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Greetings Holy Spirit Parish!
Welcome to the Fifth Week of Lent!


We continue to pray for our parishioners and an end to the COVID pandemic.
We are nearing the end of Lent but there is still time to offer extra prayer and reflection by participating in any one (or all!) of our Lenten opportunities.

Remember that you can find all of this information at the link below as well as on our website, Facebook page, by downloading the parish app, or visiting our YouTube Channel!

Here's what's coming up for this week:
Virtual Morning Prayer is posted each morning (Mon-Fri) at 6am
on Facebook & YouTube

and 
the following are available in-person and virtually at Sacred Heart Church:
(TIME CHANGE for MAR 18 onlyThursday evening Holy Hour & Rosary at 6:30pm

Friday evening Stations of the Cross at 5:30pm
Saturday morning Faith Formation at 9am
Saturday afternoon Mass at 4pm
Sunday evening Holy Hour & Night Prayer at 7pm


There are so many ways to #stayconnectedwhilestayingapart #LiveLent
Lenten Flyer
PARISH BULLETIN

Join Archbishop Jackels for a family-friendly Lenten event with warm conversation and special attention given to the lives of our women and men religious on Tuesday, March 23 at 6:30PM. 

The religious communities in our archdiocese help us to focus on a shared life, where people give of themselves in service of others, especially the poor.

#LiveLent

Click here to access the Lenten Livestream

 Feast of Saint Joseph
Solemnity—March 19

The spouse of Mary the mother of Jesus and the legal father of Jesus according to Jewish law, Joseph is a model of humility and obedience to God’s will. He followed God’s instructions, given by angels in dreams, and took the pregnant Mary into his home as his wife, protected her and Jesus at the child’s birth in Bethlehem through the family’s sojourn in Egypt, and provided for them as a carpenter in Nazareth. This feast, which was celebrated locally as early as the ninth century, became a universal feast in the fifteenth century, when it was placed on the liturgical calendar. Pope Pius IX named St. Joseph Patron of the Universal Church in 1870; he is also the patron saint of carpenters, the dying, and workers.

“Being a guardian is the distinctive trait of Joseph: Being the guardian is his great mission . . . We look to Joseph as the model educator, who watches over and accompanies Jesus as he grows ‘in wisdom, age and grace,’ as the Gospel says. He was not Jesus’ father: the father of Jesus was God, but he was a father to Jesus, he was a father to Jesus in order to help him grow. And how did he help him grow? In wisdom, age and grace.” —Pope Francis, March 19, 2014

Copyright © 2018, Catholic News Service–United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved. Quote from Pope Francis, copyright © 2014, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Vatican City State. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

FORMation Inspiration with FORMED.org
 

---> Not yet on FORMED? 
  1. Visit http://signup.formed.org/.
  2. Enter our parish’s zip code or name.
  3. Enter your name and email.
Lenten Almsgiving Project ~ there is still time to GIVE

Each year, Holy Spirit Parish takes on a parish-wide almsgiving project. This year, we will be collecting donations to support People In Need and Project Rooted both local, community organizations. 
 
PEOPLE IN NEED (PIN) 

People In Need (PIN) is founded on the belief that the spiritual health of a whole community and of its individual members depends on care for one another. PIN accepts financial contributions from groups and individuals. It assists those temporarily in need by offering limited help in exceptional circumstances through direct payments to clients’ creditors, for rent, utilities, medical and other basic needs.

PIN is an organization run totally by volunteers. Free office space is provided by Westminster Presbyterian Church. Members of the Board of Directors fund all overhead costs. This enables us to live by the motto:
A dollar to PIN is a dollar to people in need.

PROJECT ROOTED Project Rooted – Imagine Dubuque

We believe real food has the power to change the world.
http://www.projectrooted.com
The mission of Project Rooted is to "Connect kids to real food from the ground up." Our goal is to fulfill this mission by creating a world where everyone has access to fresh local produce, connections to farmers and gardens and is living nourished lives in our schools, homes and community. 
To learn more visit: www.projectrooted.com.

