We remember Carol , Ardeth and Jackie : Sacred Earth and Space Plowshares,
October 7, 2002 “They shall beat their swords into plowshares.” Isaiah 2:4
N-8 Minuteman III Missile Silo
Saturday, October 2, 2004
( Adopt-a-Missile Silo: Citizen Weapon Inspection Teams inspect Weapons of Mass Destruction in Colorado . Citizen inspection of 49 illegal nuclear missile silos in solidarity with Carol , Ardeth and Jackie who are in prison for finding and symbolically hammering swords into plowshares.)
Greeting : Today let us remember and embrace the rich tradition of the desert.
Remember - the covenant between God and the people God formed in the desert wanderings.
Remember - many of the prophets escaped persecution by fleeing into the desert where their calling was renewed and deepened.
Remember - after his baptism, Jesus was driven into the desert to be tested: he was tempted to embrace the trappings of economic, political, and religious power (turn stones into bread; worship the devil and so own the kingdoms of this world; and awe all by miracles). To each temptation, he responded with the word of God and a decisive “NO!”
Remember – the rich tradition of holy men and women who went into the desert to encounter God's Spirit – each encountered as well as the demons - those rulers, dominations, powers, principalities of empire; each showed us a way to refuse their violence and domination.
What is it about the desert? On this former bed of a vast ocean, life is precious, subject to desiccation, on the rim of perdition. Thirsty , often arid, sometimes in bloom, combed by winds. Occasionally deluged with rain.
And here the breath of God continues to breathe upon all who seek God's way.
Remember - Dan and Sachio, Carl and Helen
Remember – All the Rocky Flats Resisters
Remember - at this time in 2002, Ardeth, Jackie & Carol gave themselves as instruments of God. God's breath conspired with them to call us to our origins, our humanity, our lives.
So let us re-member. More - let us continue in the spirit of all who have come to the desert before us – to seek God's Spirit and say no to the violence of domination.
Gathering Song : We are Called to Act with Justice
Penitential rite :
We have misused your gifts - Creator have mercy.
For the killing, - Redeemer, have mercy.
For our hardness of heart – Sanctifying Spirit, have mercy.
May the God of nonviolence, the God who created this earth we stand on, have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.
Reading : Letters from Prison: Sr. Ardeth , Sr. Carol , Sr. Jackie
Litany of Repentance and Hope for the Sin of Nuclearism
RESPONSE: FORGIVE US, O GOD
For the over 200,000 Japanese people killed in 1945 by US nuclear weapons...
For the thousands of Japanese A-bomb survivors who have suffered and died since 1945 from the effects of nuclear radiation...
For the countless peoples who died from nuclear testing...
For the US displacing Native People so that deadly uranium could be mined for corporate profit...
For all those who have died in recent US wars in Iraq , Yugoslavia and Afghanistan ...
For the US using highly toxic radioactive depleted uranium weapons in the above mentioned wars...
For the millions who suffered and died--past and present—because of the money and resources that have been spent on weapons and war instead of on alleviating poverty and preventable diseases..
For the US threatening all life on earth by using nuclear technology in space to achieve global dominance..
For the US engaging in preemptive military attacks and criminal wars and building a new generation of nuclear weapons..
For placing our trust in the false security of weapons and mammon rather than in God.
RESPONSE: WE COMMIT OUR LIVES
Abolishing war...
Forgiving and loving our enemies...
Providing a safe future for all children...
Waging peace and justice for all peoples of the world...
Sharing our resources...
Saving our environment-
Stopping all killing...
Practicing nonviolence and reconciliation...
Embracing all races...
Worldwide disarmament...
Reading : Matthew 6: 43 -48
Shared reflection
Eucharist: Steve Kelly , S.J.
The Pax Christi Vow of Nonviolence
R ecognizing the violence in my own heart, yet trusting in the goodness and mercy of God, I vow to practice the nonviolence of Jesus who taught us in the Sermon on the Mount:
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons and daughters of God...You have learned how it was said, "You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy," but I say to you, "Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. In this way, you will be daughters and sons of your creator in heaven."(Matt. 5:9, 43-44)
Before God the Creator and the sanctifying Spirit, I vow to carry out in my life the love and example of Jesus
• by striving for peace within myself and
seeking to be a peacemaker in my daily life;
• by accepting suffering in the struggle for justice rather than inflicting it;
• by refusing to retaliate in the face of provocation and violence;
• by persevering in nonviolence of tongue and heart;
• by living conscientiously and simply so that I do not deprive others of the means to live;
• by actively resisting evil and working nonviolently to abolish war and the causes of war
from my own heart and from the face of the earth
God, I trust in your sustaining love and believe that just as you gave me the grace and desire to offer this, so you will also bestow abundant grace to fulfill it.
Anointing: ( each person blesses the person next the them-oil is passed around )
May you have strength to speak the truth, courage to act nonviolently, may you be filled with faith instead of fear, and may God bless you to say no to violence, war and warmaking.
Song : Go be justice to God's people
Closing Prayer : Some trust in chariots and some in horses.
All : But we trust in the name of our God (Ps 20:17)
Who abides in God's heart?
All: Those who heal rather than hurt, and those who love rather than hate. (Ps. 15)