Mass Schedule
Holy Week
Saturday, April 1
- 7:30am – Saturday morning Confessions
- 8:00am – Mass of Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent
- 3:30pm – Saturday Confessions
- 4:30pm – Mass of Palm Sunday
Sunday, April 2
- 7:30am – Mass of Palm Sunday
- 9:00am – Mass of Palm Sunday
- 11:00am – Mass of Palm Sunday
- 8:00pm – Sunday Confessions
- 9:00pm – Mass of Palm Sunday
Monday, April 3
- 7:30am – Monday morning Confessions
- 8:00am – Mass of Monday of Holy Week
Tuesday, April 4
- 8:30pm – Confessions at St. Joseph Newman Center
- 9:00pm – Mass of Tuesday of Holy Week (Newman Center Chapel)
Wednesday, April 5
- 7:30am – Wednesday morning Confessions
- 8:00am – Mass of Wednesday of Holy Week
- 8:30pm – Confessions (in Church)
- 9:00pm – Mass of Wednesday of Holy Week (in Church)
Sacred Triduum, Holy Thursday, April 6
NO MORNING CONFESSIONS
NO ADORATION
- 8:30am – Living Stations of the Cross – St. Mark School Junior High Students will lead the Stations. Parents and families are welcome to attend.
- 7:30pm – Mass of the Commemoration of the Lord’s Supper – This Mass commemorates the Lord’s gift of Himself in the Eucharist. The Church is decorated as if we have suspended Lent for the evening. Following the homily, we will celebrate the Mandatum – the act of Jesus whereby He empowers His apostles to carry on the sacrifice of the Eucharist by washing their feet.
Representatives of the St. Mark Community will have their feet washed. Afterwards, Mass Continues as usual until after Holy Communion, when instead of the usual prayer that closes Communion and a dismissal, the Most Blessed Sacrament is, instead carried in solemn Procession to the Altar of Repose (Our Lady’s Altar). This procession is a reminder of Our Lord’s being led away to prison.
Once the Lord is reposed at the Altar, the main altar will be very deliberately stripped and the Entire Sanctuary cleared – furniture and all. The Church will get dark and cold to make us think of that fateful night so long ago. We will sit in the darkness and silence and adore the Lord present at the Altar of Repose as if to say “Lord, on that night so long ago, Your disciples abandoned You. We, however, have no intention of abandoning You, because we have hope in Your Resurrection.”
There is no end to the Mass, as the mystery is celebrated for three whole days.
The final blessing for our worship that begins on Thursday night will not take place until after we have celebrated the Resurrection on Saturday night. We are invited to stay and keep vigil as long as we can. Some will stay just a few moments, some for an hour or more. Some will go home then come back. It is a night of watching and waiting.
- Midnight – Adoration ends and the Church closes.
Good Friday, April 7
NO MASS anywhere in the world today!
- 3:00pm – Liturgy of the Passion of Our Lord and Holy Communion – This is not Mass. We will gather in the cold, dark, and barren Church to listen once again to the story of the Passion of Our Lord, to pray extensively for the needs of the Church and the world, to venerate the wood of the Cross, and to partake of Holy Communion which Our Lord gave us the night before.
- 4:00pm – Last opportunity for scheduled Confessions prior to Easter. Immediately following the 3:00 Liturgy) Confessions
Holy Saturday, April 8, Easter Vigil
NO MORNING CONFESSIONS
NO MORNING MASS
NO SATURDAY CONFESSIONS
- 8:00pm – The Easter Vigil: This is the liturgy from which all liturgies derive. The celebration began on Thursday night, and so the liturgy does not begin with the Sign of the Cross like most Masses. Instead, the liturgy begins with the Church still cold, dark and lifeless. At the entrance to the Church, a small fire is lit and blessed.
From the fire, the Easter Candle is lit and blessed, symbolizing the Light of Christ entering our world. As the light is carried forward, it is proclaimed three times as the light is shared with the entire Congregation. Once the light arrives in the Sanctuary, the light is heralded as a sign of Christ with the ancient hymn: The Exultet.
The Community extinguished their candles, and in the darkness, we listen to multiple readings revealing God’s plan of salvation. Finally, with the reading of the Epistle, the lights flash on, and bells are rung as we proclaim the Gloria, celebrating the arrival of Christ into our world.
Next, the proclamation of the Resurrection is met with the Grand Alleluia, Following the homily, many members of our family are initiated through Baptism and Confirmation. The Sacrifice is offered, Holy Communion distributed, and the final blessing closes the liturgy that began three days earlier.
Easter Sunday, April 9
- 7:30am – Mass of Easter Sunday
- 9:00am – Mass of Easter Sunday
- 11:00am – Mass of Easter Sunday
- 8:00pm – Sunday Confessions
- 9:00pm – Mass of Easter Sunday
Sunday Mass
- 7:30am with indoor congregation
- 9:00am with indoor congregation
- 11:00am with indoor congregation and livestreamed on FaceBook “St. Mark School, Peoria, IL”
Saturday Vigil
- 4:30pm
Daily Mass
- Monday, Wednesday, Thursday: 8:00am with indoor congregation
- Friday: 8:00am with indoor congregation, as well as, livestreamed on FaceBook “St. Mark School, Peoria, IL”
- Saturday: 8:00am with indoor congregation, 4:30pm with indoor congregation and livestreamed on FaceBook “St. Mark School, Peoria, IL”
- Sundays: 7:30am and 9:00am Mass with an indoor congregation, 11:00am Mass with an indoor congregation and livestream on FaceBook “St. Mark School, Peoria, IL”
