At the conclusion of our presentation about the inclusive communities and justice ministries of Roman Catholic Women Priests, we celebrated a Liturgy of Lament, Resistance and Healing with the International Council of Catholic Women. Our program on women priests and this liturgy took place at Casa Bonus Pastor, a Vicariate of the Diocese of Rome, which is an active residence of 5 seminarians. This is a historic first for the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests and the Diocese of Rome as well as the Council of Catholic Women.
May this spirit of dialogue continue to evolve in our Church!
Liturgy of Lament, Resistance and Healing
Preparation of the space
Altar in the middle with flowers, plants, bread and wine, water, the posters of the organizations, fabrics of the different countries.
The Liturgy has three parts: lament, resistance, and healing.
- 1. Welcome and initial rite
Welcome words (Virginia or Cathy)
Beginning rite (Lubia)
We greet the four cardinal points, we invoke the presence of the ancestors: the ancestors of the east and we bow towards the east and ring a bell or rattle... We remember the ancestors, those who preceded us on the path.
Prayer (Together)
Living, loving Sophia, we thank you your presence in our midst, as we gather in solidarity to affirm and celebrate the dignity and equality of women. We recognize the gifts, efforts and achievements of those here, and across time, and around the world. Fill us with the grace, wisdom, vitality and enthusiasm of your Spirit. Confirm and strengthen our vision. Sustain and strengthen our hope as we work to change history in our Church, and in our world.
- 2. LAMENT
A litany of grief and gladness (2) - Nicola Slee (Mary Teresa and Bridget alternate verses)
For every woman
forbidden to preside at the Eucharistic table,
banned from breaking holy bread
and barred from offering the sacred cup:
mourning and mercy.
For every woman
who presided at her own supper table,
who fed the hungry with good things
and succoured the lonely with the cup of life:
glory and thanksgiving.
For every woman
denied the right to pronounce absolution,
forbidden to anoint the sick with holy chrism,
and prohibited from counselling those in distress:
mourning and mercy.
For every woman
who crooned blessing on a sick child,
Whose hands ministered to the dying and brought relief,
and whose skill administered the healing of touch and tenderness:
glory and thanksgiving.
For very woman
denied the voice to speak out her own religious truth,
refused the opportunity to teach her wisdom,
and ridiculed for her theological insights and ideas:
mourning and mercy.
For every woman
who claimed her authority in vision, prophecy and dream,
who spoke out her truth in hymnody, verse and story,
and cherished the privilege of prayer and knowledge of the divine:
glory and thanksgiving.
We grieve for all that has been lost, never to be recovered.
We glory in all that has been recovered, never again to be lost.
First reading from the Gospel attributed to Mary Magdalen (Cathy)
Peter:
“Sister, we know that the Saviour greatly loved you above all other women, so tell us what you remember of his words that we ourselves do not know or perhaps have never heard.”
And she began to express these things to them:
I saw the Master in a vision and I said to him, ‘Lord I see you now in a vision.’
And he answered me, ‘You are blessed, Mary, since the sight of me does not disturb you. For where the heart is, there is the treasure.’
Mary Magdalen:
“What has bound me has been slain… I am freed from Ignorance… From this moment onward, I go forward into the season of the great Age, the Aeon, and there, where time rests in stillness in the eternity of time, I will repose in silence.”
And having said this Mary fell silent since it was to this point that the Saviour had brought her. (From the third dialogue)
Andrew’s response was to say to the rest of the brothers:
“Say what you will about all that she has said to us, I for one do not believe that the Saviour said such things to her, for they are strange and appear to differ from the rest of his teachings.”
After consideration, Peter’s response was similar:
“Would the Saviour speak these things to a woman in private without openly sharing them so that we too might hear? Should we listen to her at all, and did he choose her over us because she is more worthy than we are?”
Then Mary began to weep, saying to Peter:
“My brother, what are you thinking? Do you imagine that I have made these things up myself within my heart, or that I am lying about the Saviour?”
Speaking to Peter, Levi also answered him:
“You have always been quick to anger, Peter, and now you are questioning her in exactly that same manner, treating this woman as if she were an enemy. If the Saviour considered her worthy, who are you to reject her? He knew her completely and loved her faithfully.
We should be ashamed of ourselves! As he taught us, we should be clothed instead with the cloak of true Humanity, and following his command announce Good News without burdening it further with rules or laws he himself did not give us.”
(From the fourth dialogue)
Second Reading from Luke’s Gospel (Lk 23:27-28)
There followed a great multitude of people, and of women who wept and lamented.
But Jesus turned to them and said: “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.”
Response: We remember and love you.
