Mary, Mother of Jesus, Catholic Community
Inviting, inclusive, inspiring, interesting,
involving
Part 1: Service of Light
Blessing of the Fire and Paschal Candle
(We will
gather around the place of the new fire- in the courtyard outside the main
doors of the sanctuary. Presiders will invite each person to mention the
names of those who have gone before and who have ignited faith and love and
wisdom in her/his life. After each set
of names, the congregation will respond: Presente!
Lee:
On this most sacred night, in which Jesus Christ passed over from this earth to
a new life, the People of God everywhere come together to watch and pray. If we listen to the word of God and live it,
and if we honor the memory of his death and resurrection, we will have the sure hope of sharing his
victory over death and living a resurrected life with our Creator.
Lee
sets the fire. When lit, the fire is
blessed.
Presider: Let us pray. O
God who, through Jesus, bestowed upon us the fire of your glory, sanctify (+)
this new fire -- and grant that, by
these paschal celebrations, we may be
inflamed with new hope. Purify our minds
by this Easter celebration and bring us one day to the feast of eternal light.
Preparation of the
Paschal Candle
Lee: Christ, yesterday and today (pause)
The Beginning and the End
While saying:
The Alpha and Omega (put
in the first pin)
While
saying: All time belongs to God (put in the second pin)
While saying: And all the ages (put
in the third pin)
While saying:
To Jesus, be glory and power (put
in the fourth pin)
While
saying: Through all time and all
places, Amen (put
in the fifth pin)
ALL: May
the light of Christ - rising in glory - dispel the darkness of our hearts and
minds.
(Alternate sides – left and right – for each paragraph)
We Rejoice. We Remember.
The
Christ - a spark that lit the cosmos at the beginning of time.
We Rejoice. We Remember.
The
Christ - a spark that is expanding across time.
We Rejoice. We Remember.
The
Christ - a spark that was borne, sheltered and passed to us by our ancestors.
We Rejoice. We Remember.
The Christ - a spark that was fanned
into flame by those who ignited our lives in love and wisdom and joy.
We Rejoice. We Remember.
The
Christ - a spark that is a sacred trust held by us to pass on to generations yet
to come.
ALL:
We rejoice. We remember. We celebrate. Alexander J. Shaia
Procession
Michael will bring the candle into the Sanctuary singing 3 times: “The
Light of Christ”
Response:
Thanks be to God!
Michael (at the front in the sanctuary) sings: The Exultet, “Rejoice, heavenly powers!
Presider: Our God is with
you. ALL: And also with you.
Presider: Lift up your
hearts. ALL: We lift them up to our God.
Presider: Let us give
thanks to our God ALL: It is right to give God thanks and praise.
Part II: Liturgy of the Word
First Reading
Psalm
Response: “All Praise Glory and Honor to you, God of great love” (Monica Brown
#8)
Second Reading
Psalm Response: “We are
Called” #628
Third Reading
Psalm Response: “Come to the Water” #612
Fourth Reading
Psalm
Response: “Holy Sacred Spirit, breathe your breath on us. Holy Sacred Spirit, breathe your life in
us.” Repeat 2x (Monica Brown #10)
Epistle: Romans 6:3-11
Responsorial:
“Alleluia, Alleluia, let the Holy Anthems Rise” #174
Alleluia “Alleluia” (eightfold charismatic alleluia)
Gospel : Mark 16: 1-8
Part III: Liturgy of
Baptismal Water
Blessing
of the Water
Presider: May God renew us and keep us faithful to the Spirit we have all
received.
ALL (with
arms extended):
God, our Father
and Mother, we know you are with us as we recall the wonders of creation. Bless this water that you have made a servant
of your loving kindness to us. Your
Spirit, “in the beginning of the universe, hovered over the surface of the
waters” so that its very substance would take on the power to sanctify. Through water, you set your people
free from bondage and quenched their thirst in the desert. With water, your prophets announced a
new covenant that you would make with humanity. By water, you made holy by Jesus in the Jordan
Presider: Holy people of
God, through the Pascal Mystery we have been buried with Christ in Baptism and
we now walk with our God in newness of life.
And so let us renew the promises that brought us to this point in our
lives and will support us until we walk with our God in the next.
Hymn: “Come to the Water” #612 (during the water sharing rite)
Renewal of Baptismal
Promises (adapted
from Jay Murnane)
Presider: Let us renew the
promises we made in baptism and try to fulfill in the years since.
ALL: I promise to see what is
good for my sisters and brothers everywhere, rejecting injustice and
inequality, and living with the freedom and responsibility of the family
of God.
I promise to work for the realization of God’s vision of harmony
and right relations among people, rejecting the idols of money, property, race,
gender, and position.
I promise to seek peace and live in peace in one human family,
rejecting prejudice in every form, and all barriers to unity.
I promise to cherish the universe and this precious planet,
working creatively to renew and safeguard the elemental sacraments of air,
earth, and water.
I believe in God, the Creator, in Jesus,
the teacher of justice and love, who lived among us so that all might live
with abundant fullness;
I believe in the Spirit, the breath of God, who continues the work
of birthing and blessing, of forgiveness and reconciliation, of challenge and
hope, so that together we all can continue the work of creation.
