In residence The Most Reverend Howard J. Hubbard, D.D. Bishop Emeritus. Religious Education and Faith Formation Dr. Thomas Fowler

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1 The Most Reverend Edward B. Scharfenberger, D.D. Bishop of Albany The Very Reverend David R. LeFort, S.T.L., V.G., Rector The Reverend John Tallman, Parochial Vicar The Reverend Paul Mijas, Parochial Vicar Timothy Kosto, II, Deacon In residence The Most Reverend Howard J. Hubbard, D.D. Bishop Emeritus Religious Education and Faith Formation Dr. Thomas Fowler Cathedral Social Services Food Pantry Mr. Mark Ciavardoni Director of Music and Organist Dr. Brian F. Gurley Development, Public Relations & Events Mr. Thomas M. Prindle Parish Secretary Ms. Pilar Dell Liturgical Coordinator Dr. Melissa Martínez Parish Bookkeeper Mrs. Kathy Zorian Facilities Manager Mr. David Ucci, M.B.A Rectory and Cathedral Offices 125 Eagle Street Albany, New York Phone: Fax: Follow us on facebook: Religious Education Office Phone: ext. 4 FFCICa@rcda.org Church Music Office Phone: ext. 5 brian.gurley@rcda.org Social Services Food Pantry Office 93 Park Avenue (basement office) Phone: ciavardm@rcda.org CATHEDRAL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION In the City and Diocese of Albany Established 1848 Corner of Eagle Street and Madison Avenue (at the Empire State Plaza), Albany 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. Schedule of Liturgical Celebrations The Holy Eucharist (Mass) The Lord s Day: (anticipated Mass) 5:15 p.m. on Saturday 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Sunday Weekdays: Holy Days: Monday-Wednesday-Friday 12:15 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday 7:15 a.m. Please check the bulletin and website. The Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Saturday: 4:00-5:00 p.m....and other times by appointment The Sacrament of Holy Baptism Call the church office to make arrangements for appointment and instructions. The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony Couples should contact the parish office six to eight months in advance of the proposed marriage. The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick If you are anticipating surgery, please contact the parish office. Religious Education To register, and for information, call: , ext. 4 Parish Food Pantry 93 Park Avenue; Basement, Entrance at north side of building Food and personal care items collected on the last Sunday of the month. Food distributed Monday-Friday, l0:00a.m.- 12:00p.m. Pastoral Visits At home or in the hospital, please call the parish office. Tours of the Cathedral are available by appointment; please contact the Rectory Office for information and/or to schedule a tour.

2 CATHEDRAL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION ALBANY PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD First Reading: This passage depicts a servant whom God called to strengthen the weary. Like many prophets, he encounters rejection, insults, and violence. Confident that God will ultimately vindicate him, the servant sets his face like flint in endurance. Although this song comes from the time of the Babylonian Exile, it gave the early Church a way of speaking about Christ s suffering. The Servant Songs are not direct predictions about Jesus but a means for his followers to understand his suffering and death. Second Reading: This early creedal hymn, which Paul quotes, provides Christians with a frame-work for understanding the life, death, and exaltation of Jesus Christ. Like Isiah's prophet, Jesus is seen as God s servant one who did not regard being made in God s image as something about which to boast. Rather, Jesus chose the path of self-emptying as the way to remain faithful to his calling. He humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him. The early Christians who sang this hymn knew that the agony and disgrace of Jesus Crucifixion were to be understood only in light of his vindication by God through the Resurrection. For Paul this creed is all one needs to know about Jesus life. Paul, however, is not only concerned that the Philippians intellectually know this passionate way, but he also wants them, and us, to know it in our hearts. We are to be imitators of the passionate Christ just as Paul is. Gospel: From Jesus Last supper with his disciples to his final breath on the Cross, the picture of Jesus in Luke s Gospel is of one who is a servant faithful to God in the face of evil. The power of darkness, which left Jesus after the temptations until an opportune time (Luke 4:13), now returns to attack Jesus. Yet throughout the story we encounter Jesus deep compassion as he experiences Judas betrayal, his arrest by armed soldiers, Peter s denial, his followers abandonment, his opponents mockery, and the crowd's vilification. When one of the slaves in the arresting party has his ear cut off, Jesus heals him. When he is shuttled back and forth from Sanhedrin to Herod to Pilate, his faithful obedience to the demands of the moment does not waiver. When one of the criminals being crucified with him asks to be remembered, Jesus offers him the blessing of paradise. Never does he betray his understanding of himself as one who serves, whose life is being given and poured out for his disciples. The cry of the soldier at the Cross, Certainly this man was innocent, completes the picture of Jesus innocence in the midst of evil. While his murder was a political act that satisfied military and religious leaders whose authority he challenged, Jesus revolutionary work for God s reign had just begun. Join the Cathedral Parish Family for the Cathedral Brunch Hosted by Father LeFort Sunday, April 28, 2019 at Wolferts Roost Country Club 12:30-12:45 p.m. - Bloody Mary's & Mimosas 12:45 p.m. - Extensive Buffet Flyers can be found at the doors of the church. at The Cathedral is in need of help for ironing of our sacred linens. If you are able to volunteer a couple of hours a week please contact Melissa Martinez 2

