Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time February 1, 2026
The Beatitudes Matthew 5: 1-12
Responder:Ma Donna
Presider: Juanita
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87935930592?pwd=qZlKA506MIS9okXQQxBkaKsyhsZJDV.1
Walk for Peace — A Song of Loving-Kindness & Courage
R: Amen.
Rita: In your divine wisdom, and as “Beatitude People” we must practice the non -violence of Jesus and try to help others become nonviolent, so that we might welcome a new world of peace, hope, joy and love. (Fr. John Dear)
Gratitude Rite:
Presider: Seek God and remember the wonders our God has done.
R: Let all who know God, rejoice and give praise!
Presider:
Love God and remember the mercy our God has shown.
R: Let all who Love God, rejoice and give praise!
Pat: God of Love, you gather us as one, you free us to serve; you draw us into your heart of compassion.
We proclaim our deepest gratitude and find joy in praising you.
May our passion be living in your presence, for we long to be one with you and take our place
in the Body of Christ.
Opening Prayer: Let Us Pray
Presider: Loving God, You name as holy those the world overlooks. Through the wisdom of women and men’s voices, teach us to hear the Beatitudes as a call to justice, tenderness, and shared dignity.
Shape us into peacemakers of your reign. Give us the grace to rise and walk forth in the footsteps of the nonviolent Jesus, that we may live out his beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount and help others do the same, so that together we might become your beloved sons and daughters, your holy peacemakers.
A reading from the Book of the Prophet Zephaniah 2: 3, 3: 12-13 Barbara
Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth, who have observed his law; seek justice, seek humility; perhaps you may be sheltered on the day of the Lord's anger.
But I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly,
who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD: the remnant of Israel.
They shall do no wrong and speak no lies;
nor shall there be found in their mouths
a deceitful tongue;
they shall pasture and couch their flocks with none to disturb them.
The word of God R: Thanks be to God
Psalm 146: Response: Happy the poor in spirit, the reign of God is theirs. Janet / Rita verses
You who keeps faith forever, secures justice for the oppressed, Gives food to the hungry. Adonai, You set captives free.
R: Happy the poor in spirit, the reign of God is theirs.
Adonai, You give sight to the blind.
You raise up those that were bowed down / and love the just.
You protect strangers.
R: Happy the poor in spirit, the reign of God is theirs.
The orphan and the widow You sustain, / but the way of the wicked You thwart, Adonai, You will reign forever; / Your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia!
R: Happy the poor in spirit, the reign of God is theirs.
Peace Prayer: by Denise Hackert- Stoner: Linda
Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful. (John 14:27)
Jesus knows how the world gives peace, and so do we. For the world and those who run it, peace is transactional. Do as I say and you will have peace. Pay me my due and you will have peace.
The peace Jesus knows and offers as a way of life is both deeper and simpler than that. It is the peace at the heart of things. It is the peace of a tree in wintertime; bare, exposed, and perfect in the geometry of its angled branches. It is the peace of a frozen pond; silent and deep and holding infinite life beneath its surface. It is the peace of the sun, giving and giving of itself, asking nothing in return.
Jesus had that kind of peace. Perfect, full of life, self-giving. That is the peace he gives us. He gives us the knowledge of our own perfect, true selves, the infinite depth of life we hold within us, and the deep joy we find in giving without recompense. We are the tree, the pond, the sun. At the heart of ourselves, we are peace. Amen.
Consider your calling, sisters and brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; and surely not many were well-born. God chose those whom the world considers absurd to shame the wise, and singled out the weak of this world to shame the strong.
The world's lowborn and despised, those who count for nothing, were chosen by God to reduce to nothing those who were something. In this way no one should boast before God. God has given you life in Christ Jesus and has made Jesus our wisdom, our justice, our sanctification and our redemption. This is just as it is written, "Let the one who would boast, boast in Jesus Christ.”
The Word of God R: Thanks be to God
Alleluia
The Gospel according to Matthew: Margaret
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the mountainside. After Jesus sat down, the disciples gathered around, and he began to teach them:
"How blest are the poor in spirit; the reign of God is theirs.
Blessed too are the sorrowing; they will be consoled.
Blessed are the lowly;
they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for holiness;
they will have their fill.
Blessed are they who show mercy; mercy will be theirs.
Blessed are the single-hearted they will see God
Blessed too are the peacemakers; they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those persecuted for holiness' sake; the reign of God is theirs.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of slander against you because of me. Be glad
and rejoice, for your reward in heaven is great; they persecuted the prophets before you in the very same way."
The Good News of Salvation!
R: Glory and praise to our Savior Jesus Christ!
Homily: Juanita and Magdala Members
Statement of Faith: Lucia alternate with Therese
We believe that where people are gathered together in love and respect, God is present and good things begin to happen.
We believe that we are immersed in mystery… that our lives are more than what they seem… and we belong in each other and to a universe of great creative energies whose source and destiny is God.
We believe that God reaches out to all creation…with human creation God is calling all people from the depth of their human life. We believe that God has risked God’s own self by becoming human in Jesus.
In and with Jesus, We believe that all of creation, is situated in the love of God; and the pattern of our life will be the pattern of Jesus, through suffering, death and resurrection.
We believe that the Spirit of peace and understanding is alive and within us as we gather to celebrate our common existence and God’s fidelity with all persons. Most deeply we believe that in our struggle to love, we incarnate God in this world.
