Friday Evening Lament Prayer for the American Catholic Council Notes: 1. all opening prayer participants be ready to quickly assume places on stage when John and Janet have finished..see attached stage plan) 2. Spirit-bearer banner folks will assume their places at 6:00 and be ready to process in from four directions at designated place in reading 6:25 Opening Prayer for the American Catholic Council Spirit banner bearers, readers, lament proclaimers and musicians are all in place before the opening greeting by the presider. Prior to the opening greeting the organizer gives the assembly guidance about what to do during the reading [rise up as Spirit-bearers with banners approach their seat] and closing ritual [time of stillness followed by mutual laying on of hands in silent prayer]. Presiding minister: Greeting: Greeting and invocation: From the four winds The Spirit of God brings us to this upper room, To fill us with hope and encouragement Even as we lament all those things That leave us feeling like dried bones, Lost and cut off. From the four winds We find in each other common complaint And common encouragement. From the four winds the Spirit of God gathers it all together And makes it new, A new vision, a new church, a new step in the emergence of God s Reign. From the four winds, May God s Spirit stir in us even when we don t know how to pray, Giving voice to the deepest longings and aspirations of God s Church.
Invocation: Let us pray. Veni Sancte Spiritus: Come, O Spirit of God, upon this American Catholic Council. Come as you came in surprising and unexpected ways upon the Second Vatican Council. Come to show us to ourselves, A church sinful but holy, A church on the way, seeking your truth, longing for life. Let not fear or loss of nerve stand in your way. We open the windows of this upper room and we beg you breathe through it. Blow away all that not of your wisdom, righteousness and compassion, And breathe in us new hope, new vision, new creation. Come, O Spirit of God, upon this American Catholic Council: Veni Sancte Spiritus. Opening music Choir/musicians intone the Taize Veni Sancte Spiritus with several solo verses by alternately by soprano/tenor voices perhaps each in a different language. This centers gathered community Reading: Ezekial 37:1-14 From the Pentecost Vigil Mass a dramatic reading with one male and one female voice proclaiming from two podiums on either side of the stage. The male voice proclaims the Ezekial texts. The female voice proclaims the God texts. At the place where it says FROM THE FOUR WINDS COME, O SPIRIT, four people bearing red banners enter the assembly from four directions waving the Spiritlife/wind over the people. As they pass through the assembly, people rise and remain standing (This is a simple, short, action akin to the sprinkling rite at Sunday Eucharist) [Direction to Assembly: When the Spirit-dancer and banner pass by your seat, please rise up!) After dancers circulate through assembly, they exit quietly Male voice: The hand of God came upon me, and led me out in the Holy Spirit and set me in the center of the plain, which was now filled with bones. God made me walk among the bones in every direction
so that I saw how many they were on the surface of the plain. How dry they were! God asked me: Female Voice: Human one, can these bones come to life? Male Voice: I answered, O Holy God, you alone know that. Then God said to me: Female Voice: Prophesy over these bones, and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of God! Thus says the most high GOD to these bones: See! I will bring spirit into you, that you may come to life. I will put sinews upon you, make flesh grow over you, cover you with skin, and put spirit in you so that you may come to life and know that I am your God. Male Voice: I, Ezekiel, prophesied as I had been told, and even as I was prophesying I heard a noise; it was a rattling as the bones came together, bone joining bone. I saw the sinews and the flesh come upon them, and the skin cover them, but there was no spirit in them. Then God said to me: Female Voice: Prophesy to the spirit, prophesy, O human one, and say to the spirit: Thus says the sovereign GOD: FROM THE FOUR WINDS COME, O SPIRIT, [Spirit-bearers with red banners enter assembly] AND BREATHE INTO THESE SLAIN THAT THEY MAY COME TO LIFE. [Reader waits as Spirit-bearers wave spirit life throughout assembly and people begin to stand up] Male Voice 1 I prophesied as I was told, and the Spirit came into them; they came alive and stood upright, a vast army. [Reader waits until entire assembly is standing as Spirit-bearers pass by] Then God said to me: Female Voice: Human one, these bones are the whole house of Israel.
