Blessed Home: Full Liturgy
Theme: to find a space where there is welcome, forgiveness and reconciliation
Pre-Gathering
01 Video: Bring Me to Life – Evanescence
02 This must be the place – Talking Heads (Live)
Gathering
Video: 03 Blessed Gathering
In the name of the +Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
God is here. Make yourselves at home.
Home can be a place of warmth and welcome, a space where we can be. A place where we can be ourselves. There is no place like home.
Home can be a place which makes us feel trapped, which can hold terrible secrets and memories, a place we need to escape from, a past we would wish to leave behind.
Tonight we think of home, in all its forms, and the new, heavenly home to which God calls us to, to be with him.
Video: Postsecrets
A postcard home, whether a secret or not, can often be as much about the place you are writing back to as the place where you are sending it from. In order to prepare ourselves to with God at home in these holy, sacred mysteries, let us consider what postcard home we would want to send, and in penitence write our postcard home, to God…
Penitential Rite: Flash Paper
Equipment: Flash Paper, Pens, Balti Dish, Taper.
There are many things that we would like to discard
To throw away and have nothing more to do with
There are many things which we feel are not worthy of us
And need to be put aside
Write down something you want deeply to throw away
A behaviour
An action
A word said in haste
A relationship gone bad
A deed undone
An obligation unfulfilled
And give it over to God.
You can pour out your heart to God on the mountaintop
You can painfully trace each step in the darkness of the confessional
You can say the words we know so well without thinking
But have you written him a love letter?
Have you given what you want to throw away to God
Let God deal with your deepest fears and shame.
Write down something you want deeply to throw away
A behaviour
An action
A word said in haste
A relationship gone bad
A deed undone
An obligation unfulfilled
And give it over to God.
There are many things that we would like to discard
To throw away and have nothing more to do with
There are many things which we feel are not worthy of us
And need to be put aside
Put them aside, and give them to God.
For God will transform,
and the shameful past becomes the bright future
Video: Broken Open Jude Simpson.
Absolution
Screen: you are forgiven
Our Lord Jesus Christ, who has left power to his Church to
absolve all sinners who truly repent and believe in him, of
his great mercy forgive you all your offences; and by his
authority committed to me, I absolve you from all your sins:
+In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit.
The Lord has put away all your sins, and of your charity, pray for me, a sinner also
Amen
Word
Video: 07 Prodigal
Jesus told a story.
It all began with a farmer and his two sons.
Together they worked the land, harvested the crops and managed the livestock, it was a thriving business. Sign drops
The ‘Lost son’ on screen
But the younger son became unsettled, for him life on the farm felt dull and restrictive…..5am..
he had heard that life in the big city was exciting and colourful, that there were clubs and bars and girls……
A yearning grew and grew within him to leave the farm, leave his family and make a new life for himself in this distant place. Tractor
At window
Money, such a trip would cost money. I know, thought the son I’ll ask my father for my share of my inheritance NOW… its only reasonable , after all one day it is going to be mine anyway.
And his father agreed, despite that fact that his heart was breaking inside of him.
Inheritance
It was as good as saying to his Father “I wish you were dead”, but such sentiments clearly meant nothing to the boy whom the Father had loved since the day he held him in his arms, as he took his first breaths.
And so the boy left home…. and goods time began.
Music / chicken leg
Until the recession hit / prices went up and the money ran out.
Empty bag
Not to worry… making a living can’t be that hard and so he set out to earn his way to success.
X factor
On Stage
He discovered it wasn’t so easy after all.
Conveyor belt
Setting his sights a little lower he took the only job on offer working as a hired hand on a pig farm. By the time he got there he was so hungry that even the pig food looked appetising.
Posters
He felt such an idiot, a fool, he was a laughing stock among his so called friend and was left with nothing… no one.
On production line
A yearning began to grow and grow inside of him. He remembered the place where he had been loved since the day he took his first breaths. And he longed to return but knew that it could never be the same again. (Home in background) He had messed up but perhaps his father would let him labour on the farm for a while, until he could get himself sorted out.
Window !
