CATHEDRAL OF THE

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Mission Statement We, the worshipping community of the Cathedral of the Immaculate

Conception of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, rooted in the Gospel and the celebration of the Eucharist, seek to make known God’s love in the

world through serving one another, sharing our faith and welcoming all.

Established 1848

125 Eagle Street Albany, New York 12202-1718 Telephone: 518-463-4447 Email: CICAlban@rcda.org Website: www.cathedralic.com

Most Reverend Edward B. Scharfenberger, D.D. Bishop of Albany

Very Reverend David R. LeFort, S.T.L., V.G. Rector Reverend John Tallman, Parochial Vicar

Reverend Paul Mijas, Parochial Vicar Mr. Timothy J. Kosto, II, Deacon

Schedule of Liturgical Celebrations The Holy Eucharist (Mass) The Lord’s Day: Saturday 5:15 p.m. (anticipated Mass) Sunday’s 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Weekdays: Monday-Wednesday-Friday 12:15 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday 7:15 a.m. Holy Days: Please check the bulletin and website. The Sacrament of Reconciliation: Monday-Wednesday-Friday 11:30 a.m. Saturday 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. and other times by appointment

CATHEDRAL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION ALBANY

2

Epiphany

Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines

upon you. Isaiah 60

May the kings of Tarshish and the islands

bring tribute, the kings of Arabia and Seba

offer gifts. May all kings bow before him, all

nations serve him. For he rescues the poor

when they cry out, the oppressed who have

no one to help. He shows pity to the needy

and the poor and saves the lives of the poor.

Psalm 72

The Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same

body, and copartners in the promise in Christ

Jesus through the gospel. Ephesians 3

This great feast - celebrated in the East as

the Baptism of the Lord - is a feast of

"revelation." Jesus is the beloved Son of God,

a light for the whole world, the very one who

comes to us in time, this year, to be our sav-

ior: to rescue the poor, to hear our cry, to

save us in our need, in our poverty.

May we bring him the gifts of our faith and trust

and hope; May we recognize him as our savior

who gave his own life to set us free from the

power of sin and death.

Come, let us adore him!

On the Sunday of the Epiphany of the Lord,

we hear about gifts in the gospel reading. The

image of gift is an appropriate one since to-

day, on Epiphany Sunday, we acknowledge

and celebrate the gift of God’s saving grace

offered to everyone in the birth of his Son Je-

sus.

Each Epiphany Sunday, the Gospel reading

is Matthew’s account of the visit of the Magi.

Three important truths are revealed in this

sacred story. First, God alone directs salvation

history. King Herod tried to exercise control

over the newborn Christ, assembling the chief

priests and scribes of the people and meeting

secretly with the Magi in an attempt to con-

ceal his true motives to harm the infant. But

God protected baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph,

and the Magi, directing all of them to safety. A

second revealed truth is that God prepared us

for this gift though the words of the Jewish

prophets. We hear that the birth of Jesus in

Bethlehem fulfills what the prophet Micah had

foretold nearly eight centuries earlier:

“Bethlehem… from you shall come a ruler, who

is to shepherd my people Israel”. A third re-

vealed truth is that Jesus is God’s gift to all

nations. The Magi who brought gifts to Jesus

are traditionally identified as Caspar, Melchi-

or, and Balthasar. These three astrologers

from the East represented the other major na-

tions of the world in the time of Christ.

Epiphany celebrated what the visit of the Ma-

gi reveals to us: God’s gift– the gift of his new-

born son– is a gift offered to all people, which

God has long-prepared the world.

Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord

Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord

3

Just a gentle reminder… If you are among

our parishioners who receive collection en-velopes and “fly south” every winter, please

call the parish office to temporarily suspend your envelopes. These are returned to the Parish Office and we must pay the postage

on them. If you let us know when you plan on returning, we’ll let the envelope company know when to restart sending them to you.

Thank you for your cooperation.

March for Life

Gather with Bishop Edward B. Scharfen-

berger of the Diocese of Albany near the cor-

ner of 9th Street NW and Constitution Ave-

nue NW, Washington D.C., at 12:15 PM to

march together at the 47th Annual March

for Life, January 24, 2020.

Visit the Albany Diocese webpage to find the

bus transportation that is available and for

updates: www.rcda.org/life

Join Bishop Scharfenberger, the Diocese of

Albany, and hundreds of thousands across

the nation for the USCCB’s annual 9

Days for Life Novena, from Tuesday, Jan.

