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New Year’s Day 2023
Welcome: Happy New Year everyone! We do not know what this year will bring. But we do know whatever it brings, we will do our best to follow Mary’s example and hold all that comes in our hearts with compassion and love.
Let us pray:
As we reflect on Mary, the first person to feel the heartbeat of the Holy One, may we be blessed to see Mary’s courage, love, silent wisdom and compassion in ourselves and in each other.
Opening Song: I say yes by Jan Novotka https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx6tCWggb5U
LITURGY OF THE WORD
A reading from the Book of Numbers
YHWH God said to Moses:
“Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them:
This is how you shall bless the Israelites.
Say to them:
May God bless you and keep you!
May God let his face shine upon
you and be gracious to you!
May God look upon you kindly and
give you peace!
So shall they invoke my Name upon the Israelites,
and I will bless them.”
These are the words of the Holy One as given to Moses. The community affirm these words by saying AMEN
Alleluia: Celtic Alleluia
A Reading from the Gospel of Luke
The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
These are the inspired words from Luke, a follower of Jesus. The Community affirms them by saying AMEN
Homily Starter:
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could sit with Mary? Wouldn’t you love to have her tell us of her journey from that faith filled ‘Yes’ to the trip to Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus? Imagine witnessing Mary’s grace as she welcomed the shepherds – the poorest of the poor…the unknowns with no power and no apparent gifts to offer? Imagine witnessing the wonder and joy as she blesses the Shepherds, these lowest of the low, with the gift to be the first to carry the good news of Jesus’ birth.
I am most in awe of and challenged by Mary’s capacity to ‘hold all things, reflecting on them in her heart’. The Semite’s way for women was silence but what if Mary could speak? What WAS she holding in her heart? Was she treasuring the birth of her first child? Was she terrified giving birth alone in a barn? Was she overwhelmed by the pain of birth? Was she frightened of what is to come – for her, Joseph AND the baby? I would like Mary to tell me just how she was able to cherish each moment from her first ‘yes’ to this miraculous birth, as sacred moments in the depth of her heart.
What is her recipe for compassionate love? If asked, Mary might simply offer her knowing smile; demonstrating her gift of infinite tranquility.
Perhaps our first reading is Cliff Notes to compassionate love: we are blessed and a blessing to each other. SO the gift of compassionate love is here for the taking: The gift to accept each moment as sacred. The gift to hear the good news from even the outcasts. The Blessing by the Holy One is the gift to hold all things as sacred, calmly, faithfully and hopefully in our hearts.
Mary might tell us WE ARE ALL birthing Jesus. We are all facing unknowns. Mary might ask us if we are expectant and hopeful, or anxious and despondent? She might challenge us: do we have faith and peace and hope for our new year of 2023? Mary might tell us we may not be as poor as the shepherds, but we have been blessed and charged to share joy and praise for the mystery of love unwrapped before us in a vulnerable child and two inexperienced parents….all barriers are broken. All we need to do is accept the gift, the blessing to live the Christian life, continue to spread the good news with faith, hope and joy. Thank you Mary, for your wisdom and immense challenge.
2023 offers a fresh start in following Jesus. Are we asked, in these anxious times to seek Mary’s compassion but also, to balance our silence with action – calling us to the courage to speak out and/or act on our beliefs; to seek justice and peace for all? I believe Mary is offering us, in a world of venting and free expression of feelings, a clear example of fierce love, a love that knows we are Blessed AND called to be a Blessing to each other.
Shared Reflections
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.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
As we prepare for the sacred meal we bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns. Please feel free to voice your prayers beginning with the words “I bring to the table….”
We pray for these and all unspoken prayers and intentions. Amen.
With open hearts and hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer in one voice:
ALL:O Great Love, thank you for living and loving in us and through us as we set our hearts on belonging to you. May all that we do flow from our deep connection with you and all creation.
You know our limitations and our essential goodness and you love us as we are. You beckon us to your compassionate heart and inspire us to see the good in others and forgive their limitations. Acknowledging your presence in each other and in all of creation, we sing:
Holy, Holy: Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy
https://youtu.be/sgkWXOSGmOQ
Guiding Spirit, 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.
Please extend your hands in blessing.
All: We are ever aware of your Spirit in us and among us at this Eucharistic table and we are grateful for this bread and wine which reminds us of our call to be the body of Christ in the world.
On the night before he faced his own death, Jesus sat at 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 the plate and pray:
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:
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.
(pause)
We share this bread and cup to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace. We choose to live justly, love tenderly, and walk with integrity.
Terri: Please receive communion saying: I hold you in my heart
Communion Song: Be Born In Me (MARY) – Francesca Bastitelli
https://youtu.be/QsXOP7aQeqQ
Prayer after Communion:
Holy One, your transforming energy is within us and we join our hearts with all who are working for a just world. We pray for wise leaders in our religious communities. We pray for courageous and compassionate leaders in our world communities.
We pray for all of us gathered here and like Jesus, we open ourselves up to your Spirit, for it is through living as he lived that we awaken to your Spirit within, moving us to glorify you, at this time and all ways.
Amen.
Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
Holy One, you are 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.
Adapted by Miriam Therese Winter
Blessing
Please pray our final blessing together
Like Mary may we know the Holy One is holding us day to day, moment by moment.
May we know peace and joy in the midst of our chaotic world.
May everyone we meet know they are valued and love.
Closing Song: Learn To Sit Without Knowing by Carrie Newcomer
https://youtu.be/I_t8WqgKL3I
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