
Welcome to Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community! We welcome everyone to participate with us.
Whoever you are, wherever you are, just as you are,
you are welcome at this table!
We gather in the name of the Holy One, ✝️
Of the Christ, and
Of Spirit Sophia! Amen
Opening song. Hymn of Promise, Natalie Sleeth
https://youtu.be/8RHek8k5WoY?si=Cbv-1U4wlfXzj-lY
Opening Prayer Michael. O Holy One, we gratefully acknowledge your invitation to share in your divine Trinitarian love. A love that flows to and between all of us and all creation, bringing us and all creation into your life of infinite love. May your indwelling Spirit constantly include us in this dance of love that is you. O Holy One, we ask this in your name. May it be so. And so it is!
Liturgy of the Word
1st Reading. Jane. The first reading is from the Book of Exodus.
Moses got up early in the morning and climbed Mount Sinai as Yahweh had commanded him, carrying the two tablets of stone. Yahweh descended in the cloud and Moses stood beside him there and called out the name, Yahweh. Yahweh passed in front of him and called out, “Yahweh, Yahweh, a God of mercy and grace, endlessly patient—so much love, so deeply true—loyal in love for a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin.”
At once, Moses fell to the ground and worshiped, saying, “Please, O Master, if you see anything good in me, please Master, travel with us, hard-headed as these people are. Forgive our iniquity and sin. Own us, adopt us as your heritage.”
God’s Word to us today. All: Amen.
Second Reading. Mary Al. The second reading is from the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians.
And that's about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure. Greet one another with a holy embrace. All the brothers and sisters here say hello.
The amazing grace of Jesus the Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.
All: May it be so. And so it is!
Third Reading. Den. The third reading is from the gospel attributed to John.
This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.
🎶 Alle, Alle, Alleluia Linda Lee and Rick Miller
https://youtu.be/gIHnZn3JjcM?si=aryXAqRivIZD6jpY
Shared Homily Michael & All
The icon at the beginning of today’s liturgy is The Trinity. The preeminent Russian Orthodox icon painter, Andrei Rublev, painted the icon 600 years ago. This is arguably his greatest work. Those of us in Florida are fortunate to have a large copy of Rublev’s icon in the St. Thomas More parish church in Sarasota. I want to highlight a few points about this beautiful icon from Richard Rohr’s The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation (2016).
First, this work is also known as The Hospitality of Abraham. In Chapter 18 of Genesis, Abraham prepares a feast when God appears to him in the form of three angels. You can see their gold wings. And you can see the common bowl from which they are eating. So these three angels were taken by Christians as prefiguring the Trinity, Father on the left, Son in the middle, and Holy Spirit on the right. Note that a line drawn along the curve of the angels’ bodies forms a tight circle. This is how Rublev represents the Trinity: one God—one circle, but three persons.
Second, this is not a closed circle! Spirit Sofia on the right has right hand extended to the front of the table where there is a space, and the Spirit’s eyes seem to be looking in that direction. So the invitation is to pull up a chair and join the circle. But who is invited? Well, notice the rectangle in the front lower part of the table. Apparently remnants of glue were found in this spot on the icon. This may indicate the presence of a small mirror at some point in its history. So as you view the icon, you are the one looking in the mirror—you are the one invited into the circle.
Third, note that none of the three figures is looking at the observer as is typical of most icons. Instead the Father and the Son are looking at each other in deep, reciprocal love. The flow of love between and among the Holy One, Jesus the Christ, and Spirit Sofia—that’s the Divine Dance you’re invited to join.
Finally, for our final blessing, I modified the Trinitarian doxology prayer we’re familiar with (Glory be to the Father, the Son, etc.) to evoke the Trinitarian Dance of Life elaborated by Richard Rohr. If you wish, you can use more familiar labels of Father, Son, and Spirit. This prayer leads me into my daily walking meditation and the dance of love/dance of life:
The joyful love of the Holy One,
The love of the Christ,
The love of Spirit Sofia.
Their mutual love for each other,
Their boundless love for each of us,
Their dance of love for all creation,
As it was in the beginning,
Is now and ever shall be,
World without end.
Amen! Alleluia!
Profession of Faith. Jan & All.
We believe in the Holy One, who creates all things,
who embraces all things, who celebrates all things,
who is present in every part of the fabric of creation.
We believe in the Holy One as the source of all life,
who baptizes this planet with living water.
who is present in every part of the fabric of creation.
We believe in Jesus the Christ, the suffering one,
the poor one, the malnourished one, the climate refugee,
who loves and cares for this world and who suffers with it.
