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Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Peace be with all of you! ~ Pope Leo XIV
Welcome and Theme
Good morning and welcome. Pope Leo XIV greeted us all with the term “Peace be with all of you”. Sadly, we know that he knows that the world and the church are perhaps further from institutional peace than ever before in our lifetimes. The peace he and Jesus and all people of deep spiritual commitment are in need of a deep personal peace, The deep peace of the running wave, the still small voice of God, the most interior space in the castle, the place of union. It has been described in many ways. A lifetime of service for the Christian is fed by the commitment to both deep personal transformation and the actions in the world that spring from that commitment. As lifelong seekers, prayers and activists, we can be assured that we are made for these times.
Opening Sung Prayer: Come be in My Heart by Sara Thomas
https://youtu.be/gwxldz6oH2w?si=fHaM8SqYqzidg8Dc
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: Action and Contemplation Monday, June 26, 2017, by Richard Rohr
The words action and contemplation have become classic Christian terminology for the two dancing polarities of our lives. Thomas Aquinas and many others stated that the highest form of spiritual maturity is not action or contemplation, but the ability to integrate the two into one life stance—to be service-oriented contemplatives or contemplative activists. By temperament we all tend to come at it from one side or the other.
This full integration doesn't happen without a lot of mistakes and practice and prayer. And invariably, as you go through life, you swing on a pendulum back and forth between the two. During one period you may be more active or more contemplative than at another time.
I have commonly noticed a tendency to call any kind of inner work contemplation, and this concerns me. Inner work might lead you to a contemplative stance, but not necessarily. We shouldn't confuse various kinds of inner work, insight-gathering, or introspection with contemplative spirituality. Contemplation is about letting go of the false much more than just collecting the new, the therapeutic, or the helpful. In other words, if you and your personal growth are still the focus, I do not think you are yet a contemplative - which demands that you shed yourself as the central reference point. Jesus said, "Unless the single grain of wheat dies, it remains just a single grain," and it wil not bear much fruit (John 12:24).
We must guard against our "innerness" becoming disguised narcissism, navel-gazing, and overly self-serving. I am afraid this is not uncommon in the religious world. An exalted self-image of "I am a spiritual person" is far too appealing to the ego. Thomas Merton warned against confusing an introverted personality with being a contemplative. They are two different things.
Having said that, I'll point out the other side of the problem. Too much activism without enough inner work, insight, or examination of conscience inevitably leads to violence to the self, to the project at hand, and invariably to others.
If too much inner focus risks narcissism and individualism, I guess too much
outer focus risks superficiality, negativity passing for love of justice, and various Messiah complexes. You can lack love on the Right, and you can lack love on the Left - they just wear two different disguises.
We need both inner communion and outer service to be "Jesus" in the world!
The job of religion is to help people act effectively and compassionately from an inner centeredness and connection with God.
These are the inspired words of Richard Rohr, and the community affirms them by saying, Amen.
Second Reading: Excerpts from, Letter to a Young Activist 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…Ours is a time of almost daily astonishment and often righteous rage over the latest degradations of what matters most…You are right in your assessments…Yet, I urge you, ask you, gentle you, to please not spend your spirit dry by bewailing these difficult times. Especially do not lose hope. Most particularly because, the fact is that we were made for these times. Yes. For years, we have been learning, practicing, been in training for and just waiting to meet on this exact plain of engagement.
These are the inspired words of Clarissa Pinkola Estes and the community affirms them by saying, Amen.
Gospel Acclamation: Celtic Alleluia by Christopher Walker
https://youtu.be/o1rc7ojQtJU?si=JmKBdDGl7h3Tyh3U
Gospel: A reading from the Gospel writer known as John
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
I give you a new commandment: Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.
This is how all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.
These are the inspired words of the Gospel writer known as John and the community affirms them by saying, Amen.
Shared Homily (Connie)
We are made for these times. Many of us find hope in these words in the midst of shock, despair, and confusion over the condition of our world. For many it is also a time of dealing with personal struggles related to health, family concerns, or things only known to God. In our first reading, Richard Rohr cautions us to balance our spiritual inner communion and our outer service. In our second reading, Clarissa Pinkola Estes echoes Richard Rohr in her appeal to use our gentle, guiding inner voice rather than depleting our spirit by bewailing these times.
Jesus modeled this for us. For example, he went to the garden to pray and to the desert to pray. Afterwards, he took powerful and bold action. He spoke truth to the powerful leaders of the temple in his religious community. He also acted with boldness regarding his Roman overlords. For the last two thousand years, Christian prophets and mystics have continued in this way. This is our heritage and inspiration.
Our gospel commands us to remember to Love one another as we move forward. Being made for these times means that we have been building our spiritual muscles for years or even decades. Spiritual maturity sustains our actions through the difficulties of communal and personal struggles. How do you tap into God, your source, for inspiration and sustenance? We look forward to hearing your thoughts.
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.
Prayers of the Community
Presider: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we voice our intentions beginning with the words, “We bring to the table…..”
Presider: We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Presider 1: Please join in praying the Eucharistic prayer together:
All: 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: Here in this Place by Christopher Grundy
https://youtu.be/sgkWXOSGmOQ?si=ipfhiVBm0ab3MjIL
ALL: 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.
Presider 2: 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: Peace Be With You
Communion Song: Make Me a Channel of Your Peace by Susan Boyle
https://youtu.be/gUI2EyYIEKs?si=43DSvdKmWOT4ZrP9
Post-Communion Prayer
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.
Presider 1: 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
Presider: Let us pray together our blessing:
O Shekinah,
we are the vessel for your inflowing.
Your radiance requires the clay of our embodiment.
Your flame burns at the core of the earth.
Your warmth penetrates the seedbed and animates the seedlings.
You bless the head of every animal
and kiss the tear-streaked face of humanity.
You are the vision that builds community,
and you are our refuge
when the fabric of community unravels.
Be with us now
as we navigate the landscape of mystery
where your most cherished attributes —
wild mercy and boundless compassion,
righteousness and wisdom —
seem to be cast aside and trampled
by imperious world powers
and we are paralyzed by helplessness.
Help us.
May we remember you and lift you up.
May we recognize your face and celebrate your beauty
in everything and everyone,
everywhere, always.
AMEN.
(Excerpt from Prayer to the Shekinah by Mirabai Starr)
Closing Song: I am Willing by Holly Near
https://youtu.be/_XXYhhh-5sg?si=afpK5UZUZgzPVwFe
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