Transubstantiation

by Harold M. Frost IV

The Eucharist is not merely symbolic
It is splendorously and really real
Dwelling in the sacred consecrated Host
Is our King of Kings, our Lord Jesus Christ
Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity
At that Last Supper, on that very first
Magnificent Maundy Thursday
Our Lord made it brilliantly be
That the Bread and Wine
Could become the Body and Blood
When the priest says “This is My Body”
The Host becomes Jesus Christ
Transubstantiation- that wonderful process
That spiritual mechanism by which
The Bread and Wine become
The Body and Precious Blood
Transubstantiation- the heart of Holy Mass
The Supreme Sacrifice Itself
On the holy altar
One Great Sacrifice for us sinners
Many Masses but one Sacrifice
Like many sunrises but one sun
One Great Sacrifice for us all
Propagating through time and space
How wondrous it is that Jesus
Made it be that His Sacrifice
Be present to us in this way
Yes, through the depths of time and through space
By the Power the bread and wine
Become the Body and the Precious Blood!

Prayer of the Farm Workers’ Struggle

by Cesar Chavez

Show me the suffering of the most miserable, so I will know my people’s plight.
Free me to pray for others, for you are present in every person.
Help me to take responsibility for my own life, so that I can be free at last.
Grant me the courage to serve others, for in service there is true life.
Give me honesty and patience, so that I can work with other workers.
Bring forth song and celebration, so that the Spirit will be alive among us.
Let the Spirit flourish and grow, so that we will never tire of the struggle.
Help us love even those who hate us, so we can change the world.
Amen.

“Were You There?” (Occupy Catholics Version)

These were the alternate words for the traditional spiritual “Were You There?” sung by Occupy Catholics at the action at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Good Friday, April 6. Read more about the action here.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they crucified the poor? …
Were you there when they took away our homes? …
Were you there when they poisoned all the earth? …
Were you there when they beat us when we rose? …
Were you there when they crucified our God? …
Were you there when they nailed him to a tree? …
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb? …

Prayer: #OccupyCongress #J17

“For a long time I have held my peace, I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out…” Isaiah 42:14

Blessed and Loving God who listens attentively to all of our prayers:

We cry out to you to open the eyes, ears, and hearts of all of those working in Congress. As Congress reconvenes, help them to open their offices and their minds to all who visit with them during the Occupy Congress actions.

Protect all of those making the pilgrimage today to the United States Congress. May they shine a bright light on the darkness of ignorance and apathy of the election year mentality so that all may see the urgent necessity for immediate, just, and moral action on the part of legislators, for now and always.

Fill us with your fiery Spirit and encourage us to embrace the Occupy Movement as a prophetic movement. Open us and reveal to us our own prophetic voices so that we may call out to the world for an immediate healing of our lost and broken legislative system.

Strengthen us with the wisdom that we are called to love each and every individual person working within this lost and broken legislative system. Grant us the grace and compassion to offer our love to them even as we march, cry out, and proclaim that the system within which they are working is shamefully idolatrous and corrupt.

Fill our mouths with words of your justice so that we may speak blessed and holy truth to the power of Congress. May we have the courage to speak out and to recognize our power, which has been granted to us by you, O Lord.

May we all gather together to celebrate our interconnectivity, our liberty, and our dignity as we call upon our legislators to recognize their duty to us. May the people be victorious over the lawless legislative system, and may the hearts of all be converted forever towards justice and peace.

Prayer: #D12 Our Lady of Guadalupe

“A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” Revelation 12:1

Loving Mother of the Americas, may our eyes rest upon your image and be opened to your love and compassion, and may we be strengthened and encouraged to live out that love and compassion in our daily lives.

We humbly request your intercession as we pray for today’s peaceful protests against the poverty, pollution, greed, and exploitation being caused by the current conditions of the U.S. port industry.

Blessed Mother and Teacher, we pray that the dignity and rights of workers shall be respected and upheld, and that all workers be granted just wages and safe, clean working conditions.

Surround us with your Most Holy Maternal Love and Peace, that we may stand in solidarity with all workers and with all people suffering from exploitation, and that all people taking part in the Occupy the Ports actions remain safe and under your protection and the protection of your son, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Prayer: #COP17 Durban, South Africa

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it. ~ Psalm 24:1

Gracious Creator,

We pray for a miracle and for the end of the heartless, abusive, destructive carbon footprint that is being left by the boot of corporations on the neck of our Mother Earth.

We pray that everyone in the world, and particularly in the United States, a nation so vastly asleep, wake up to the fact that, together, we must come to an agreement to commit fully to reduce greenhouse gases and to understand that the earth truly is the Lord’s.

We pray that the United States government will not make decisions on the care of the environment based on concerns about the next election.

We pray that all nations and corporations will stop worshipping the false gods of money and power and will stop grasping for ways to avoid true commitment to the care of God’s creation.

We pray that the governments of all nations will care for God’s creation instead of caring for the special interests of  the polluters that lobby continuously for the right to sinfully destroy our Mother Earth.<

We pray that all nations and peoples will wake up and stand up. We must be concerned for the future generations of this planet and for the poorest of the poor, “the least of these,” who suffer daily from sinful, violent, environmental destruction. Dear Lord, help us to realize that action is needed now to protect the precious gift of this planet that You have left in our care.

We pray that, as Catholics, we understand that we are called to a responsible stewardship of this planet, and global cooperation concerning the protection of our environment must be achieved. Gracious Creator, please do not allow us to miss the opportunity to be responsible stewards of Your creation.

Prayer: Occupy Our Homes, Proclaim from the Housetops

What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. (Matthew 10:27)

Loving God of Justice and Mercy,

Please strengthen and fill with hope all of those suffering from the violence of homelessness, foreclosures, and evictions.

May we understand that we are all one so that, regardless of our current housing situation, we will stand in solidarity with all of those suffering from the violence of homelessness, foreclosures, and evictions.

May we recognize that housing is a human right and that we are called to a life of love and hospitality. Help us to remember that the Holy Family wandered through Bethlehem searching for a place to stay “because there was no place for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7)

Let us take to heart in our daily lives your sacred word, and let us “not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” (Hebrews 13:2)

Grant us the strength, compassion, and conviction to fully realize our loving obligation to “the least of these” (Matthew 25:40) so that we may, against injustice, stand up with and for one another as God has commanded.

Wake us up. Open our eyes. Occupy our hearts and our homes so that we may proclaim your love, justice, and mercy from the housetops.

Prayer: Our Breaking Hearts

May peace be with us all.
May all of us be awake.
May we veiw the events
of the Occupy movement
through a lens of love.
May we grow in compassion
as our breaking hearts
witness and keep vigil
as we await the coming of Christ.