Introduction
F: Hindi ito ang usual nyong Visita Iglesia at Way of the Cross. Tayo ay magkakasamang maglalakad at magdadasal, magkwekwentuhan at magchichikahan bilang mga LGBTQI+ at bilang mananampalatayang Kristiano.
Ating simulan ang Laksambang ito sa ngalan ng Dakilang Maylikha, Ni Hesu Kristonganak nya at ng Diwang Banal.
P: Amen.
MCC Statement of Faith
F: Metropolitan Community Churches is one chapter in the story of the Church, the Body of Christ.
P: We are people on a journey, learning to live into our spirituality while affirming our bodies, our genders, and our sexualities.
F: We don’t all believe exactly the same things.
P: And yet in the midst of our diversity, we build community, grounded in God’s radically inclusive love for all people.
F: We are part of an ongoing conversation on matters of belief and faith,
P: shaped by scripture and the historic creeds, building on those who have come before us. Our chapter begins when God says to us: “Come, taste, and see.”
F: “Come, taste, and see.” Jesus Christ, You invite all people to Your open table.
P: You make us Your people, a beloved community. You restore the joy of our relationship with God, even in the midst of loneliness, despair, and degradation. We are each unique and we all belong, a priesthood of all believers. Baptized and filled with Your Holy Spirit, You empower us to be Your healing presence in a hurting world.
F: We expect to see Your reign on earth
P: as it is in heaven as we work toward a world where everyone has enough, wars cease, and all creation lives in harmony. We affirm Your charge to all of humanity to care for the land, sea, and air. Therefore, we will actively resist systems and structures which are destroying Your creation
F: With all of creation we worship You
P: —every tribe, every language, every people, every nation. We know You by many names, Triune God, beyond comprehension, revealed to us in Jesus Christ, who invites us to the feast. Amen.
–
Let us Pray: Oh Jesus, whose life were filled with various peoples and encounters. From your unusual birth told to us in the gospel of Matthew and Luke visited by shepherds, wise ones from the east, the multitude of heaven, and lowly animals. You who were raised by a human mother, Mary of Nazareth. You have siblings and friends from Nazareth. You who called fisherfolks as your first followers and women from various places to be your disciples. You who ate with with tax collectors and prostituted women. You who spoke with Samaritans, Gentile Romans, and a Syrophoenician woman; You who were touched lepers, cripples, and blind people; Jesus, God made flesh and dwelt among us…
All: Welcome us to accompany you your journey of the cross towards calvary and the tomb. Open our hearts to receive new insights and wisdom for each of our lives, relationships, for the communities we are a part of and for our country and the world. May the Holy Spirit guide us and journey with us. Help us to see, listen, and touch the different peoples and encounters of our lives that reflect the peoples and encounters of your journey. May we also understand our own lives as part of your ongoing gospel story. And with every step we take, every prayer we say, and every, encounter we experience, whether in joy or in tears, may we proclaim your love and freedom. This is our prayer, and may our prayers and rituals lead us to action and compassion through your holy name, Jesus of Nazareth, crucified Lord. Amen.
In the Gospel of Mark, the Risen One waits for us in Galilee. Journeying to where Christ calls us to serve, may our lives be a continuing story of healing, hope, and compassion for our world.
F: May the faith we believe and prayers we proclaim,
P: lead us and guide us in this pilgrimage and beyond.
F: May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
P: And also with you.
F: God in community, Holy and One.
P: AMEN.
1: Remedios Circle – The Movement that Begun
F: We adore you oh Christ and we praise you
P: Because by your life, death, and resurrection, you have opened God’s love
for all. By your cross, you have shown us a way towards justice and peace
rooted in love.
–
Luke 19:33-40 NRSV
As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
–
The gospel of Luke takes its roots in the Prophetic tradition that seeks justice, social transformation, and the renewal of life. Jesus is both the fulfillment and the continuation of the prophetic work of Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, and all the ancient prophets. Jesus succeeds and continues the work of the prophet, John the Baptizer.