Will you help us assist those in our community? 
Use the enclosed envelope to return your gift in the collection box at church or mail or drop off at the parish office. You can also donate online at https://holyspiritdbq.weshareonline.org/ws/opportunities.
 
Our goal is to raise $5,000!
PRAY – FAST – LEARN – GIVE
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY at Five Flags !!AHS Donation Drive/Volunteer Meeting 12/22/18 | Animal House Shelter
 
Holy Spirit Parish has an opportunity for volunteers to work 4-5 hour shifts in the arena to create income for the parish. This will generate $8.50 per hour worked which is sent to the parish on a monthly basis. 

During your shift, you may have the opportunity to watch concerts or events in the arena. You must be able to stand, walk and climb steps to escort guests to their seats. For more details or to volunteer contact Mary Lee Roth at 564-542-0884 or maryleeroth61@gmail.com.  
Religious Education & Sacramental Prep Updates

Religious Education
We resume our regular class on March 24th. Please contact Cassie at dbq059ff@dbqarch.org if you have any questions.

First Eucharist Preparation
We are studying the student workbook for First Eucharist with Chapter 6 this week! As a reminder, our First Eucharist retreat is coming up at 6:30pm on Wednesday, April 7th. Parents and students should attend that evening. Also, if you have not sent your RSVP to Cassie for First Eucharist yet, please email her the date, Mass time, location and number of people you need seating for. Please continue to pray for all of our parishioners preparing for this Sacrament! If you have any questions please contact Cassie at dbq059ff@dbqarch.org.

Confirmation Session
Our next session is Sunday, April 11th at 10:30am in the Holy Ghost church basement. If you have any questions please contact Cassie at dbq059ff@dbqarch.org.
2021 NCYC to be set Ablaze • Enciende el Fuego

IMPORTANT NEWS about NCYC:  
The National Catholic Youth Conference will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana on November 18 - 20. An informational Meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, April 7, 2021 at 7pm in the Cathedral Center at the Cathedral of St. Raphael, Dubuque.  Any student currently in grades 8-11 from the Cathedral, Saint Patrick's or Holy Spirit parishes is eligible to attend. A completed registration form and a $250 deposit must be submitted to the Archdiocese Office by April 30 to reserve a spot. For more information contact Jan Thyne at dbq054ff@dbqarch.org.
A Note from Patrick, Director of Worship
 
Dear All,
 
I hope you and your families continue to be in good health! What a blessing to be able to come together to celebrate Mass for the 4th Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday! As we continue our 2021 Lenten Journey and we pray together, “again we keep this solemn fast.” This week we celebrate the feast days of two of my most favorite Saints, Saint Patrick and Saint Joseph!! May we all pray for their most powerful intercession! Due to many ministers staying home for various legitimate health and safety reasons this means many of you are serving each week to help; please know how grateful I am for all of you who are serving every week! We are all in this together and will take it week by weekWe are staying the course with the same number of ministers through February and March. Lectors will continue to read through the first reading, psalm, and second reading. All volunteers, especially ushers/greeters, please wear your mask fully over your nose. It is of the utmost importance to set a good example of the safety protocols to ensure everyone’s health and well-being.
 
*Please continue sending me any updates to your availability for Holy Week through Easter Season, all the way to Corpus Christi (April 1-June 6th)!  I will post this schedule and make it live by Friday afternoon at the latest, 3/19. For those without computer access I will send snail mail copies, 1 per household; I will add the Holy Week Masses to the MSP schedule soon-please let me know if you are willing and able to serve Holy Thursday through Easter Vigil. We will start adding back certain ministries during Holy Week through the Easter season (but not all); one cantor/ singer, and depending on the Mass Extraordinary Ministers (*most Masses will still not have Ems, but on the busier Masses where no Deacon is present, we will reach out on a week-by-week basis!). So exciting!! This does not mean that Covid-19 is over; we will have a modified approach of minimal singing, Cantor ONLY. All Easter Masses have musicians, thank you for all who reached out!  Forgive me, my email last week was a little confusing; still no altar servers, sacristans, or Children’s Liturgy of the Word. Thank you all for your continued service to each of your churches and to Holy Spirit Parish! Please know you are in my prayers. 
 
