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INTRODUCTION
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NOTES: Although the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus is now celebrated in the Church calendar on January 4th, at the time of Edmund Rice, the feast was celebrated on January 20th. It was the day chosen by our Founder for the Brothers to accept the Papal Brief establishing the new institute. It would be good for the leader of this prayer service/eucharist service to prepare an introduction of this event in our history. The reading below from A Spiritual Profile, speaks more to the emotions that would have been felt by the early brothers in making the decision to move into this new direction away from the local Bishop and independent houses. Normoyle's, A Tree is Planted, (Chapter 14, pages 136 - 141) provides some useful background material. While the service honours the Name of Jesus, the underlying theme is really the cost of discipleship, of making difficult decisions. Indeed, as we face the question of restructuring around the congregation, similar feelings are likely being felt by our brothers today as our predecessors felt in 1821-22. |
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OPENING SONG Choose an appropriate hymn.
OPENING PRAYER
We pause, our God, along the busy roadside of our lives, to remember you and your love for us. Calm us - body and heart, heal us of the disease of restlessness. Help us remember this day as a day of blessing upon our brotherhood so many years ago.
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READING
: A Spiritual Profile By Leonard
O'Toole, Vol 2 Pages 191 & 192 (first half of page 192)
Come and be with us as we pray now in silence.
a brief period of silent prayer
CANDLE CEREMONY (Ritual)
Notes: In Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim, Edward Hays states that the lighting of candles "'should be more than a means of decoration; it should awaken us to our vocation to be 'the Light of the world.'" In this part of the prayer service, we ask each member of the praying community to light a candle/votive light and place it before an icon or image of Jesus that has been set up in the prayer room. They are asked to consider the struggle and difficulties faced by the early brothers as they committed themselves on the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus in 1822 to a new beginning as religious brothers.
As each man lights his candle, he may pray one of the candle prayers below (courtesy of Joyce Rupp and Edward Hays), or create his own prayer of remembrance and acceptance of the cost of discipleship.
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Be thou a bright flame before us Be thou a guiding star above us Be thou a smooth path beneath us Be thou a shepherd behind us Today and for evermore
Christ light be with us in the morning, Christ light be with us at the end, Christ light be with us in the dawning, Christ light everlasting friend.
Light of God to give us hope Power of God to protect us Light of God to give us joy Peace of God to calm us Light of God to give us faith Grace of God to save us This night and evermore.
Blessed are you, Creator and giver of peace. Peace be upon us, Peace be upon this place, Peace be upon this day. The deep, deep peace of God which the world cannot give, Be upon us and remain with us always.
Creator of light, The blessing of light be upon us- The blessing of daylight, The blessing, of sunlight, The blessing of Christ light. Scatter the darkness from before us That we may walk as children of light.
Blessed are you, sovereign Lord of all. From you comes peace; Open our lives to your peace, Open our dealings to your peace, Fill our world with your peace, That we may live together in peace, And worship you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. |
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A final candle is lighted by the leader, and as it is lit, the whole praying community prays:
ALL:
Blessed are you, Lord God, Creator of all. You have called us out of darkness Into your bright light, into Christ's light.
Let his presence guide us this day, that we may share his light and walk before you as children of light, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen
PAUSE FOR REFLECTION AND SHARING
RESPONSE:
Leader/ We lift up our hearts to you, Source of all life, a heart quiet and open, yet eager for ecstasy, ready to be carried out of ourselves and into your divine heart, Beloved One.
ALL/ We lift up our hearts to you, in gratitude for the gift of memories, that marvellous ability you have hidden deep within us. We recall in thanksgiving not only such famous deeds of salvation as the liberation of Israel from slavery in Egypt and the resurrection of your son Jesus from the dead, but also the many deeds of love that you have shown to Edmund our founder that blessed this day in our memory as we praise your Most Holy Name.
pause for a litany of thanksgiving
THE SONG OF CHRIST'S GLORY
R/ At the name of Jesus every knee should bow.
