Mass Time Change Starting June 3, 2012 at St. Patrick Church Iowa City

Beginning Sunday, June 3, 2012, St. Patrick Church will change its 7:30am Mass time to 7:00am. The regular weekend Mass schedule of 4:30pm-Saturday, and Sunday at 10am and Noon-Spanish will remain the same. The parish is located at 4330 St. Patrick Drive, Iowa City, which is east off Scott Boulevard and then north off Lower West Branch Road. All are welcome!

 

June 3, 2012 Feast of the Most Holy Trinity

Call to prayer: God our Father, you sent into the world your Son and your Spirit to reveal to all peoples your wondrous mystery. Grant us the grace to acknowledge the glory of the Trinity and adore your all-powerful Unity. We ask this through Our Lord, Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with you world without end. Amen.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 28:16-20

The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ

Focus: The gospel gives us the strongest call to evangelize and to baptize in the name of the Trinity. The Trinity is the one true God who creates, liberates and makes holy. Into this God, a community of persons, we are plunged by our Baptism.

Questions for reflection and sharing:
1. What words stand out for you in this reading?
2. How does our Church evangelize today? How do we evangelize?
3. Today we celebrate the feast of the Most Holy Trinity. What is your understanding and experience of the Trinity?

Concluding prayer: God, Father all-powerful, Christ the Lord and Savior, Spirit of love, we praise you. One God, three Persons, be near to the people formed in your image, close to the world your love brings to life. We ask you this, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, true and living, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

May 27, 2012 Feast of Pentecost

Call to prayer: Let us pray that God will continue to send forth his Spirit and make all things new as he did on the first Pentecost and help us each day to be aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

A reading of the holy Gospel according to John 20:19-23

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ

Focus: The Holy Spirit breathes on his disciples and calls them to do what Jesus did: forgive sins, heal divisions, bring about reconciliation and joy to all. All Christians are commissioned and given power to carry on this mission.

Questions for Reflection and Sharing:
1. Do any words have a special meaning for you in this gospel?
2. Which gifts of the Spirit can you identify in our community?
3. What do the words “I’m sending you” call you to do this week?
4. What gift of service have you received from the Holy Spirit and how well are you using it now?

Concluding prayer: All-faithful God, fill us with the spirit of love that we may work effectively to establish among all Christ’s farewell gift of peace. We ask this through Our Lord, Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with you world without end. Amen.

 

Mass Time Change at St. Patrick Church Iowa City

Beginning Sunday, June 3, 2012, St. Patrick Church will change its 7:30am Mass time to 7:00am. The regular weekend Mass schedule of 4:30pm-Saturday, and Sunday at 10am and Noon-Spanish will remain the same. The parish is located at 4330 St. Patrick Drive, Iowa City, which is east off Scott Boulevard and then north off Lower West Branch Road. All are welcome!

 

Information on ongoing and upcoming study opportunities are as follows;

Fr. Bob Barron’s Catholicism Project

St. Mary Catholic Church
220 E. Jefferson Street
Iowa City
7-8:30pm in the parish hall (steps going down from the Linn Street side of the church, wheelchair lift on opposite [west] side of the church)

Sundays from April 15th-June 24th (no session on Memorial Day Weekend)

or

Mondays from September 10th-November 12th

Come join us for this video and discussion series! It may be just where the Holy Spirit is leading you!

Parking available on the street or in the lot across Linn Street from the church.

 

May 20, 2012 Ascension of the Lord

Call to prayer: God of all creation, as we prepare to celebrate the feast of the Ascension, help us to be ever mindful that you are present here as we gather and you are with us always. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you world without end. Amen.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 16:15-20

Jesus said to his disciples: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages.They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.
The Gospel of Our Lord

Focus: As Jesus left his disciples he gave them and us the mission, the mandate to evangelize, to make disciples of all nations.

Questions for reflection and sharing:
1. What word or phrase lingers with you as you read the gospel?
2. What is the significance of this gospel for us today?
3. What can we do today to proclaim the gospel to every creature, to “Go and make disciples?” How do you evangelize?

Concluding prayer:God, our Father, make us joyful in the Ascension of your Son Jesus Christ. May we follow him into the new creation, for his ascension is our glory and our hope.. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

 

May 13, 2012 Sixth Sunday of Easter

Call to prayer: All loving God, help us to celebrate our joy in the resurrection of Jesus and to express in our lives the love we celebrate. We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns world without end. Amen.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 15:9-17

Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy might be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.”
The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ

Focus: Jesus assures his disciples that he will continue to love them. He uses an intimate phrase, “I love you.” Then he commands us to love others as he loves us.

Questions for Reflection and Sharing:
1. What words or phrases are important for us in this gospel reading?
2. What if the pastoral plan for our parish was “love one another as I love you.” What might our parish look like?
3. As you reflect on Jesus calling you his friend, what thoughts and feelings come to you? How might you respond this week?

Concluding prayer: Almighty and ever-living God, through the resurrection of your Son, you have redeemed us and made us his children. May our lives be holy and may we strive to love others as you have loved us. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

 

Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 6, 2012

Call to prayer: Almighty God, look upon us with love. You redeem us and make us your children in Christ. Give us true freedom and bring us to the inheritance you promised. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns world without end. Amen.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John 15:1-8

Jesus said to his disciples: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ

Focus: John describes here the intimate relationship between Jesus and believers. One cannot nominally follow Jesus without sharing one’s life. Any branch cut off from the stem withers. God prunes the branches and causes them to bear more fruit.

Questions for reflection and sharing:
1. What words or phrases stay with you, stand out for you in this gospel?
2. What nourishment do you need to help you increase your yield?
3. How do you become a disciple and bear fruit?

Concluding prayer: All loving God and Vine Grower, you planted your vine in the hardened earth of sinful humanity and caused it to grow through death to life. Unite us in Christ, in faith and love, that we may bear much fruit. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

 

April 29, 2012 4th Sunday of Easter Good Shepherd Sunday

Call to prayer: O God our Shepherd, you care for your flock across every desert and through every dark place. May we seek out and restore all those who have lost their way, that we may all come together into the glory of God. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John 10:11-18

Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.”
The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ

Focus: The word shepherd has become a key metaphor for pastoral care. The good shepherd protects his sheep. Jesus knows and loves his people.

Questions for reflection and sharing:
1. What words or phrases speak to us from this reading?
2. What qualities of pastoral care are described in this gospel?
3. Who are the “other sheep” to whom Jesus was referring? What “fold” was he referring to?
4. Have you ever felt like a sheep and Jesus was your good shepherd?

Concluding prayer: All loving God, give us new strength from the courage of Christ our shepherd, and lead us to a deeper faith in you so we may one day join the saints in heaven, where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

April 22, 2012 Third Sunday of Easter

Call to prayer: God faithful and true, you have built upon the rock of Jesus Christ, a dwelling place that cannot be shaken, even by death. Make us steadfast in faith as we gather to praise you. We ask this through the same Christ our Lord, Amen.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 24:35-48

The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way, and how Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of bread. While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them. He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.
The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ

Focus: Jesus appears to the disciples. It is only when he eats with them that they are convinced that he is the risen Lord.

Questions for Reflection and Sharing:
1. What words or phrases are important to you in this gospel?
2. How do the Resurrection stories make you a witness and evangelizer?
3. Is your life a mixture of belief and lack of faith at the same time?

Concluding Prayer: God our Father, may we look forward with hope to our own resurrection, for you have made us your sons and daughters and restored life in us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.