Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Community of Prayer

New Testament:
Acts 1:6-14
Psalm:
Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35
Epistle:
1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11
New Testament:
John 17:1-11
"Community of Prayer" is the Sunday Bulletin Service theme, referring to the Acts passage, which reports that, after Jesus' ascension, the apostles were "constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers." Leonardo Boff (see comment below) proposed that the "apostolic" church is a community of prayer; that is to say, it has nothing to do with the lineage of the priesthood, but everything to do with community. The church is apostolic by virtue of being a community of prayer. Wherever there is a community of Christ, there is the church.
Ubi charitas, et amor, deus ibi est.
(Where there is charity and love, God is there.)

The Sermon is still taking shape, as of this moment I'm still not sure what the title is.
The Hymns going into the bulletin are
#55 Rejoice, You Pure in Heart (I love that refrain)
#510 Grant us Wisdom to Perceive You (v. 1 and 4, before the prayers)
#332 As We Gather at Your Table (v. 1 and 2 before Communion, v. 3 after)

1 comment:

Deborah G. Celley said...

It is Boff, in Church: Charism & Power. New York:Crossroad, 1985. On p. 122-123 the apostolic nature of the church is redefined as the quality of being sent; see the discussion on the organizing principles of a liberation church in the final chapter.