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FORMation Inspiration with FORMED.org
---> Not yet on FORMED?
- Visit http://signup.formed.org/.
- Enter our parish’s zip code or name.
- Enter your name and email.
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Religious Education & Sacramental Prep Updates
Religious Education
We have regular classes on April 14th and 21st. Our final night for the year will be April 28th. We will celebrate the end of the year with Mass that evening at 6:30pm at Holy Ghost. Family members are encouraged to attend with their student. Please contact Cassie at dbq059ff@dbqarch.org if you have any questions.
First Eucharist Preparation
The retreat was last night - thank you to all who attended! If you missed it or have any follow up questions, reach out to Cassie at dbq059ff@dbqarch.org. Please pray for all of our young parishioners preparing for First Eucharist in the beginning of May!
Confirmation Session
Our final session is this Sunday, April 11th at 10:30am at Holy Ghost. We will meet in the church this month instead of Paraclete Hall. If you have any questions please contact Cassie at dbq059ff@dbqarch.org.
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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 Triduum and Easter in Person!!! Happy Easter, Alleluia! Alleluia! 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! Moving through the Easter season there will be an ongoing amount of changes to the ministries, exciting to have Cantor lead singing again!
*The Easter Seasons schedules are posted and live! 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)! For those without computer access I will send snail mail copies, 1 per household. We started 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. Also, important, we have added more pews in each of the churches to accommodate more people, and other factors; you will now see only one row of pews taped off in between sitting areas. Please know you are in my prayers. As stated above, over the next few weeks all things are subject to change, additions or subtractions. Thank you all for your continued service to each of your churches and to Holy Spirit Parish!
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 yours,
Patrick J.
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Sunday Reflection from Father Steve Garner
Reflection | Second Sunday of Easter ~ Divine Mercy Sunday | April 11, 2021
 After Jesus was crucified, the apostles were paralyzed with fear. They had locked themselves in a room and were keeping a low profile. They didn’t want to end their lives in the same manner as Jesus did. But the Lord stepped right into this paranoia, this seemingly hopeless situation, and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you!” The fear subsided from the disciples and they rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Although these first disciples were very concerned about preserving their lives, the fact is that living holed up in an attic wasn’t going to be much of a life, freedom, or joy for them. Jesus wanted his followers to have the fullness of life, but that required trust in Him and His promises. As this weekend’s Gospel puts it, “that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in His name.” When we come to really accept who Jesus is, there is no more need for a life of slavery to fear—whatever that fear be, whether it’s fear for our health; fear for our reputation; fear for our comfort; or even fear that our sins are too big for forgiveness.
Today as we celebrate the feast of Divine Mercy, we remember that God’s love is strong enough to conquer the greatest of human fears—death itself. This confidence leads us to a renewed joy. As Pope Francis wrote in his declaration of this during the Year of Mercy a few years ago, “Mercy is the force that reawakens us to new life and instills in us the courage to look to the future with hope.” Once we are firmly established in this hope, we are called to be witnesses of mercy to others. The Holy Father continues with a challenge for all of us. “Jesus asks us also to forgive and to give. To be instruments of mercy because it was we who first received mercy from God.”
I wish everyone a blessed week!
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Join us for our annual Steak Fry Fundraiser on Sunday, April 18, 2021!
Reservation and pre-payment are required for this event and can be done at our website or by calling the parish office at 563.583.1709.
Please note: The safety and well-being of our parish members as well as the general public is very important to us. Please know that if you are attending this fundraiser in person you are asked to follow current CDC guidelines which encourages the wearing of masks and safe social distancing when present at gatherings. For your information, it is our understanding that The Barn restaurant does not require mask wearing or practice safe social distancing at their establishment. Attendees should be mindful of this when deciding whether or not to attend in person or utilize the carry out option.
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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.
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 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.
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Prayer and Intention for the Week
Let us pray with intention this week for our Children!
Every April, Catholic parishes and schools across the United States participate in National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Join us throughout the month as we continue to pray for the healing of victims of abuse
A PRAYER FOR HEALING
Victims of Abuse
God of endless love,
ever caring, ever strong,
always present, always just:
You gave your only Son
to save us by his blood on the cross.
Gentle Jesus, shepherd of peace,
join to your own suffering
the pain of all who have been hurt
in body, mind, and spirit
by those who betrayed the trust placed in them.
Hear the cries of our brothers and sisters
who have been gravely harmed,
and the cries of those who love them.
Soothe their restless hearts with hope,
steady their shaken spirits with faith.
Grant them justice for their cause,
enlightened by your truth.
Holy Spirit, comforter of hearts,
heal your people’s wounds
and transform brokenness into wholeness.
Grant us the courage and wisdom,
humility and grace, to act with justice.
Breathe wisdom into our prayers and labors.
Grant that all harmed by abuse may find peace in justice.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
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Enjoy the latest edition of the Family Matters newsletter here!
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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.
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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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Daily Mass will be offered each day (regular schedule) with the same restrictions.
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