(Regina and Kate alternate)
- 1. Weep for the women battered and bruised, broken and oppressed. Response
- 2. Weep for the women who have been abused spiritually, emotionally, intellectually and physically. Response
- 3. Weep for the women, who from the cradle to the grave, will never feel quite good enough. Response
- 4. Weep for the women who have lost their confidence and “fire”. Response
- 5. Weep for the women whose identity has been crushed. Response
- 6. Weep for the women whose God is not accepted by the patriarchy. Response
- 7. Weep for the women who were burnt at the stake for their healing abilities and for speaking about their God experiences in prayer. Response
- 8. Weep for the women whose babies were stolen from them. Response
- 9. Weep for the women and children who were abused and raped in our institutions. Response
- 10. Weep for the women “trapped” in a sexist, patriarchal Church and society. Response
- 11. Weep for the women whose vocations to ministry have been denied by the Church. Response
- 12. Weep for the women who have been erased from history. Response
- 13. Weep for the women who were persecuted for protesting and challenging unjust structures. Response
- 14. Weep for the women who are patronized, passed over, underpaid, ignored, discriminated against, harassed, excluded, exploited, abused, violated, raped… Response
Silent Reflection
- 3. RESISTANCE
Standing on the Shoulders - Joyce Johnson Rouse (Earth Mama)
I am standing on the shoulders of the ones who came before me
I am stronger for their courage, I am wiser for their words
I am lifted by their longing for a fair and brighter future
I am grateful for their vision, for their toiling on this Earth
We are standing on the shoulders of the ones who came before us
They are saints and they are humans, they are angels, they are friends
We can see beyond the struggles and the troubles and the challenge
When we know that by our efforts things will be better in the end
They lift me higher than I could ever fly
Carrying my burdens away
I imagine our world if they hadn't tried
We wouldn't be here celebrating today
I am standing on the shoulders of the ones who came before me
I am honored by their passion for our liberty
I will stand a little taller, I will work a little longer
And my shoulders will be there to hold the ones who follow me
They lift me higher than I could ever fly
Carrying my burdens away
I imagine our world if they hadn't tried
We wouldn't be so very blessed today
I am standing on the shoulders of the ones who came before me
I am honored by their passion for our liberty
I will stand a little taller, I will work a little longer
And my shoulders will be there to hold the ones who follow me
Prayer (Together)
O Holy One, You give us life, and we live and breathe with your Spirit. You call us good, and we live as equal partners. You share the earth with us, and we, as co-creators with you, complement your ongoing activity of creation.
Among all our blessed ancestors, we celebrate the women who firmly confronted the structures of oppression in their times with unique vision and compassion:
Sarah, Deborah, Judith, Miriam, Ruth, Esther, Anna, Miriam of Nazareth, Mary Magdalen, Paula, Brigid, Julian, Hildegard, Margarite, Joan, Catherine of Siena, Teresa, Louise de Marillac, Mary Bartola, Katherine Zell, Mary of the Cross, Bakhita, Dorothy Day, Caroline Chisholm…
United with them, with WomenSpirit rising, with our Mother-Planet and her people everywhere, with one another and You, O Holy One, our spirits dance and sing.
We give grateful thanks for all the women who have gone before us, opening for all of us a path to life. We are thankful for all the women who risked everything they had so that all of us could live in a better, more just world.
Third reading from John (4, 3-41) (Gloria)
Jesus came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
“I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman...
Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
…“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”
Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers.
Sharing
Consuelo starts with a small commentary
Litany in celebration of the women of the Bible (Ivenise and Mónica)
Response: Walk with us.
- 1. Midwives of Egypt, you defended the offspring of the chosen people. Response
- 2. Miriam, prophetess, and singer of the Exodus, you celebrated the triumph of Yahweh with your musical instruments, sharing joy with all the people. Response
- 3. Deborah, judge of Israel, you united the tribes to strengthen their identity and defeat their enemies. Response
- 4. Judith, you took up the defense against the enemy on behalf of your people, when the elders had no answer or decision. Response
- 5. Young people of the processional choirs, with your songs and dances you rejoiced on the feasts of Yahweh. Response
- 6. Elizabeth, cousin of Mary, in your advanced age, you were blessed with pregnancy; encouraged, reassured, and rejoiced with Mary in her pregnancy; and raised the great prophet, John the Baptist. Response
- 7. Samaritan woman, you met and debated with Jesus and invited those in your village to meet him and hear him for themselves. Response
- 8. Syrophoenician woman, you challenged Jesus to look beyond his own Jewish people in his ministry. Response
- 9. Mary, you ignored the conventions of your time and prioritized listening and learning from Jesus. Response
- 10. Joanna, Susanna, Salome, Mary of Clopas, and other women disciples and friends of Jesus, you were the first deaconesses of the Church, you paid for Jesus’ ministry, and you had the courage, loyalty and love to remain with him in his dying. Response
- 11. Mary Magdalene, you found Jesus alive on Easter morning and was entrusted to tell the Good News to the other disciples. Response
- 12. Priscilla, house church leader and teacher in shared ministry with your husband, you spread the Gospel throughout Europe and Asia Minor, forming communities. Response
- 13. Housewives of the first communities, you opened your homes for the sharing of the Word and the breaking of bread. Response
- 14. Lydia, merchant of purple dye, you communicated the faith to all your household and offered hospitality to the growing Christian community. Response
- 15. Deacon Phoebe and other deaconesses of the first communities, you served the neediest and protected many brothers and sisters. Response
- 16. Mary, mother of John Mark, you gathered the Christian assembly for prayer in your home. Response
- 17. Mary, you sang God's praises, and celebrated the love poured out on all the humble who trusted in God. Response
- 4. HEALING
Whenever Women Gather - Jay Murnane (Mary Teresa or Bridget)
Whenever women of thought gather
Thoughtful women
Horizons are stretched wider.
