Epiphany

In nómine Patris
Et Filius
Et Spiritus Sancti
Introibo ad altare Dei
Amen

I want to welcome all of you back
I hope that Christmas was a time of great joy for you and your families
Today is the feast of the Epiphany
The celebration of the arrival of the three wise men to pay homage to the baby Jesus
I want you to imagine what that journey must have been like
A journey resting entirely on faith that they would know where they were going once they arrived
Imagine what a joy it must have been for them to have finally reached their destination

Seniors, you're coming to an end of four years at St. Cecilia's
You've lived together, studied together, and, most importantly, prayed together
Strength for the journey
We begin in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
Let us take a moment now to call to mind to those times when we've fallen from God's grace

I confess—

To almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters
That I have sinned through my own fault
In my thoughts and in my words
In what I have done and in what I have failed to do
And I ask the blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints
And you, my brothers and sisters—

To pray for me, to the Lord, our God
Yes, pray for him, to the Lord, your God

One of these boys just ain't like the others
Loves his female singers
Loves to cook
Looks around in gym
It pleases him

Thoughts enslave him
Somebody save him

'Cause he knows that he is taking chances
And he knows that his romance is doomed
He'd sacrifice his soul to feed his vice

Heaven severed
Hell is forever
Dig down deep and save your soul
Grave mistakes will take their toll
Every sin is entered in
Heaven comes with discipline

But it doesn't all make sense
What I feel is real

No more dodging, God is watching
His eye is on the lowly sparrow
The road is long the path is narrow

And your mother, God, how she will suffer
Will your father break to bear the shame?
Yes, you were a force in their divorce

Trust the shepherd
God, make an effort

Will you drag that poor boy down there with you?
He's unsure and you can change his mind
If you love him so you'll let him go

Life is choices
Live by our voices

Dig down deep and save your soul
Grave mistakes will take their toll
Every sin is entered in
Heaven comes with discipline

But it doesn't all make sense
If the love is strong

No more dodging, God is watching
His eye is on the lowly sparrow
The road is long, the path is narrow

Our first reading today is the story of how
Despite the best efforts of a single mother
A child can still go horribly, horribly, wrong

Mom

For his eighth birthday, Peter asked for an Easy-Bake Oven
His father asked for a divorce
To me, the link between those two events
Was as strong as Peter's attraction to my makeup table
We sent him to Catholic boarding school thinking it might help
But when he met his roommate, Jason
The two of them locked eyes, and I said to myself
"Claire, you wanted grandchildren
Instead, you're gonna get ambiguous Christmas cards from South Beach"

Please join us in singing our offertory hymn
Number 279, "A Bender Among Us"
There's a bender among us, he must be exposed
He'll kidnap our children then take off their clothes
A bender among us, there's pink in our flock
A boy without conscience who's led by his—

Cockamamie
Pure cockamamie that this isn't a choice
Don't do this to me, Peter

The peace of the lord be with you always
And also with you
Let us offer each other a sign of Christ's peace

This is the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world
Happy are those who are called to this table

Lord, I am not worthy to receive you
But only say the word and I shall be
Lord, he is not worthy to receive you

Father?
Not at a funeral, Peter

I'd like to start with just a—
If we could take a moment
If maybe we were silent
Or we had spoken

Mom, what is it?
Ivy? Nadia? Matt?
Is it I, Lord?
Is it I?

(Timothy, Romans, Corinthians, Leviticus)
Hate the sinner, hate the sin (Timothy, Romans, Corinthians, Leviticus)
Created in His image (Timothy, Romans, Corinthians, Leviticus)
Abomination, abomination (Timothy, Romans, Corinthians, Leviticus)
Abomination, abomination

Bear the cross
Bear the cross
Bear the cross

Let us go forth, in peace to love and serve the Lord
Thanks be to God