Liturgy with Fr. Seán
1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Sundays
At Companions on the Journey our liturgy is a Eucharistic celebration which embraces the fullness of God’s continually evolving creation – all beings, all life forms, everything that exists is the “word of God made flesh.”
In May, 2007 Fr. Seán composed a new liturgy for COJ entitled “A Liturgy Celebrating Christ Consciousness.” The “Eucharistic Prayer of the Cosmos” nested within this liturgy is a beautiful, poetic hymn in recognition of this exquisitely choreographed dance between the ineffable transcendence of God and Her immanent creation. It acknowledges our oneness and unity with all that exists, has existed and will exist, as a seamless fabric of coming and going in ever deeper understanding of Love as the intent, the focus, the goal, and the end point of Creation.
Our liturgy consists of readings selected by community members and a gospel selected by Fr. Seán. Reading selections are derived from the Old and New Testaments, as well as from the many other wisdom traditions of the world. The readings are followed by a Homily and a Sign of Peace shared among the community. The rest of the liturgy then continues with the Offertory, the Consecration and the Communion.
On the 3rd Sunday of each month, there is an extended Homily followed by a Question and Answer time, during which those present can comment on what they have heard, ask questions on the topic and discuss other related questions regarding spirituality.
Included here are the full liturgy for regular Sunday:
(a) A Liturgy Celebrating Christ Consciousness, which is a full Mass, written from a cosmic perspective
(b) The Eucharistic Prayer of the Cosmos, which is already embedded in the full Mass, but is here extracted to stand alone as a hymn of praise to God of the Universe.
Community Liturgy
4th Sundays
The Community Liturgy is unique to Companions on the Journey. We feel that it is an important and vital difference for our community, because it acknowledges the ability that each of us has to teach and learn from others. We are all striving to deepen our spirituality and the insights each of us has, can be of immense value and importance to others. In fact, as a community, we are deeply committed to the evolution of each individual within the community. Our community liturgies allow us the opportunity to deepen our commitment.
For the 4th Sunday of each month, a small group of individuals come together to plan the liturgy. Each month a different group of individuals is involved in this process. The theme of the liturgy is often the outgrowth of a particular study or experience someone has engaged in and which has for that individual yielded an important insight or transformation, which he/she feels ready to share in the form of a Homily with the community. One or two other persons join the homilist as co-celebrants of the liturgy, offering their ideas on the sharing of the liturgy. The readings are tyoically selected by the homilist. The music is selected by the music director. As the celebrants immerse themselves in the theme, they often experience a new creativity and depth in the way they themselves experience the liturgy.
In addition to liturgies planned and celebrated by community members, we often have guests on our Community 4th Sundays, to widen our knowledge of and appreciation of other wisdom traditions. We have been very fortunate to welcome as guests representatives of many diverse spiritual beliefs and we gain greatly from what they share with us.