Church of the Transfiguration 4000 E. Castro Valley Blvd., Castro Valley, CA 94552-4908

(510) 538-7941 Fax (510) 538-7983 E-mail: transfig_office@sbcglobal.net Website: www.transfigchurch.com January 6, 2019

Rev. Mario L. Borges, Pastor ● Rev. Terence O’Malley, Parochial Administrator Deacon John A. Mignano ● Deacon Timothy L. Moore ● Deacon Burton J. Rigley

LITURGICAL MINISTRY: Eucharistic Ministers, Elmer & Puri Serrano Lectors, Barbara Mehan Altar Servers, Clarence Decano

FINANCE COUNCIL: Chairman, Mark Zaleski

PARISH ORGANIZATIONS: Catholic Youth Organization (CYO), 60 Plus or Minus Club, Cursillo Group

SAINT VINCENT de PAUL SOCIETY: (510) 274-0830 Serving our community.

SICK & HOMEBOUND MINISTRY: Claudia Paquette, (510) 537-8986

STEWARDSHIP: Chairperson, Ed Coelho, (510) 881-5705 WINGS “Women in God’s Spirit”: Peggy Maurer, (510) 538-5671

HALL RENTAL MANAGER: Monica Corona, 510-239-7941

YOUTH MINISTRY: Alfonso Corona III transfig.oasis@gmail.com PARISH OFFICE: Phone: (510) 538-7941 Fax: (510) 538-7983 Hours: 8:00 a.m. — 4:30 p.m., Monday-Thursday (Closed between 12:00 & 1:00 p.m.) Friday, 9:00a.m. — 12:00 Noon - Saturday & Sunday—Closed Secretary, Gloria Meeker Secretary/Bookkeeper, Phyllis Moore

SCHEDULE OF MASSES Saturdays 4:00 p.m. Sundays 7:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. (Except First Fridays - 9:30 a.m.) Communion Service - Saturdays, 8:00 a.m. CONFESSIONS Saturdays 3:00-3:45 p.m. BAPTISMS: Pre-baptismal class is required. Class is held the second Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. in the Rectory. Please call the Parish Office, (510) 538-7941, to register. MATRIMONY: Six months advance notice required. Please call the parish office. WEDDING COORDINATOR: Mel Speed (510) 909-9334 or melspeed@live.com FUNERALS: Please contact the funeral home of your choice and then the parish office. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: Director, Patrice Ballinger (510) 537-1502 or TransfigCCD@aol.com RCIA: Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults Please call the parish office. MUSIC MINISTRY: Director, Alexander Katsman (510) 538-7941, Ext. 302 or Transfig_Music@sbcglobal.net

Mission Statement: “Transfiguring Our Community Through Faith”

The Epiphany of the Lord January 6, 2019

Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,

the glory of the Lord shines upon you. — Isaiah 60:1

Mass Intentions (January 5-12, 2019) Sat. 4:00 p.m. For the People and Louis Mascarenhas Sun. 7:30 a.m. Lindsey Keehner 9:00 a.m. Special Intention for Ronald & Sally Mangaccat & Family 11:00 a.m. Giuseppe & Fine Poggio Mon. 8:00 a.m. Rena M. Molinari Tues. 8:00 a.m. Luiz Capela Wed. 8:00 a.m. Maryanne Patterson Thurs. 8:00 a.m. Antonio Coelho Fri. 8:00 a.m. Louis & Patricia Georges Sat. 4:00 p.m. Stan & Alice Dresen

Stewardship Corner The collection totals for the weekend of December 22nd & 23rd, December 29th & 30th and Christmas will be in next week’s bulletin. Thank you for continuing in your stewardship role of providing for the upkeep of our parish community.

We extend a warm welcome to new parishioners. Please pick up a registration form in the vestibule of the church and return it to the Parish Office. This helps us to serve you better.

January Birthdays Happy Birthday to you, May God Bless you.

Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, May God Bless you!

Remember Transfiguration in your Will and Living Trust

The next Baptism Class will be Tuesday, January 8, 2019.

