Holy Spirit Parish News

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April 8, 2022

Please refer to the parish bulletin for more parish and community news and information.
You can find printed bulletins at each church site; electronically by clicking the button below; or by calling the parish office at 563.583.1709.

PARISH BULLETIN

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

This week at Holy Spirit Parish, our itinerary of conversion arrives at its most intense moments. The liturgies of this Holy Week are awash with the signs and symbols of the mysteries we celebrate - the Church, in Her wisdom, engages our every sense as we come before the Lord to give worship in remembrance of the great drama of our salvation.

From the procession and palm branches on Palm Sunday, the Church in Her liturgy begins to die and enter the tomb with Christ, Her Bridegroom. After the Gloria of Holy Thursday, the bells are silenced. The altar is stripped. On Good Friday - and Holy Saturday morning - the Church abstains from even the Sacraments themselves, except for Penance and Anointing of the Sick. We fix our eyes on the Cross, the instrument of our salvation. We wait at the Lord's tomb with prayer and fasting. And finally, as the solemn Vigil begins, our eyes are deprived of the very light by which we see. We strain our eyes as we keep watch with lighted candles, like those looking for the Lord when he returns.

Please, please, join us for the mysteries of Holy Week. Be with the Church as she follows our Lord through His Passion and Death. Follow the drama of our salvation with all of your senses! And be there, keeping watch through the Holy Night, when we hear - again, but with Paschal newness - the definitive Good News: Our Lord Jesus Christ is Risen. Come to one or all of these most holy liturgies!

Easter Sunday Mass Schedule

8:00am - Holy Trinity

9:00am - Sacred Heart

9:30am - Holy Ghost

11:00am - Sacred Heart

Lenten Almsgiving
One of the three pillars of Lent is the practice of almsgiving. This can be done in a variety of ways. One way to practice almsgiving is to participate in the parish almsgiving project. This year we will be supporting two local initiatives - People in Need and Dubuque Rescue Mission. Please be generous in your giving. You can use the pre-labeled envelopes available at the entrances to our churches or return your contribution to the office or in the collection in an envelope marked "Almsgiving Project."

Parish YouTube Channel
Please remember that if you are staying home from Mass due to illness or are otherwise looking to enrich your prayer life, make sure to check out our parish YouTube channel. There you can find live-streamed Masses as well as Morning Prayer, Night Prayer, and Adoration.

PARISH CALENDAR

Women of Worth

Please plan to join us for our 5th session, “Your Relationship with Jesus” as we attend Holy Thursday Mass, April 14th, 7pm at Sacred Heart Church. Jesus will be waiting for us.

High School Students

Holy Thursday Pilgrimage April 14
Join teens in making a self-guided pilgrimage to the various Catholic Churches for time of quiet adoration while reliving Jesus' Holy Thursday request to the apostles in the Garden of Gethsemane, "stay awake with me". Visit area Churches from 7:30 - 11pm. Join us at Cathedral for Night Prayer at 11:pm with a social to follow. Check out the flyer below for more information.

Faith and Fun Night April 20 at Loras College
Loras College Campus Spiritual Life invites you to Wahlert Hall at Loras College from 7-10 pm. Come and join us for a night of fun and games, talks, small groups, praise and worship, Adoration, and 9pm Mass with Father Vu.

PARISH YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Religious Education and Sacramental Preparation

Religious Education
We will have regular class next Wednesday, April 13th at 6:30pm at Cathedral. (2nd graders will meet with at least one parent in Cathedral Center for their retreat.) Please mark your calendars - since we did have a day that we canceled due to bad weather, April 27th will now be a makeup class. Our final Mass for the year will be on Wednesday, May 4th.

First Eucharist Preparation
A reminder that the First Eucharist retreat is coming up on Wednesday, April 13th at 6:30pm in the Cathedral Center. Parent(s) and students should attend. We ask that all parishioners keep those preparing for this sacrament in their prayers! If you have any questions, contact Cassie at dbq059ff@dbqarch.org.

Confirmation Preparation
Our final session will be this Sunday, April 10th at 9:15am in the Sacred Heart church basement. Confirmation sponsors are encouraged to attend with the candidate. We will do a walk through of the Sacrament of Confirmation that morning. Please contact Cassie at dbq059ff@dbqarch.org if you have any questions.

Music & Liturgical Ministry

Easter Schedule
While we have a good number of ministers for Triduum, we are in dire need of ministers for all the Easter Masses. Please sign up! I will post the Easter season schedules this week. Thank you for your patience. God Bless!

Archdiocesan News and Events
Click the links in each description for more information!

ArchdioceseOne
ArchdioceseOne is a special appeal for sacraficial giving from the Archdiocese to help the poor and to support the mission of the church.

Archdiocesan Synod Survey Update

Nearly 16,000 households participated in the Archdiocesan Synod Survey on parish vitality. This far surpassed our expectations.

Your honest and constructive input will help map the plan as we work to ensure strong parish vitality in the years to come. Thank you to all those who participated.

We are now working to analyze the wealth of information provided by all who participated. A report to the archdiocesan family will be sent to all households later this spring.

Please continue to pray for all involved in this important undertaking that the Holy Spirit will direct their work.

TOGETHER is a monthly bulletin from the Archdiocese of Dubuque.
Each month, TOGETHER will feature messages from Archbishop Jackels as well as initiatives and happenings from around the archdiocese.

Click on the link above to read the March edition.

Enjoy the April edition of the Family Matters newsletter here!

Parish Website

Parish Facebook Page

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