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Goals for Special Mass and All Prayerful Activities of VOTF

 

  • To allow people to come together in prayer in response to the crisis in our Church.

  • To prayerfully address the pain of victimization and betrayal.

  • To prayerfully call for healing.

  • To begin a process of openness in addressing the faithful's concerns about their Church by gathering in prayer and by underscoring the centrality of Eucharist in all our actions as Church.

  • To focus on the "voice" of the faithful being raised and heard, first and foremost at worship.

  • To focus on Eucharist as the unifying element of our church/faith.

  • To hear from many different voices and model genuine ''communitas'' - inclusive, supportive, life-giving for all.

  • To model Catholic outreach and welcome.

  • To model a Church that strives to reveal Christ in our midst and that is responsive to and respectful of the contemporary needs and issues of the faithful, The People of God.

 

 

Suggested Prayers, Readings,
and Music for a Healing Mass

ENTRANCE PROCESSION
As you enter the church, you are invited to be signed with ashes: ''As a sign of our unity in sorrow. As a sign of our unity in faith.''

GREETING
Welcome to this prayerful moment, to this Mass of Healing in response to the crisis of abuse and betrayal in our Church. I am _____________, a member of _______________ Parish and a member of Voice of the Faithful. We are new friends and companions on a difficult journey. It is good to be together. For our Mass this evening our celebrant(s) is (are) ____________, our beloved and respected pastor(s), who walks with us always.

You will find in your Mass booklet a piece of paper, and there are pencils in the pews. We invite you to write on these slips of paper your special intentions for the Prayers of the Faithful, those persons who you want us to pray for at this Mass. Ushers will circulate with baskets to collect each of your prayers, and they will be brought forth as part of our offertory.

We have gathered in silence, signed with ashes, symbolic of our sorrow and the shame those abused have been forced to carry too long.

This is already an amazing and powerful gathering of the Spirit. Our need is for a space for being together in prayer: victims, survivors, and all those who long to support them and to heal the brokenness in our Church.

Emotions are deep and feelings need to be expressed. This evening of gathering, prayer, and Eucharist is to be a sacred space for all of us to bring our strongest feelings. It is a place where we hope peace can begin for each of us. After Mass, there will be time to meet and share in the church hall. For those who need to talk and express feelings at a deeper level, several lay ministers, among them [name invited guests], will be available to you in your need.

Celebrant: In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. And also with you.

PENITENTIAL RITE I.
We ask forgiveness for those Church leaders who failed to use their positions of trust and authority to ensure the safety of our children; give them courage and wisdom to assume responsibility for their misguided actions:
Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.

II. As "The People of God," we ask forgiveness for any moment of our not hearing, not knowing, and not responding to your pain and loneliness:
Christ have mercy.
Christ have mercy.

III. We ask forgiveness for our hardened hearts; help us to move through our anger to reach out in all the ways You call us to in rebuilding Your Church:
Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.

OPENING PRAYER
Generous and compassionate God,
Our loving Creator, Redeemer, and Holy Spirit;
Bless your daughters and sons gathered here in
sorrow and in hope.
Your blessed Son became one of us,
sharing in the human burdens of betrayal and loss
and in the joys of friendship and community.
Help us to be mindful always of your gift of hope and resurrection
as we contemplate the sinfulness in our Church
and the brokenness in our hearts.
May we learn to live fully in the knowledge of your transformative love;
may it renew our lives, our faith, and our Church
and allow us to rejoice in you and in the Church, forever and ever. Amen.

FIRST READING
A reading from the Book of Lamentations (3:17-25,49,50,55-58)

My soul is deprived of peace.
I have forgotten what happiness is;
I tell myself my future is lost,
All that I hoped for from the Lord.
The thought of my homeless poverty is wormwood and gall;
Remembering it over and over leaves my soul downcast within me.
But I will call this to mind, as my reason to have hope:
The favors of the Lord are not exhausted,
His mercies are not spent;
They are renewed each morning,
so great is His faithfulness.
My portion is the Lord, says my soul;

Therefore will I hope in him.
Good is the Lord to one who waits for him,
to the soul that seeks him;
My eyes flow without ceasing,
there is no respite,
Till the Lord from heaven looks down and sees.
I called upon your name, O Lord,
from the bottom of the pit;
You heard me call, "Let not your ear be deaf to my cry for help!"
You came to my aid when I called to you;
You said, "Have no fear!"
You defended me in mortal danger,
You redeemed my life.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God

PSALM 130 (sung) SECOND READING
A reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians (12:12-26)

As a body is one, though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit. Now the body is not a single part, but many. If a foot should say, "Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body," it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. Or if an ear should say, "Because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body," it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as he intended. If they were all one part, where would the body be? But as it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I do not need you." Nor again the head to the feet, "I do not need you." Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary, and those parts of the body that we consider less honorable we surround with greater honor, and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety, whereas our more presentable parts do not need this. But God has so constructed the body as to give greater honor to a part that is without it, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts have the same concern for one another. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
''Celtic Alleluia''

GOSPEL READING
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (13: 10-17). Glory to you Lord.

