Upper Room Saturday Liturgy, April 11, 2026 - Presider: Kathie Ryan

Zoom:   https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155  
phone-in for (audio only).Phone Number: (646) 558-865

Welcome: We each long to know and experience the Holy One. What does God look like? Where do we go to find God? How do we speak to God? We each discover the answer ourselves.

Let us pray: Holy One, we long to see your face, to know you and to love more deeply. May this day and every day bring us closer to your mystery.

Opening song: More Light by Christopher Gundy video by MTStreck

https://youtu.be/a8XaUlqb8t0

LITURGY OF THE WORD

First Reading: A Reading from the Book of Exodus (33:18-23) 

Moses said to the YHWH, “Please show me your glory!”   YHWH said, “I will make all of my goodness pass before your eyes, and I will pronounce my Name.  I AM, in your presence: I will show my grace to whom I will show my grace, and I will show my compassion to whom I will show my compassion.  But you cannot see my face. No human can see my face and live.”

Then YHWH said, “Look—here is a place beside me, where you can stand on a rock. When my glory passes you, I will place you in a cleft in the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. When I remove my hand you will see my back; but my face you must not see.”

These are the inspired words from the Book of Exodus, and the community affirms with AMEN!

Gospel Acclamation: Celtic Alleluia by Christopher Walker

https://youtu.be/o1rc7ojQtJU

Gospel: A Reading from the Gospel of Mark (16:9-15)

When Jesus had risen, early on the first day of the week,
he appeared first to Mary Magdalene,
out of whom he had driven seven demons.
She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping.
When they heard that he was alive
and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

After this he appeared in another form
to two of them walking along on their way to the country.
They returned and told the others;
but they did not believe them either.

But later, as the Eleven were at table, he appeared to them
and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart
because they had not believed those
who saw him after he had been raised.
He said to them, “Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”

These are the inspired words from the Gospel of Mark, and the community affirms with 

AMEN! 

Shared Homily 

Our Roman Catholic scripture readings follow cycles A B and C.  This year we are in cycle A.  Many Christian churches follow the same cycles, and they hear the same gospel each Sunday that you and I hear.  The Jewish tradition follows a pattern where the entire Torah-the first 5 books are read completely each year. 

Our reading from Exodus is especially important in the Jewish tradition and is not only read during the annual cycle, but also on all the feast days.  Moses is trying hard to “see” YHWH!  Not just a visual but a deeper understanding that creates a lasting relationship.  Moses wants and receives a sacred encounter.  One rabbi said, “we are wired to search for YHWH”.  

In our Gospel tonight, and many of the Gospels we will hear in the coming weeks we read how the apostles were longing to “see”, but they had a hard time believing. Mary told them of her encounter, and they did not believe. Jesus showed up “in person” and they still were not sure. 

Over our lives we have had many sacred encounters, or God moments, sometimes we share them with others, other times we keep them in our hearts. Perhaps we, like the disciples, are not sure of what we “see”. I think we have trouble believing what we “see” because we doubt our own worthiness and goodness.

After Moses encounter YHWH, Moses face shined so brightly he had to wear a veil for the rest of his life.  Do we not shine brighter if not physically, in our hearts and souls when we recognize a God moment?   We are seekers, initiators, and finders.  God created us in God’s imagine.    God’s loving presence is mystery and wonder.  With every sacred encounter we grow and change. And together we shine.

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 of the Community

As we prepare for the sacred meal we bring to this table our blessings, cares, and concerns.  Please feel free to voice your concerns beginning with the words “I bring to the table….”

We pray for these and all unspoken prayers and blessings. Amen.

LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

We are a priestly people. We are anointed. With open hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer as one voice:

All: O Nurturing, Mothering One, You are always with us. We are grateful for Your constant loving and unconditional presence. At times we forget that You are holding us, attending to us. We fall and You pick us up. You send strangers, friends and family to our aid. We are never without Your Light and Spirit.

