Holy Virgin of Guadalupe,
Queen of the Angels and Mother of the Americas.
We fly to you today as your beloved children.
We ask you to intercede for us with your Son,
as you did at the wedding in Cana.
Pray for us, loving Mother,
and gain for our nation and world,
and for all our families and loved ones,
the protection of your holy angels,
that we may be spared the worst of this illness.
For those already afflicted,
we ask you to obtain the grace of healing and deliverance.
Hear the cries of those who are vulnerable and fearful,
wipe away their tears and help them to trust.
In this time of trial and testing,
teach all of us in the Church to love one another and to be patient and kind.
Help us to bring the peace of Jesus to our land and to our hearts.
We come to you with confidence,
knowing that you truly are our compassionate mother,
health of the sick and cause of our joy.
Shelter us under the mantle of your protection,
keep us in the embrace of your arms,
help us always to know the love of your Son, Jesus. Amen.
---
 

 
Holy Mass  
After three months, Bishop Walker Nickless has lifted the suspension on public Masses in the Diocese of Sioux City. Beginning with the weekend of June 27/28, parishes will open for Masses at the discretion of their pastors. Masses were originally suspended in an unprecedented move March 16 in response to the deadly and rapidly-spreading COVID-19 virus.
 
Since the suspension of the Masses in March, the Diocese of Sioux City COVID task force and Bishop Nickless have been monitoring data points locally, statewide, regionally and nationally, including new coronavirus cases, hospital bed usage, ICU usage, patient usage of ventilators, projections of the spread of the virus and other data.
 
As of the establishment of the task force, the benchmark the bishop and the group has used in order to make the decision to return to public liturgy and other public parish events has always been a 14-day consistently downward trajectory in the above categories.
 
Observations by the Sioux City Diocese COVID-19 task force and the four dioceses of Iowa COVID-19 working group suggest that the numbers are slowly falling in Iowa with the Sioux City diocese having the largest number of recent new cases of the four Catholic dioceses. The tasks force believes a plateau has been met, the downward trajectory has begun and that the area will reach the 14-day benchmark in the multiple categories between June 20-24.
 
Data and metrics will be constantly monitored by the task force until such a time a vaccine goes onto the market.  If it appears that new cases, hospitalizations and other metrics begin to increase substantially it is possible that the diocesan churches and facilities will need to lock down once again. 
 
Once the suspension lifts and public Masses begin under the discretion of the individual pastors, priests of the diocese and the faithful will be following specific protocols outlined in May by the COVID task force for attending Mass. The protocols will include spacing pews, mandatory face masks, availability of hand sanitizer at the entrances of church, and the use of social distancing.
 
The obligation to attend Sunday Mass remains dispensed for Catholics in the Sioux City Diocese until the end of the calendar year. The elderly, more vulnerable and high-risk parishioners are reminded that although Mass is being offered it is recommended that they remain home at this time. However, Mass is open to all.
 
The June 27/28 suspension lifting by Bishop Nickless allows parishes, at the pastor’s discretion, to authorize weekend Masses, weddings, funerals and events at parish halls and facilities as long as practices such as social distancing, use of face masks and proper sanitization are followed with guidelines as determined by state public health officials.  

If you are unable to, or choose due to COVID-19 to not attend public Mass, we encourage you to listen and/or view Mass via one of the links listed below and utilize the prayer below to participate in a Spiritual Communion.   We will continue to broadcast Sunday Mass at 8:30am on KVFD 1400 AM.  In addition, we are planning to livestream weekend Masses (4:15pm Saturday, 7:30am and 9:30am Sunday) via our parish Face Book.  Additionally all weekday masses will be livestreamed on the parish Face Book. 

Spiritual Communion Prayer 

My Jesus, 
I believe that You are in the Blessed Sacrament. 
I love You above all things, 
and I long for You in my soul. 
Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, 
come at least spiritually into my heart. 
As though You have already come, 
I embrace you and unite myself entirely to You; 
never permit me to be separated from You. 

Amen

Reconciliation will occur by appointment only Monday - Friday, 9am-3pm.  Please call 515-955-6077 and ask for a priest.  Please ensure that you are not ill and wash your hands upon entering the parish business office.  

Adoration, Children's Rosary and Children's Liturgy of the Word are suspended.


Parish Bible Studies, Small Groups, Marriage Preparation and Baptismal Preparation May Continue  At this time all of our small group studies or parish life groups may meet in person utilizing social distancing and COVID-19 protection protocol; if they are not comfortable meeting in person we encourage meeting via Zoom, or a similiar platorm. 

Faith Formation (Rock Climbers, EDGE and Wednesday Night Confirmation) 
Plans for returning to Faith Formation in the Fall of 2020 are currently being worked on.  Registration will begin in August, 2020.   

Confirmation 
We are currently working to determine when and how we will celebrate the sacrament of Confirmation.   We are hoping to have a date set and communicated by June 29th, 2020.

Information on the celebration of baptisms, weddings and funerals, please contact Rhonda at the parish office:  Rhonda (515) 955-6077 or rhondag@fdcatholic.com

What Can We Do?  
*If you are an EMHC to the Homebound; please call the homebound parishioners you normally visit  to see how they are doing and offer to say a prayer with them. 

*The Holy Trinity Parish Food Pantry will remain open.  We are in need of individuals that can go up and down stairs easily to help each Wednesday from 9:45am-3:00pm.  We will need 2-3 people each week.  Please e-mail or call Hiedi at the office  hiedit@fdcatholic.com

Care For Those In Need 
We are currently considering some various possibilities to care for those in need, most especially our parishioners 65 and older.  If you are interested in providing some sort of outreach to these individuals (dropping groceries, raking their yard etc..) please e-mail Hiedi Touney at hiedit@fdcatholic.com 

Parish Office
The parish office will be closed to the public beginning Friday, March 20, 2020. When possible, make every effort to conduct parish business through email or a telephone call. If you are not feeling well, please do not come to the parish office. 

Though we are opening for public Masses on the 27th/28th of June, the parish office will continue to be closed to the public.  

Further Updates
If there are any updates to the above information, it will be communicated via our website, FaceBook page, and our Twitter account.  Thank you for your cooperation during this trying time. Please pray for everyone who has been affected by COVID 19.  

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!