Liturgy of Remembrance

(We originally compiled this liturgy when requested by a friend to commemorate her mothers passing. It developed from there. It has become an oppurtunity for our community to remember and celibrate our friends and family who have passed through the veil. We have used this liturgy on Nov. 1 All Saints Day but not exclusively. It has been a useful tool at various times with small groups and larger gatherings. )

Silence and reflection as we gather

Invocation

+

You who spoke the universe into being, whose eye is on the sparrow
Come among us Blessed Three in One, meet us here

You who is present in the poor and the broken, who comforts the mournful and stands by the forsaken
Come among us Sacred Three in One, meet us here

You who dances in silence and shines in darkness
Come among us Blessed Three in One, meet us here


Light Candles of Rememberance *


Comfort from the Scripture (can be read by a single vioce or rotated)

Psalm 139:7-10
7 Where can i go from your Spirit ?
Or where can I go to flee your presence
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bead in Sheol, behold, You are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the most remote part of the sea,
10 Even there your hand will lead me.
And your right hand will lay hold of me


John 14:1-3
1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.
2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have
told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.
3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take
you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

1 Thes. 4:13-15
13 But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that fall asleep; that ye sorrow not, even as the rest, who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep.


Revelation 21:3-4
3 And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God:
4 and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away.

Hymn

Present offerings of rememberance ^

Sing or Read

God in my birthing
God in my living
God in my choosing
God in my dying

God in my slumber
God in my dreaming
God in my waking
God in my thinking

God in my eyes
God in my ears
God in my lips
God in my hands

God in my nights
God in my days
God in my working
God in my play

God in my watching
God in my hoping
God in my head
God in my heart

God to enfold me
God to surround me
God in my ever living soul
( adapted from a Galic Prayer)

Proclamation of Hope

1 Cor 15: 51-57
51Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53For this corruptible must put on in-corruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54So when this corruptible shall have put on in corruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, inasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.


Canticle

All our tears and all our laughter
Safe in the hands of God

All our grief and all our joy
Safe in the heart of God

All our stories and all our memories
Safe in the mind of God

Those we remember and those we love
Safe in the Grip of God


Benediction

God, Father of all, father us

Christ, Redeemer of all, redeem us

Spirit, Comforter of all, comfort us

Bless us on our journey through this life and lead us saftley home
tobe joined with you and those we love.

In the name of the Father
The son the Holy Spirit
The Blessed Three in One.
Amen

+

------------**+**-----------+ may perform sign of the cross

Italics are repeated together


* people can bring candles or they can be there.


^ place pictures, memorabilia. Stories, memories and reflection can be shared or pics etc. can be placed in silence. This largely depends on time and size of gathering.

Originally posted 10/29/08

stock photo

Prayer of the Peregrini

Leave me alone with God as much as may be.

As the tide draws the waters close in upon the shore,

Make me an island, set apart, alone with you, God, holy to you.

Then with the turning of the tide,

Prepare me to carry your presence to the busy world beyond,

The world that rushes in on me till the waters come again and fold me back to you.

attributed to Adian

sited by Deborah Vess: Celtic Monasticism, History.

Mystery of the Mundane: (4) Peregrini

The Irish Church of the Fifth Century was full of LIFE. Its founder, Patrick and those that came after him carried the Gospel to all four corners of the “Emerald Isle,” and beyond. As one writer describes them, “There was a passion for foreign missions in the impetuous eagerness of the Irish believers, a zeal not common in their day. Burning with love for Christ (and their neigbour) , fearing no peril, shunning no hardship, they went everywhere with the Gospel” (Edman).

These Celtic missionary wanders became known as the Peregrini.

The Peregrini, (among their number Columba, Columbanus and Aidan) journeyed to the nearby northern islands, the Orkneys and Faroes. Then on to Scotland, England, the forests of Germany, the rugged hills of Gaul, the foothills of the Alps, the valleys of the Rhine and the Danube, and to the cities and remote valleys of Italy. Some went singly, as hermits, others, in small groups, often numbering up to 13, imitating Jesus and the Twelve. Their numbers multiplied so greatly that they became a characteristic feature of Western Europe through most of the period from 500 to 950

One of the things that set these "peregrini" apart from the traditional missions of today was their approach. They went out on their journey open to the daily hardships and the mundane difficulties they would encounter. They were convinced that as they went they would be transformed into the image of the man that went about everywhere doing good and that this transforming work in them would be the catalyst for transformation in others. This caused them to go forward in great humilty and joy

graphic: Peregrini: Celtic Saint Icon

Desert Wisdom (4)

The Way of Mary the Way of Martha?

Thought from an anonymous Desert Father who was questioned about whether it is better to live the solitary life of contemplation and poverty or to devote one’s life to helping others and providing material support to the needy.

The brethren said, "There were two brothers who were the sons of a merchant and their father died and they divided their inheritance between themselves. Unto each one, there came five thousand dinars. One of the brothers divided his inheritance among the churches, and the monasteries, and the poor, and he himself became a monk, and he chose for himself a life of continual silence, and fasting, and prayer.

