Mary, a young woman without stature in her culture and time, said yes to a heavenly visitor and signalled the beginning of our redemption in Christ. Because she unconditionally accepted God’s invitation despite her questions, Mary is the singular model for what it means to be a faithful disciple of Christ: open to God’s word, human enough to question and wrestle with God’s will, graced enough to surrender and trust.

Introduction         i am a little church 

i am a little church (no great cathedral)

far from the splendour and squalor of hurrying cities

‑i do not worry if briefer days grow briefest, i am not sorry when sun and rain make april   my life is the life of the reaper and the sower; my prayers are prayers of earth's own clumsily striving (finding and losing and laughing and crying) children whose any sadness or joy is my grief or my gladness

around me surges a miracle of unceasing

birth and glory and death and resurrection:

over my sleeping self float flaming symbols

of hope, and i wake to a perfect patience of mountains

i am a little church (far from the frantic world with its rapture and anguish) at peace with nature

- i do not worry if longer nights grow longest;

i am not sorry when silence becomes singing.

Winter by spring, i lift my diminutive spire to

merciful Him Whose only now is forever:

standing erect in the deathless truth of his presence

(welcoming humbly His light and proudly His darkness) 

        - e. e. cummings

Call to Prayer
At the beginning of this day, we remember the life and witness of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who gave flesh to the incarnate Word of God in her heart and in her womb. Called like Mary to give flesh to the presence of Christ in our life, we pray that we may be faithful witnesses of the gift of salvation in our every word and deed.

Praise
Be praised above the heavens, O gracious God, for the dawning of your sun of justice upon a people who walked in darkness. Each day we set our face toward the fullness of your peace. We rejoice for the memory and witness of the Mother whom you consecrated from the first moment of her life to give birth to the Word as the dawn of our salvation.

The Mother of Jesus is the image of your church and the leaven of our discipleship. She who bore the Promise of the Ages is the living reminder that all who profess Jesus as the Christ must bring to birth the Gospel to all the nations of the earth for all time.

Leader: Let us hear the names of those of God’s disciples, his people who need the peace of God. By saying these names out loud, we ask God to bless them, to hold them, and to grant them peace.   

            (Pause to allow names to be called aloud.)

The psalmist knew people like the ones we named. The Psalms are filled with pleas for those in need of peace, of the calm sense of purpose lived by Mary, our model of discipleship.  Let us use these same words for those we’ve named, and for all, so that we may live in a world made peaceful through God’s presence.

Left:   O give thanks to the Lord, for God is good; for God's steadfast love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, those God redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, . . .

Right:  From the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, some wandered in desert wastes . . .hungry and thirsty,  their soul fainted within them.

All:  Let us thank the Lord . . .For God satisfies the thirsty, and the hungry God fills with good things.

Left:  Some sat in darkness and gloom, some were sick and cried to the Lord.

Right:  Some went down to the depths, their courage melted away in their calamity. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble.

All:  Let us thank the Lord . . .The upright see and are glad;  and all wickedness stops its mouth.  Let those who are wise give heed to these things, and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

Leader:  Peace be with you.

All:     And also with you.

Leader: As we begin this new day let us give one another a sign of peace.         (Pause.)

Now, filled with the spirit of peace, we are almost ready to begin our listening to the WORD, but first, we pray.

All:  God of mercy and compassion, we pray that you continue to fill our lives with the joys and challenges, the hopes and dreams and love that come with our life as your disciples. We ask your presence today in our lives as your Spirit was present in Mary’s daily activities, so that we may, say, "Rise, let us be on our way" in the same way Jesus commanded his disciples. Amen.