We experience great joy and we experience great pain and suffering. You are with us in the joy and the pain and suffering. When we experience Your presence we long to sing our hymn of praise: 

Holy, Holy, Holy: Here in this Place by Christopher Grundy

https://youtu.be/cVWY9ourooI

All: Creator and Lover of all beings, we cannot grow in the darkness of this world without Your Light. Our desire to be in Your light is a gift from You. Help us keep our hearts and minds open to You through our love and care for each other and all creation

Please extend your hands in blessing

All: This bread and wine is a sign of Your nourishment and a sign of Your great love. Your Spirit is upon us and we belong to You and one another.

We thank you for Jesus, simple servant, lifting up the lowly, revealing you as God-With-Us, revealing us as one with you, and all creation.

On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for the 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 bread)

All: Back at the table, he took the bread, spoke the grace, broke the bread and offered it to them saying, Take and eat, share, go and love one another.

(All lift the cup) 

ALL: Then he took the cup of blessing, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying:

Take and drink of the covenant

Made new again through my life in you.

Whenever you remember me like this,

I am among you.

Bread and wine are transformed by Your Spirit and we are transformed when we open ourselves to Your Spirit. Every time we share this bread and wine we choose to be transformed. We choose to love as You love us.

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 receive the bread and cup with the words: I am transformed by your love.

Communion Song: Namaste by Annie Garretson – Video by MTStreck

https://youtu.be/ZiWwuz_NdyI

Communion prayer:

Loving Source of our being, You call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice. We live justly, we love tenderly, we walk with integrity in Your Presence Amen.

Let us pray together the prayer of Jesus:

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 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 adapted by Miriam Therese Winter

BLESSING

Please extend your hands and pray our blessing together:

May we continue to be the Face of God to each other. May the certainty of our connectedness to one another and all creation ignite us to love more fully. May we continuously try again and again to let go and live as children of the Holy One. And like Jesus be a shining light and a blessing for all.  

All: Amen.

Closing Song

May the Christ Light Shine in You by Kathy Sherman

https://youtu.be/tY0Rj9Yd2lk

 

 

Moment of Oneness, April 8, 2026 - Prepared by Deven Horne

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81507551772
Meeting ID: 815 0755 1772
To connect by phone dial: 1-301-715-8592

Manifestation

Opening Prayer: 

God of all time and place, our paths and purposes collide and boomerang throughout our lives as we search for your radiant presence. Our thoughts and actions reveal the slow and sometimes frantic quest for the revelation of who we are. Guide us as you would a little child searching for home.

Reading from Lisa Colón DeLay

Those with a passing knowledge of the desert ascetics may suppose they were some sort of super saints or perfected hermits: pious followers of strict religious rules who had purged themselves of all fleshly desire and pleasure. That is incorrect. [1]

In the lineage of the desert ammas and abbas, we too are invited to a lifetime of 

practice and a commitment to intimacy with God.

While it’s true that desert hermits and monastics had lives far removed from what we experience in a typical day, the human vulnerabilities that plagued them plague us too. The real test of spiritual maturity isn’t whether it works on an isolated mountaintop cabin or a refreshing retreat center; it’s whether we have been transformed so that our maturity plays out in regular life. Untold numbers of Christians, most of whom remain forgotten by history, found stillness and peace right in the middle of the stress and chaos of ordinary life, and many still do. They are the innumerable and unnamed ordinary saints—a grand cloud of witnesses who also cheer us on from just beyond the veil….

All the desert abbas and ammas show us that one-off special insights are not what bring us spiritual maturity or peace. Through the layering of situations, struggles, and seasons, we grow more devoted, mature, and wise. The inheritance in the kingdom of heaven means possessing Christlikeness; this inheritance comes in slow disbursements that take diligence and attention to learn and receive. We accomplish this not over weeks or months but over decades—over our lifetime and even into and throughout generations. The place is slow. Let’s get accustomed to that and settle in for the long haul.

The spiritual seeds the ammas and abbas once planted in the fertile soil of seekers can still beautifully bloom now in the soil of you, more than 1,500 years later. This is how the glory of God works. You are the glory of God made manifest. [2]

Affirmations and Intentions: 

May we hone the skill of patience to be still and listen.

May we speak with the wisdom of the One who breathes in us.

May we hear revelations that evoke tears in our hearts.

May we be inspired by seeing how the Divine moves in another and all things.

May we wait patiently while deep healing takes place.

May we experience gratefulness when we awaken.

Silence to add your own intentions.