Now the other one built a monastery for himself, and gathered brethren to him, and he took care of the strangers, and the poor, and the sick, whom he received and relieved."When the two brothers were dead, there was questioning among the brethren about them, and they went to Abba Pambo and asked him, ‘Which manner of life and conduct was the more excellent and exalted?’ And having learned from God, he said unto them, ‘They were both perfect, and in my sight they appear to be of equal merit.’

Explain to us now the old man’s words, for how can the man who is destitute, and the man who hath possessions be equal in merit?’ The old man said, ‘Since the whole conduct of these brethren was to God, and since whatsoever they did they did it for God, with an upright aim, and since the aim of each was the same, they appeared to be in the old man’s opinion of equal merit before God.’"

from "The Paradise of the Holy Fathers," trans. by E. A. Wallis Budge, (Seattle: St. Nectarios Press, 1984), p. 283

painting Mary and Martha by He Qi

Thoughts from the Interior Castle

Souls without prayer are like bodies, palsied and lame, having hands and feet they cannot use.

True perfection consists in the love of God and our neighbour, and the better we keep both these commandments, the more perfect we shall be.

However many years life might last, no one could ever wish for a better friend than God.

It is encouraging to see that trials which seemed to us impossible to submit to are possible to others, and that they bear them sweetly. Their flight makes us try to soar, like nestlings taught by the elder birds, who, though they cannot fly far at first, little by little imitate their parents.

Let us look at our own faults, and not at other persons'. People who are extremely correct themselves are often shocked at everything they see; however, we might often learn a great deal that is essential from the very persons whom we censure. Our exterior comportment and manners may be better--this is well enough, but not of the first importance. We ought not to insist on every one following in our footsteps, nor to take upon ourselves to give instructions in spirituality when, perhaps, we do not even know what it is.

Quotes from Interior Castle by Theresa of Avilia. link here for the complete text

photo: Bodiam Castle

check out Theresa of Avilia's thumb nail Living Water Ancient Well bio

Monastacisim (3) the early celtic model

E.H. Broadbent describes the Work of early Celtic Monastic Communities :

Their method was to visit a country and, where it seemed suitable, found a missionary village. In the centre they built a simple wooden church, around which were clustered school-rooms and huts for the monks, who were the builders, preachers, and teachers. Outside this circle, as required, dwellings were built for the students and their families, who gradually gathered around them. The whole was enclosed by a wall, but the colony often spread beyond the original enclosure. Groups of twelve monks would go out, each under the leadership of an abbot, to open up fresh fields for the Gospel. Those who remained taught in the school, and as soon as they had sufficiently learned the language of the people among whom they were, translated and wrote out portions of Scripture, and also hymns, which they taught to their scholars.

They were free to marry or to remain single; many remained single so that they might have greater liberty for the work. When some converts were made, the missionaries chose from among them small groups of young men who had ability, trained them especially in some handicraft and in languages, and taught them the Bible and how to explain it to others, so that they might be able to work among their own people. They delayed baptism until those professing faith had received a certain amount of instruction and had given some proof of steadfastness.

They avoided attacking the religions of the people, counting it more profitable to preach the truth to them than to expose their errors. They accepted the Holy Scriptures as the source of faith and life and preached justification by faith. They did not take part in politics or appeal to the State for aid. All this work, in its origin and progress, though it had developed some features alien to New Testament teaching and Apostolic example, was independent of Rome and different in important respects from the Roman Catholic system (Cited by Tucker).

Source "the pilgrim church" by E. Broadbent

photo: Monastic community ruins on Skellig Micheal Ireland

Theresa of Lisieux (1873-1897)

The Flower

All the earth with snow is covered,

Everywhere the white frosts reign;

Winter and his gloomy courtiers

Hold their court on earth again.

But for you has bloomed the FlowerOf the fields,

Who comes to earthFrom the fatherland of heaven,

Where eternal spring has birth.

Near the Rose of Christmas, Sister!

In the lowly grasses hide,

And be like the humble flowerets,

Of heaven’s King the lowly bride!

Thérèse of Lisieux

see the living water bio of Theresa of Lisieux

Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) the Divine Praises

The Divine Praises

You are holy, Lord,
the only God,
and Your deeds are wonderful.
You are strong.
You are great.
You are the Most High.
You are Almighty.
You, Holy Father are King of heaven and earth.
You are Three and One,
Lord God, all Good.
You are Good, all Good, supreme Good,
Lord God, living and true.
You are love.
You are wisdom.
You are humility.
You are endurance.
You are rest.
You are peace.
You are joy and gladness.
You are justice and moderation.
You are all our riches, and You suffice for us.
You are beauty.
You are gentleness.
You are our protector.
You are our guardian and defender.
You are our courage.
You are our haven and our hope.
You are our faith, our great consolation.
You are our eternal life, Great and Wonderful Lord, God Almighty, Merciful Saviour.

Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)

see living water thumb nail bio of st francis