We begin our walking pilgrimage as LGBTQI+ people of faith in this Queer Way of the Cross by grounding ourselves in the same work of justice, social transformation, and renewal of life not only for our queer tribe but also for all marginalized and oppressed sectors. We begin our pilgrimage here in Remedios Circle to remember not only the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and his protest at the temple, but also remember the many Pride Marches that happened in Manila after the 1st Pride March in Quezon City in 1994, and thereafter the many other Pride Marches around the Philippines. We also remember that our roots go all the way back not only to Stone Wall in 1969 but to all the ancient Babaylans, Asogs, and Bayogs of our land, our ancient spiritual queer ancestors.
We are reminded that as queer followers of Jesus we too are called to march into the many Jerusalems of our country and the world to protest injustice and inequality in Church, government, and society, and wherever else there is intolerance and bigotry. As queer followers of Jesus, our pride marches are more than just about our individual selves but like Jesus, it is about the prophetic work for a world where everybody has enough, wars ceased, and all of creation living in harmony. Therefore, we resist and protest, systems and structures that are destroying God’s people and all of creation.
Prayer intentions – Let us pray for LGBTQI+ activists and advocates, and all other individuals working and struggling for justice and equality in our world. Let us pray for strength, guidance, and protection for all of them and their organizations. Let us pray for all communities, organizations, and networks of organizations in the LGBTQI+ movement, and all other human rights organizations. May the Holy Spirit inspire us and challenge us to participate in the wider work of God’s justice and peace in our country and the world.
Ptr: God, come to our assistance
P: Holy Spirit, make haste to help us. AMEN.
2: Orosa Street Corner Nakpil – Gathering in a Safe Space
F: We adore you oh Christ and we praise you
P: Because by your life, death, and resurrection, you have opened God’s love for all. By your cross, you have shown us a way towards justice and peace rooted in love.
–
Mark 14:22-26
While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
–
Jesus gathered around him people who were “no-bodies” in Jewish society. Some of them were rejects. He ate and gathered with those whom the government and temple deemed impure or unacceptable.
We gather today in the way of the cross to remember our queer ancestors, elders, and forebearers in this place. Rejected and unacceptable people gathered here every weekend a long time ago. In this place they encountered and experienced friendship, love, and some space for freedom. They gathered here where friends can dance, sing, laugh, and tell stories freely. In some ways, this place served as their “church” on a Friday or Saturday night when all other churches did not want them. Some of us experienced the “church” of Orosa-Nakpil. Inabutan pa natin. Yung iba sa atin maaring hindi na inabutan or ni hindi man lang narinig ang tungkol dito. Baka ang naranasan at nalaman nyo na ay ang church of Nectar, Obar, or Rapture or even Palawan. We gather here to remember our ancestors and perhaps our own memories of gathering. Let us try to listen in remembrance of the echoes of the past – the music, the laughter, the joyful festivities. Let us pause for a moment of silence.
In the memory of Christ and the memory of our ancestors and elders, may we continue the work of offering and sustaining safe spaces for our queer people.
Prayer Intentions: Let us remember all our queer friends and lovers, elders and ancestors – both the living and those who are now with God. In a special way, we remember Pastor Egay Constantino, Kuya Michael Mia, and Choi Discipulo, and now Fr. Richard Mickley. We pray for guidance and blessing upon Open Table MCC – a church for LGBTQI+ Filipinos. We pray for all MCC churches around the world to continue the work of safe space, proclaiming God’s love, and participating in justice work. We pray and remember all MCC members, leaders, and pastors, past and present, and look forward to new members, leaders, and pastors in our future and continuing story. Let us pray for other organizations and communities that offer a safe space of acceptance for our queer sisters, brothers, and siblings.
F: God, come to our assistance
P: Holy Spirit, make haste to help us. AMEN.
3: Letran Chapel – Judas Iscariot
F: We adore you oh Christ and we praise you
P: Because by your life, death, and resurrection, you have opened God’s love for all. By your cross, you have shown us a way towards justice and peace rooted in love.
–
Mark 14:43-45
Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; and with him, there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, ‘The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.’ So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, ‘Rabbi!’ and kissed him.
