[Compiled from dozens of Resurrection Mass programs of deceased members of PAX and others in 2010.]
Readings (from the Inclusive Bible – The First Egalitarian Translation ©2007 by Priests for Equality)
First Reading – Old Testament: The Hebrew Scriptures (in their Scriptural order)
Genesis 17 – “I (Yahweh) will make a covenant between you (Abraham) and me. . .”
Job 19: 1, 23-26 – “For I know that my Redeemer lives . . . though this body has been destroyed, I will see God.”
Psalm 18 – “Yahweh, you set everything right again because I was just. . . O God, your way is perfect; your promise proves true: you are a shield for all who take refuge in you.”
Psalm 23 – “Yahweh, you are my shepherd – I want nothing more. You let me lie down in green meadows . . . only goodness and love will follow me . . . I will dwell in your house. . .”
Psalm 25 – “To you, Yahweh I lift up my soul. . . I trust in you. . . Show me your ways. . .”
Psalm 27 – “One thing I ask of you, Yahweh . . . that I may dwell in your house all the days of my life . . . Hear me when I call, have mercy on me and answer me!”
Psalm 34: 1-10 – “I will bless Yahweh always; praise will continually be on my lips! Glorify Yahweh with me . . . Taste and see how good Yahweh is!”
Psalm 139: 1-18 – “Yahweh you know me. . . You created my inmost being and stitched me together in my mother’s womb.”
Proverbs 31:10-15, 26-31 – “What is worth more than a strong and loving wife? She is more precious than jewels; her husband’s heart trusts in her. . .”
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-11/or 12 – “There is a time for everything, a season for every purpose under heaven: a season to be born and a season to die. . .”
Ecclesiastes 5: 18-20 – “How good, how lovely . . . to embrace everything that comes to us! If we embrace whatever comes, we never need to brood over the shortness of life . . . for God will keep our hearts filled with joy.”
Song of Songs 2 – “I hear my Beloved, see how he comes leaping on the mountains. . . My Beloved is mine and I am his. . .”
Wisdom 3: 1-6, 9 – “But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no affliction will ever touch them.. . .those who are faithful will dwell in God’s love.”
Wisdom 4: 7-15 – (young person’s death) “But those who are just, even when they die prematurely, will be at peace. . .in a very short time, they achieved the same perfection as those who have lived a long life.”
Isaiah 40:28-31 – “Yahweh is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth . . . God gives strength to the weary, and empowers the powerless . . . they soar on eagles’ wings, they walk and never tire.”
Isaiah 61: 1-3 – “God has sent me to bring good news to those who are poor; to heal broken hearts; to proclaim release to those in prison. . .” Isaiah 65: 17-25 (compassion & vision for social justice) “I am about to create new heavens and a new earth. . . . no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it. . . at last they will live in the houses they build, and eat the fruit they plant. . .the wolf and the lamb will feed side by side. . .”
Lamentations 3: 17-26 – “There is no peace in my life . . . the Most High is good to those who hope in God, to all who seek God’s presence.”
Micah 6: 8 – “What Yahweh asks of you: to act justly, love tenderly, walk humbly with your God.”
Responsorial (Read)
Isaiah 60: 1-4 – “Arise, shine, for your light has come! The glory of Yahweh is rising upon you!”
Psalm 23 – “Yahweh, you are my shepherd – I want nothing more . . . you lead me beside restful waters: you refresh my soul.”
Psalm 34: 1-10 – “I will bless Yahweh always; praise will continually be on my lips! Glorify Yahweh with me . . .”
Psalm 100 – “Acclaim Yahweh with joy, all the earth! Serve Yahweh with gladness! . . . for Yahweh is good; God’s steadfast love endures forever. . .”
Psalm 121 – “I lift my eyes to the mountains – from where will my help come? My help comes from Yahweh . . .”
Psalm 139 – “Yahweh you’ve searched me, and you know me . . . you created my inmost being and stitched me together in my mother’s womb. . .”
Second Reading (optional) – New Testament or Alternate Secular Reading (see Secular Readings and Poems)
Romans 8: 14-23 – “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God . . . I consider the suffering of the present to be nothing compared with the glory that will be revealed in us . . .”