Luke 21          The Cost of Discipleship
"But before any of this happens, they'll arrest you, hunt you down, and drag you to court and jail. It will go from bad to worse, dog-eat-dog, everyone at your throat because you carry my name. You'll end up on the witness stand, called to testify. Make up your mind right now not to worry about it. I'll give you the words and wisdom that will reduce all your accusers to stammers and stutters.  "You'll even be turned in by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends. Some of you will be killed. There's no telling who will hate you because of me.  Even so, every detail of your body and soul--even the hairs of your head!-is in my care; nothing of you will be lost.  Staying with it--that's what is required. Stay with it to the end. You won't be sorry; you'll be saved.

Acclamations
With Mary and all the saints, we praise the God of love as we pray: Honour, love, and praise be yours!

We worship you, God, who brings peace to all the nations, as we pray . . .

·         We glorify your name, Holy One, who has called us to bear witness to your Kingdom amongst us, as we pray . . .

·        

          We raise our voice to honour you, who gives to us Christ as our Brother, as we pray . . .

·        

          We are filled with wonder for your mercy, God of sun and moon, and all of creation and gifts, as we pray . . .

Bringing the world into our eucharist ....

After everyone has had an opportunity to share a reflection, continue by reading these words from Phil. 1:3-6:

        I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you, praying always with joy in my every    prayer for all of you. . . . I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it.

Offering and Communion

LEADER          Blessed are you, heavenly Source of all Being, for you keep extending your call to us even when we fail to answer.  We thank you for approaching us in different ways tailored to our personalities.

ALL                We thank you for calling Jacob, who first wrestled with your messenger and yielded to the power of your love; for Jeremiah, who tried to ignore your presence but found your persistent calling impossible to refuse; for Isaiah, who accepted your difficult invitation to return Israel to your praise; for Elijah who heard your sound in the movement of cool winds and gentle breezes;  for John the Baptist, who was led by your Spirit to fearlessly preach the coming of the Lord;  for your Son’s calling of ordinary people like Peter, James, John, and us.

LEADER               We thank you, Abba, for you still invite people to share in your life.  And so, with hearts full of love, we join with your saints in proclaiming your praise:

ALL                      Holy, holy, holy Lord ...

Abba, we bless you for the life of our brother, Jesus.  He, too, gradually came to realize the dimensions of your call.  In the temple,  he spoke your word to the elders of the land.  In the desert,  he was tempted to power, honour, and glory, but chose obedience to your will.  In towns and villages,  he forgave sinners  and preached your kingdom of mercy and justice.  When lawyers and scribes tried to test him, Jesus responded with a new commandment of love.

LEADER         Jesus, on the night before he died, asked that the cup of Gethsemane be withdrawn. But in response to your bidding he drank that cup just as earlier in the evening he gave us the cup of life everlasting.

ALL                     Gathered with his friends at table, Jesus took bread and blessed you his almighty Lord.  He broke the bread and shared it saying: 

                                        Take and eat. This is my body, broken for you.

Then he took a cup of wine, said another blessing:

                                        Take and drink from this cup, all of you.

                                       This is the new covenant in my blood, 

                                      poured out for the forgiveness of sins.

                        Whenever you share this meal, do it in memory of me.

LEADER            Abba, we joyfully remember that the cup of the table overcame the cup of the garden, for Jesus not only died but rose that we might have life. To help us respond to your call and guide us in your ways he has sent the Holy Spirit as your gift.

ALL                      Let us proclaim our life in your Spirit:

                    When we eat this bread and drink this cup,

            we proclaim your death, Lord Jesus, until you come in glory.

LEADER           Abba, we ask that your Spirit may continue to fill us with your grace.  May our ears, eyes, and hearts be open to your summons, to your call.

ALL                  Be mindful of your people; especially be present to those who are imprisoned, tormented by illness, physical and mental, victims of terrorist acts in many parts of the world, and who find it difficult to hear and to respond to your Word of love.  Help us to find you,  in stillness and in turmoil, in pleasure and in business.  May we always imitate the care and concern  of your Son who is the Saviour of the world.

Through Christ,  with Christ,  in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour is yours, almighty God,  for ever and ever.  Amen.

    Adapted from George Sullivan, S.J. and John Mossi, S.J.