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Here is the Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155
phone-in for (audio only).Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Deb Trees. Welcome everyone, to the Upper Room Inclusive Catholic Community for this Trinity Sunday, 2021. Suzanne DeFroy and Deb Trees are leading us today. This is Memorial Day Weekend in the United States. We remember our family and friends who are no longer with us, and of course those who made the sacrifice while serving our country. We also think of our special awareness of the Triune God in Christian Tradition. The Creator, Lover and Spirit. Please join us and participate with us as we celebrate the Holy One in our midst.
Opening Song: By Breath by Sara Thomsen
https://youtu.be/5HgOJiJRKMM
LITURGY OF THE WORD
Tim Perry Coons. First Reading
I am the mind and the rest
I am the learning from my search
And the discovery of those seeking me
In my understanding of the angels
Who were sent on my word
And the Gods in God, according to my design
And spirits of all men who exist with me
And the women who live in me
I am she who is revered and adored
And she who is reviled with contempt
I am peace and war exists because of me
I am foreigner and a citizen of the city
I am being
I am she who is nothing
Those who participate in my presence, don’t know me
Those who share in my being know me.
These are the inspired words of the storyteller in The Thunder: Perfect Mind from the New New Testament by Hal Taussig (4:10- 16)
Alleluia Dennis McDonald
Jean Albert. A reading from the Gospel of John
In the beginning, “That which came into being in the Word was life and the life was the light of humanity; and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness never overpowered it.”
During the last days of Jesus’ life, Thomas asked, “We do not know where you are going Master, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me. If you recognize me, you will know my Father also; from now on you know him, indeed you have already seen him”.
Philip asked, “Master, show us the Father and we will be satisfied.” Jesus replied, “Have I been all this time among you and yet you Philip have not recognized me? The person who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, then, ‘Show us the Father? Do you believe that I am the Father and the Father in me? In giving you my teaching I am not speaking on my own authority; but the Father himself, living in me, does his own work. In truth I tell you, the person who believes in me will herself do the work that I am doing; and she will do greater work still, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, I will do. If you love me, you will keep my commandments and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper, to be with you always – the spirit of truth. The world cannot receive this Spirit, because it does not recognize it, but you recognize it, because it is with you, and is in you. I will not leave you bereaved; I will come to you.”
These are the inspired words of the anonymous storyteller we call John and the community affirms the by saying Amen.
Shared Homily - Suzanne De Froy
How can we understand and believe in the Holy Trinity? In the ancient scripture The Thunder: Perfect Mind that was found at Nag Hammadi in 1945, we are reminded of the everlasting interplay of the ‘oneness’ of spirit within the countless realities of Divine creation and physical manifestations. We also find light and darkness being experienced in living every day. Thunder speaks of hope for seekers to find rest within struggles by ‘learning’ and ‘sharing’. Eventually ‘Gods in God’ may be discovered: the Divine Trinity with the Creator, the physical manifestation of the earthly Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Believing in possibilities, John also gives us hope at the beginning of his Gospel, when he has echoed Thunder by introducing God by saying, “I am a light that shines in the darkness and the darkness never overpowers it’. The disciples witnessed the Divine’s light that was working through Jesus. Yet during His last days, the disciples, who are themselves seekers of the Divine’s essence, do not seem convinced in the new reality they have been experiencing. They continue to doubt and question where they can find the Creator, known to them as Father. Jesus explained that the Creator is alive always, not only in Jesus but in them as well. And those who choose to live His teachings of love and compassion will shine a light on the darkness so the “spirit of truth” may be deeply received. This was a profound promise that His legacy will live on, long past His death because every person who believes Him, “will herself do the work He has done; and much greater.”
There are other teachings about the mystical dimensions of Divinity available to all. In scripture we hear that Jesus met a Samaritan woman at the well and they had a conversation. He answered her questions by explaining that God is forever present to her because, “God is Spirit.” Truth was embodied in Jesus, revealing the mystery of the Divine Trinity at that very moment.
Do you too have an experience of meeting the Divine that you would like to share?
Shared Homily
Sharon Beneteau. 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.
Deb: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we voice our intentions beginning with the words, “We bring to the table…..”
Dennis: We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen.
Deb: Please join in praying the Eucharistic prayer together:
O Holy One, you have birthed us in goodness, gifted us with life and cherished us in love. In the heart of our being, your Spirit dwells; a Spirit of courage and vision, a Spirit of wisdom and truth.
In the power of that same Spirit, we lift our hearts in prayer, invoking anew the gift of wisdom and enlightenment, that we may continue to praise and thank you, in union with all who sing the ancient hymn of praise:
Holy Holy Holy by Karen Drucker
Holy One, we see around us the work of your hands, the fruit of your wisdom and love. The unfolding story of creation witnesses unceasingly to your creative power. We, your creatures, often deviate from that wisdom, thus hindering your creative presence in our midst.
Sending among us Jesus, our brother, you birth afresh in our world the power of Sophia-Wisdom, and in the gift of Your Spirit, your creative goodness blooms anew, amid the variety and wonder of life.
Suzanne: Please extend your hands in blessing.
We invoke Your Spirit upon the gifts of this Eucharistic table, bread of the grain and wine of the grape, that they may become gifts of wisdom, light and truth which remind us of our call to be the body of Christ to the world.
On the night before he faced his own death and for the sake of living fully, 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 within them, he bent down and washed their feet.
All lift their plate and pray the following:
When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted the Passover bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread and offered it to them saying:
Take and eat; this is my very self.
All lift their cup and pray the following:
Deb: He then raised high 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.
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.
(consume bread and wine)
Communion Deep Peace by Sara Thomsen https://youtu.be/u1ZncDXIBJA
Deb: In faith and hope we are sustained; in grace and dignity reclaimed. In praise, we thank you.
In union with all peoples living and dead, we unite our thoughts and prayers, asking wisdom and courage:
- to discern more wisely your call to us in the circumstances of our daily lives;
- to act justly and courageously in confronting the pain and suffering that desecrates the Earth and its peoples;
- to take risks in being creative and proactive on behalf of the poor and marginalized;
- and to love all people with generosity of heart, beyond the labels of race, creed and color.
And may we ever be aware and alert to the new things Your Spirit makes possible in us, as our world unfolds amid pain and beauty, into the fullness of life to which all are called, participating in the wise and wonderful work of co-creation.
Like Jesus, we will open up wide all that has been closed about us, and we will live compassionate lives, for it is through living as Jesus lived, that we awaken to your Spirit within, moving us to glorify you, O Holy One, at this time and all ways.
Amen.
Kathy Worotny: Let us pray the prayer 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 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)
BLESSING
Suzanne: Let us pray together our Blessing for Trinity Sunday
May the God of mystery increase your longing for understanding, May the God made manifest in Jesus the Christ increase your compassion, May the God of mission increase your zeal for truth and justice, And may God the Holy Trinity, bless, preserve and keep you, today and always. Amen
https://youtu.be/uLyAzS7FThk