Presider: God has given us a new
birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and forgiven all our sins. May God also
keep us faithful to Jesus the Christ forever and ever. Amen.
Part IV: The Prayer of the
Faithful
Presider: Always mindful of
God’s love and care for all creation, we bring the needs of the people to our loving God. Response:
Loving God, hear our prayer.
Presider: Healing God, we know that you hear our prayers. May we celebrate our planetary oneness in our
works for justice, equality, and peace.
We ask this through the risen Jesus, our brother, and the Spirit, our
sanctifier. Amen.
Part V: Liturgy of the
Eucharist
Preparation
of the Gifts
Presiders
(raise the bread and the wine): Ever
gentle God, as co-creators of our planet, we offer you these gifts of bread,
wine and our lives. May we celebrate our
oneness with all creatures, large and small, in your earthly family. We ask this of you through Jesus, our
brother, and Sophia, our wisdom. ALL: Amen
Presider:
Pray that we become more aware of our oneness in the Cosmic Christ through the
grace of the Risen Jesus.
ALL:
We are gathered as a community to celebrate the gift of life pulsating
in the glories of Nature everywhere.
Eucharistic
Prayer
Presider: Holy One, You stirred the waters of creation,
and you dwell in us.
ALL:
And in every living being.
Presider:
Lift up your hearts.
ALL:
We lift them up to our Creator in whom all are one.
Presider: Let us give thanks for the Breath of life in
all forms throughout the Universe.
ALL:
It is right to give glory to God, present everywhere and in everything,
with thanks and praise.
ALL (sing): We are holy (3x); You are holy (3x); I am
holy (3x); We are holy (3x). (Karen Drucker.)
ALL:
Holy One, we bring you these gifts that they may become the Christ
Presence. Fill us with reverence for all
creatures, great and small.
ALL: (extend arms): On the night before Jesus died, while at
supper with his friends, he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread and
gave it to them saying: Take this all of
you, and eat. Do this in memory of
me. (Pause)
In the same way, Jesus took the cup of
wine. He said the blessing, gave the cup
to his friends and said: Take this all
of you and drink. Do this in memory of
me.
Presider: Let
us proclaim the mystery of faith.
ALL:
This bread is you; this bread is me.
We are one body in communion with all creation.
Voice 1:
Christ of the Cosmos, we thank you that our bodies are made of stardust
and that every place we turn, you are present, loving us. You invite us to join the dance of creation in
a mystical celebration of our oneness with all living things in your divine
love.
Voice 2:
Risen Christ, we remember that it was you who said: “Anything I have done in the name of the
Creator, you can do too…and even more.”
So we remember all those in our world who are working for environmental healing,
human rights and justice for all.
Voice 3:
Christ of the Cosmos, we remember Mary, mother of Jesus, faithful
disciple, and we remember St. Francis
who sang canticles to brother sun and sister moon. May we praise you in union with them and live
your compassion now.
Presiders: Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ,
in unity with the Holy Spirit, all
glory, honor and praise to you, loving God, forever and ever. ALL:
(sung): Amen (5x)
ALL (sung): Our Father and Mother, who
are in heaven….
Sign of Peace
Presider: Risen Christ, you said to your disciples, “My
peace I leave you, my peace I give you.”
Look on the faith of all those gathered here.
ALL: May we spread your peace throughout the world, always and
everywhere, no exceptions. Amen
Presider: Let us join hearts and hands as we pray for
peace in all our relationships and in our world.
Peace hymn: “Peace is Flowing Like a River” #535
Litany
for the Breaking of the Bread
ALL: Christ of the
Cosmos, we live our oneness with you and all creation… we work for the healing
of the earth…we celebrate justice rising up in a global communion
everywhere. Amen.
Communion
Presider: This is the Cosmic Christ in whom all
creation lives and moves and has its being.
All are invited to share in this banquet of love and celebrate our
oneness with all living beings on the planet.
ALL: We are the Body of Christ.
ALL (sing): You are the face of God; I hold you in my
heart. You are my family; you are the
face of God. (Chant by Karen Drucker)
Communion hymn: “I am the Bread
of Life” #343 (verses 4 & 5)
Bright Morning Stars Rising: Solo
by Mindy Lou Simmons
Prayer
after Communion
Presider: Lover of the Universe, we are full of awe at
your extravagant love flowing through us.
May we immerse ourselves in the beauty of nature speaking to us each
day. We live this through the Cosmic
Christ, in union with the Holy Spirit. ALL:
Amen.
Concluding
Rite
Presider: The Risen Christ is with us. ALL:
and loves through us.
ALL: Christ has come back as spring comes back out of the
ground, renewing the earth with life, to be a continual renewing of life in our
hearts, that we may continually renew one another’s life in … love, that we may
be … Resurrection in the world. We are
the resurrection, always on going, always giving back Christ’s life to the
world.
Caryll
Houselander, The Risen Christ.
Closing hymn: “Jesus Christ is
Risen Today” #164
Closing
Community Blessing
All (with arms
extended): The blessing of God is upon
us as we go in the peace of the Cosmic Christ to live justice! Thanks be to God.
Presiders: Let us go forth in peace and share the good
news: The Risen Jesus is with us today and for all time.
All: Thanks be to
God. Let it be so!
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