They have been saying, Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, and we are cut off. Therefore, prophesy and say to them: O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am God, I will put my spirit in you that you may live, and I will settle you upon your land; I have promised, and I will do it [Assembly remains standing} Presider: O Holy God hear us as we cry to you. Our Church is filled with dried bones in a world hungering for your Life. Come Holy Spirit, Veni Sancte Spiritus Veni Sancte Spiritus Litany of Lament The choir again intones the Veni Sancte Spiritus as the assembly enters into a litany of lament. The choir softly chants the mantra-refrain while 4 laments are named from two podiums on either side of the stage. At the end of every set of laments, the volume increases (cueing the assembly to join in) and a verse is sung. Then the volume decreases as the next set of laments are named.and so forth until all laments are named. Lament readers are diverse in age, gender and ethnic origin: Suggest 4 readers. One Spanish speaking one German if possible. The others are younger and as diverse as possible. Readers alternate female and male from each podium 1. Weakened by structures that ignore your Wisdom speaking through the people of God, we cry. 2. Angered by church leaders who protect pedophiles and persecute prophets, we cry 3. Se les ha negado la Eucaristía porque no se ha solucionado el problema de la falta de sacerdotes, clamamos!. 3a. Denied Eucharist because of failure to address the priest shortage, we cry.
4. Reg: Aching for the Eucharist to be celebrated as nourishment for sinners, not a reward for good behavior, we cry Increase volume of Veni Sancte Spiritus (plus one verse) 5. Emily: Wondering why we are closing parishes rather than opening ordination, we cry 6. Wir weinen, weil wir uns danach sehnen, schöpferische Theologen zu feiern, anstatt ihre Ausgrenzung zu beklagen. 6. a Longing to celebrate creative theologians rather than mourn their marginalization, we cry 7. Oppressed by rigid structures of racism, we cry 8. Blind to the beauty of God s image in gay and lesbian people we cry Increase volume of Veni Sancte Spiritus (plus one Spanish verse) 9. Betrayed by church structures that promote sexism and misogyny, we cry... 10. Outraged by Bishops refusal to use structures of their own creation to be accountable to survivors of clergy sex abuse, we cry 11. Dismayed by our own guilt and failure to confront the structures of abuse, we cry 12. Amidst the shattered images of godliness and ministry, we cry... Increase volume of Veni Sancte Spiritus (plus one verse) Then barely discernible chanting throughout presider s prayer below Presider: Come, O Spirit of God, upon this American Catholic Council. From the four winds we have gathered to pry open the windows of ourselves and of our Church. We await you now in silence as you breathe upon us once again. Veni Sancte Spiritus x2 and then slowly fades away Time of deep silence (Presider directs assembly to sit down for at time ( 2-3 minutes) of silent prayer) Closing ritual Without breaking the silence, the presider and others on the stage model the ancient way the church signified a bestowal of the spirit. Each person lays hands on the head of the person next to them acknowledging with silent prayer the presence and gift of the spirit in them. The assembly does the same in silence.
Presider: [Waits until all have given and received the laying on of hands.] Prayer of Thanksgiving We give you thanks O Holy Spirit, for all the ways you breathe among your people, opening our graves, putting flesh and hope and spirit into our dried up bones and bringing us back to the land you have promised. Let us Pray.. Closing prayer: (Assembly stands and prays together) Vatican II Prayer to the Holy Spirit: We stand before you, Holy Spirit, conscious of our limitations, but aware that we gather in your name. Come to us, remain with us, and enlighten our hearts. Give us light and strength to know your will, to make it our own and to live it in our lives. Guide us by your wisdom, support us by your power, for you are God, sharing the glory of our Creator and Savior. You desire justice for all, enable us to uphold the rights of others; Do not allow us to be misled by ignorance or corrupted by fear or favor. Unite us to yourself in the bond of love and keep us faithful to all that is true as we gather in your name. May we temper justice with love, so that all our decisions may be pleasing to you and earn the reward you promised to good and faithful servants. You live and reign with our Creator and our Savior, One God, forever and ever, Amen. (Prayer composed by Pope John XXIII for Vatican II. Council Bishops prayed it at the beginning of every session) Service planned and prepared Sr. Christine Schenk, csj, Executive Director of FutureChurch, with the able assistance of two two professional liturgists who are also a pastor and pastoral minister.. FutureChurch is a national coalition of parish centered Catholics seeking changes that will provide all Roman Catholics the opportunity to participate fully in Church life and leadership. 17307 Madison, Lakewood, OH 44111 216-228-0869 www.futurechurch.org