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 April 12, 2015

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

LITURGICAL MINISTRY: Liturgy Coordinator, Sean Cooper Eucharistic Ministers, Stephen and Carina Kowalewski Lectors, Barbara Mehan Altar Servers, Alicia Antonio Youth Liturgy, Michelle Gilman

FINANCE COUNCIL: Chairman, Mark Zaleski

PARISH ORGANIZATIONS: Catholic Youth Organization (CYO), 60 Plus or Minus Club, Hospitality Committee

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”: Bobbie Blackard,510-581-4149 HALL MANAGER: Pat Ballinger, (510) 239-7941

HALL RENTAL MANAGER: Ann McAusland, 510-239-7941

YOUTH MINISTRY: Sean Cooper, (510) 581-5870 or Transfig_Youth@sbcglobal.net

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 Marian Room, Parish Hall. Please call the Parish Office, 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 Director, Martin Mijalski. 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”

Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday)

April 12, 2015 Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

— 1 John 5:5

Transfiguration Catholic Church

Mass Intentions (April 11-18, 2015) Sat. 4:00p.m. Joseph Cicero Sun. 7:30a.m. Janet Golonka 9:00a.m. For the People 11:00a.m. Special Intention for Glenn Almany Mon. 8:00a.m. Special Intention for Chris Georges and Oliver Krause Tues. 8:00a.m. Louis and Patricia Georges Wed. 8:00a.m. Lawrence and Margaret Gormley Thurs. 8:00a.m. Special Intention for Nicholas Santos Fri. 8:00a.m. Anna Lucas Sat. 4:00p.m. Dr. Douglas Franklin and Edward & Mary Joaquin

Stewardship Corner Collection total for March 28th & 29th—$9,834.00

April 4th & 5th/Easter—$23,152.00 (compared to $12,000 average weekly stewardship goal)

Holy Land—$2,452.00 St. Vincent de Paul—$4,807.00 Thank you for continuing in your stewardship role of providing for the upkeep of our parish community.

Special Collection Envelopes When using the “Special Collection” envelopes, please write the name of the collection on the envelope. You may also write the name of the collection in the memo line of your check. This will help the office to give you proper credit. Thank you.

Remember Transfiguration in your Will and Living Trust

Coffee and Donuts Julie Monteiro & Sunita D’Costa will be hosting coffee and donuts this Sunday after the 9:00a.m. Mass. Stop by and enjoy the fellowship.

Adult Bible Study Join us on Monday evening, April 13, 2015 in the Marian Room of the Parish Hall,7:00-8:30 p.m. We pray and study a psalm to begin each class. The Gospel of Mark is our current study program. No sign-up required, just drop in. Free will offering.

Holy Family Guild Spring Luncheon April 15, 2015—12:00 (Noon)

Transfiguration Parish Hall, 4000 East Castro Valley Blvd. Tickets: $15.00-We will have Bingo and a Raffle.

Contacts: Jo Green (510) 889-9140 or Barbara Coelho (510) 881-5705

Baptism Class The next Baptism class will be

Tuesday, April 14, 2015. Please call the Parish Office to register.

We extend a warm welcome to new parishioners and guests. If you would like to register or update information, please pick up a registration form in the vestibule of the church and return it to the Parish Office.

Dear Parishioners, Our Holy Week Services were quite beautiful and inspir-ing. I want to thank all the ministries in the parish for their dedication and devotion in making Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil and Sunday liturgies beautiful expressions of our faith and a welcoming community for all our brothers and sisters who entered our church. May this Easter Season lead us to a glorious celebration of Pentecost. With a grateful heart for all you do, thank you one and all. Yours in Christ, Fr. Mario Borges

Liturgy Meeting Thursday, April 16, 2015, 7:00p.m.—Parish Hall

All are welcome!

Transfiguration Parish Goal Update Our goal here at Transfiguration Parish for the “Reclaiming Christ’s Mission Together” campaign is $549,431. So far, we have raised $88,750 (16% of our goal) from only 31 families or 2% of the registered families here at our parish. We are off to a good start, but we need your participation to reach our goal!

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, April 23, 2015, 9:15-11:15a.m. Speaker: June M. Kirk

C.C.D. Cultivating. Catholic. Disciples.

Monday Classes, as usual this week. First Communion Rehearsal in Church Next Saturday,

April 18 from 10a.m. to noon.

~~Religious Education~~

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - MEET THE CANDIDATE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - This, being SPONSOR SUNDAY, our Confirmation Team anxiously looks to the sea of sponsors for some old familiar faces...those who have gone through our program and are returning to us, this time to sponsor a younger person, often times a sibling... STEVEN CHARLES DECKER chose one such person when he asked his sister, Allison (Confirmation Class of 2012) to take this journey with him. Steven, at 16 (as of last month. Happy Birthday!), is a Sophomore at CV High were P.E. is his favorite subject. Steven, the middle of the three Decker children, is active on the school wrestling team (which accounts for the unique hair color). In addition to his sisters, Steven shares his life with three dogs. Other Steven favorites include spaghetti; The Spaghetti Factory (go figure); Italy (are we sensing a theme here?); Country music; The Walking Dead and his best friend, Sam. And, who is “the person” who has most influenced Steven’s life??... his wonderful sisters, both of them! GABRIEL ANTONIO CONTRERAS invited his brother, Juan (from our class of 2014, a catechist and a 9:00 usher), to be his sponsor. Gabriel, the middle of the three children in his family, is a Sophomore at Castro Valley High School where Modern World History is his subject of choice. On T.V. Gabe enjoys The Walking Dead; his favorite book is Of Mice and Men; his favorite sport to play is Baseball, and he likes to cheer for the SF Giants and 49ers. Gabriel, who is fluent in both English and Spanish, likes to eat seafood and cheesecake, particularly at The Crab Shack. In his free time Gabriel likes to spend time with his family which includes Frieda, a white German Shepherd Dog. He hopes to vacation some day in Rio de Janeiro. We are so pleased that you chose to bring Juan back to our program, we Love seeing the two of you together.