So aware of this mystery, wonder, and truth, we become speechless in light of this sacredness as we celebrate our joy with our God and with one another.
Prayer of the Faithful Jay Cee
For a deeper coming of Christ in our world that we experience through the birthing of God anew in our lives, we bring to the table our prayers.
We awaken to your call!
For whom and for what shall we pray?
Closing: Divine Creator of All, you dwell in every creature. We know you hear our prayers and continually pour out your mercy and grace. Through our prayers
we are reminded that we are always enveloped in your love and compassion.
Strengthen our faith as you work through us to co-create your ever-expanding
Kin-dom. Amen
Sign of Peace: Patti
As we prepare this sacred meal, we reaffirm that, just as Jesus was anointed, so is each of us. And so, we celebrate our Creator’s fruitful love as we extend our blessing to one another with joy. May the peace that our brother Jesus offers be always with us! Please offer each other the sign of peace.
Offertory :(All raise bread and cup)
Janet:We place on our plate the harvest to be won by labor's love. And into the cup we pour all the sap which is to be pressed out this day from the Earth's fruits.
Karla: Prayer Over the Gifts: O Gracious One, giver of the gifts we bring, receive them from your church gathered here today, affirming the sacrament of your Presence among us. Amen. The Holy One is with us, abounding in Love!
Nick: Giving thanks to the Source of All Life, we open our hearts in the name of Jesus, who lives and loves, heals and empowers, through us.
Penny: Birther God, you brought forth all creation from your Life-Giving Womb. O Love of the Ages, who was born of Mary’s womb, we praise you and leap for joy in your presence.
Marita: We invite you, this day, to set us free, heal us, transform us, and empower us, as we gather around the Table of your love. With Mary, who opened her entire being in response to your creative Word, we proclaim your praise:
Holy, Holy, Holy by Peter Mayer shortened
https://youtu.be/A4kiEGVb3E8
Gerry: O Holy One of ancient Israel,
You embrace us with infinite love in every situation and relationship. You dwell in the depths of our hearts.
Please extend your hands over your bread and wine.
Presider: May Sophia Wisdom be recognized in the gifts of this Eucharistic Table as we celebrate the transformative power within this bread and wine. Send your Holy Spirit upon these gifts of bread and wine to change them into the body + and blood of Jesus the Christ.
Nick: At this gathering, we take bread, as Jesus took bread, and we remember, as Jesus remembered, the constant presence of the Spirit of Life and Love. And Jesus offers it to us now, saying:
(All raise your bread)
ALL: Take and eat, all of you. This is my Body, the Bread of Life which I give to strengthen you.
Jesus then raised a cup of blessing, spoke the grace, and offers it to us now, saying: (All raise cup)
ALL: Take and drink this Cup of Life, the life force of the everlasting Covenant made new again through my life in you. Whenever you remember me like this, I am among you.
We give thanks for who we are in Christ:
Karla: Matter becomes conscious, the universe coming to reflect on itself, earthen vessels that hold a treasure, temple of God’s Spirit, the Body of Christ.
(All raise bread and cup)
Penny: For it is through learning to live as Jesus lived,
And why he lived,
And for whom he lived,
That we awaken to your Spirit within,
Moving us to worship you truly,
Life-giving God,
At this time, and all time, and in all ways.
Amen!
Communion Rite:
Gina: We pray as these gifts are shared among us:
Loving God, you call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice.
We will live justly.
Ma Donna: Loving God, you call us to be your presence in the world.
We will love tenderly.
Karen: Loving God, you call us to speak truth to power.
We will walk with integrity in your presence.
(Everyone raises their bread and cup)
This is the Bread and Cup of Life, through which we are nourished, and we nourish one another.
ALL: We receive this bread and fruit of the vine as the presence of Christ among us!
All are welcome to receive at our Table of Love!
Communion Meditation:
Blest are they (Matthew 5:1-12)
https://youtu.be/O3S9_7OzD-Y?si=IidHbcgK6qMBHF4F
Cathy W: O Birther! Father–Mother of the Cosmos, focus your light within us — make it useful, create your reign of unity now.
Galen: Your one desire then acts with ours,
as in all light, so in all forms.
Grant what we need each day
in bread and insight.
Therese: Loose the cords of mistakes binding us,
as we release the strands we hold of others’ guilt.
Don’t let surface things delude us,
but free us from what holds us back.
Cathy P: From you is born all ruling will,
the power and the life to do,
the song that beautifies all.
From age to age, it renews.
Chrys: Truly — power to these statements.
May they be the ground from which all
our actions grow. Amen.
Closing Prayer: Penny
Gracious God, make us people of the beatitudes. May we discover the happiness of being detached from material things; of embracing your Word of comfort in the face of life's difficulties;
of finding joy and purpose in service to others.
May we continue to work for peace in our homes and communities; and of spending all that we have and are to establish your kin -dom in our own time and place.
Presider: Closing Blessing
May God bless you with the spirit of the Beatitudes:
to be poor in spirit, gentle in heart, hungry for justice,
merciful in action, pure in love,
and courageous peacemakers in our world.
May you find joy even in trials,
and may Christ walk with you as you live His way of blessing.
Amen.
Dismissal: Margaret
closing song: Lead Me, Lord – John Becker [Official Lyric Video]
https://youtu.be/T1jlHA6iLJQ?si=axi0OOzJEhmLJUuY
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