–
Betrayal: Have you ever experienced betrayal by a friend, family member, or anyone whom you trusted? What was it like? How painful was it? How much damage was done? Jesus experienced the painful human reality of betrayal by the one he trusted the most; not just any betrayal, but betrayal that leads to his torture and death.
Since the National elections of 2016, we have been betrayed by those whom we have worked with or looked up to in human rights and justice work. We have former human rights lawyers and LGBTQI+ activists who now support and work for the people, groups, and institutions they once fought against. Even within the LGBTQIA+ movement, there are those who have betrayed our community and its cause.
We ask ourselves, what happened? What is their reason? Why did they abandon and betrayed their many years of work in human rights advocacy? Why did they turn against their sector, community, or movement? In a personal way, we also experience betrayal from lovers, friends, and family members. Maybe, you also betrayed someone in the past, or have broken their trust?
No matter how much we try to make sense of betrayal, there will be no satisfactory explanation. Betrayal does not and will never make sense.
Prayer Intentions: If anyone of us have betrayed our loyalty, relationship or the trust placed upon us, we pray for forgiveness and redemption. In remembering the betrayal of Judas and the betrayal of our friends, may God help us to guard our hearts and actions to never betray the trust of our friends, loved ones, allies, fellow activists, and advocates now and moving forward. We pray that the Spirit of God will speak ever so loudly to those who betrayed their people and the justice movement. May God give us the strength to always uphold the integrity and trust of all our relationships, professions, ministries, and advocacies. When the time comes may the same Christ who forgave Judas give us the courage and inner strength to forgive those who have betrayed us.
F: God, come to our assistance
P: Holy Spirit, make haste to help us. AMEN.
4: Manila Cathedral – The Trial of Jesus Before the Religious Council
F: We adore you oh Christ and we praise you
P: Because by your life, death, and resurrection, you have opened God’s love for all. By your cross, you have shown us a way towards justice and peace rooted in love.
–
Mark 14:61-64
But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’ Jesus said, ‘I am; and
“you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power”, and
“coming with the clouds of heaven.” ’
Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘Why do we still need witnesses? You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?’ All of them condemned him as deserving death
–
LGBTQI+: You are an abomination. You are sick. You are unclean. You have a mental problem. You are disgusting. You are worse than an animal. You are not human. You deserve to be stoned to death.
This is where the Jesus story is closest to us, the queer tribe, the LGBTQI+ Community. How dare we say that we are also children of God. We too are empowered by God through Jesus Christ. How dare we proclaim that our sexuality is a gift and integral to our spirituality? The many High Priests and religious councils have condemned us and continue to do so for what they regard as our blasphemy. Like Jesus, they are angered for according to them we are leading people into heresy and hellfire. And not just queer people, how many of those who claim to be Christ-followers and who speak for Christ, try their best to convert or excommunicate anyone who opposes their legalistic dogmas, canons, and rigid laws?
Like Christ, we are condemned by the very churches we so dearly love. Yet, Jesus has shown us that God is not found in the Cathedrals of rejection and in the Basilicas of hate gilded in gold, or mega-churches with state-of-the-art technology that preach bigotry. Nonetheless, we pray for those who condemn us. We pray for the day that these cathedral walls will themselves loudly proclaim the goodness and beauty of every LGBTQI+ child. We pray that the stones of this temple will eventually cry out for justice and love.
Jesus died for those of us in the margins. Jesus lives on in the communities of inclusion and radical love. Jesus lives in Open Table MCC and MCC churches across the world. Jesus lives in every safe space that accepts queer people. Jesus lives in every organization that works for justice and equality. Jesus is with us in this queer pilgrimage. Jesus is here, now, and with us always.
Prayer Intentions: Let us pray for our LGBTQI Community and every person persecuted because of bigotry, racism, intolerance, and stigma, including people living with HIV and AIDS. May God bring enlightenment to our churches, society, and government for the acceptance, protection, and celebration of human diversity. May God instill in each one of us the commitment to upholding the life and dignity of every human being, and all of creation; for though we are diverse and many, we are all connected and one.
F: God, come to our assistance
P: Holy Spirit, make haste to help us. AMEN.
