April 19, 2020

Sunday of Divine Mercy

During this difficult time, pray for an end to the spread of the coronavirus

and for all healthcare workers and those personally affected by the virus.

Please remember to practice social distancing, covering coughs and sneezes,

and diligent hand-washing.

STEWARDSHIP OF TIME

We put God FIRST in our lives by coming to Mass every Lord’s Day and spending time in

prayer each day. If we are family, we spend time together as often as possible.

Readings for the Week of April 20, 2020

Monday Acts 4:23-31/Jn 3:1-8 Tuesday Acts 4:32-37/Jn 3:7B-15 Wednesday Acts 5:17-26/Jn 3:16-21 Thursday Acts 5:27-33/Jn 3:31-36 Friday Acts 5:34-42/Jn 6:1-15 Saturday 1 Pt 5:5b-14/Mk 16:15-20 Sunday Acts 2:14, 22-33/1 Pt 1:17-21/Lk 24:13-35

APRIL 19, 2020

Sunday of Divine Mercy

Prayer for Protection Against Severe Weather Lord Jesus, be with us during the storms of nature. Pro-tect us from tornadoes and other severe weather condi-tions. Be with all those who serve to protect the people of our community. As you calmed the Sea of Galilee, deliver us now from the storms that threaten our area. Keep us safe in your loving care. Amen.

Private Mass Intentions for the Coming Week Monday, April 20 Robert Lyons, Jim Dierks Tuesday, April 21 Evelyn Mueller Wednesday, April 22 Barbe McGee, Gene Stevenson Thursday, April 23 Margaret Burken Friday, April 24 Karen Jensen Saturday, April 25 Joe & Jane Dunlavy, Ron Dixon, Lauren Hyde Sunday, April 26 Third Sunday of Easter Carlie Seamer, Clarence VanderBleek, Andrea Blohm During this time when public Masses are not being offered, Fr. Ken and Fr. Stack are honoring Mass intentions in their daily private Masses. Because of the Covid-19 crisis, these Masses are not open to the public.

Prayer Line A group of dedicated individuals pray privately each day for the special needs of our parishioners. Contact the Parish Office at (563)242-3311 or email Annette Lyons at lyons.annette@gmail.com to have your requests added to the Prayer Line.

STEWARDSHIP OF TALENT

We share the gifts and abilities we have received from God by being actively involved in at least

one ministry in our parish, school and/or community.

STEWARDSHIP OF TREASURE

As Parish members, our goal is to share 5% of our household income through our church

envelopes, 1% to the Annual Diocesan Appeal and 4% to other charities. We give in gratitude

to God for the many blessings we have received.

Parish Support

Envelope Giving Goal for April: $81,795.00

Date Amount Rec’d % of Goal

April 4/5 $19,337.33 24%

April 11/12 $13,043.79 40%

Other Contributions

Diocesan collections…………………………….…..$396.00 Peru…..……………………………………….….…..$145.00 Easter Flowers………………………………………. $10.00 Catholic Messenger…………………………...…..... $58.00 Local Charities ……………………………………..…$52.00 Tuition…………………………………………….…..$122.00 Easter……………………………………….………$2,245.00 Holy Day………………………………..………………$10.00 Rice Bowl……………………………………………..$339.91 Hall.…..…………………………………….…….….. $687.00 Total…... ……………………………………….…. $4,064.91

“Together In Faith” Campaign Pledged: $1,889,119.00 (577 Pledges) Paid: $1,920,780.00 (Cash & Stock Gifts)

Hall Loan Balance: $333,988.12

Annual Diocesan Appeal Update Thank you to those who continue to support the Annual Diocesan Appeal - our results to date are: Pledged: $111,221 Paid: $92,495 Goal: $99,807 Remember, pledge payments received over our goal are refunded to our Parish. Our Parish received a $4,084 ADA refund in February from the previous ADA. Thank you for your generous support!