3 PALM SUNDAY PASSION OF THE LORD Re-Igniting Our Faith Campaign: Cathedral Parish, part 2 Over the last few weekends, we ve been sharing information about the upcoming Re-Igniting Our Faith Campaign, a diocesan-wide initiative which seeks to grow each of our parishes into vibrant communities of disciples serving Our Lord well into the future. Last weekend, we learned about the desire to expand our ministries of outreach. This weekend let s consider a few other goals we have here at the Cathedral for our growth into the future. Many are already aware that we have begun to renovate and re-purpose our former convent (adjacent to Bishop Maginn High School), not only to provide a full environment in which men might enter initial formation for diocesan priesthood by establishing St. Isaac Jogues House of Formation and Pre-Seminary, but also to partner with parishioners in various current and anticipated ministries. While this new residence will be a diocesan program, it will benefit our parish in several ways: the diocesan lease will generate $60,000 in annual income for our parish; the residents would be intimately involved in our earlier-mentioned Street Ministry along with parishioners; they will seek to supplement the staffing needs of the high school; and our liturgical ministries will be supplemented by their presence and service. Moreover, from this endeavor, we will be acquiring at least three new meeting spaces there for our parish s use. A further goal for Re-Igniting Our Faith is to provide a practical, visible welcome for those who visit our neighborhood. Currently, there is no designation on the exterior of the Cathedral identifying it. We intend to design, construct and install a traditionally-styled marker (sign) outside the North Tower to identify the church, further extending invitation and welcome to the city and the diocese to join with us. Many find the Sacrament of Reconciliation to be a comforting experience which re-ignites faithful lives. We intend to foster such an aide by acquiring, retrofitting and installing a traditional confessional inside the Cathedral, to offer penitents greater privacy and reverence for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the gift of mercy it offers. Our hope is to reclaim a confessional that is no longer in use, one that would fit appropriately into our Cathedral. Hopefully these reflections over the last three weeks have given readers a better sense of our overall goal: to re-ignite the gift of faith within each one of us, so that in turn we might reach out to others and share our gift of faith in Jesus Christ, thus growing the blessing of our Church well into the future. For more information, please visit re-ignitingourfaith.org. 3 Stewardship Treasure The Collection for Sunday April 7th,2019 was $3, The Second Collection was $ Thank you for all you have given to the Cathedral. There will be No Faith Formation Sunday April 21st and Sunday April 28th. Pope Francis has asked our parish to support the Pontifical Good Friday Collection, which helps Christians in the Holy Land. Your support helps the church minister in parishes, provide Catholic schools and offer religious education. It also helps to preserve the sacred shrines. The wars, unrest and instability have been especially hard on Christians. In these times of crisis, the Pontifical Good Friday Collection provides humanitarian aid to refugees. When you contribute to the Pontifical Good Friday Collection, you become an instrument of peace and join with Catholics around the world in solidarity with the Church in the Holy Land. Please pray for our sick; Jeffrey Abraham, Robert Buell, Shirley Anderson, Lucy Apisa, Stephen Beattie, Carol Bruce, Grace Isabelle Caruso, Carmella Cervera, Mary Faith Colvin, Patricia Contti, Theresa Cooney, Sr., Gertrude Cosenke, RSCJ, Marc Daniels, John Dare, Jr., Denise Degasparis, Michael Dolan, Ann Doherty, JoAnn DeLucia, Diane Fontanelli, Janette Fusco, Bernice Girma, Karen Goral, Carol Greenshields, Jean Gutbrodt, Bryan Hanley, Jacqueline Heisler, Kelly Hemming, Kenneth Hockeson; Douglas Hoffeler, Dorothy Jordan, Reny Jose, Bill Keane, Amy Keegan, James Laung, Donald Law, Gayle Leonard, Rebecca Leno, Therese Lenz, Diane Lo Prete, Maria Marchio, Marie-Ann Melenfant, John McGrath, Mary Grace Meneses Sr., Maria Mercurio, CSJ, Stephanie Merenda, Diane 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

4 April 14,2019 LENT 2019 HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE PALM SUNDAY, April 14th,2019 Saturday Vigil Mass 5:15 pm Sunday Masses, 9:00 am., 11:00 am., And 5:00 p.m. Monday, 12:15 pm Mass Tuesday, 7:15 am Mass Wednesday, 12:15pm Mass TRIDUUM Holy Thursday, April 18th Mass of the Lord s Supper 5:30pm 10:00 pm Night Prayer Good Friday, April 19th, Stations of the Cross 3:00pm Passion of the Lord,5:30pm Holy Saturday, April 20th Blessing of Easter Foods,3:00pm Solemn Vigil of Easter,8:00pm Easter Sunday, April 21st Easter Sunday Masses 9:00 am, Fr. LeFort 11:00 am, 5:00pm, Fr. Mijas 4A

5 April 14,2019 Meetings and Mass Intentions for the week of April 14, 2019 April 21, 2019 Sunday April 14th 11:00am Joseph and Ruth Petro Tuesday April 16th 12:00pm AA Meeting (Rectory) Wednesday April 17th 12:15 pm Mary Murphy (Living) Thursday & Friday- Office & Food Pantry Closed Sunday April 21st 11:00 am Rosario Calabrese 21st Annual Golf Outing To Preserve Albany s Historic Cathedral Of The Immaculate Conception Monday, June 17, 2019 Wolferts Roost Country Club Albany, NY Heart Of A Priest The incorrupt heart of Saint Jean Vianney is visiting the Diocese of Albany on Friday April 26th, from 12 Noon to 7 pm here at the Cathedral. Entrusted to the Knights of Columbus by the Shrine or Ars, France, this relic is on a national tour in the U.S. Join us in venerating this patron Saint of parish priests, whose holiness and integrity are a model for clergy and laity alike. 4B