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Foundations
Welcome: Welcome to you all! I’m so happy to be with you here today as we celebrate liturgy together.
Opening Prayer: Let us pray. Holy One, help us to remember that we all, every single one of us, are the building blocks of your Church. Give us the strength to hold each other up when we need a helping hand. And help us to do so joyfully! AMEN
Opening Song: Loving Kindness by Karen Drucker https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLwm68BlH_4
LITURGY OF THE WORD
FIRST READING: A Reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans (11:33-12:2)
O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are Your judgments! How unfathomable Your ways!
“For what human being has ever known the mind of God?
What human being has ever been God’s advisor?
Who has ever given a gift to God,
expecting the same in return?”
For from God and through God and for God is all that is. To God be glory forever.
Therefore, beloved, instead of giving “things” to God, present your very selves to God as a living sacrifice. You, your life, is holy and pleasing to God. Living for God is your spiritual worship. So, do not model yourselves after the pattern of this age. Rather be transformed by the renewal of your hearts and minds, so that you may discern the desire of God's heart; what is good and pleasing and true.
These are the inspired words of the Apostle Paul, and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION: Celtic Alleluia by Christopher Walker – MT Video
https://youtu.be/4cs8NDVM3Vk
GOSPEL: Readings from the Gospels attributed to Matthew and John (Mt 16:13-26; Jn 11:17, 21-27)
When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Chosen One is?” They responded, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Jesus asked, “But you, who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the One from the Living God.” Jesus replied, “Simon, son of Jonah, blessed are you! Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Loving God of the heavens. So I say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my community. The gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the reign of heaven, the everlasting kin-dom. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound always, in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed always, in heaven.” Then Jesus strictly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
And from the Gospel attributed to John
When Jesus arrived in Bethany, near the house of Mary and Martha, Jesus found that Lazarus, their brother, had already been in the tomb for four days… Martha said to Jesus, “Teacher, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Even now, I know that God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live; and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Martha replied, “Yes, I believe that you are the Messiah, the One from God, the one coming into the world.”
These are the inspired words of the anonymous storytellers we call Matthew and John, and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
Homily Starter—Julie: My first job after college was in Quincy, Massachusetts, outside Boston. Part of settling in after I got my first apartment was finding the local Catholic church. I vividly remember walking out of church after mass that day, after hearing, again, the first part of today’s gospel, where Peter declares Jesus the Messiah. The sky was so blue that Sunday morning and as I walked down the stone steps of the church I thought, “The entire Church hierarchy is based on this gospel. Gah! I can’t do this anymore!” And I didn’t. I tried a few times over the years, going to the local Catholic church when I moved to Connecticut and then back here to New York. But the location didn’t matter because the patriarchy was everywhere. It wasn’t even that I wanted to be a priest back then, I just couldn’t stand being talked down to by the male priests, all because Peter called Jesus Messiah.
Can you imagine how different my experience would have been if the canonical lectionary paired Peter with Martha like the inclusive lectionary did today? Can you imagine how different the entire Catholic church would have been if these gospels were given equal weight, if we had a founding mother and not just a founding father? Imagine an entire Catholic church, girls and boys, women and men, steeped in the belief so beautifully stated in our first reading, “You, your life, is holy and pleasing to God.” I don’t have to imagine that anymore. Because with you my beloveds, I live that every single day.
So I ask you, what did you hear? What will you do? What, if anything, will it cost you? Which is to say, what would you like to share about today’s readings?
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
Prayers of the Community
As we prepare for the sacred meal, 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 the unspoken concerns held in the silence of our hearts. AMEN
Eucharistic Prayer
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, Holy: Here In This Place by Christopher Grundy
https://youtu.be/uXyu57tR2gk
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.
(Extend hands in blessing.)
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 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.
(Lift the bread)
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. Go and love one another.
(Lift the cup)
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.
In faith and hope we are sustained; in grace and dignity reclaimed. In praise, we thank you.
Please receive communion with the words: I believe that I am holy.
Communion Meditation: You Say—Lauren Daigle
https://youtu.be/HqpNGYbcy3U?si=A_U6XBXzAoc_8I8z
Prayer after communion: Let us pray. 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.
Prayer of Jesus
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 raise your hands as we bless each other:
May we shine like the face of God to each other. May we remember that we are holy and pleasing to God. May we be a blessing in our time! AMEN
Closing Song: Blessings by Hollow Coves (video, DHS)
https://youtu.be/5M3JL9sHS5Q
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