5: World War II Peace Memorial – “Crucify Him!”
F: We adore you oh Christ and we praise you
P: Because by your life, death, and resurrection, you have opened God’s love for all. By your cross, you have shown us a way towards justice and peace rooted in love.
–
Luke 23:20-23
Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again; but they kept shouting, ‘Crucify, crucify him!’ A third time he said to them, ‘Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him.’ But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified, and their voices prevailed.
VIOLENCE: We reject peace and peacemakers as individuals, as a society, and as a human race. As individuals, we give into our anger and hatred by hurting not only our enemies but even those whom we claim to love. As a society, we give into our collective fear and hatred and therefore kill the prophets and the peacemakers of our time – human rights activists, environmentalists, doctors of the barrios, LGBTQI+ advocates, peace mediators, and human rights lawyers. As a human race, we allow greed to wreck nations and peoples through the business of war and arms trade. We allow war and global violence because of empire-building and global dominance. We idolize and emulate tyrants and dictators. We praise their violence against humanity as a form of strength. We are unaffected by the slaughter of the poor, the innocents, and those who are different. By these actions, we have rejected peace and the Prince of peace by choosing the way of blood. May our hearts cry in repentance. May our tears transform our lives, our societies, and the world.
Prayer Intentions: Let us pray for the places of war, conflict, and occupation in our country and our world. Let us pray for the continuing violence in our country; violence against the farmers and indigenous peoples. We pray for the people of Ukraine and the ordinary Russian soldiers forced to fight a war they have nothing to do with. We pray for the liberation of the Palestinian people and their land. We pray for the continuing war in Syria and Yemen. The many places of conflict in Africa especially in Sudan. We pray for the Rohingya people being persecuted. We pray and cry out with and for all people under attack. May we all stand up for genuine peace rooted in justice.
F: God, come to our assistance
P: Holy Spirit, make haste to help us. AMEN.
6: Maguindanao Massacre Memorial – Scourging
F: We adore you oh Christ and we praise you
P: Because by your life, death, and resurrection, you have opened God’s love for all. By your cross, you have shown us a way towards justice and peace rooted in love.
–
Luke 23:14-24
Pilate said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people, and here I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of any of your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us. Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death. I will therefore have him flogged and release him.” Then they all shouted out together, “Away with this fellow! Release Barabbas for us!” (This was a man who had been put in prison for an insurrection that had taken place in the city, and for murder.) Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again; but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” A third time he said to them, “Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him.” But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified, and their voices prevailed. So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted.
–
Truth and Truth-Tellers: Prophets continue to speak in our world today. Prophets who speak truth to power and hold them accountable. Prophets from various sectors and places who challenge the rulers and principalities of this world. Prophets who dare to bare expose the systems of power in this world. The Philippines has always ranked as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists and human rights activists. As of the days of old, so it is today, prophets are hunted down and martyred. Anyone who speaks-up to expose corruption, exploitation, and injustice will be liquidated. Jesus himself in the spirit and tradition of the prophets was tortured and killed for speaking up against the powers and principalities of his time. If we are followers of the Truth, may we speak as he did and also become prophets of today; prophets who denounce injustice and oppression, and testify to God’s enduring love for the poor and the oppressed.
Prayer intentions: We pray for the families of the Maguindanao Massacre Victims, and countless other families of other journalists and activists murdered in our country and around the world. We pray for the Spirit of Truth to strengthen and widen our efforts to resist and combat disinformation and misinformation wherever they are proclaimed and whoever peddles them.
Ptr: God, come to our assistance
P: Holy Spirit, make haste to help us. AMEN.
7: Chinese Cross by the Road – The Carrying of the Cross
F: We adore you oh Christ and we praise you
P: Because by your life, death, and resurrection, you have opened God’s love for all. By your cross, you have shown us a way towards justice and peace rooted in love.
–
John 19:16-17
Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.
THE CROSS: What are the crosses that this world has made you carry? Is it shame or guilt, or self-hatred, unkindness, discontent, gossip, judgment, prejudice or thinking too highly of yourself? What other crosses do you have – perhaps trauma, physical limitations, mental health conditions, some form of clinical addiction or addictive behavior, your HIV status or other health conditions? How about being a bread winner for your family as your cross or being a parent? Caring for aging parents or a sibling with special needs? Perhaps the cross that is Open Table MCC?