Romans 8: 31-35, 37-39 – “If God is for us, who can be against us? . . . I am certain that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons – nor anything else in all creation – will be able to separate us from the love of God that comes to us in Christ Jesus, our Savior.”
1 Corinthians 13: 1-8, 13 – “Even if I can speak in all the tongues of earth . . . but do not have love, I am just a noisy gong . . . Love is patient; love is kind. Love is not jealous, it does not put on airs . . . there are, in the end, three things that last: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
2 Corinthians 5: 1, 6-10 – “For we know, there is waiting for us a house built by God . . . so we are always full of confidence . . . we walk by faith, not by sight . . . we make our home with Christ . . . each of us will get what we deserve for the things we do while in the body, good or bad.”
Philippians 2: 1-13 – “If our life in Christ means anything to you . . . then be united in your love . . . value others over yourselves, each of you thinking of the interests of others before your own. Your attitude must be the same at that of Christ Jesus . . .”
Philippians 3: 10-16 – “All I want is to know Christ, and the power of the resurrection, . . . My entire attention is on the finish line as I run toward the prize – the high calling of God in Jesus . . .”
Philippians 4: 6-9 – “Dismiss all anxiety from your minds, present your needs to God through prayer and petition. Then God’s own peace, which is beyond all understanding . . . your thoughts should be directed to all that is true, all that deserves respect, all that is honest, pure, decent, admirable . . .”
1 Thessalonians 1: 1-5 – “You are proving your faith by your actions, laboring in love, and showing constancy of hope in our Savior Jesus Christ . . .”
1 Thessalonians 5: 13b – 18 – “Live in peace with each other . . . always seek what is good for each other – and for all people. Rejoice always, pray constantly, and give thanks for everything – for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
2 Timothy 3: 10; 4: 6-8 – “As for me, my life is already being poured out . . . I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith . . .”
1 John 3: 1-2 – “See what love God has lavished on us in letting us be called God’s children . . . the reason the world does not recognize us is that it never recognized God. . . we know that when it comes to light we will be like God, for we will see God as God really is.”
1 John 4: 11-12, 16-18 – “If God has loved us so, we must have the same love for one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet if we love one another, God dwells in us . . . God is love and those who abide in love abide in God and God in them.”
Revelations 21: 1-7 or 2-7 – “Then I saw new heavens and a new earth. . . The One said Look I’m making everything new! . . . I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End . . . I will be their God and they will be my daughters and sons.”
Gospel
Matthew 5: 1-12a -The Beatitudes, “Blessed are those who are poor in spirit: the kingdom of heaven is theirs.”
Matthew 11: 25-30 or 28-30 – “Come to me, all you who labor and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 19: 13-15 – “Small children were brought to Jesus. . . Let the children come to me. The kindom (not a typo) of heaven belongs to such as these.”
Matthew 25: 34-40 – “For I was hungry and you gave me food. . . The truth is, every time you did this for the least of my sisters and brothers, you did it to me.”
Luke 10: 25-37 – “What must I do to inherit everlasting life? You must love God with all your heart, with all your soul . . . and your neighbor as yourself. Who is my neighbor? . . . Which of these three was the neighbor to the traveler? The one who showed compassion. Then go and do the same.”
Luke 13: 18-19 – “What does the kindom of God resemble? . . . Story of mustard seed/ yeast.”
Luke 24: 1-10 – “The women came to the tomb . . . didn’t find the body of Jesus. . . Jesus is not here; Christ has risen.”
John 11: 17- 27, or 21-27 – “Lazarus . . . I am the Resurrection, and I am Life: those who believe in me will live, even if they die.”
John 12:23-26 – “Unless a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies. . . Anyone who wants to work for me must follow in my footsteps.”
John 14: 1-6, (18-20) – “In God’s house there are many dwelling places; I will come back to take you with me . . . I myself am the Way – I am Truth, and I am Life.”
John 14: 1-3, 27-28 – “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. . .”
John 20: 26-29 – “Don’t persist in your unbelief, but believe . . . My Savior and my God!”