We wish to thank these two WONDERFUL candidates for bringing their equally WONDERFUL sponsors back to our program...you make this feel like “Old Home Week”!

And, as we end our little column for the year, we thank you, our parish family, for your interest, your patience, your kind words, and for keeping us all in your prayers. Look for these extraordinary candidates next year, actively involved in a Lit-urgy near you! God Bless!

11:00 MASS PEOPLE: An invitation and a WARNING all at

once...Our First Holy Communion is next Sunday, April 19 at 11:00 Mass.

You are invited and most welcome to join us, but BEWARE...with 29 First Communicants

and their families, the church will be VERY CROWDED! Today we Welcome our Confirmation Sponsors!

We thank them for accepting the invitation to walk along side one of our Candidates as they process

toward the Sacrament of Confirmation in March 2016.

We wish to recognize and to Thank: Michael Alaraj Monica Keyser Tess Anilao Ron Krasko Jessica Anthony Lucy Venegas Patrice Ballinger Tori Lynch Julie Caldwell Marcelina Marques Theresa Castro Tony Marques Francisco Cervantez Martin Mijalski Yolanda Champion Floyd Nabonne Cara Conley Connie Nabonne Juan Contreras Jacob Petersen Sean Cooper Binh Pham Alfonso Corona III Joseph Pieraldi Allison Decker Adeline Rojahi Bridgette Emanuele Elaine Schaffer Luz Fernandez Janice Solis Beth Ballinger Fulop Joy Tejada Irma Gatachalian Jeffrey Totah Edgar Gatchalian Truong Tran Deborah Gilman JoAnna Villa Maryann Jacquez Ann Woo Patricia Keenan Rori Wright Jennifer Keenan

Dust off your dancing shoes!! Come and enjoy an evening of dinner and dancing with the ICF on Saturday, April 25 at Our Lady of Grace Stack Center. Cocktails @ 6pm, dinner @7pm. Dancing to the Big Band sounds of “In Full Swing”, 8:00 to 10:30p.m. Wonderful raffle prizes! Proceeds to benefit our ICF charities. $35/person. Call Al Proietti @ 886-8664 or Roz Crudo @ 537-6657 by Monday, April 20. See you there!!

St. Vincent de Paul Meeting Sunday, April 19, 2015 10:00a.m.—Parish Hall

All are welcome.

LETTER FROM POPE FRANCIS THE “JOY OF THE GOSPEL” CONTINUED...

The Church’s Missionary Transformation—#76 Temptations faced by pastoral workers I feel tremendous gratitude to all those who are commit-ted to working in and for the Church. Here I do not wish to discuss at length the activities of the different pastoral workers, from bishops down to those who provide the most humble and hidden services. Rather, I would like to reflect on the challenges that all of them must face in the context of our current globalized culture. But in justice, I must say first that the contribution of the Church in to-day’s world is enormous. The pain and the shame we feel at the sins of some members of the Church, and at our own, must never make us forget how many Christians are giving their lives in love. They help so many people to be healed or to die in peace in makeshift hospitals. They are present to those enslaved by different addictions in the poorest places on earth. They devote themselves to the education of children and young people. They take care of the elderly who have been forgotten by everyone else. They look for ways to communicate values in hostile en-vironments. They are dedicated in many other ways to showing an immense love for humanity inspired by the God who became man. I am grateful for the beautiful ex-ample given to me by so many Christians who joyfully sacrifice their lives and their time. This witness comforts and sustains me in my own effort to overcome selfishness and to give more fully of myself. Fr. Terry’s Remarks— The Church has got a very bad press over the last two decades and bishops and priests have been toppled from their pedestals. Some of the mud slinging has been deserved, but at the same time the Church has given tremendous grace and benefit to the whole of soci-ety in so many fields of religious and social life. Our contri-bution to education, health care of the poor and infirm, mis-sion work and in culture and the arts has been enormous. Now we have to learn our lessons, take stock and learn from our mistakes and return more chastened to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to recover a genuine pastoral attitude in every single one of us. Our Church and we should be like a good mother: giving birth, breastfeeding, allowing people to grow and flourish, correcting when needed, nourishing and sometimes taking their hand. Our Church should be a womb of mercy. Without mercy it is almost impossible to penetrate our bleeding world. People today are crying out in silent desperation for understanding, acceptance, forgiveness and love. Stop for a moment and gaze intently at the one who is closest to you in your life and you will sense their pain, their loneliness, the fear in their hearts. Pope Francis tells us in today's reading, that he draws comfort and strength from those who show immense love for humani-ty. We have that grace, that love in our hearts. Let's start digging and begin sharing.