phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Theme: We Are Made for These Times
Welcome
Mary Theresa: Welcome to our liturgy for the Fifth Sunday in Lent and Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Our opening song, Deer’s Cry, is attributed to St. Patrick, one of Ireland’s most beloved patron saints. According to tradition, St. Patrick wrote this prayer in 433 A.D. for divine protection as he brought Christianity to Ireland. It is a relevant prayer for us today, as we pray for protection against every cruel and merciless power.
Opening Prayer
Dotty: Holy one, we come to this table with heavy hearts.
Seeds of destruction surround us. They continue to be planted on our sacred earth. They grow into all forms of hatred; they destroy life in unspeakable horror;
they bring misery to millions of children, women and men. It seems
beyond the possible. We feel frozen and unable to do anything at all.
We are people of LIGHT. Today you call us to change our thoughts!
We know that you are with us. Turn our despair into hope. We cannot fix the world; but one step at a time, we can be a light in the darkness for one person at a time. You teach us that in times of powerful evil, it is love that lights our way. We are grateful for Individuals who have risen to leadership and set a new direction. We renew our faith. We plant our seeds in hope and believe they will bloom into love. Amen.
Opening Song: Deer’s Cry
https://youtu.be/xeVEGOPjJXQ?si=IcQVcZRto5d7R45R
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: A Reading from the Prophet Jeremiah
The days are coming, says the Holy One,
when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel
and the house of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors
the day I took them by the hand
to lead them forth from the land of Egypt;
But this is the covenant that I will make
with the house of Israel,.
I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts;
I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
No longer will they have need to teach their friends and relatives
how to know me.
All, from least to greatest, shall know me,
for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.
Second Reading: We Were Made for These Times by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
My friends, do not lose heart. We were made for these times. I have heard from so many recently who are deeply and properly bewildered. They are concerned about the state of affairs in our world now. Ours is a time of almost daily astonishment and often righteous rage over the latest degradations of what matters most to civilized, visionary people.
In any dark time, there is a tendency to veer toward fainting over how much is wrong or unmended in the world. Do not focus on that. There is a tendency, too, to fall into being weakened by dwelling on what is outside your reach, by what cannot yet be. Do not focus there. That is spending the wind without raising the sails.
We are needed, that is all we can know. And though we meet resistance, we more so will meet great souls who will hail us, love us and guide us, and we will know them when they appear.
Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good.
What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts, adding, adding to, adding more, continuing. We know that it does not take everyone on Earth to bring justice and peace, but only a small, determined group who will not give up during the first, second, or hundredth gale.
One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires, causes proper matters to catch fire. To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these - to be fierce and to show mercy toward others; both are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity.
Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do.
There will always be times when you feel discouraged. I too have felt despair many times in my life, but I do not keep a chair for it. I will not entertain it. It is not allowed to eat from my plate.
The reason is this: In my uttermost bones I know something, as do you. It is that there can be no despair when you remember why you came to Earth, who you serve, and who sent you here. The good words we say and the good deeds we do are not ours. They are the words and deeds of the One who brought us here. In that spirit, I hope you will write this on your wall: When a great ship is in harbor and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt. But that is not what great ships are built for.
Gospel Acclamation: Spirit of the Living God
https://youtu.be/xoJN0owUoWA?si=2pvLtcO7o5Bl6tv_
Gospel
Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast
came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee,
and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”
Philip went and told Andrew;
then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
Jesus answered them,
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me.
“I am troubled now. Yet what should I say?
‘Father, save me from this hour’?
But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.
Father, glorify your name.”
Then a voice came from heaven,
“I have glorified it and will glorify it again.”
The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder;
but others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
Jesus answered and said,
“This voice did not come for my sake but for yours.
These are the words of the Gospel writer known as John, and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Homily and Shared Reflections
Mary Theresa: The Book of Jeremiah was written amid Jerusalem’s destruction and the Babylonian exile. It is a book of laments, predictions of destruction and general expressions of woe. But the passage for today’s first reading is a hopeful message and a new promise. Jeremiah writes about a new covenant that Holy One is making with the people. This covenant, unlike the one written on stone tablets at Sinai, will be written in their hearts.
When I was meditating on today’s Gospel, I kept going back to the lines, “I am troubled now. Yet what should I say?
‘Father, save me from this hour’?
But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.”
That last line made me think of the reading by Clarissa Pinkola Estes: “We Were Made for These Times.” And, I thought of all of the followers of Jesus who like him, found themselves in troubling, life threatening times and believed the covenant written by the Holy One deep in their hearts. They knew without having to be told that “there can be no despair when you remember why you came to Earth, who you serve, and who sent you here.” They believed in their direct connection with the Source of All and their connection to those most in need.
Today, I would like to remember Archbishop Oscar Romero who was assassinated in El Salvador 44 years ago on March 24, 1980. The day before he was killed, He gave a sermon that commanded El Salvador's soldiers to disobey the orders of their superiors ending with these courageous words: "In the name of God, in the name of this suffering people whose cries rise to heaven more loudly each day, I implore you, I beg you, I order you in the name of God: Stop the repression."
Archbishop Romero delivered that sermon as military violence against civilians that ravaged Central America in the 1980s and early 1990s was growing in intensity and brutality. I can imagine Archbishop Romero praying the same words that Jesus prayed, “I am troubled now, Yet what should I say? Father save me from this hour” But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.” Like the seed that dies, Romero's assassination shocked the world and helped galvanize a global solidarity movement.
This morning, please join in expressing your thoughts on the readings and remember that in our troubling times, We are made for times like these.
We are needed, that is all we can know. And though we meet resistance, we will meet great souls who will hail us, love us and guide us, and we will know them when they appear.
Your thoughts.
Statement of Faith
Mary Theresa: Please join in praying our Statement of Faith
Joan P. and Joan C. 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
Mary Theresa: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we are aware that just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. 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 concerns. Amen.
Liturgy of the Eucharist
adapted from Diarmuid O’Murchu
Dotty: With open hands and hearts, let us pray our Eucharistic Prayer:
Gracious God, source and sustenance of life, redeeming presence to the pain and brokenness of our world, Holy Spirit, who enlivens all that exists.
Down through the ages, you rescue us from darkness and you light up our ways with wise and holy people. You restore our spirits and you revive our dwindling hope.
May your Spirit transform us that we may be refreshed in our inner being and be empowered to bring mercy, love, and healing to those whose lives we touch.
For all you bring to our lives, and for all we seek amid pain and suffering, we acclaim your love and greatness, and we join with all creation to sing our hymn of praise:
Holy, Holy: Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy
https://youtu.be/uXyu57tR2gk?si=DW76N-rNE9cCQXsh
Mary Theresa: 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.
Dotty: Please extend your hands in blessing.
We are ever aware of your Spirit in us 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:
Dotty: When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted bread, spoke a 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.
Please receive communion saying: We were made for these times.
Communion Song: If not now, tell me when? By Carrie Newcomer
https://youtu.be/7bY585-fzSs?si=2eE-3zUiLrdHRSkS
Prayer after Communion:
Joan C: 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.
Joan P: 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
Mary Theresa: Please extend your hands and pray our blessing:
ALL: May the Fire of Love ignite our hearts and radiate through us.
May the Spirit of truth and justice burn within us.
May we continue to be the face of the Holy One, and
May we be a blessing in our time.
AMEN.
Closing Song: Compassion (Change the World) by Andrew Witt
Additional Resources:
https://www.awakin.org/v2/read/view.php?tid=2195&op=audio
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