Sisters of Mercy, Mid-Atlantic Community
PRAYER SERVICE FOR YEAR-END RETREAT
“WOMEN OF MERCY, WOMEN OF HOPE” in our Church today
December 31, 2012
Invitation to Prayer:
As we enter into prayer on this last day of the year, we Sisters of Mercy are being called to
reflect on how, as Women of Mercy, Women of Hope, we are actively listening and
respectfully dialoguing with God and one another about our struggles and joys related to
Church. As part of the universal Church, we are especially mindful of the gift of the Second
Vatican Council and how that event has enriched our lives as consecrated women. May
this prayer ritual and these reflective readings deepen our understanding and reverence
for who we are as Women of Mercy, Women of Hope in our Church today.
Opening Hymn: Sing a New Church
Summoned by the God who made us Rich in our diversity,
Gathered in the name of Jesus, Richer still in unity;
Refrain: Let us bring the gifts that differ, And, in splendid, varied ways,
Sing a new church into being, One in faith and love and praise.
Radiant risen from the water, Robed in holiness and light,
Male and female in God’s image, Male and female, God’s delight: Refrain
Draw together at one table, All the human family;
Shape a circle ever wider, And a people ever free. Refrain
1 Psalm 133
Antiphon:
When women and men dwell in harmony, the star of Truth appears!
Left:
See how good, how pleasant it is
for God’s people to live together as one!
Right:
It is like precious oil on Aaron’s head
running down on his beard,
running down to the collar of his robes.
Left:
It is like the dew of Mount Hermon,
falling down the hills of Zion
Right:
For that is where our God bestows the blessing –
life that never ends.
All:
Glory to You, three in one. Your mercy endures forever. Amen
Antiphon:
When women and men dwell in harmony, the star of Truth appears!
Constitutions, Introduction
Responsive in faith to God’s mercy Catherine McAuley heeded the call of Jesus to
reach out with courage and love to the needy of her time. She founded the institute
of the Sisters of Mercy, to involve women as religious in the mission of the church
in the world. Her vision continues to animate the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of
the Americas, a religious institute of pontifical right dedicated to the works of the
apostolate.
Pause
The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, #44
…The evangelical counsels which lead to charity join their followers to the Church
and its mystery in a special way. Since this is so, the spiritual life of these people
should then be devoted to the welfare of the whole Church. From this arises their
duty of working to implant and strengthen the Kingdom of Christ in souls and to
extend that Kingdom to every clime.
Pause
2 John 17: 13, 17-21, 26
Now, O God, I am coming to You; I say all this while I am still in the world
that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves… Consecrate them – make
them holy through the truth – for your word is truth. As You have sent me
into the world, so I send them into the world; I consecrate myself now for
their sakes, that they may be made holy in truth. I do not pray for them
alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
that all may be one, as You are in me and I in You. To them I have revealed
Your Name, and I will continue to reveal it so that the love You have for me
may live in them, just as I have lived in them.
Pause
As you reflect on these readings,
to what do you sense God is inviting you as
a Woman of Mercy, a Woman of Hope
in the Chuch?
Time for Personal Prayer/Reflection (Suggestion: 10 minutes)
Henri Nouwen:
Our faith in God who sent his Son to become God-with-us and who, with his Son,
sent his Spirit to become God-within-us cannot be real without our faith in the
church. The Church is that unlikely body of people through whom God chooses to
reveal God’s love for us. Just as it seems unlikely to us that God chose to become
human in a young girl living in a small, not very respected town in the Middle East
nearly two thousand years ago, it seems unlikely that God chose to continue his
work of salvation in a community of people constantly torn apart by arguments,
prejudices, authority conflicts, and power games. Still, believing in Jesus and
believing in the Church are two sides of one faith. It is unlikely but divine!
©Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey, 1997, Harper Collins
Pause
How does this passage from Henri Nouwen challenge you
beyond your current thinking and understanding
about your membership in and relationship to the Church?
Time for Personal Prayer/Reflection (Suggestion: 10 minutes)
Time for Sharing (Optional)
3 Concluding Reflective Music: Thankful by Josh Groban
Somedays we forget
To look around us
Somedays we can't see
The joy that surrounds us
So caught up inside ourselves
We take when we should give.
So for tonight we pray for
What we know can be
And every day we hope for
What we still can't see
It's up to us to be the change
And even though we all can still do
more
There's so much to be thankful for.
So for tonight we pray for
What we know can be.
And on this day we hope for
What we still can't see.
It's up to us to be the change
And even though we all can still do
more
There's so much to be thankful for.
Even with our differences
There is a place we're all connected
Each of us can find each other's light
So for tonight we pray for
What we know can be
And on this day we hope for
What we still can't see
It's up to us to be the change
And even though this world needs so
much more
Look beyond ourselves
There's so much sorrow
It's way too late to say
I'll cry tomorrow
Each of us must find our truth
It's so long overdue
There's so much to be thankful for
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