The struggle to carry love, to carry hope, to carry and walk with humility, the cross of kindness, the cross of forgiving one’s self and others, the cross of self-worth, the cross of friendship, the cross of prayer and silence, carrying the cross of community, carrying the cross of ministry and justice work?
Why do you carry shame, self-hatred, or the glorification of pain? Why do you carry the opinion of others over you? Why do you carry bitterness or resentment?
There are crosses that we must not only carry but carry them with love – The cross of community, the cross of advocacy, the cross of loving one’s self and others, the cross of service and generosity, the cross of personal and social transformation.
And there are cross that we need to surrender to Christ – the cross of self-hatred and shame, the cross of traumas and woundedness, the cross of hurtful attitudes and behaviors, the cross of selfishness and greed.
Prayer Intentions: Let us pray for those of us who need to burn the cross of arrogance, shame, selfish pride, resentment, greed, and self-hatred. Let us pray for those who carry many crosses in their lives. Let us pray for our Church community which carries the cross of an inclusive and progressive faith. Let us pray for leaders of various LGBTQI+ organizations who carry the cross of moving the work forward. In a special way, let us pray for Rev. Joseph who, together with the board, carries the cross of our mission as an LGBTQI+ affirming church. Let us pray for the many poor and oppressed who carry the daily cross of injustice and poverty in our country and the world. May God through Christ, help us carry our crosses and of one another and surrender the crosses of selfishness and hatred.
Ptr: God, come to our assistance
P: Holy Spirit, make haste to help us. AMEN.
Renewal of Ministry: As we remember the cross of Christ in our personal and communal crosses, let us renew God’s calling to love and serve our people, specially our queer people:
ALL: Baptized and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are called to love and serve one another specially the least, the lost, and the last among us. We renew our commitment to respond to the longings and hurts of our people, specially, LGBTQA+ Filipinos. As a priesthood of all believers, we commit to create and sustain a safe space for all, to proclaim God’s inclusive love through Jesus, and to participate in God’s wider work of justice in our country and the world. Most of all, we renew our commitment to love God by loving each other as we love ourselves. In the name of all that is loving and holy and in Jesus Christ whom we follow. Amen.
(Pastor anoints each one with the Chrism oil.)
Pastoral Ministry Renewal: As someone called from among the priesthood of all believers of Open Table MCC and one who came from the school of prophets, I renew my commitment in the ordained ministry to bless, sanctify, and pray for the people of God, specially God’s queer people. I renew my commitment to teach and preach, and to equip God’s people for the work of safe space, proclamation of love, and participation in justice work. I renew my commitment to speak prophetically wherever and whenever injustice happens. I renew my commitment to be held accountable by the community of faith that I serve and the MCC denomination with whom I am licensed and ordained. I renew my commitment to lead and serve with fellow leaders and volunteers. Lastly, I renew my commitment as pastor, priest, and prophet to love God by loving people as I love myself, even those that are most difficult to love. In the name of all that is holy and loving and in Jesus Christ whom I follow. Amen.
(Each participant anoints the Pastor in the forehead or in the hands.)
Lunch in one of the Binondo Restaurants
Prayer before meals:
F: Dakilang May Likha, patuloy nyo pong basbasan ang aming banal na paglalakbay na ito at ang aming pagsasama.
Salamat sa pagkaing aming tatanggapin at kakainin. Salamat sa mga kamay na nagluto at naghanda. Salamat sa mga kamay na maglilinis pagkatapos naming kumain. Salamat sa bawat magsasaka, mangingisda at iba pang mga taong nagdulot na kami ay makakain sa tanghaliang ito. Basbasan nyo silang lahat na syang dahilan para kami ay makakain ngayon. Basbasan nyo ang aming kakanin para sa kalakasan ng aming katawan, isip at kaluluwa.
