This weekend, the BeLoved Inclusive Catholic Community joined in prayer for All Saints, All Souls and All Voters. The evening was beautiful and filled our spirits with peace.
The Readings:
· Deuteronomy 6:4-9
· Psalm 67
· 1 Corinthians, chapter 13, verses 7-8 and 12-13 from The Message
· Mark 12:28-34
The Music:
· I Have Loved You With An Everlasting Love by Joncas
Other Elements:
· Introduction to Ven. Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli and saint Dorothy Day
· Litany of Saints – adapted from Becker
· Blessings All Souls whom we loved and entered eternal life this past year
· Prayer for Leadership by Joan Chittister
Watch Rev. AndreaGrace’s homily here:
Read Rev. AndreaGrace’s Homily
This weekend, we celebrate the Feasts of All Saints – the people we expect are in heaven…. And All Souls – those who have left this world in bodily form and we hope are in heaven. We also look ahead to our presidential elections.
How do we tie this all together?
The Lectionary which has readings used in many formal Christian churches – gives us clear directions!
“Hear o Israel… Our God is one! “
On September 13, Pope Francis echoed what we in the BeLoved Inclusive Catholic Community believe: “All religions are paths to reach God… They are like different languages that express the Divine. But God is God for everyone and therefore we are all God’s children. If you start to fight—‘My religion is more important than your’s… mine is the true one and yours isn’t…. then where will that lead us?... to destruction.[i]”
We are called to love this amazing God
With all of our heart and soul and strength and Jesus adds with all of our mind….
With everything in us and everything we have…
We are to understand ourselves as sisters and brothers – around the country and around the world.
We must love one another as siblings…. As we love ourselves…and we must love ourselves as much as we love our children and spouses and best friends.
St. Paul gives us clear examples of what love looks like, how love acts.
Saints are people who showed us how to live out this love for God and for others. Dorothy Day wrote: Even the best of human love is filled with self-seeking. To work to increase our love for God and for our fellow [person] (and the two must go hand in hand), this is a lifetime job. We are never going to be finished.
To be human and to live in this world, is to care about different issues and try to meet different needs. Look at how Fr. Samuel was led to collaborate with indigenous people and immigrants and fur traders while Dorothy Day focused her energies on the working poor.
We see this in the variety of souls who have left this world… We have the opportunity to reflect on what we’ve been taught about God, what we want to keep and what we want to release.
I’m releasing the image of the white-bearded old male God sitting on a throne judging who is going to heaven or elsewhere. Instead, I’m focusing on the image of God with the title of YHWH in the Old Testament - Hebrew Scriptures… God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. And we see all of these characteristics in Jesus – who lovingly welcomed the greatest outcast – without questions or demanding an apology. I trust that this loving God is welcoming the souls of our loved ones to a heavenly banquet.
As we prepare for elections, let us pray for discernment – to know God’s will. There are so many issues that any leader needs to address – think about leadership in our own homes. Multiply that out to leadership in our communities and workplaces... and then in our country. We cannot vote on any single issue – our lives and country are too complex. I encourage us to prayerfully consider how our are candidates living…. Do they reflect the qualities of God: are they merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness? Do they forgive? Do they recognize people who disagree with them as sisters and brothers? Are they committed to caring for the people who are struggling and on the margins?
Are they trying to truly make our world a better place for all people? Would we want to have them at dinner in our homes with our friends, children and grandchildren?
Dorothy Day wrote: Love and ever more love is the only solution to every problem that comes up. If we love each other enough, we will bear each other's faults and burdens. If we love enough, we are going to light that fire in the hearts of others. And it is love that will burn out the sins and hatreds that sadden us. It is love that will make us want to do great things for each other. No sacrifice and no suffering will then seem too much.
Lift Your Spirit - Watch One Voice
Reach Out
If you’d like to chat about any of this or would like more information on the BeLoved Community, please reach out to Rev. AndreaGrace.
[i] https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2024/september/documents/20240913-singapore-giovani.pdf
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