21 – Wednesday, Jan 29, 2020, with daily

postings for you to follow at facebook.com/

RCDARespectLife. Each day, a different in-

tention is accompanied by a short reflection,

suggested actions, and related information.

More info: 9daysforlife.com

The next meeting for the Marian Prayer Group will be January 9th at 7:00 PM.

The Collection for Christmas Eve and

Christmas Day was $8,335.35 The Collection for Sunday December 29th,

was $3,710.00 Thank you for all you have given to

the Cathedral.

Please pray for our sick; Fr. William Pape, Fr.

Frank O’Connor, Jeffrey Abraham, Robert Buell, Shirley Anderson, Lucy Apisa, Stephen Beattie, Carol Bruce, Grace Isabelle Caruso, Carmella Cervera, Mary Faith Colvin, Patricia Contti, Theresa Cooney, Marc Daniels, John Dare, Jr., Denise Degasparis, Michael Dolan, Ann Doherty, JoAnn DeLucia, Diane Fontanelli, Janette Fusco, Gus Franze, Bernice Girma, Ka-ren Goral, Carol Greenshields, Jean Gutbrodt, Bryan Hanley, Jacqueline Heisler, Kelly Hem-ming, Kenneth Hockeson; Douglas Hoffeler, Al-fred Iwanie, Dorothy Jordan, Reny Jose, Bill

Keane, Amy Keegan, James Laung, Donald Law, Gayle Leonard, Rebecca Leno, Therese Lenz, Di-ane Lo Prete, Ted Murawski, Marie-Ann Melen-fant, John McGrath, Mary Grace Meneses Sr., Maria Mercurio, CSJ, Stephanie Merenda, Di-ane Mueller, James Murphy, Mary Murphy, Shane O’Donnell, Josephine Pitcherale, Marcia Pedone, Catherine Rappazzo, Mark Roman, Matthew Rosato, Megan Ruthman, Elaine Spoor, Adam Ventura, Sebastian Vicencio, Richard Warner, Raphael Warner Rosa Maria Santos

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION The group meets Sundays from 10:00 am to

10:55 am in the Cathedral rectory.

If you have any questions please contact

Tod Fowler either by phone – 518-463-4447

or email – FFCICa@rcda.org.

4A

January 5, 2020

Cathedral Liturgical Celebrations, Meetings and Mass Intentions for the week of January

4, 2020 – January 12, 2020

Saturday, January 4,

5:15PM Mass

Sunday, January 5, 9:00AM Mass 10:00AM Religious Ed.

11:00AM Mass 5:00PM Mass

Monday, January 6,

12:15PM Mass Tuesday, January 7,

7:15 AM Mass 12:00PM AA Meeting

Wednesday, January 8, 12:15 PM Mass

Intention: Max Martinez Thursday, January 9,

7:15AM Mass

Friday January 10, 12:15 PM Mass

Saturday, January 11, 5:15PM Mass

Sunday, January 12, 9:00AM Mass

Intention: Dr. James Castleman Intention: Warren Biesemeyer 10:00AM Religious Ed.

11:00AM Mass 5:00PM Mass

4B

January 5,2020

From Father LeFort

Christmas

As we continue to enjoy and celebrate the

Feast of the Nativity of the Lord, these days

shower me with gratitude for the many parish-

ioners who assisted with our Christmas litur-

gies. From Choristers and musicians, altar

servers and lectors…to extraordinary ministers

of holy communion, ushers, and our phenome-

nal staff: thanks to each and every one of you

for making our celebrations so prayerful. May

we all continue to enjoy this Christmas Sea-

son!

Many Thanks

Finally, many thanks to all who were so kind

and generous in dropping off gifts for us at the

rectory; we are humbled by your expressions of

love and care. May your reward be great!

Mass Intentions– Having a mass offered for

an individual is a wonderful way to honor their memory. If you wish to request a mass

intention, please call or email the rectory of-fice at: 518-463-4447 or CICAlban@rcda.org. The donation for a mass intention is $10.00.

You may enclose the filled out form below along with your donation. Just drop it in the collection basket or mail it to the rectory.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

Mass Intention request: If the date and time are available, I would like to request a mass intention for the following:

Date________________________________________

Mass Intention For___________________________

Please indicate if the intention is for living or deceased

Requested by________________________________