The Lent 2021 is Live, (February 6th - March 28th), please let me know if you need to update your preferences or schedule, and I will update the schedules. As always, copies of the schedule can be found via MSP, the parish website, along with hard copies in the sacristy of each church and parish office. For those that have no computer access I will mail hard copies. Please let me know if you would like me to add you to my mailing list. Musicians, please review the Lent music guidelines I sent; solemn, silent exit, no recessional, please.
 
If you are unable to make your Mass time, please click on sub request and/or let me know at least 2 days in advance. For all ministers across the board please be at least 20-30 minutes early to Mass. Especially in these trying times, thank you for all your continued service to Holy Spirit Parish. As Father Steve and I do all that we can to maintain the guidelines set forth by the Archdiocese and Archbishop Michael, we thank you for your patience and understanding!
 
Notes on MSP emails and App: I know there are issues with the new MSP emails; please double check all inboxes as these emails sometimes go to other inboxes. If an email is delivered to the Promotions tab, you can click and drag it to the primary inbox. Once you move one message, the others will no longer be marked as promotions so they will go to the primary inbox! The phone app has been updated! To access the updated app, volunteers should click Update for the MSP app in the App Store or Google Play and then click Open. Doing so will allow you to regain access to your account. If for any reason they do not get access, please simply close and reopen the app, or click the “reload” link if they experience an error code. 

Many prayers and blessings to you and your families, 

Patrick J. 

Sunday Reflection from Father Steve Garner


Reflection | Fifth Sunday of Lent | March 21, 2021

“Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be.”

In this weekend’s Gospel, Jesus speaks about death and offers the analogy of the grain of wheat that must fall to the ground and die in order to produce much fruit. Later, He speaks about how He will be “lofted up from the earth,” making reference to His crucifixion. He says that the fruit of this will allow everyone to be drawn to Himself.

Jesus is telling us that death yields a greater good and that it produces fruit. So when He insists that we must follow Him, we can take courage. Yes, following Jesus means accompanying Him all the way to the cross. It also means that we too are called to carry our own cross and to ourselves declare a death to sin. Recall Jesus saying, “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.” Through the death of Jesus on the cross, the sin of the world died with Him so that we can have eternal life. We too declare a death to sin for ourselves so that we can embrace eternal life with Christ. When we stay connected to Jesus in this way, through thick and thin, we receive eternal life in the end.

The Season of Lent is designed not only to help us reflect a bit more deeply on the sufferings and death of Christ, but also prepare us for the glory that follows. The joy of Easter and the triumph of the Resurrection are all the more powerful precisely because they emerge out of the darkest and most hopeless of situations. When we cling to Jesus even through these kinds of circumstances in our lives—whether that be sickness, unemployment, conflict, or disappointment—we are those servants that Jesus spoke of (the ones who go where Jesus goes, even when the going gets tough) who are always embracing of Him and embraced by Him. Jesus gives us what we need to be able to overcome all things and bear fruit in this life, but our real treasure is the everlasting fruit of heaven.

As we continue our journey through Lent, let us be open to the movement of Jesus drawing us closer to Him so that we can be one with Him when we leave this world.

I wish everyone a blessed week!

 
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 January edition.

Prayer Resources

ONLINE MASS (Pre-recorded)
Opportunities for online Mass with the Archbishop will continue to be available. Click the button below for the broadcast schedule. 

DAILY PRAYER RESOURCES

Please visit these websites for resources for your daily prayer life or other prayer opportunities:

FAMILY RESOURCES
Please refer to the Archdiocesan webpage for family resources during COVID-19.

Archdiocese Live Broadcasts

Prayer and Intention for the Week

Let us pray with intention this week to St. Joseph.

Prayer to St. Joseph
During the Year of Saint JosephCelebrating the Feast of St. Joseph • Italia Living

To you, O blessed Joseph, do we come in our tribulation, and having implored the help of your most holy Spouse, we confidently invoke your patronage also.

Through that charity which bound you to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God and through the paternal love with which you embraced the Child Jesus, we humbly beg you graciously to regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ has purchased by his Blood, and with your power and strength to aid us in our necessities.