Whenever women of heart gather
Compassionate women
Tender-strong eyes open to injustices,
Making connections.
Whenever women of soul gather
Generous women
There is solidarity, and a wide embrace,
A fulcrum of possibility
Which can fell walls,
Set voices free,
Illuminate alternatives
And heal shattered hopes.
Whenever women of wisdom gather
Free women,
daring women,
ingenious women
there is a drumming
in cadence with the song
at the center of all:
a co-creativity
a rumbling
a crumbling
of business-as-usual
and powers that be.
Whenever women of spirit gather
Feisty women
Laboring women
There is a birthing.
There is life,
Sisters!
CWC Report
To highlight the work that has been done, the teaching and sharing that has nourished us in this Synod of women over the past two years across the globe, we have met here this evening from our different continents and been nourished further. Coming together virtually and in reality, is a healing experience. The text of the CWC Report of our international listening sessions was presented in Rome last October and is offered here as a symbol of our work. (Virginia or Teresa).
Blessing and Breaking of Bread (Together)
We give grateful thanks for all the women who have gone before us, opening for all of us a path to life. We are thankful for all the women who risked everything they had so that all of us could live in a better, more just world.
We are thankful for each other. May we be healing agents in our discipleship of Jesus.
We become body by sharing the bread. To break bread in solidarity is to be bread for others. Jesus set the example of this at his last supper and asked us to continue this sacred action in remembrance of him and his teaching.
(Share the bread while Dime Cómo Ser Pan is being sound)
Dime Cómo Ser Pan (Tell me how to be bread) - Salomé Arancibita
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQQRt4G9Zb8
Dime cómo ser pan Dime cómo ser pan Cómo ser alimento Que sacia por dentro Que trae la paz Dime cómo ser pan Dime cómo ser pan Dime cómo acercarme A quien no tiene aliento A quien cree que es cuento El reír, el amar Dime cómo ser pan Dime cómo dejarme Comer poco a poco Entregándolo todo Y llenándome más Dime cómo ser pan Dime cómo ser pan Cómo ser para otros En todo momento Alimento y maná Dime cómo ser pan Dime cómo ser pan Cómo ser para otros En todo momento Alimento y maná Tú que eres el pan de la vida Tú que eres la luz y la paz Tú que empapas la tierra Cuando llueves el cielo Dime cómo ser pan Tú que haces de mí tu reflejo Tú que abrazas mi debilidad Tú que sacias mi hambre Cuando vuelvo de lejos Dime cómo ser pan (bis) Dime cómo ser pan Que cura la injusticia Dime cómo ser pan Que crea libertad | Tell me how to be bread Tell me how to be bread How to be food That satiates within That brings peace Tell me how to be bread Tell me how to be bread Tell me how to draw near To the one who has no breath To the one who thinks it's a fairy tale To laugh, to love Tell me how to be bread Tell me how to let myself Be eaten little by little Giving it all away And filling me up more Tell me how to be bread Tell me how to be bread How to be for others At all times Food and manna Tell me how to be bread Tell me how to be bread How to be for others At all times Food and manna You who are the bread of life You who are light and peace You who drench the earth When you rain down the sky Tell me how to be bread You who make me your reflection You who embrace my weakness You who satiate my hunger When I return from afar Tell me how to be bread (encore) Tell me how to be bread That heals injustice Tell me how to be bread That creates freedom |
The Cup of blessing holds our unfulfilled hopes mixed with the wine of grace.
Silent Contemplation
Prayer of Blessing – Miriam Therese Winter
(Pray together)
May the blessing of God go before you
May her grace and peace abound
May her spirit live within you
May Her love wrap you ‘round
May Her blessing remain with you always
May you walk on holy ground.
Sending
Song: Power of Women – Karen Drucker (album Selfless)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKBRr5EFniQ
It's the power of women – united we stand
We're making a difference when we join hands
It's the power of women who will heal this world
The power of women – the power of women...
**
1. It's the Goddess, it's the matriarch, it's the maiden, it's the crone
Every colour, every race through the ages it's been shown
That women have compassion, women show the way
To a world that's filled with peace and love let me hear you say
* *
2. As we stand in this circle feeling our connection
We can feel the power move as we state our intention
To bring peace to this world and right all the wrongs
Joining now in sisterhood we lift our voice in song and sing
* *
We got the power to change the world so what are we gonna do?
First we have to realize that it's up to me and you
Every single day I'm gonna take the time to pray
And spread some loving kindness to each person along my way
Whatcha gonna do with your power?
Dance of blessing as we send one another forth.
We hold hands and dance (Brasilian song in Portuguese or African song)
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