Christ Jesus was in the form of God: but he did not cling to equality with God.
R/ At the name of Jesus every knee should bow.
He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant: and was born in the likeness of men.
R/ At the name of Jesus every knee should bow.
Being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.
R/ At the name of Jesus every knee should bow.
Therefore God has highly exalted him: and bestowed on him a name above every name;
R/ At the name of Jesus every knee should bow.
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow: in heaven and on earth and under the earth.
R/ At the name of Jesus every knee should bow.
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord: to the glory of God the Father.
R/ At the name of Jesus every knee should bow.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son; and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now; and shall be for ever. Amen.
R/ At the name of Jesus every knee should bow.
THE REMEMBRANCE OF JESUS' GIFT
Notes: Various members of the praying community can pray various parts.
With reverence and awe we bow down before you, Most High. Holy, holy, holy are you, the Womb of all that we call holy, heaven and earth are full of your glory.
a bodily ritual such as a profound bow
We thank you for filling us as well with your glory; like Moses, we know that this place where we worship you is truly holy ground this day. Pour forth upon us your Spirit, to remind us that you ordained us in our mothers’ womb - anointed from above by your Spirit, we also were called to be ministers of a collective memory, to remember how your son Jesus Christ gave his body and blood, his very life, that the earth and all that lives might be healed of sin and separation.
We now remember how at that ritual Passover Meal your son Jesus did something new. To renew our memory of that cosmic consecration, we now read the account of it from the Gospel of Mark (14: 22-24):
During the meal he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. "Take this," he said, "this is my body." And then, he took the cup, gave thanks and passed it to them, saying, "This is the cup of my blood; all of you drink from it. This is the blood of the everlastingly new covenant, it shall be poured forth for you and for all."
With reverence we bow and pray in silence before this sacred Memory which holds within it such great mystery and even greater presence.
a profound bow, followed by a period of silence
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Blessed is this memory of the total outpouring of the love, life and spirit of Jesus. We remember - as Columba Keating often reminded us - that he did not come to bring us rituals and ceremonies but rather a way of life, a way of total loving and surrender. This is how our life is to be lived if we are to truly be his disciple and friend. May this memory which he asked that we recall fuel our feeble hearts to be strong in service, to be bold in defence of the oppressed and those who suffer from injustice.
PRAYER OF HOLY COMMUNION
We now join ourselves in an act of communion with the body of our risen saviour Jesus Christ.
silent communion
With faith we now join in an act of communion with all the departed who share his luminous life, the Shining Ones, especially those of our congregation, (PAUSE) and those who were our families, and friends.
silent communion
We now enter into holy communion with all who are part of Christ's body and share life on this planet with us now, especially those whom we love and who are a part of our lives. (PAUSE)
silent communion
We acknowledge with reverence and faith, that within his re-created body, risen and one with you, are all the peoples of this earth, women and men of all races, of all religions and political beliefs. We now enter into an awareness that binds us all together in a holy communion.
silent communion
Having kept the memory of Christ's death and resurrection, we ask that this holy memory which unites us and brings us into communion with all that you have created will also become the pattern for our lives. May it be not only his Way but also ours.
Having remembered the mystery of Christ's death and his resurrection, I have been remembered as part of his body. May this new sense of my body, one with his, risen and glorious, call me to greater reverence this day. Having recalled Jesus' final meal with his friends, may the memory of it call me to join others in full-hearted acts of corporate remembrance of his death and resurrection.
Into your hands, 0 God, we commend our spirit; we offer our life, our work and our dreams. We commend as well our Congregation on this special feast day to help us to remember the past in order to create the. May the memory that shows us your continued presence, help us perform that which is beyond our own power.
CLOSING PRAYER
Now it is time to prepare to leave this sacred place. Fill the pockets of our hearts with the memory of prayerful remembrance. (Individual members may offer a thanksgiving prayer.)
CLOSING SONG
Choose an appropriate hymn
LIVE JESUS IN OUR HEARTS! FOREVER!
Br. Nick Morris (Rome)