July 23, 2011: The Feast of Mary Magdalene at Sophia in Trinity

We break-fasted, we improvised Magdalene's community yesterday and today, we celebrated Eucharist, we sang,
we anointed each other, we saw the future of women in the Catholic Church in the faces of young women, and we signed a ribbon that will represent us at the national retreat of Roman Catholic Womenpriests.
A blessed day of community!!!

July 9, 2011 The Sower & Seeds, AKA The Roman Missal Crisis

The Holy One is sowing grace and wisdom everywhere among us--it is taking root in our communities and will flower and will eventually feed many. Our problem is we cannot see it right now. But seeds are surely coming to the surface, even cracking through cement.

These are not Monsanto seeds God is sowing: " the word will not come back to me empty" Isaiah says. The promise of each seed--is life.

I was talking to a disheartened Catholic woman the other day:

She had stood up in a meeting of 100 liturgy leaders from parish communities in the Monterey diocese. She said ………

So much energy, time and resources have been spent on these changes in the Eucharist liturgy with the missal. What if we were to expend all this energy, time and resources to help to meet the needs of people suffering all around us?

She was amazed when everyone broke into applause.

Next day the deacon in her parish said to her:

Maybe this is the time when finally it will be apparent that the emperor has no clothes. People are upset. Complying or leaving are just ways of letting the naked hierarchy win. A lot of people are just not going to put up with it.

The seed of life in this story--is seeking the real life of the church. The Magisterium is not fertile soil. You all know that when the seed hits, and you hear the word of God--you know the Word of Life when it opens you up and helps you to be real and compassionate.

The new liturgy is like Monsanto seed. It's dead. It's not the word of God. The people, the liturgists are all saying--- we want what gives us life, the real seeds. We know the Sower. And these are not the seeds of the Sower.

June 23: Break-Fast and Eucharist

What a joyous break-fast and Eucharist! We all welcomed Olivia Doko, the bishop of the western region of Roman Catholic Womenpriests [RCWP]. Olivia shared that she was elected bishop by the women priests,deacons and candidates of the western region. She is a pastor to the priests/deacons/candidates [not administrator, and not modeled on the RCC model of bishop as a kind of "ceo"]. She is in discernment with the various communities served by women priests as to what her relationship might be to those communities. "This is all a work in progress" she said. We also welcomed several guests from the East Bay community that has formed, Namaste Catholic Community.

Victoria started the break-fast noting that it was SF Gay Pride Weekend and so we might ask the question--how have each of us been called "out" ? Some spoke of how they came out as LGBT persons, others spoke of how they came out as Jesus followers. And then Victoria "outed" Maria Eitz who was announced as a candidate for priesthood in RCWP! There were shouts of joy and sustained applause for Maria! What a wonderful gift to our community she is and will be! All covenanted with her to support her through the process.

The Eucharist is always a surprise in how it unfolds from the break-fast, is revealed, erupts! [and it does at 10:30am]. We spoke of the mystery of the Eucharist, and how it is revealed in every cell of the universe, that it is an intimacy with the Christ in which we realize we are flowing from God as the body of God.

JUST SO IT'S CLEAR.....We are experimenting! And so we have this break-fast/Eucharist on the 4th Saturday of each month. The break-fast starts at 9:30am, Eucharist 10:30. And our regular Eucharistic Celebration occurs on the 2nd Saturday of each month at 10:30am.