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Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary 3411 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, S.E. Washington, DC 20032 www.assumptiondc.org
Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
3411 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, S.E.
Washington, DC 20032
www.assumptiondc.org
Rev.Gregory Shaffer,
Pastor
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: Saturday 3:30 - 4:15 pm, Wednesday 11:00 – 12:00 noon
or anytime by appointment
Address: 3401 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, S.E.
Washington, DC 20032
Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday
9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Tuesday 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Pastor: Father Greg Shaffer
202-561-4178 Cell 240-463-9960
Email: [email protected]
Secretary: Mrs. Cheryl Hamlin-Williams
Phone: 202-561-4178 Fax 202-561-0336
Email: [email protected]
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
Email [email protected]
Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 24, 2017
Two Sundays ago, in my homily, I mentioned the “Mount 2000” retreat for teens at
Mount St. Mary’s. I was one of the seminarians who led the retreat because it was on
our (seminary) campus. Well, really, I was the leader of the hand motions and
movements of the praise and worship music with the 2000 teens. One of the teens
quoted an Old Testament scene, saying that I was “dancing like David”. That scene is
in 2 Samuel 6 and it describes David and the people as dancing and singing “with all
their might” in the presence of the Lord. That was all of us at Mount 2000!
Today’s first reading is the next chapter (2 Samuel 7). King David seems bothered by
the fact that the Lord (dwelling in the Ark of the Covenant) is in a tent while he is
living fancily in a palace. God subtly puts him in his place by saying that He is the
one who put David in a palace and Himself in a tent.
If David thought that a tent was an insufficient dwelling place for God, what would he
have thought of a mother’s womb (Mary) as one? The Church refers to Mary as the
“Ark of the New Covenant”. Excerpts below from an article by Steve Ray at
catholic.com give clear and illuminating comparisons between the Ark of the
Covenant and Mary.
May we appreciate God’s humble dwellings in the Ark of the Old Covenant and the
Ark of the New Covenant, as well as in the manger and today in the Tabernacle.
May you know the peace of Christ,
Fr Greg
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God was very specific about every exact detail of the ark (Ex 25-30). It was a place
where God himself would dwell (Ex 25:8). God wanted his words—inscribed on
stone—housed in a perfect container covered with pure gold within and without. How
much more would he want his Word—Jesus—to have a perfect dwelling place! If the
only begotten Son were to take up residence in the womb of a human girl, would he not
make her flawless?
The Virgin Mary is the living shrine of the Word of God, the Ark of the New
and Eternal Covenant. In fact, St. Luke’s account of the Annunciation of the
angel to Mary nicely incorporates the images of the tent of meeting with God in
Sinai and of the temple of Zion. Just as the cloud covered the people of God
marching in the desert (cf. Nm 10:34; Dt 33:12; Ps 91:4) and just as the same
cloud, as a sign of the divine mystery present in the midst of Israel, hovered
over the Ark of the Covenant (cf. Ex 40:35), so now the shadow of the Most
High envelops and penetrates the tabernacle of the New Covenant that is the
womb of Mary (cf. Lk 1:35). (Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of
Migrants and Itinerant People, The Shrine: Memory, Presence and Prophecy of
the Living God) …
When David approached the ark, he shouted out and danced and leapt in front of the
ark. He was wearing an ephod, the clothing of a priest. When Mary, the Ark of the New
Covenant, approached Elizabeth, John the Baptist leapt in his mother’s womb—and
John was from the priestly line of Aaron. Both leapt and danced in the presence of the
ark. The Ark of the Old Covenant remained in the house of Obed-edom for three
months, and Mary remained in the house of Elizabeth for three months. The place that
housed the ark for three months was blessed, and in the short paragraph in Luke,
Elizabeth uses the word blessed three times. Her home was certainly blessed by the
presence of the ark and the Lord within…
It seems clear that Luke has used typology to reveal something about the place of Mary
in salvation history. In the Ark of the Old Covenant, God came to his people with a
spiritual presence, but in Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, God comes to dwell with
his people not only spiritually
LIVE THE LITURGY - INSPIRATION FOR THE WEEK- December 24, 2017 Mary said: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your
word." A simple trust in God's word allowed the Mother of God to do incredible things. As a
humble servant and listener, she embraced her mission and invested herself wholeheartedly in
doing what God had asked. Do we know and trust that we are being led? Often, we can feel
very much alone and without a source of inspiration, guidance, and love to enlighten our path.