Hangad namin na dumating ang araw na ang lahat ay may kakainin ng sapat at kasiyasiya. Sa pangalan ni Hesus na kumain kasama ang kanyang mga kaibigan. Amen.
8: Sta Cruz Church – Simon of Cyrene
F: We adore you oh Christ and we praise you
P: Because by your life, death, and resurrection, you have opened God’s love for all. By your cross, you have shown us a way towards justice and peace rooted in love.
–
Mark 15:20-22
After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull).
–
No one carries their crosses alone. No one suffers alone even if it feels that way. Even Jesus had a Simon of Cyrene who help carry his cross. There are those who have come our way to help carry the burden and the weight of our crosses. Hopefully, we have also help carry the cross of others in their own struggles and burdens. Who are the man Simons who have helped you and supported you in your greatest trials and tribulations? When was the time that you were a Simon for others? How can we be a Simon to one another in our church community of Open Table MCC? How can we be a Simon to our friends and family? How can we be a Simon to the many faces of Jesus among the poor, the homeless, the hungry, and the exploited?
Prayer Intentions: Let us pray for Open Table Metropolitan Community Church. A Community is an organic and dynamic multilayered relationship of people with a shared struggle, shared joy, and a shared commitment therefore we pray for our Church community for the strength and the resolve to collectively share in our blessings and in our mission to maintain and sustain a safe space; our mission to proclaim God’s radically inclusive love; and try our very best to participate in the work of justice in our world. In a special way pray for the upcoming project we have with Free To Be Me and HIVOS, for our new Multi-purpose learning center and Pride Cares that will expand our reach and our ministry specially for our LGBTQI+ sisters, brothers, and siblings.
F: God, come to our assistance
P: Holy Spirit, make haste to help us. AMEN.
9: Quiapo Church – Nailed to the Cross
F: We adore you oh Christ and we praise you
P: Because by your life, death, and resurrection, you have opened God’s love for all. By your cross, you have shown us a way towards justice and peace rooted in love.
–
Matthew 27:33-35
And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots;
–
WOUNDED HEALERS: How many times have we experienced being crucified by our loved ones? How many times have we been crucified? How many times have we crucified others intentionally or unintentionally?
Following after the example of Christ, may we forgive those who nailed us to the cross, and likewise, may we seek sincere forgiveness from those we have crucified. May the same crucifixion transform ourselves, those we have hurt, and those who have hurt us. May the cross of the One who gave all for love become our example, our guide, and the source of our power to change ourselves and the world. Wounded by others, especially by those whom we love the most, may our wounds become God’s channel of healing and restoration.
Prayer Intentions: We pray that the world will change through the changing of every heart and mind. We pray that the cycle of woundedness and hurt will cease. We also pray for those who are physically sick and injured, especially those who are terminally ill. We pray for all medical front liners and other hospital staff, especially those medical professional who are serving in public hospitals and distant places among the farmers and indigenous peoples. We pray for those who have died last night and those who are dying at this very moment, especially those who are dying alone. In this life or the next, may they feel the healing grace and the loving embrace of God. For every other person who need God’s comfort, healing, and liberation.
F: God, come to our assistance
P: Holy Spirit, make haste to help us. AMEN.
10: San Sebastian Church – Mothers and Marys
F: We adore you oh Christ and we praise you
P: Because by your life, death, and resurrection, you have opened God’s love for all. By your cross, you have shown us a way towards justice and peace rooted in love.
–
John 19:25b
Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene.
MOTHERS: Let us remember our mothers, especially those who have loved us and fully accepted our sexualities or gender identities. Mothers who nurtured us and those who will fight for us if needed. The mothers and other women who will stand by our side in the most painful or difficult times. We also know that not all mothers are accepting and welcoming. Some of us and many more in our queer community have been rejected and even hurt not just by fathers and siblings but by the very womb that carried them. But mothers and children are not just by blood but also by choice. Let us remember our chosen mothers and fathers, and the parents who chose us; gay mamas, lesbian mothers, trans-nanays, fathers who are also mothers; every person who embody motherhood, and those who show us the nurturing nature of God. May we also choose to become mothers to care and nurture our queer children.
