Moment of Oneness - February 3, 2021

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81507551772
Meeting ID: 815 0755 1772
To connect by phone dial: +1 646 558 8656

Theme: Room At the Table

Welcome: Tonight's theme is about Love and Justice for all.

The thoughts for this theme are taken from Pope Francis's encyclical Fratelli Tuttie or FT and a writing by Fr. Bob Longobucco and my ramblings. Please place your rosemary herb near your candle.

Opening/Centuring Song: “ Sanctuary” by Carrie Newcomer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjOioWTVAl4

Opening meditation:

I picked this reading because of the climate of politics we have lived through in the last 4 years and the hope we all have for the future. I know I”m preaching to the choir, we all have done so much in our lives following the gospel of Jesus, but what can we do in our “Golden Years?”

Recognizing the inherent dignity of each person shifts the basis of politics from power to love.  This radical call extends the act of personal charity into the realm of governance.  “It is an act of charity to assist someone suffering, but it is also an act of charity, even if we do not know that person, to work to change the social conditions that caused his or her suffering.”(FT 186) Inevitably, “The spiritual heart of politics is always a preferential love shown to those in greatest need; it undergirds everything we do on their behalf.”(FT 200) Love is also the space that allows true dialogue rather than “parallel monologues” (FT 200) which only appeals to course partisanship.  Instead Francis pleads for genuine encounters where the oppressions of the past are acknowledged so that the path of reconciliation can be followed.

Imagine a world where everyone is counted among the blessed. Who then would practice war, exploit the environment, support the death penalty or seek to raise the value of one life over another?  To be brothers and sisters to all is not just the destination.  It is the way.  The only way.

(Fr. Bob Longobucco is also a co-founder of Emmaus House)

Petition prayer for all:

Divine One, who is within and around us always, let us be your eyes, recognizing your sacred life in everyone we meet.  

Response:  Open our eyes to love.

Holy One, who cries out for justice, let us be your ears, so that we hear your voice in the cry of the poor.

Response:  Open our ears to love.

Beloved Healer, whose touch mends bodies and hearts, let us be your arms, as we reach out with compassion to our neighbors near and far.

Response:  Open our arms to love.

Amen

Song: “Room At The Table” by Carrie Newcomer”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92OM5bdQ4N4