God is with us. This is the essential message of Advent and the truth revealed to us at Christmas.
We are never alone. There is no need to fear. We too, with God's help, can do incredible things.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK - Luke 1:26-38 In the angel Gabriel's announcement of the upcoming birth of Jesus, what do you think Mary
found most challenging?
READINGS FOR THEWEEK
Monday: Is 52:7-10 Jn 1:1-18
Tuesday: Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59 Mt 10:17-22
Wednesday: 1 Jn 1:1-4 Jn 20:1a and 2-8
Thursday: 1 Jn 1:5—2:2 Mt 2:13-18
Friday: 1 Jn 2:3-11 Lk 2:22-35
Saturday: 1 Jn 2:12-17 Lk 2:36-40
Next Sunday Sir 3:2-6, 12-14 Col 3:12-21 Lk 2:22-40
Healing Prayers for: George Thomas, Yvonne Lesesne, Ayanna Hook, Juanita Watkins, Deacon
Ralph Cyrus, Burdell Thomas, Angella Greene, Frederick McNiel, James Anthony Murphy, Queen
Bundy, Earnest Ingram.Jr., John Howard, Iris Best, Helena Haley, Dorothy Hollis, Calvin Best
Gisele Best, Lezeal Rorie, Corinne Bachiller, Lillian Taylor, , Tracy Stachitis, Veronica Brown,
Deacon McBurnett Smith, Marsha Carlson-Meyers, 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, 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, Tiffany Jacobs, Darlene Jones, Paul Higgins, Audrey Saunders, Pauline
Johnson, June Murphy
Our Homebound Parishioners: Mary Cooke, Sybil Depeazer, Louvenia Gray, Fr. Charles Green,
Pauline Johnson, Yvonne Samuel, Audrey Saunders, Joan Shields, Elizabeth Smith, Viola Walker
Repose of the Soul: Elizabeth Smith aunt of Juanita Watkins
Helena Haley mother of Herbert and Gregory Haley
Each year, this season of Advent comes around. Today we bless the fourth and last candle on our wreath. Let us ask God to bless our family on this final Sunday in Advent:
God of surprises, today we hear about the surprise that Mary experienced. She is pregnant with your Son!
Help our family to be obedient to your surprises, however, they may spring up in our lives. All of your gifts work for the benefit of your people.
When we light this final candle on our wreath, let us bring your surprise gift of love to our neighbors and friends.
We ask this through Christ, who is the ultimate surprise gift to the world. Amen.
We will begin, Wednesday,
January17, 2018 at 6:30 PM
Funerals for the Repose
of the Soul:
Ms. Elizabeth Smith
Tuesday
January 2, 2018
Viewing: 9:00-10:00 am
Funeral: 10:00 am
Mrs. Helena Haley
Wednesday
January 3, 2018
Viewing: 9:00-11:00 am
Funeral: 11:00 am
The church office will
be closed on December
26, 2017
Christmas Mass Schedule 2017
Christmas Eve Masses
Sunday, December 24, 2017 10:00 AM Sunday, December 24, 2017 Vigil Mass 4:30 PM
Christmas Day Mass
Monday, December 25, 2017 10:00 AM
New Year’s Day Masses
Sunday, December 31, 2017 10:00 AM Sunday, December 31, 2017
Vigil Mass 4:30 PM
New Year’s Day Mass Monday, January 1, 2018 10:00 AM
December 24
Is there someone in your life who has been away from
Church for a while or may not have a place or loving
community in which to celebrate Christmas? Christmas
Mass is a beautiful moment to reconnect to the Catholic
faith and many people are waiting for a personal
invitation from someone like you! Visit
FindthePerfectGift.org to find Christmas resources and
Christmas Mass times across the Archdiocese of
Washington.
December 24, 2017