O most watchful guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ; 
O most loving father, ward off from us every contagion of error and corrupting influence;
O our most mighty protector, be kind to us and from heaven assist us in our struggle with the power of darkness.

As once you rescued the Child Jesus from deadly peril, so now protect God's Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity;
shield, too, each one of us by your constant protection, so that, supported by your example and your aid, we may be able to live piously, to die in holiness, and to obtain eternal happiness in heaven. Amen.

Enjoy the latest edition of the Family Matters newsletter here!

Recent Updates & Reminders
 

REQUIRED for attending Mass at Holy Spirit


Masks are REQUIRED to attend Mass at Holy Spirit Parish. If you do not have a mask, there are some available at the church entrances. Also, as the number of Mass attendees increases there is a chance we may need to turn people away so as to maintain recommended social distancing guidelines. 


Parish Office Closure
Due to COVID-19, the Parish Office will remain closed to walk-ins for your health and the health of our staff. We will still keep reduced office hours (8am-noon, Monday-Friday) for the time being, so if you need to speak with someone, please call 563-583-1709 and we will be happy to help!  If you have something to turn in to the office, please place it inside the front storm door at the parish office in the locked depository box on the left under the shelf. We will retrieve items during business hours.

Guidelines for Attending Mass at Holy Spirit Parish

Please review the following guidelines implemented for the celebration of public Mass until further notice.

  • All (including children) must wear masks before, during, and following Mass (while in church/parking lot areas). The CDC recommends children under the age of two do not wear a mask; please refrain from bringing children under the age of two to Mass until restrictions have been lifted.
  • Seating will be limited; please sit only in open (untaped/unroped) pews minding social distancing guidelines; please do not disturb, change placement of or remove blue tape or rope on pews
  • Once pews are filled we will be at capacity and admittance will cease, pews may not be held or saved for others
  • Families or those living in the same household may sit together in a pew; if room permits, others may enter the same pew IF proper distance is available. Families living in different households must maintain proper social distancing guidelines.
  • Church pews, handrails, kneelers, door handles, high use areas, etc. will be sanitized after each Mass
  • Holy Water fonts and cisterns will be remain empty
  • Sanitizer will be available at all church entrances
  • Rest rooms (in churches) will be available and sanitized following Mass
  • Church halls (Kriebs, Terence, and Paraclete) will be CLOSED during Mass, including the rest rooms located in those halls
  • All printed materials (including the bulletins) will be removed from churches, please refer to the parish website to view the weekly bulletin
  • There will be no missalettes or music issues available for use in pews
  • Social distancing must be observed (at least six feet apart) in church and parking lot areas
  • Please refrain from singing during Mass
  • There will be no (or very limited) liturgical ministers
  • Please refrain from greeting or gathering before and/or after Mass in church and/or parking lot areas
  • There will be no collection during Mass, collection boxes will be placed at church entrances
  • There will be no offertory/gift procession
  • Please avoid physical contact during the Our Father and Sign of Peace
  • Only the Precious Body will be offered at Communion and placed only in the hand (not on the tongue)
  • There will be no distribution of the Precious Blood
  • Logistics are still being considered for each location concerning the distribution of Holy Communion. NOTE: Priests will begin by bringing Communion to the people in the pews and adjust if need be as we proceed.
Please keep in mind these other important points when considering attending Mass:
  1.  The coronavirus is still with us. Following social distancing guidelines in regard to gathering for a liturgy or a devotional in church will result in less space, reducing greatly the number of people who can attend. 
  2. Dispensation from the obligation to participate in Sunday Mass and holy days will remain in effect until further notice, most likely until a vaccine is available.
  3. Please refrain from attending if you are sick, were recently sick (in the past 14 days), or have an underlying medical condition; or, if you are concerned about contracting COVID-19 or live with or care for someone who is at higher risk due to underlying medical conditions or advanced age, or is sick. Additionally, those who are frail due to advanced age, are under the age of two, and those who work in a high risk profession should abstain from attending Mass.
  4. Daily Mass will be offered each day (regular schedule) with the same restrictions.
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