Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
3411 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, S.E.
Washington, DC 20032

Saturday Vigil Mass: 4:30 pm
Sunday Mass: 10:00 am
Daily Mass: Monday thru Saturday 12:10 pm
Eucharistic Adoration: Monday , Wednesday, Friday 11:00 - 12:00 noon
Confessions:
Address:
Saturday 3:30 - 4:15 pm, Wednesday 11:00 – 12:00 noon
or anytime by appointment
3401 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, S.E.
Washington, DC 20032
Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday
9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Tuesday 1:00pm to 5:00 pm
Pastor: Father Greg Shaffer
202-561-4178 Cell 240-463-9960
Email: frgreg@assumptiondc.org
Secretary: Mrs. Cheryl Hamlin-Williams
Phone: 202-561-4178 Fax 202-561-0336
Email: info@assumptiondc.org
Pope Francis
Outreach Center : Food Pantry and Clothing Room
Director: Ms. Mildred Brown
Assistant Director Ms. Brenda Hare
Hours of Operation: Monday, Wednesday, Friday
9:00 am - 12:00 noon
Phone : 202-561-5941 Fax 202-561-4024
Website: www.assumptionchurchdc.org/outreach
Email outreach@assumptiondc.org

January 3, 2016
Here are excerpts from an excellent, Biblical reflection on the event of the Epiphany from catholicmom.com. Enjoy!
Up until now, all has been quite humble. A donkey-ride to a dusty town south of
Jerusalem. Hotel rooms all booked up. Giving birth in a stable and laying the baby in an animal’s feed trough instead of a cozy cradle.
Into this scene of obscure poverty suddenly bursts an exotic entourage from a far-off land. Dignitaries in dress uniform lavish the newborn with expensive gifts that seem out of place in the humble surroundings.
This event is so significant that it is accorded its own feast in the Roman liturgy, celebrated traditionally on Jan 6, immediately after the twelve days of Christmas.
This solemn feast is called Epiphany, a word that means “manifestation” or
“appearance.”
For a fleeting moment, what seems to be no more than another crying baby of an indigent family “appears” for who He really is–the King of Kings and the Lord of
Lords. The gifts he is given, prophesied in Isaiah 60:6, tell the story: gold fit for a king, incense for the worship of God, and myrrh, bitter yet precious, for the hero who will lay down his life for his people.
There are several important things to note about these prestigious visitors. They are
Gentiles, not Jews. From the very beginning of his human existence, then, Jesus is clearly not just the Jewish messiah who has come to deliver the people of Israel from foreign oppression. No, he is the universal king, the ruler of all, who has come to tear down the hostile wall dividing Jew from Gentile, nation from nation.

If you’ve ever wondered what the word “Catholic” means, here we have it. Derived from Greek words meaning “according to the whole,” it means that Christ did not come to establish some local religious sect for a select few, one “cult” among many.
No, the Church he founded is “catholic” or universal, spread over the whole world, welcoming the whole human race into one nation, one family, under one King.
Something else is to be noted about these illustrious visitors. As Gentiles, they are pagans. In fact the term “Magi” is clearly linked to the word “magic.” It was not in the Bible that they normally looked for wisdom (otherwise they would have known to go straight to Bethlehem). But in reward for their ardent though perhaps misguided search for truth, God led them to Christ anyhow, in His great mercy…
St. Justin said that there are “seeds of the Word” scattered throughout the world. But seeds are meant to sprout, grow, and bear fruit. Hearing the full gospel and partaking in all the means of grace are ordinarily needed to make that happen. All peoples of the world have a right to this “Catholic” fullness. And it is our obligation to share it.
Paul VI said it well: “others may be able to be saved without hearing the gospel, but can we be saved if we neglect to preach it?”
This column is offered as a reflection on the scripture readings for the Feast of the
Epiphany, cycles ABC (Is 60:1-6; Ps 72; Eph 3:2-3; 5-6; Mt 2:1-12 ) , and appears here by permission of the author.
Copyright 2015 Marcellino D’Ambrosio, Ph.D.
Christ is born!
Fr Greg

