Please join us between 9:30 and 9:55 am via Zoom
Here is the Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155
phone-in for (audio only).Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Welcome: Tomorrow is the Last Sunday of Advent. As always time is flying by, and we race to get everything done. Let’s take some time to slow down this week, pray together and recognize and welcome the angels who surrounds us.
Lighting of Advent Candles
Advent Candle Lighting Blessing Prayer
Like our ancestors, we honor the cycles and the seasons that remind us of the ever-changing flow of life. Ritual acts give life meaning—they honor and acknowledge the unseen web of Life that connects us all.
Week 4 – We light all four of our candles:
We light these candles and remember the Holy One who created light and life out of darkness by loving. We will continue to strive to bring Hope, Peace, Joy and Love to our broken world.
Let us kindle the light of hope, peace, joy, and love!!
Opening Prayer: Holy One, we believe there are angels all around us. They come in many forms and disguises. All of creation is filled with angels. May we be awake, aware and welcoming as they surround us.
Opening Song: Let their voices sing. Creation is calling! (Crickets)
https://youtu.be/eHOVGRZu_3k?si=TGJA9AInZDI9WjFJ
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews
Continue to love each other as sisters and brothers. Don’t neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
The community affirms these words by saying AMEN!
Gospel Acclamation: Mass of Advent - Alleluia by Dave & Lauren Moore
https://youtu.be/lZnbrTRI38U?si=fFEiNFfJat7ZOwym
Gospel: A Reading from the Gospel of Matthew (Mt.1:18-24)
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
"Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins."
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means "God is with us."
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
The community affirms these words by saying AMEN!
Homily Starter:
In his homily the first week of Advent Dennis McDonald wrote that the Gospel of the day asks us to “feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit the imprisoned. All are ways to live out love. We can be literal about these ideas, but perhaps we can broaden how it is done. Feeding the hungry, may not just be about food, but about the hunger for understanding our differences, or understanding a bit more about someone who thinks differently than me. Welcoming the stranger, can certainly be about embracing immigrants into our communities, but perhaps the harder one is welcoming the haters into dialogue, not dismissing their fears and concerns but listening to them.” When we take the scripture verses literally, we often feel we fall short. No matter how much we do or give to the poor and marginalized it never seems enough. Dennis’ message helped me expand my understanding of feeding the hungry and welcoming the stranger. The connections we make heart to heart, seeing, and listening to another may seem like a small action but also carries great love..
The reading from Hebrews reminds of how the Holy One surrounds us with opportunities to actually live out our gospel values and care for one another. We are asked to be aware and offer hospitality. If we do not, we might not recognize all the angels sent to us.
Who are the angels in your life, past or present, who have made a difference for you? Is there someone standing right in front of you that you have not recognized?
Advent is the season of angels. One more week till Christmas. We still have time to welcome and recognize our angels.
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
As we prepare for this sacred meal, we are aware that just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. As bearers of LIGHT and HOPE, we bring to this table our blessings, cares, and concerns. Please feel free to voice your intentions beginning with the words, “I bring to the table…..”
We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
With open hearts and hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer as one voice:
(written by Jay Murnane)
All: Source of All That Is, we seek you in this season, when the earth is resting and preparing for new life. Like the earth, we long for new life and hopeful beginnings. This is the time of the pregnant woman, filled with life and hope powerful enough to topple structures of oppression. This is the time of her song of fidelity and celebration.
During this gentle season of Advent, we recognize that you have made us capable of bringing forth justice, like a rising sun. One with all who have gone before us, we sing a song of praise:
Holy, Holy, Holy Music by John Bacchus Dykes, Words by Peter Mayer video by Denise
We thank you for those in times past who believed the good news and lived what they believed.
Blessed is Isaiah and every visionary who insisted on a better future that would break through the deception, disaster and broken promises of the age in which they lived.
Blessed is John, in the stark desert of careful focus, inviting the people to be born again in your love.
Blessed is Miriam, who believed the words of Isaiah and opened herself up to the unbelievable.
And blessed is her child Jesus, who felt the sorrows of humankind in his soul, and responded with deep and tender compassion.
Please extend your hands in blessing.
We are grateful for your Spirit at our Eucharistic Table and 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.Please extend your hands in blessing.
We are grateful for your Spirit at our Eucharistic Table and 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.
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)
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)
Let us share this bread and cup to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace.
Please receive communion with the words: We are all angels.
Communion Song: Christmas Is Waiting for Us by Dave DeBonis, Vocalist Chris Cron https://youtu.be/rwOQJPHZKMA?si=hF7tMpHkzRu426qS
Prayer after communion:
Holy One, we are grateful for the gift of Your Spirit, always drawing beauty and balance out of chaos. And like Jesus…
Standing where he stood,
and for what he stood,
and with whom he stood,
we are united in your Spirit,
and worship you with our lives, 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 extend your hands and pray our blessing together.
May we recognize the light of the Holy One in ourselves, in one another, and in all our fellow humans. May we walk in the Light of the Holy One and may we shine.
All: AMEN
Closing Song: We Are All Angels by Karen Drucker
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.