Prayer Intention: Let us pray for all mothers who have been loving and caring. The mothers who are now in their old age. Let us remember the mothers who are no longer with us but whose lives were an expression of God’s maternal love. Let us pray for all queer mothers, especially mothers of choice.
F: God our mother, come to our assistance
P: Holy Spirit, make haste to help us. AMEN
(15 to 30 minute break)
11: Hospicio De San Jose – Death of Jesus
F: We adore you oh Christ and we praise you
P: Because by your life, death, and resurrection, you have opened God’s love for all. By your cross, you have shown us a way towards justice and peace rooted in love.
–
Mark 15:33-37
When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah.” And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.
–
Though perfect, though God, though existing in eternal joy, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. God wants to be in an intimate relationship with us, became like us in our brokenness and in every human way except in sin. And greater still was the act of giving his life in the most terrible and excruciating death, death on the Cross. He came to his own people, to the whole of humanity. He came bringing a message and a way of love. But his people rejected him. The empire demanded blood; human violence demanded a sacrifice as it always did, and so no less than the Child of God was given unto the altar of human violence to show us the face of our hatred. Christ through the Cross showed what the love of God truly meant. Christ, through the cross showed us what it means to love one another.
We remember God’s love through Christ in this place – Hospicio de San Jose – a place of the abandoned and the forgotten but also a place of love and welcome. It is the most oppressed peoples – the abandoned young and the forgotten elderly – and all exploited and oppressed peoples that Christ gave himself to crucifixion.
The Crucified One, calls us to his cross
The Crucified One, calls us to his love
Come let us fall in worship and silence
Come let us commit ourselves to the love that is willing to be crucified.
It is for the most vulnerable that Jesus lived and struggled, was tortured and killed in the most painful and shameful death. It is for the abandoned children of every age that Jesus envisioned a world where they can be happy, free, loved, and realize their fullest potential. We remember the crucifixion of Jesus that showed the immeasurable depth and width of God’s love, but most especially God’s love for the many abandoned, traumatized, hungry, and murdered children of our world.
(No Prayer Intention. Just a moment of silence)
F: by your Cross, we offer all that we are, all our brokenness, and all the prayers. We join our hearts with the prayers of all those who cry out to you, loving God.
P: And we commit our hearts, minds, and lives to the work of Christ’s cross and the hope of the resurrection.
F: God, come to our assistance
P: Holy Spirit, make haste to help us. AMEN.
12: St. Michael’s Church – The Veil Was Torn
F: We adore you oh Christ and we praise you
P: Because by your life, death, and resurrection, you have opened God’s love for all. By your cross, you have shown us a way towards justice and peace rooted in love.
–
Mark 15:37-39
Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”
GOD’s LOVE OPENED AND THE HOPE OF NEW LIFE: Though the powers of the temple and empire tried to kill and silence you, your love cannot be killed nor silenced. The innermost and holiest place bursts open at the very moment of your death. The earth itself shook upon your passing. Both the holiest place and the very ground itself will not be silenced. Jesus Christ, giving all yourself for love, you have opened for us the grace and presence of God. Not that it has ever been withheld by God, but it was veiled and indeed walled by human institutions and systems of oppression. It has been separated by our individual and collective barriers and boxes. By your love, you have shown us a way. By your death on the cross, you have dismantled the old priesthood, and by your blood, you have opened up once and forever the power, grace, and life of God for all of creation. You invite us by the open temple, the very heart of God saying “Come, taste and see… all are welcome. All are loved.”
Ptr: Jesus, God’s love made flesh
P: We Trust in you
13: St. Jude Church – Burial
F: We adore you oh Christ and we praise you
P: Because by your life and by your death, you have opened God’s love for all. By your cross, you have shown us a way towards justice and peace rooted in love.
–
Mark 15:43-46
Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time. When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.
We enter into the tomb burying the part of ourselves that need to die. We enter the tomb carrying the grace of God that has been opened for all of us. We enter into the silence of the tomb with Christ who suffered and died. We now enter the tomb with the promise and assurance of the new life to come and the light that will break at dawn. The tomb and its darkness hold us like our mother’s womb, preparing and forming us for a new life. We who have died with Christ enter his tomb. We who died with Christ shall rise with him and come out transformed. We shall rise as individual persons and as a community. We shall rise with the glorious light of Easter morning.