: Lillian Taylor, Calvin Best, Tracy
Stachitis, Veronica Brown, Michael Taylor, Deacon McBurnett
Smith, Marsha Carlson-Meyers, Juanita Thomas, Margaret Ross, Dr.
Dee Jones Adams, Barry Robella, Father Dan Vitz, Eleonora Best,
Jane Rhyne, Faye Lyon, Abby Fargo, Mildred Selmar, Heather
Wooten-Rollins, Brenda Newman, Malek Elloit, Kennedy Wood,
Courtney Barlow, LaVerne Lane, Christine Jones, Benjamin Davis,
Ronald Horton, Madison McKenzie, Jamil McKenzie, Samuel
James Guadalupe, Shawntrice Moore, Bridget Barlow, Veronica
Harris, Teresa Wilkinson, Sherri Ewing, Pauline Haggins, Dorothy
Sylvester , Adrena Taylor, Tiffany Jacobs, Darlene Jones, Paul Higgins, Audrey Saunders,
Pauline Johnson
Our Homebound Parishioners : Mary Cooke, Sybil Depeazer, Muriel Dunmore,
Louvenia Gray, Fr. Charles Green, Pauline Johnson, Yvonne Samuel, Audrey Saunders,
Joan Shields, Elizabeth Smith, Viola Walker
O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth:
Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, now and forever.
Amen.
READINGS FOR THE WEEK
Monday: 1 Jn 3:22–4:6 Mt 4:12-17, 23-25
Tuesday: 1 Jn 4:7-10 Mk 6:34-44
Wednesday: 1 Jn 4:11-18 Mk 6:45-52
Thursday: 1 Jn 4:19–5:4 Lk 4:14-22
Friday: 1 Jn 5:5-13 Lk 5:12-16
Saturday: 1 Jn 5:14-21 Jn 3:22-30
Next Sunday: Is 42:1-4, 6-7 Acts 10:34-38 Lk 3:15-16, 21-22

ASSUMPTION CATHOLIC CHURCH
‘Come to the Prince of Peace, bearer of healing’
As we re-commit ourselves to making 2016 truly a ‘Jubilee Year of Mercy’, let us bring our own woundeness and our world’s deep wounds and pain to the Lord for healing. Jesus was born into a broken world and an impoverished, oppressed and war-torn community – and He came to breath peace into our hearts and bodies and into the world. Come and bring your friends and family to this Healing Mass in this New Year and allow the
Prince of Peace to bring you healing and our world peace –
Saturday, January 9, 2016
4:30 PM
Eucharistic Celebration and Healing Service will be celebrated by
Father Greg Shaffer

Lord Jesus Christ,
You have taught us to be merciful like the heavenly Father, and have told us that whoever sees you sees Him. Show us your face and we will be saved. Your loving gaze freed Zacchaeus and Matthew from being enslaved by money; the adulteress and Magdalene from seeking happiness only in created things; made Peter weep after his betrayal, and assured Paradise to the repentant thief.
Let us hear, as if addressed to each one of us, the words that you spoke to the
Samaritan woman: If you knew the gift of God!”
You are the visible face of the invisible Father, of the God who manifests his power above all by forgiveness and mercy: let the Church be your visible face in the world, its Lord risen and glorified. You willed that your ministers would also be clothed in weakness in order that they may feel compassion for those in ignorance and error: let everyone who approaches them feel sought after, loved, and forgiven by God. Send your Spirit and consecrate every one of us with its anointing, so that the Jubilee of Mercy may be a year of grace from the Lord, and your Church, with renewed enthusiasm, may bring good news to the poor, proclaim liberty to captives and the oppressed, and restore sight to the blind.
We ask this through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Mercy, you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever.
Amen

Minute Meditations
Living the Gospel
We need to remind ourselves of what God’s word tells us so that when we go into the world, we will recognize the divine challenge in our daily lives: The Church must be a place of mercy freely given, where everyone can feel welcomed, loved, forgiven and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel.
Once again, the Archdiocese of Washington and the Association of Ecclesial
Movements and the New Communities will sponsor the Adult and Family Rally and
Mass for Life on the morning of the National March for Life on January 22.
All parishioners of the Archdiocese of Washington are invited to attend this event, which will be held at St. Matthew's Cathedral 1725 Rhode Island Ave. The Rally kicks off at 9am and features keynote speaker Mark Pickup. Mass begins at 10am and will be celebrated by Bishop Mario Dorsonville with Fr. Dan Leary as homilist.
Attendees depart for the National March for Life at
11:30am. Please visit www.adw.org/jan22 to register for this event or for more information.
January 3, 2016