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Welcome to St. Mary's Church

The Epiphany of the Lord January 4, 2026

St. Mary’s uses music by permission from OCP through One License. Our license number is M-400277. All songs used in today’s Mass are used by permission.

INTRODUCTORY RITES************************

We Three Kings

Tom Booth

https://youtu.be/AvX6abhVC4k?si=QmlvIoIShrt4Sg1u

We three kings of orient are,
Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain,
Moor and mountain,
Following yonder star.

O star of wonder, star of night,
Star with royal beauty bright.
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect light.

Born a King on Bethlehem's plain,
Gold I bring to crown Him again
King for ever, ceasing never
Over us all to reign.

O star of wonder, star of night,
Star with royal beauty bright.
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect light.

Frankincense to offer have I,
Incense owns a Deity nigh
Prayer and praising, all men raising,
Worship Him, God most high.

O star of wonder, star of night,
Star with royal beauty bright.
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect light.

O star of wonder, star of night,
Star with royal beauty bright.
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect light. (2x)

Greeting

Bishop Tom: Welcome to St. Mary’s of Washington, DC, a parish in communion with St. John the Beloved Inclusive Catholic Community!

Let us begin,

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. +

All: Amen.

Bp. Tom: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

All: And also with you.

Sign of Peace

Bp. Tom: Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles: I leave you peace, my peace I give you. Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom where you live for ever and ever.
All: Amen.

Bp. Tom: The Peace of the Lord be with you always.
All: And also with you.

Bp. Tom: Let us offer each other a sign of peace.

Penitential Act

KYRIE (SONG)

Song by Chris Tomlin

https://youtu.be/BcszMJRg78c?si=svQ1x4En6cPgaK5R

Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Hear our cry
And heal our land
Let kindness lead us to repentance
Bring us back again

For Your Name is great

And Your Heart is grace
Kyrie Eleison
Over all You reign
You alone can save
Kyrie Eleison
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy on us now

For Your Name is great
And Your Heart is grace
Kyrie Eleison
Over all You reign
You alone can save
Kyrie Eleison
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy on us now

Who is this God
Who pardons all our sin
So ready to forgive
You delight to show Your mercy

For Your Name is great
And Your heart is grace
Kyrie Eleison
Over all You reign
You alone can save
Kyrie Eleison

Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy on us now

Bp. Tom: May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.

ALL: Amen

GLORIA! (SONG)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERmvcErugvs&list=PLMQrJzPlip5VSPK7bT1l0une3_XtakE7j&index=5

Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace to people of good will!

We praise you,

we bless you,

We adore you,

we glorify you,

We give you thanks for your great glory,

Lord God, Heavenly King, O God, almighty Father.

Refrain: Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Lord Jesus Christ,

Only Begotten Son,

Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,

You take away the sins of the world,

Have mercy on us;

You take away the sins of the world,

Receive our prayer;

You are seated at the right hand of the Father,

Have mercy on us.

Refrain

For you alone are the Holy One;

You alone are the Lord.

You alone are the Most High,

Jesus Christ,

With the Holy Spirit,

In the glory of God, the Father.

Amen.

Refrain

The Collect

Bp. Tom says: Let us pray.

Father,

you revealed your Son to the nations

by the guidance of a star.

Lead us to your glory in heaven

by the light of faith.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus the Christ, your son,

who lives and reigns with you and the holy Spirit,

God, for ever and ever.

ALL: Amen.

LITURGY OF THE WORD***********************

The first reading is from the Book of Isaiah

Isaiah 60:1-6

Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,
the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth,
and thick clouds cover the peoples;
but upon you the LORD shines,
and over you appears his glory.
Nations shall walk by your light,
and kings by your shining radiance.
Raise your eyes and look about;
they all gather and come to you:
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters in the arms of their nurses.

Then you shall be radiant at what you see,
your heart shall throb and overflow,
for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you,
the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.
Caravans of camels shall fill you,
dromedaries from Midian and Ephah;
all from Sheba shall come
bearing gold and frankincense,
and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.

Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light

has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you.

See, darkness covers the earth,

and thick clouds cover the peoples;

but upon you the Lord shines,

and over you appears his glory.

Nations shall walk by your light,

and kings by your shining radiance.

Raise your eyes and look about;

they all gather and come to you;

your sons come from afar,

and your daughters in the arms of their nurses.

Then you shall be radiant at what you see,

your heart shall throb and overflow,

for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you,

the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.

Caravans of camels shall fill you,

dromedaries from Midian and Ephah;

all from Sheba shall come

bearing gold and frankincense,

and proclaiming the praises of the Lord!

The Word of the Lord

ALL: Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13.

R. (cf. 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.

R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.
All kings shall pay him homage,
all nations shall serve him.

R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.

R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

The second reading is from the Letter to the Ephesians

Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6

Brothers and sisters:
You have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace
that was given to me for your benefit,
namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation.
It was not made known to people in other generations
as it has now been revealed
to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:
that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body,
and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

The Word of the Lord.

ALL: Thanks be to God

GOSPEL

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.

Alleluia, alleluia.

The Lord is WITH you!

ALL: And also with you!

A Reading from the Holy Gospel, according to Matthew

ALL: Glory to you, Oh Lord!

Matthew 2:1-12

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
in the days of King Herod,
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.”
When King Herod heard this,
he was greatly troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people,
He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea,
for thus it has been written through the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
Then Herod called the magi secretly
and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
“Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word,
that I too may go and do him homage.”
After their audience with the king they set out.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them,
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,
they departed for their country by another way.

Bp. Tom: The Gospel of the Lord

All: Praise to you Lord Jesus the Christ

Homily

Profession of Faith

THE NICENE CREED (Pre 2014)

We believe in one God,

the Father, the Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all that is seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father,

God from God,

Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten not made, one in being with the Father.

Through him all things were made.

For us and our salvation he came down from heaven:

by the power of the Holy Spirit

he was born of the Virgin Mary and became man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered, died, and was buried.

On the third day he rose again

in fulfillment of the Scriptures;

he ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory

to judge the living and the dead,

and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit,

the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

With the Father and the Son

she is worshipped and glorified.

She has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead,

and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Universal Prayer

General Intercessions / Prayer of the Faithful:

Bp. Tom: Lord God of Light,

On this holy day of Epiphany,

You revealed Your Son to the nations through the guiding star.

Shine Your light into our hearts,

That we may recognize Christ in every person we meet

And follow Him faithfully all our days.

*For our family in the middle east – Jews and Palestinians. For our family in Ukraine. In place of hatred, let your love pierce the darkness.

WE PRAY TO THE LORD
LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

*For your church family, that seems to be attacking itself from within by the voices of those who would sow division instead of your message of faith, hope, love, and peace. Let her respond not with anger or hate but be an example as she may boldly stands against those who choose to persecute the poor, the immigrant, or those with different sexuality, especially our LGBTQ brothers and sisters. Let your church uniformly respond with boldness, love, and courage. Let us make room for those who are rejected not just in this holiday season but every day of the year. Let the church not be silent.

WE PRAY TO THE LORD