He was teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath. And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by the spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect. When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, "Woman, you are set free of your infirmity." He laid his hands on her and she at once stood up straight and glorified God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant that Jesus had cured on the Sabbath, said to the crowd in reply, "There are six days when work should be done. Come on those days to be cured and not on the Sabbath day." The Lord said to him in reply, "Hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger and lead it out for watering? This daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound for eighteen years now, ought she not have been set free on the Sabbath day from this bondage?" When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated; and the whole crowd rejoiced at the splendid deeds done by him.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

HOMILY

PROFESSION OF FAITH

GENERAL INTERCESSIONS (Prayers of the Faithful)
For all those who were abused by clergy, we embrace you; we pray that as the people of God we can in some real way be agents of your healing. We are overwhelmed by the knowledge of your pain and suffering; you are precious in God's sight. May you feel God's healing love in every way and in everything.
We pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.

For those who have been abused and their families. For the pain and suffering you have endured, we pray for healing and new life. For all that was not heard, for the pleas that went unanswered, for the pain and betrayal that was not shared, we pray for forgiveness.
We pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.

For all those who have experienced sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and degradation, we acknowledge your pain and suffering and cry out against such sinfulness. For all those marginalized by abuses of power and by hatred, we ask for healing and wholeness.
We pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.

For the faithful who have been betrayed by those we trusted, by those who are said to lead us in the name of Jesus Christ, we pray for an increase of faith, for the holy wisdom to understand and accept that sin and death are not the final answers, but that we are called each day to new life.
We pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.

For the failure of the Catholic Church to be a true sign of the power of God's unconditional love and need for each of us, and for all those who have been unable to remain in full communion with our Church, we pray for the growth in holiness which will welcome you all home.
We pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.

For priests of integrity and all women religious who toil in the vineyard and endure their own sense of betrayal and abandonment, we pray that the voice of the faithful will be a witness to you of Jesus' love and communion with you, that you know the voice of the faithful is raised in Thanksgiving for your vocation.
We pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.

For our Church, that it remains truly grounded in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, a communion of believers, transfigured by the good news of Jesus Christ, who together do the work of building up the Reign of God in our hearts and in our world.
We pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.

For our church leaders, that they be renewed by the action of the Holy Spirit in their midst. May they welcome the spiritual gifts of humility, wisdom, and courage; may the image of Jesus as Good Shepherd, listening, guarding, and caring, inform all they do in the name of God.
We pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.

____________ goes to altar, retrieves folded altar cloth, and drapes it over the cross, as is done on Good Friday.

OFFERTORY PROCESSION AND COLLECTION
Our collection this evening will be donated to the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, SNAP. Founded in 1991, this national organization with a regional office in ___________ (your region, if applicable) is a valuable resource and needs our support. SNAP provides self-help for survivors and victims and offers education through publicity and advocacy. One of SNAP's greatest expenses is the phone bill, responding to calls from victims all over the United States. Checks can be made out to SNAP. Thank you for your generosity.

Offeratory Hymn: "The Church of Christ in Every Age," Dunedin

Wine, Hosts, Ciborium, White Altar Cloth, Greens in Urn, Petitions in Basket

HOLY "MASS OF CREATION"

Rite of Thanksgiving

COMMUNION RITE

LORD'S PRAYER
Spoken, not sung

SIGN OF PEACE

BREAKING OF THE BREAD
"Lamb of God" from "Holy Cross Mass"

COMMUNION
Hymns: Take and Eat, Taste and See

Prayer after Communion

CONCLUDING RITE
A Special Word of Blessing For Those Abused and Their Families

You are not alone anymore. We, those present and those unable to be here, want to journey with you through your pain and anger. We are listening to your pain, and we are hearing you. We wish for you an end to this long period of sorrow. We pray that your journey be filled with a new awareness of the care and tenderness with which we hold you in our hearts. Most of all, we pray for your healing and the freedom that the grace of forgiveness brings. On this night, we lift you to God for all that God longs to give to you - and in all time to come, we will continue to do so.

Announcements
As we come to the end of this evening's prayer, a reminder that there will be, after Mass, refreshments in the parish hall, with opportunities for meeting and conversation.

Explanation of Lighting of Candles
As a sign of our movement from sorrow to light, of the journey each of us must take, the Easter candle will be carried in silence from its place in the baptistery to the altar. Several ministers will then come forward to light their individual candles and then move through the church to positions in front of all the exits from the church. After the final procession of the priests and ministers from the church, we will then process out of the church, beginning with the front rows of each section, lighting our candles as we exit the outside doors. We will then gather on the lawn of the church as a symbol of the light of Christ going to the world, and listen to the church bells sound, closing our prayer of healing, our Eucharist celebration and sending forth our healing Spirit.

The Easter candle is carried solemnly to the space in front of the altar. The designated Eucharistic ministers come forward, wait, then each lights his/her candle and proceeds to begin lighting candles from various positions in the front of the church. They then process out of the church. The Easter Candle follows. The congregation follows, front to back, in procession. Cross bearer, celebrant(s), lector(s) process out of church.

Anthem: A Gaelic Blessing
Hymn: Go to the World Sine Nomine

 

 

 

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Mission Statement

To provide a prayerful voice, attentive to the Spirit, through which the Faithful can actively participate in the governance and guidance of the Catholic Church.

 

Our Goals

1. To support survivors of clergy sexual abuse.

2. To support priests of integrity

3.To shape structural change within the Catholic Church.
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Jesus, Lord and Brother, help us with our faithfulness. Please hear our voice, and let our voice be heard. Amen. More

 

         

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