Please call the Parish Office to register.

For Your Information When writing your checks for regular or special collections, please make all checks payable to Transfiguration Church (a request made by our bank). The Church will then send one total check for each special collection to the designated charity. Also, please write in the memo portion of your check the name of the collection to which you are donating. This will help the office to give you proper credit. Thank you for your support!

Pancake Breakfast Team “C” will be hosting the Pancake Breakfast next Sunday after the 7:30 a.m. & 9:00 a.m. Masses in the Parish Hall. All-you-can-eat pancakes, ham, sausage, scrambled eggs, orange juice, coffee/tea/hot chocolate. Adult: $4, Senior: $3, Child: $3, Family: $8. Be sure to come and enjoy a great meal and the fellowship. See you there!

Transfiguration Catholic Church

Upcoming Event February 16, 2019 Transfiguration Crab Feed

Steve & Susie Dennis will be hosting coffee and donuts this Sunday after the 9:00 a.m. Mass. Stop by and enjoy the fellowship.

Thank you for advertising in our bulletin. We appreciate your support!

Adult Bible Study Monday evening, January 7, 2019 in the Marian Room, Parish Hall, 7:00-8:30 p.m. No sign-up required, just drop in. Free-will offering.

FINDING GOD The splendid magi, all sparkle and dash and solemni-ty, march right up off the pages of Matthew’s Gospel and into our churches today. Matthew alone tells us this grand and seductive story so that we might see the light and know that the child these magi visited is the fulfillment of prophecy, the king of the world that stretches to the magi’s home country and beyond, right down the ages to us. We too see and understand anew. Like the magi, our patron saints for this day, we see in the newborn child the king of the universe and light of the world. Like the magi, we find in ourselves a new faith and a new life. Like them, we return to our home by a new route. We are asked to come away from this festive season ourselves renewed and awake to the presence of God among us. We are asked to find God where God is to be found, to be attentive and surprised and ready to bow down in adoration and to offer our gifts. Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co.

Annual Seminary Collection There will be a collection next weekend for the Seminary to help support those called to serve in the Oakland Diocese as future priests. The cost to the diocese of educating our future priests is substantial and your generosity is needed. Please consider making a personal investment in your future priests.

We invite all women to join us for: WINGS (“Women in God’s Spirit”)

Wings is a faith enhancement group that encourages Spiritual growth through prayer, scripture study,

Catechesis, life sharing and community. Transfiguration Church, Marian Rm. Parish Hall

Thursday, January 17, 2019, 9:00-11:15 a.m. Speaker: Deacon Tim Roberto

TODAY’S READINGS First Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6

Second Reading: Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6 Psalm: 72—Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12

The English translation of the Psalm Responses from the Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, Interna-tional Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

READINGS FOR THE WEEK Monday: 1 Jn 3:22 — 4:6; Ps 2:7bc-8, 10-12a; Mt 4:12-17, 23-25 Tuesday: 1 Jn 4:7-10; Ps 72:1-4, 7-8; Mk 6:34-44 Wednesday: 1 Jn 4:11-18; Ps 72: 1-2, 10, 12-13; Mk 6:45-52 Thursday: 1 Jn 4:19 — 5:4; Ps 72:1-2, 14, 15bc, 17; Lk 4:14-22a Friday: 1 Jn 5:5-13; Ps 147:12-15, 19-20; Lk 5:12-16 Saturday: 1 Jn 5:14-21; Ps 149:1-6a, 9b; Jn 3:22-30 Sunday: Is 42:1-4, 6-7 or Is 40:1-5, 9-11; Ps 29:1-4, 3, 9-10 or Ps 104:1b-4, 24-25, 27-30; Acts 10:34-38 or Ti 2:11-14; 3:4-7; Lk 3:15-16, 21-22 SAINTS AND SPECIAL OBSERVANCES Sunday: The Epiphany of the Lord; Blessing of the Home; National Migration Week Monday: St. Raymond of Penyafort; Julian Calendar Christmas

Deadline for Bulletin The deadline for items in the bulletin is

Monday, 4:30 p.m. Thank you for your support!