F: In the womb of the earth he was taken
P: From the depths he rose on the 3rd day, carrying us all into the glory of God.
Debriefing:
- Kumusta ang experience na ito ng kakaibang Bisita Iglesia? What did you like about this pilgrimage? What did you not like?
- For those who are attending the 2nd time (if any) what was different this time, kung meron man?
- Any learning or lesson you will carry with you in your personal life?
14: Mendiola Gate – The End is the Beginning. Jesus Waits for Us in Galilee.
F: We adore you oh Christ and we praise you
P: Because by your life and by your death, you have opened God’s love for all. By your cross, you have shown us a way towards justice and peace rooted in love.
–
Mark 16:1-8
When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
In the gospel of Mark, the resurrected Jesus was not seen or heard but a young man tells Mary Magdalene and the other women to proclaim his resurrection. They were told that his followers should go back to Galilee for there the Risen Christ is already waiting for them.
The story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is not just a story of the past. It is a living story always happening and occurring in each of our lives and in the lives of those who chose to follow him in the many Galilees of our country and the world where many of us, like the women, are afraid to go.
What is your Jesus story? What is your place in the living story of Christ? Where is Christ waiting for you?
In this place, Mediola, where protesting farmers were wounded and killed; in this place, where countless protests for justice, equality, and peace have occurred, our ritual pilgrimage ends and our new journey of faith and love begins. The risen Christ, calls us and waits for us to serve and love again.
Let us end as we have begun:
MCC Statement of Faith
F: Metropolitan Community Churches is one chapter in the story of the Church, the Body of Christ.
P: We are people on a journey, learning to live into our spirituality while affirming our bodies, our genders, and our sexualities.
F: We don’t all believe exactly the same things.
P: And yet in the midst of our diversity, we build community, grounded in God’s radically inclusive love for all people.
F: We are part of an ongoing conversation on matters of belief and faith,
P: shaped by scripture and the historic creeds, building on those who have come before us. Our chapter begins when God says to us: “Come, taste, and see.”
F: “Come, taste, and see.” Jesus Christ, You invite all people to Your open table.
P: You make us Your people, a beloved community. You restore the joy of our relationship with God, even in the midst of loneliness, despair, and degradation. We are each unique and we all belong, a priesthood of all believers. Baptized and filled with Your Holy Spirit, You empower us to be Your healing presence in a hurting world.
F: We expect to see Your reign on earth
P: as it is in heaven as we work toward a world where everyone has enough, wars cease, and all creation lives in harmony. We affirm Your charge to all of humanity to care for the land, sea, and air. Therefore, we will actively resist systems and structures which are destroying Your creation
F: With all of creation we worship You
P: —every tribe, every language, every people, every nation. We know You by many names, Triune God, beyond comprehension, revealed to us in Jesus Christ, who invites us to the feast. Amen.
Closing Benediction
F: God be with you
P: and Also with you
F: Receive God’s Blessing: Patuloy nawa tayong samahan ni Hesu Kristong, ating Panginoon sa lahat ng ating nagpapatuloy na paglalakbay sa buhay na ito. Masumpungan nawa natin ang kanyang mukha sa bawat isa lalong-lalo na sa mga kapwa na ang tanging pag-asa ay siya.
Nawa sa paglalakbay natin, patuloy tayong gabayan ng Diwang Banal at pag-alabin sa ating mga puso ang pag-ibig at paglilingkod sa iba at mga aba.
Nawa bitbitin natin palagi ang pag-ibig at grasya ng Dakilang Maylikha saan man tayo naroroon at sino man ang ating makahalubilo.
At pagpalain nawa kayo ng mapagmahal at makapangyarihang – Bathala, Anak at Espirito Santo, iisang Diyos, ngayong at magpakailanman.
Amen.
Our ritual pilgrimage is over but our journey of faith, hope, and love continues. Go and love God by loving others as you love yourself. Jesus journeys with you everywhere and always.