Updates on Charitable Giving Recently passed legislation included some charitable giving provision:

Enhanced Tax Benefits for Charitable Gifts $300 Deduction of Cash Contributions: Ability for an

above-the-line deduction up to $300 of cash contributions to charities, regardless of whether the individual itemizes deductions.

Changes to Limits on Charitable Contributions: Individuals: For those who itemize their deductions for

charitable giving, the 50% of adjusted gross income limit is suspended for 2020

Corporations: The 10% limit on charitable contributions is increased to 25% of taxable income.

Retirement Account Changes 2020 RMDs Waived for Retirement Accounts: With the

exception of defined benefit plans, required minimum distribution (RMDs) are waived for all employer plans and IRAs in 2020, including inherited accounts. This pro-vision also applies to RMDs due in 2020, but attributable to 2019. Individuals do not need to meet COVID-19 quali-fying criteria to waive RMDs for 2020.

Please consult your financial advisor on how these changes may apply to you.

Drive-By Blessings on Easter Sunday

Correction On Easter, Fr. Ken and Deacon Jeff visited 76 families and gave them an Easter blessing. The Catholic Messenger incorrectly re-ported that it was 67.

ON-LINE RESOURCES

English Masses EWTN Mass (https://www.ewtn.com/ ) - Daily at 7 am, 11 am, and 6 pm.

Relevant Radio 92.5 FM (https://relevantradio.com/) - Daily Mass from the Chapel of the Nativity at 12:00 pm.

Mass from Bishop Robert Barron’s Chapel can be found daily at 7:15 AM on our Parish website (https://www.jcpop.org/ ).

CatholicTV Live Mass (http://catholictv.org/masses/notre-dame-mass) from the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre

Dame's campus in South Bend, Indiana. 9:00 AM every Sunday 8:30 AM Monday-Friday.

St. Patrick's Cathedral Live Mass (https://saintpatrickscathedral.org/live) from St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York.

9:15 AM every Sunday

Spanish Masses

CatholicTV (catholictv.org) 7:00 AM, 4:30 PM, 9:00 PM every Sunday.

San Fernando Cathedral Live (https://vimeo.com/sanfernandocathedral) from San Fernando Cathedral

in San Antonio, Texas.

8:00 AM and 12:00 PM every Sunday

Additional Resources

KXJX 92.5 FM radio – our local Catholic radio station

Daily Scriptural Readings http://usccb.org/

Click the calendar date for the appropriate readings for the day.

The Catholic Messenger website https://www.catholicmessenger.net/

Provides updates from Bishop Zinkula, live streams, and relevant news.

Diocese of Davenport website https://davenportdiocese.org/prayer-and-support

Liturgy of the Hours (http://www.universalis.com/-700/today.htm)

Find Morning, Daytime, Evening and Night prayer online.

Pray the Rosary (https://therosary.online/ )

Our Parish Mission As the people of Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace Parish, our MISSION is to

CELEBRATE OUR FAITH, LIVE OUR FAITH, and PASS OUR FAITH ON TO OTHERS.

Have you found us on Facebook yet?

Go to:

“Jesus Christ, Prince of

Peace Catholic Church”

and click “follow” for all news, and upcoming events!

f

O Mary,

you always brighten our path of salvation

and of hope.

We entrust ourselves to you, health of the sick,

who, at the Cross, took part in Jesus’ pain

while remaining steadfast in faith.

O loving Mother, you know what we need,

and we are confident you will provide for us

as at Cana in Galilee.

Intercede for us with your Son Jesus, the Divine Physician,

for those who have fallen ill, for those who are vulnerable,

and for those who have died.

Intercede also for those charged with protecting the health and

safety of others and for those who are tending to the sick

and seeking a cure.

Help us, O Mother of Divine Love,

to conform to the will of the Father

and to do as we are told by Jesus,

who took upon himself our sufferings and carried our sorrows,

so as to lead us, through the Cross,

to the glory of the Resurrection.

