Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Letter to Catholics from Iowa Bishops to protect religious freedom
March 20, 2012
Fellow Catholics in Iowa:
As the Catholic bishops of Iowa, we are strongly united in our ongoing efforts to protect religious freedom. Regrettably, a Health and Human Services mandate announced last year will require many Catholic and other religious institutions to cover medical services that are in opposition to their religious beliefs. The president’s announced accommodation still makes an unacceptable distinction between our houses of worship and our ministries, and still requires all non?exempt employers to facilitate the objectionable coverage.
The mandate represents government coercion of religious people and groups to violate their most deeply held convictions. We believe this dispute is not about access to contraceptives but about the government’s forcing the Church to provide them. At a minimum, any federal regulation should fully respect religious freedom and freedom of conscience as enshrined in our Constitution and in particular, the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights.
During this time of Lent, as a community of faith let us commit ourselves to prayer and action. As you know, during the Fridays of Lent, the faithful are obliged to abstain from eating meat. Recognizing the necessity of our dependence on God, we, the Bishops of Iowa, request that all Catholics dedicate the regular Lenten Friday practice of prayer and abstinence as well as the practice of fasting on Friday, March 30, to the preservation of religious liberty. Pray for your Church and political leaders that together we can find a solution that respects our respective roles in society.
Please watch www.usccb.org/conscience and www.iowacatholicconference.org for updated information.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Rev. Jerome Hanus, OSB
Archbishop of Dubuque
Most Rev. R. Walker Nickless
Bishop of Sioux City
Most Rev. Martin Amos
Bishop of Davenport
Most Rev. Richard Pates
Bishop of Des Moines
PRAY FOR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY!
STOP HHS
JOIN THE FIGHT!
Call
U.S. Capitol switchboard: 202-224-3121
Iowa Senate: 515-281-3371
Email Congress through USCCB DOT ORG
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JEANNE WELLS WEATHER
Today: Rain – High of 70
Tomorrow: Chance of Rain – High of 65
Friday: Chance of Rain – High of 66
PSALM OF THE DAY
Today is the day to say … The Lord is gracious and merciful
GOSPEL
Jn 5:17-30
Jesus answered the Jews: “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.” For this reason they tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.
Jesus answered and said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for what he does, the Son will do also. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life. Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself. And he gave him power to exercise Judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation.
“I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.”
SAINT OF THE DAY
Saint of the Day is sponsored by The Kavanaugh Art Gallery, a family owned fine art gallery located in historic Valley Junction
March 21: Blessed John of Parma
WEDNESDAY MASS TIMES
6:30a
St. Theresa (Des Moines)
6:45a
St. Mary of Nazareth (Des Moines)
7a
St. Anthony (Des Moines)
7:15a
St. Francis of Assisi (West Des Moines)
7:45a
St. Luke the Evangelist (Ankeny) Mass @ Saint Anne’s Episcopal Church (Ankeny)
8a
All Saints (Des Moines)
Assumption (Granger)
Sacred Heart (West Des Moines)
St. Augustin (Des Moines)
St. Cecilia (Ames)
St. Cecilia (Panora)
St. Joseph (Winterset)
8:15a
St. John the Apostle (Norwalk)
St. Pius X (Urbandale)
8:30a
Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart (Ankeny)
St. Joseph (Des Moines)
Holy Trinity (Beaverdale)
St. John’s (Adel)
8:40a
Christ the King (Des Moines)
St. Anthony (Des Moines)
8:45a
St. Francis of Assisi (West Des Moines)
9am
Immaculate Conception Church (Saint Marys)
SS. John and Paul (Altoona)
St. Cecilia (Ames)
St. Elizabeth Seton (Carlisle)
St. John’s (Adel) @ Dallas County Care facility Adel
Noon
Basilica of St. John (Des Moines)
St. Thomas Aquinas Church & Catholic Student Center (Ames)
12:10p
St. Ambrose Cathedral (Des Moines)
5:00p
St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Student Center (Des Moines)
5:30p
Our Lady of Americas (Des Moines)
St. Anthony (Des Moines)
St. Cecilia (Ames)
RECONCILIATION
11a-Noon: St. Ambrose Cathedral (Des Moines)
Noon-1p: St. Francis of Assisi (West Des Moines)
ROSARY
Noon
Chapel’s of Mercy West and Mercy Downtown Hospital (Des Moines)
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1150 KWKY CATHOLIC RADIO PRAYER
Lord Jesus, You commanded your followers to go out and preach the Gospel to all creation. Your servant Blessed Pope John Paul II proclaimed that “radio offers perhaps the closest equivalent today of what Jesus was able to do with large groups through His preaching.”
We ask your guidance for the ministry of 1150 KWKY Catholic Radio that we may affectively and consistently convey your message to Iowa as well as the Diocese of Des Moines and remain faithful to the teachings and values of the Catholic Church. Empower the 1150 KWKY Catholic radio staff to walk with you and to labor beside you in their efforts.
Inspire all listeners today through the grace of your Holy Spirit to understand more fully your desire for them and through the ministry of Catholic radio, touch their hearts and change their lives. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
