Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155
phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Welcome and Theme
Mary Theresa: Welcome to the Upper Room’s liturgy for the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. We certainly do not live in an ordinary time. We are part of an ever growing, and expanding and evolving universe. We live ordinary lives with hopes and dreams and desires for a world where the Light of Love awakens in us a deep reality beyond our everyday world.
Elaine:The Opening Song is a beautiful chant, Blessed Be, the light has come ~ written by Shawna Carol. Just this week I read that the ancient Hebrews did not coin the word ‘God.’ The word ‘God’ has its origin in Sanskrit and means light or brilliance. Please join in chanting together “Blessed Be, the light has come.” And as we join our voices in cyber-space, let’s be aware that we are sparks of the divine in the universes.
https://youtu.be/WkN8_7e6_BI?si=IxLGTkTgTSrHSdK0
All is growing and expanding,
Blessed be –
All is growing and expanding,
Blessed be –
The Light has come,
And the love that’s everlasting,
Blessed be –
Blessed be-
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: A reading from Genesis (Gn 3:9-15)
After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree,
the LORD God called to the man and asked him, "Where are you?"
He answered, "I heard you in the garden;
but I was afraid, because I was naked,
so I hid myself."
Then he asked, "Who told you that you were naked?
You have eaten, then,
from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!"
The man replied, "The woman whom you put here with me—
she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it."
The LORD God then asked the woman,
"Why did you do such a thing?"
The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it."
These are the inspired words of our ancient ancestors and we affirm them with, Amen.
Response between readings: More Light by Christopher Gundy
Second Reading: A reading from Paul’s second letter to the community at Corinth 2 Cor 4:13—16
Brothers and sisters:
Since we have the same spirit of faith,
according to what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke,
we too believe and therefore we speak,
knowing that the one who raised Jesus
will raise us also with Jesus
and place us in the Divine presence.
Everything indeed is for the brothers and sisters,
so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people
may cause thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.
Therefore, we are not discouraged.
These are the inspired words of the Apostle Paul and we affirm them with, Amen.
Alleluia: Celtic Alleluia
https://youtu.be/o1rc7ojQtJU?si=YYXxulDBFSl_KflT
Gospel: A reading from the Gospel of Mark Mk 3:20-35
Jesus came home with his disciples.
Again the crowd gathered,
making it impossible for them even to eat.
When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him,
for they said, "He is out of his mind."
The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said,
"He is possessed by Beelzebul,"
and "By the prince of demons he drives out demons."
Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
"How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself,
that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself
and is divided, he cannot stand;
that is the end of him.
These are the inspired words of the Gospel writer known as Mark, and we affirm them with, Amen.
Shared Homily: Elaine Pfaff
Today is the Tenth Sunday in so-called Ordinary Time and also the Solemnity of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Catholic parishes have the option in two sets of readings today. Both sets of readings point us to purity of heart and integrity.
I’m drawn to the Ordinary Time readings beginning with Genesis today because they deal with fundamental issues of our own creation and desires. This part of the Book of Genesis presents the first human beings, afraid of their transparency and God given desire to be like God, that is, to hold all things together.
According to Ilia Delio in her book The Not-Yet God, both Karl Rahner (the great Jesuit theologian) and Steve Jobs (the founder of Apple corporation) “realized that the inmost center of the human person is nothing less than the infinite depth of desire.”
And so, we have the very early Genesis story telling of the man blaming the woman for that very desire for divinization. And the woman blaming the talking snake for eating the fruit of the desire to be like God. And here is a very human and consistent dilemma throughout time: we fear being too much. And, conversely, we fear being not enough. In short, where is the balanced ego? I’m reminded of a wisdom shared with me years ago: God needs strong egos ~ surrendered to God. The Mystery we call God.
I love the observation made by Marianne Williamson * when she stated that “It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us.” And I love the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas, possibly written before the first canonical Gospel of Mark. Jesus is quoted as saying “When you bring forth that in yourselves, that which you have will save you. If you do not have that in yourselves, that which you do not have will kill you.” [70] Here is a good intuitive grasp of the psychological defense mechanism called projection in which we put outside ourselves that which we judge to be unacceptable in ourselves.
Does our self image make it possible for the Divine to dwell within? Or do we habitually project God to be “other” only? Ilia Delio again refers to Divinity as ” not a projection of a supernatural being, but the excess of life experienced as personal invitation” to participation.
And so, we continually take up the task of owning our stuff, that is, owning both our light and our darkness to have a response-able creative effect on the world.
“Everything indeed is for you, so that grace bestowed in abundance … may cause … overflow,” says our second reading, 2 Corinthians. To be like God in mutual desire for God and for one another means we are stretched, expanding in goodness born of the interplay between light and holy darkness. Jesus refers to this paradoxical reality when he asks “How can Satan drive out Satan?” Perhaps his question prompts us to see ourselves as human-divine beings whose light is overflowing in the world.
Thank you, Community, for your prayerful energy and attention in this liturgy today. Your responses will complete the homily starter. Perhaps one of these focus questions will be useful. As always, please share whatever the Spirit is presenting to you now.
How do you feel as bearer of infinite desire?
How are you a light?
How are you in holy darkness?
And how does your self awareness bless the world?
Statement of Faith
Mary Theresa: Let us pray together our 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.
Mary Theresa: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we voice our intentions beginning with the words, “We bring to the table…..”
Mary Theresa: We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen.
Elaine: With open hands and open hearts let us pray our Eucharistic prayer:
Elaine: 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: Here In this Place
https://youtu.be/uXyu57tR2gk?si=hy3fijc3sCSd5ZJp
Mary Theresa: 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.
Elaine: Please extend your hands in blessing.
All: 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:
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.
Please receive communion with the words: I am / You are loved and desired by God
Communion Song: Beauty of the Dancer by Sara Thomsen
https://youtu.be/zH-yELyNNMk?si=k9gwWEN1MfANtgCx
Prayer after Communion:
Elaine: Holy One, 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.
Elaine: Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
Holy One, You are within, around, among, and beyond 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
Mary Theresa: Let us pray together our blessing:
May we know ourselves as completely loved and desired by God
May this mutual belonging continue to lighten the world
And bring peace and blessing to All.
Amen! Let it be so !
Closing Song: We Go Forth by Jan Novotka
https://youtu.be/jtSAZp5hdME?si=5LkbGR5kuJ4GzPJ8
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