And we believe in Jesus Christ, the seed of life,
who came to reconcile and renew this world and everything in it. We believe in Spirit Sofia, the breath of God,
who moves with God and who moves among and with us today. We believe in everlasting life in God.
And we believe in the hope that one day
God will put an end to death and all destructive forces.
Gurukul Theological college, India. Adapted by Keld B. Hansen 2009
Prayers of the Community Andrea
As we prepare for this sacred meal, we bring to the table our prayers for the community. Please voice your prayer beginning with the words “I bring to the table….”
Joan Meehan shares MMOJ Book of Intentions.
The community offers individual prayers.
Andrea. We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen.
The Liturgy of the Eucharist
Presentation of the bread and wine.
Mary Al. Blessed are you, God of all life, through your goodness we have bread, wine, all creation, and our own lives to offer. Through this sacred meal we become your new creation.
My sisters and brothers, these gifts give glory to the Holy One.
Mary Al & All: O Holy One, You dwell in all of us, and you accept our gifts and our worship that we offer in service to our faith community. We do this in memory of our brother Jesus. Amen.
https://youtu.be/sgkWXOSGmOQ
Eucharistic Prayer
Jane & All. We commit ourselves to live the ministry of the Gospel as we speak with respect and love, and as we challenge the contradictions within our society, especially during these times of division and fear. We are called to the inner life, our spiritual life, to be open to the new beginnings in our lives. We walk with Jesus seeking wisdom and peace.
(Hold your hand over bread and wine)
Den & All. Jesus, we remember the last meal you had with your followers. We call upon Sacred Spirit, ever and always with us, to bring blessing on this bread and wine as they are made sacred through our faith in the presence of Christ with us.
During Jesus’s life on earth, he lived and died loving the poor, healing the sick and challenging the injustices within society.
Because of his ministry, Jesus was feared by the authorities of his day, and they sought out ways to bring him to his death.
Jan & All. On the night before he faced his own death, Jesus sat at the Seder supper with his companions and friends. He reminded them of all that he taught them, and to fix that memory clearly with them, he bent down and washed their feet.
All lift 🥖 and pray:
Jan & 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, then lift the 🍷 and pray:
Andrea & All. Jesus took the cup, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying: Take and drink. This is the new covenant. Whenever you remember me like this, I am among you. (pause)
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.
Let us share this bread and cup
to proclaim and live the gospel of justice.
We listen to the groaning of creation,
remembering that we are bearers of light and hope
We are Christ alive today.
Mary Al. We now share the bread and wine, saying,
“We see the Holy One in everyone we meet” and
“We see the Holy One in all creation.”
🎶 Communion Song The Water of Life by Kerani
https://youtu.be/FvcedDyMqUU?si=sAWp4peAYsGWikfe (Stop at 2:05)
Jane. We pray our common prayer that Jesus taught us:
Jane & All: Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echoes through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
May your beloved community of peace and freedom
sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today,
feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another,
forgive us.
In times of temptation and test,
strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure,
spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil,
free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,
now and forever. Amen.
Adapted from The New Zealand Book of Prayer | He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa.
This version of the Lord’s prayer was influenced by Maori theologians
Prayer after Communion. Den & All.
During this liturgy we have been immersed in the dance of divine love. Now we go out to joyfully share this immense love with all people we encounter and with all creation. May this Divine Dance of life bring us all together into One. Amen
Sharing of Peace. Jan.
If we are in Christ, we are becoming a new creation.
We see the Holy One around us.
We see the Holy One within us.
We give thanks to you, our Creator.
Let us show the caring nature
you have instilled within us
by greeting each other
as a sign of your peace, love, forgiveness and grace.
May your peace, O Holy One, be with us always!
All: Namaste 🙏🏿 Namaste 🙏🏼 Namaste 🙏🏻
Adapted from Celebrating Creation: Honoring Indigenous People, Kelly Sherman-Conroy, ELCA
Thanksgiving, Introductions, Announcements. Michael
Final Blessing with hands raised. Andrea & All:
The joyful love of the Holy One,
The love of the Christ,
The love of Spirit Sofia.
Their mutual love for each other,
Their boundless love for each of us,
Their dance of love for all creation,
As it was in the beginning,
Is now and ever shall be,
World without end.
Amen! Alleluia!
Adaptation of the doxology to the Trinity
Final Song 🎵 Michael. I suggest that today we sing of the Saints dancing in, rather than marching in…
When the Saints Go Dancing In. Rick & Linda Lee Miller
https://youtu.be/1VbqoJ3Yxo4?si=WepHnPTbytaFgo-q
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