Free Legal Representation Catholic Charities is offering free legal representation for those interested in becoming U.S. citizens. Interested individuals can call 925.825.3099 to make an appointment for the first or third Tuesdays of each month. For more information, contact Deanna Salazar at 925.771.8254 or dsalazar@cceb.org.

C.C.D. C . C . D .

WELCOME BACK!!

All CCD Classes, as usual this week.

C I : Next class session, NEXT Sunday, January 13—9:00 to 1:00. Sponsor Forms are DUE today! P.G.O. U : “Epiphany” See our Confirmation Candidates in action at our 9:00 Mass today as we celebrate Christ’s revelation to the gentiles … We Three Kings! Next Weekend we will be collecting your old blankets and towels for the animal shelters. AND in a few weeks we will be looking for your broken and used crayons …. Just a heads up before you decide to clean those closets.

~~Religious Education~~

Confirmation

TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITION Monday of this week is Christmas Day in Russia and in much of the Orthodox world. This curious difference in schedule has a lot to do with how calendars have been de-veloped and changed over the years. In the year 45 . . Julius Ceasar gave the empire his Julian Calendar, with the winter solstice on January 6. This put an end to a system in which officials called “pontiffs” were able to tweak the calendar by adding extra days in as needed. He invented two new months at that time, December and January; and in order to correct the mess the pontiffs had made, forced a year of 445 days on the empire in what he named “The Last Year of Confusion.” The new months varied in num-ber of days according to a complex schedule, but the calen-dar was still off by nearly twelve minutes a year, and lost a full day every 130 years. Pope Gregory XIII reformed the calendar in 1583, but not everyone appreciated his efforts. England held out for two hundred years. The year 1700 was a leap year in Eng-land, but not in France; they were eleven days apart! George Washington was really born on February 11; when the Gregorian calendar was finally adopted in the English colonies shortly before the Revolution, he had to move his birthday to February 22. Now the calendars are thirteen days apart, which accounts for Russia’s Julian calendar Christmas. And Caesar thought he had brought confusion to an end! —James Field, Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co.

WARM BLANKETS FOR THOSE WITH COLD NOSES…

OUR FURRY FRIENDS GET MIGHTY COLD THIS TIME OF YEAR!

So, our Confirmation class is seeking your help. We are collect-ing blankets and towels to help warm up those COLD cages in our local animal shelters. This is your chance to clean out that linen closet and get rid of your old, your tired, your torn. The things that are no longer fit for humans may be just the right thing for a cold puppy or kitty...please help us to help them. We will be accepting your donations on the following weekends ONLY: Next Weekend...January 12 & 13 and the following weekend January 19 & 20

Thank you for helping us make some sad little lives a bit warmer and nicer.

“If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.” ~ St. Francis of Assisi

LETTER FROM POPE FRANCIS THE “JOY OF THE GOSPEL”

The Proclamation of the Gospel—#270

The spiritual savour of being a people

Sometimes we are tempted to be that kind of Chris-tian who keeps the Lord’s wounds at arm’s length. Yet Jesus wants us to touch human misery, to touch the suffering flesh of others. He hopes that we will stop looking for those personal or communal niches which shelter us from the maelstrom of human mis-fortune and instead enter into the reality of other people’s lives and know the power of tenderness. Whenever we do so, our lives become wonderfully complicated and we experience intensely what it is to be a people, to be part of a people. Fr. Terry’s Remarks— After the Crib another powerful symbol of genuine Evangelization is the sight of Jesus hanging naked and bloodied on the Cross. This sight, too often, we prefer to keep at arms length. Jesus wanted to and did take part fully in the misery and suffering of us all. We have to stop avoiding all the human misery around us. Instead we must feel tenderness and loving compassion for hu-man misfortune. We need to stop banging shut the doors of our hearts against the cries of those in need and pain. We must join Jesus on the Cross and allow ourselves to experience as Jesus did, how wonderful it is, to be one with the people.