Liturgy for going into Regions
The grace of a new beginning
Opening Liturgy towards the Regions
Introduction:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; (Gen. 1: 1-2)
At this very moment, many of the countries where we are present are experiencing great suffering: the violence of wars, terrorist attacks, repression in response to the aspirations of the people, famines, the tragedies of migration, of the pandemic, repeated climatic disasters… The list is long.
———————- Françoise Massy General letter n° 8. 12th August 2021
READING (Revelations 21: 1-5)
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband; and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.” And he who sat upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”
PSALM (Excerpts from the General Letter Nº 1, 1st June 2022 Eufemia Glenny)
“Behold, I make all things new.”
[This] is a further call for our Transformation Process
to move forward under the impulse of the Spirit (…),
so that the Institute can live “an evangelical revolution ” ( OUV 50) …
“He will dwell with us, and we shall be his people.”
With our lives interwoven with the life of the world, warp and woof,
we become one with it, present where the fabric is torn apart…
The context is the place where God reveals Godself to us and is therefore source of life…
With this world, our world, we embrace our vulnerability,
we become and form one people of God,
together in our one humanity, together with creation.
Song: We are one body (English text and music – Sr Roisin Hickey, FMM)
WE ARE ONE BODY, ONE IN THE LORD,
JOURNEYING TOGETHER, WEAVING HIS WORD.
Created anew, transformed by God’s grac
Sent by the Spirit, revealing His face.
WE ARE ONE BODY, ONE IN THE LORD,
JOURNEYING TOGETHER, WEAVING HIS WORD.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth”
The context, inhabited by the Spirit,
has the capacity to awaken in each one of us the beauty that we carry within:
compassion, solidarity, hospitality
expressed in listening, communion with creation, resilience on the journey…
In all this, and in much more,
God reveals Godself and awakens in us
a missionary awareness that actualizes true power in our lives.
A power that humanizes us, frees us and makes all things new:
Song: WE ARE ONE BODY, ONE IN THE LORD,
JOURNEYING TOGETHER, WEAVING HIS WORD.
Created anew, transformed by God’s grace
Sent by the Spirit, revealing His face.
WE ARE ONE BODY, ONE IN THE LORD,
JOURNEYING TOGETHER, WEAVING HIS WORD.
“Behold, the dwelling of God is with us.
As we journey in synodality,
let us ask for the grace to listen to the Spirit
who reminds us of what Jesus has told us
so as to announce and prepare “the fullness of the Kingdom
when all peoples will be reconciled and gathered into the one People of God.
Mary, who cooperated with the work of the Spirit in her life
and in the life of the Church, accompanies us on our journey.
Song: WE ARE ONE BODY, ONE IN THE LORD,
JOURNEYING TOGETHER, WEAVING HIS WORD.
Hidden in ECCE, renewed in FIAT
Weaving with Mary, our way within the Way
WE ARE ONE BODY, ONE IN THE LORD,
JOURNEYING TOGETHER, WEAVING HIS WORD.
Instrumental
We are one body
WE ARE ONE BODY, ONE IN THE LORD,
JOURNEYING TOGETHER, WEAVING HIS WORD.\
Hidden in ECCE, renewed in FIAT
Weaving with Mary, our way within the Way
Created anew, transformed by God’s grace
Sent by the Spirit, revealing His face
Epilogue:
Our feet set out on the way… The eternal youth of a Church that is always going forth: As the Apostle Paul confirms, the love of Christ captivates and impels us (cf. 2 Cor 5:14). This love is two-fold: the love of Christ for us, which calls forth, inspires and arouses our love for him. A love that makes the Church, in constantly setting out anew, ever young.
The urgency of the Church’s missionary activity naturally calls for an ever closer missionary cooperation on the part of all her members and at every level. This is an essential goal of the synodal journey that the Church has undertaken, guided by the key words: communion, participation, mission. Cf Message of his Holiness Pope Francis for World Mission Day 2023: Hearts on fire, feet on the move (cf. Lk 24:13-35)
It is a great joy to feel how our journey of transformation brings us closer and makes us become “Body” in a new way, which is gradually becoming incarnated in the present context.
WE ARE ONE BODY, ONE IN THE LORD,
JOURNEYING TOGETHER, WEAVING HIS WORD.
Long live divine Providence Region!