Amen.

Under thy protection we seek refuge, O Holy Mother of God.

In our needs, despise not our petitions,

but deliver us always from all dangers,

O glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.

(Adapted from the prayer of Pope Francis)

A PRAYER FOR PROTECTION

IN TIME OF PANDEMIC

AN ACT OF

SPIRITUAL COMMUNION

My Jesus,

I believe that you are present

in the most Blessed Sacrament.

I love you above all things

and I desire to receive you into my soul.

Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally,

come at least spiritually into my heart.

I embrace you as if you were already there,

and unite myself wholly to you.

Never permit me to be separated from you.

Amen.

Religious Education News

312 South 4th Street 242-1663 or 242-8929 Clinton, IA www.prince.pvt.k12.ia.us

Prince of Peace Catholic School

Registration Time is Now! It is time to register for the 2020-2021 school year. Current students can be enrolled through the parent portal on the school website. Enrollment applications for all new students can be found on the school website or you can contact Karen Witt, Development Director, to request forms.

Financial Aid Applications All families that choose to apply for financial aid, should submit their application and the first two pages of their 2019 Fed-eral Income Tax form by April 30

th (new date). If you have concerns regarding the date, please contact Karen Witt, De-

velopment Director. Forms are found on the school website.

Scholarship Applications All students in grades 8-11 are eligible to apply for scholarships. Scholarship applications were sent to each student to their school email address. The date for submission has been extended to April 30

th. Please call Karen Witt if you need

an application another way.

How to return forms: All forms can be returned by email to Karen Witt at the email address below. If you do not have the ability to scan, you can print and mail it to Prince of Peace Catholic School, 312 South 4

th Street, Clinton, IA 52732. If you prefer to drop off the

forms, please call Karen Witt in the school office and a time can be arranged for drop off. Ms. Witt will come out to your car to pick it up. Please feel free to contact Ms. Witt with your questions and concerns regarding the application process at devdir@staff.prince.pvt.k12.ia.us or by calling 563-242-1663, ext 304. We are trying to make the process as easy and effi-cient as possible.

Irish Gift Cards Due to the closing of our parish school and weekend Masses, our gift card program will be online only. You may want to take some time to check it out. The website is www.ShopWithScrip.com, you will click on “Join a Program” and the Prince of Peace enrollment code is 4CC84ELA6556. We would very much appreciate your continued support of this program.

April 19, 2020 - Sunday of Divine Mercy

The Christian steward approaches life with an “Easter vision” rooted in gratitude for the salvation our Lord has won for us through His death and Resurrection. Today’s readings on this Divine Mercy Sunday teach us how this approach plays out in daily life and remind us that we can have complete trust in the mercy of God to lead us, step-by-step, to heaven. Certainly, it is challenging to live for heaven when the things of the earth — job stress, family crisis, health troubles, political strife — loom large on the horizon. We can find ourselves becoming cynical like the Apostle, Thomas, in our Gospel passage today — until he had an encounter with the merci-ful Savior. We all recall the famous line from Thomas, who was not present with the other Apostles during Jesus’ first appearance after the Resurrection. Beaten down by the events of the last several days, Thomas refuses to be-lieve that the others had indeed “seen the Lord” as they claimed. Thomas stubbornly declares he would not believe their story about the Lord unless he placed his finger into the nail marks and his hand into His side. Yet, these doubts did not repel our Lord. Our merciful Lord saw that beneath the hubris in Thomas’ statement were pain and disappointment. Our Lord is mercy itself. And so He did not condemn Thomas, but calmed his doubts and fears, and allowed Thomas to actually touch those Sacred Wounds. What amazing grace. When we are tempted to give in to doubts to the faith for whatever the reason, all we need to do is seek the Lord — in prayer, in the sacraments, through the encouragement of our Christian communities — and just as He did for Tho-mas, our Lord will mercifully restore our Easter vision and fill us with His joy and peace.