From the farmhouse window the father saw his son returning.
There just aren’t words.
Forgiven / embraced…..
Let the party begin.
Music / Record
Yes… the oldest brother had issues with it because his heart was full of jealousy/ bitterness and resentment…..
BUT it didn’t change anything
The son who was lost was found
And that was worth a celebration.
Meditation
You’d never end the story by turning us away,
so why do we live as if we could do something that will stop you loving us?
You’d never end the story giving up w aiting for us,
so why do we live in fear of wearing out your patience?
You’d never end the story with a litany of our sins,
so why do we live as though you see us only with eyes of judgement?
You’d never end the story giving us one last warning,
so why do we live in fear that your goodwill will run out?
You’d never end the story not recognising us,
so why do we live thinking you don’t know the shape of our souls?
You’d never end the story with outpourings of anger,
so why do we live in fear of incurring your wrath?
You’d never end the story making us repay all we’ve taken,
so why do we live as though we owe you for loving us?
You’d never end the story by taking us back as servants,
so why do we live as though there are limits on your grace?
You’d never end the story slamming a door in our face,
so why do we live in fear of your rejection?
You’d never end the story with anything but love,
so why do we live as though our story might end with anything but love?
Peace
Video: 09 Airport Peace Version 3
Welcome Home.
Welcome to the hearth where God welcomes you here in peace.
The peace of the Lord be always with you
And also with you
Let us offer a sign of God’s peace
Eucharist
1 The Lord be with you
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts
We lift them to the Lord
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
It is right to give thanks and praise.
2 God is here. Make yourselves at home.
3 Here we tell of everything we want to give to God
And tell of all we want to thank God for.
4 Here we meet with Love
Which stretches from the start
To the finish of everything and further still.
5 Here Love shows the way and leads us home.
We join with creatures, cosmos,
Earth and angels in endless praise.
6 Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
7 Blessed is he who comes In the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
8 God you are perfect, the maker of everything.
9 We ache and groan with creation for freedom.
10 Send your Spirit on us and + on these gifts
So we may be embraced by your arms
as they become Christ’s body and blood.
11 We think of your son, Jesus Christ
Who is always rescuing the world
And is always giving himself to the world;
12 on the night that he was betrayed,
At supper with his friends
Took bread and gave you thanks and said
13 ‘Take, eat, this is my body given for you,
Do this in memory of me’.
14 In the same way after supper He took a cup of wine
And gave it to them saying
15 ‘Drink all of you, this is my blood of the new promise
Do this in memory of me’.
16 We are travelling towards you
And you are rushing towards us
Racing to care for the earth,
To heal the sick,
And to let the prisoners go free.
17 Keep us safe all the way
And shake us with your love
As you shook the saints before us
So we will want to serve you in everything.
18 By whom and with whom and in whom
In the unity of the Holy Spirit
All honour and glory is yours
Almighty Father
For ever and Ever
19 Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
Video: 11 Lord’s Prayer Body Prayer
Post Communion
We say together
Father of all,
we give you thanks and praise,
that when we were still far off
you met us in your Son and brought us home.
Dying and living, he declared your love,
gave us grace, and opened the gate of glory.
May we who share Christ’s body live his risen life;
we who drink his cup bring life to others;
we whom the Spirit lights give light to the world.
Keep us firm in the hope you have set before us,
so we and all your children shall be free,
and the whole earth live to praise your name;
through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Prodigal Blessing
‘May you always know where the road home begins
and have the courage to walk the first mile.
May you never be too far from a lifeline
and never too far gone to dial.
May you know that the God who pursues you is a hunter
whose bullets bleed mercy.
May artful accidents of grace explode at every turn of your journey.
May you trip over truth and fall headlong into hope.
May redemption rain down all around you.
May God’s glory catch you napping and God’s story catch your breath,
And God’s gratuity perpetually astound you.
And the blessing of God Almighty, +Father, Son & Holy Spirit, be upon you and remain with you, this day and always. Amen
You have come home.
The Mass has ended,
go in the peace of Christ
Thanks be to God
Close
Video: 14 Talking Heads This must be the place