Closing Prayer: Listener of our Deepest Self, the ear of your heart Is forever open to us. We call and you respond. We turn and you embrace. We look and you gaze. We search and you lead. We lose and you find. We wander and you return us home. Grant us the grace to be a manifestation of your presence.

Closing Song: Manisfestation - Ark Praise Dancers Enrique Holmes 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7OYKBK_7Xs&list=RDI7OYKBK_7Xs&start_radio=1 

THE COMPANIONS’ ROSARY

THE COMPANIONS’ ROSARY

Praying the Holy Rosary

In Original Blessing Theology

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87530775820

Introduction to The Companions’ Rosary

Saying the Holy Rosary is a special focus of prayer and meditation that provides for each of us a state of contemplation and mystical connection. 

When aligning to the Grace of Mary, we can have a sense of purpose in praying for others and ourselves. It can be a singular and private prayer or a community endeavor. 

For those of us who are becoming steeped in Original Blessing Theology, the traditional prayers of the Holy Rosary can be daunting. When changing the wording to better reflect the concepts of Blessing Theology, it seems important to keep a sense of the timing and inflection of the prayers as we have learned them. 

The Companions' Rosary is an attempt to combine the prayers of the rosary within present-day theology of original blessing. 

To all whom feel called to pray in this way, prayers and blessings to you. May we all continue to connect, in whatever way we can, to the Holy One, to Mary and to each other.  

And so it is.

The Sign of the “Cross”.  A Shield of Protection and Love.

The sign of the cross can impress on us the concept of a theology of sacrifice and atonement.  The sign of the “cross”, here, building on the trinity and St. Paul's greetings, can also be a Shield of Protection and Love.

In the name of Peace (hand at the forehead)

And Love (hand at the heart)

And Grace (The Infinity sign across from one shoulder to the other, and back to the heart.) 

AMEN.

Rose Aglow,

DETrees, 2017

THE COMPANIONS’ ROSARY

Praying the Holy Rosary

In Original Blessing Theology

The Sign of Protection and Love

In the name of Peace and Love and Grace. Amen.

A Simple Companions’ Creed

I believe in the Holy One, Lover, Creator, Enhancer, WHO IS Infinite and Present all at the same time.

Our Field of PEACE in all things.

I believe in Jesus, Friend and Companion, who shows us the Face of God in our human form. 

Our Sign of LOVE in all things.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, Our Heart and Soul, moving within and among us. 

Our Show of GRACE in all things.

I believe in this, our creed, in our communion of angels and saints and in life everlasting.
Amen.

The Prayer of Jesus

(From Miriam Therese Winter)

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 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 Hail Mary

Hail Mary, Full of grace, Our God is with you.

Blessed are you among women,

and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother and Friend,

Be with us now, at our hour, and beyond.  Amen.

The Glory Be

Glory and Joy Be to Peace and Love and Grace.

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be,

World without End. Amen.

Hail Holy Mary

Hail Holy Mary, Mother and Leader, Our Life, our Sweetness and our Hope. You show us how to live with Courage in our convictions. You teach us to stand by each other with unending support and love.

Thank you for being with us now.  Walk this path with us as you did with your son, Jesus. May we follow his example of inclusive love, as you taught him.

O Clement, O Loving, Sweet Mary of Nazareth. Be with us as we look to you.

Praying the Companions’ Rosary

1.   Make the Sign of the Protection and Love.

2.   Say the Simple Companions’ Creed.

3.   On the first bead, say The Prayer of Jesus.

4.   Say The Hail Mary on each of the next three beads.

5.   Say The Glory Be on the fifth bead.

6.   For each of the five decades, announce the Mystery or a special intention then say The Prayer of Jesus

7.   While fingering each of the ten beads of the decade, say ten Hail Marys while meditating on the Mystery or Intention. Then say a Glory Be.

8.   After saying the five decades, say the Hail, Holy Mary.

Diagram from USCCB, Accessed 9-29-19

A PRAYER FOR YOU

For all who say the Companions’ Rosary, a special Blessing from our Lady and Above. The Angels watch over you in Peace, Grace and Love.

With Joy and Appreciation for All,

Deb Trees, 2019

Debra Trees, FCM, ARCWP

The Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary