Asking our “good and gracious Lord” for the “fullness of your blessings” upon District of Columbia government officials, Father Daniel B. Carson, pastor of St. Peter’s Parish on Capitol Hill, offered an invocational prayer at the Jan. 3 swearing-in ceremonies for the city’s public officials.

“Lift up your favor and countenance upon them, we pray, and pour into their hearts the gifts of wisdom, understanding and vision,” Father Carson prayed. “Help them in their faithful service to the people of this diverse community.”

Father Carson offered the invocation at the afternoon swearing-in of State Board of Education members, members of the Statehood Delegation and Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners. The ceremony was held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Northwest Washington.

Earlier in the day, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser was sworn in for her third four-year term as mayor. Bowser is a Catholic who is a member of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Northeast Washington and is a graduate of Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg, Maryland. Also at the earlier ceremony, the city’s attorney general and members of the Council of the District of Columbia took their oaths of office.

“Guide their affairs and actions in the ways of righteousness, true justice, and peace so they may tend to the promotion of the common good, civil harmony, and respect for the dignity and equality of every person,” Father Carson prayed. “Bless also their families and loved ones, and bless all the people of this city with your grace and your love that we might see and care for each other as sisters and brothers in one human family.”