Holy Week & Easter Schedule
Please consider attending services at St. Gertrude during Holy Week!
Palm Sunday, April 2
- 5:00 pm (Saturday, April 1 - Sunday Vigil)
- 8:00 am
- 10:30 am Procession (Combined Mass in Church - no Gym Mass) (live-streamed)
Holy Thursday, April 6
- No morning Mass
- 7:00 pm - Mass of the Lord's Supper (live-streamed)
- After the fasting of Lent, Holy Thursday recalls the Last Supper and the Washing of the Feet, and that all are welcomed at the table.
- Church will remain open until 10:00 pm for private adoration.
Good Friday, April 7
- No morning Mass
- The Rectory office is closed.
- 3:00 pm - Living Stations of the Cross performed by the parish youth group
- 7:00 pm - Commemoration of the Lord’s Passion and Veneration of the Cross (live-streamed)
- The sacrifice of Good Friday is filled with prayer, from Jesus in the Garden to his final words on the Cross. Good Friday is a day of fast and abstinence for people age 18—59.
- Second collection for the Pontifical Good Friday Collection for the Holy Land
Holy Saturday, April 8
- No morning Mass
- 11:00 am - Blessing of Easter baskets
- 7:00 pm - Easter Vigil Mass (live-streamed)
- Holy Saturday is the day of the hidden mystery of divine action. The disciples were convinced that all their hopes had ended in disaster. Holy Saturday reminds us that our best guess about the future is only that; God has plans and powers beyond anything we can imagine.
Easter Sunday, April 9
- 8:00 am
- 10:30 am in church (live-streamed)
- 10:30 am Gym Mass
Easter Monday, April 10
- The Rectory office is closed.
Watch our Live-Streams
- Live-streamed services can be viewed at https://www.facebook.com/stgertrudechicago.
- No Facebook account is needed to view live-streams.
- Live-streams typically begin a few minutes prior to the service and can be found by scrolling down our Facebook page
Lent is here!
Lenten Opportunities
As we enter a period of fasting and abstinence, let’s remember to continue seeking God’s goodness in the rich traditions of our faith.
This page is filled with ways to make Lent this year more meaningful! From special events and programs at the parish to suggestions of things to do daily to online resources, we hope you use them to draw closer to God.
Holy Week & Easter Schedule
Activities from Palm Sunday to Easter morning.
Lenten Activities & Events at St. Gertrude
Activities at St. Gertrude include monthly food drives, our Almoners Lenten Ministry, a book study on racism, two Stations of the Cross on Fridays, and a special evening in church titles, The Mystic Path in Song" featuring Gerry Dignan.
Ways to Deepen Your Lenten Experience
Check out our list of suggestion to make Lent more meaningful.
Online Lenten Resources
Our Growing in Faith Committee collected a list of online resources to use this Lent.
Lenten Activities
Almoners Lenten Ministry - Sunday Collection & Card Distribution
Each weekend during Lent, we will have a weekly second collection for the Almoner’s Program. The funds raised will be used to purchase $10.00 McDonald gift cards which parishioners can pick up at the weekend Masses and share with those in need.
Lenten Study: The Crucible of Racism by Patrick Saint-Jean, SJ - Thursday Mornings & Evenings During
The Lenten book study this year will continue the work begun last year on racism, which Pope Francis has likened to “a virus that lurks in waiting…only to emerge and show that our supposed social progress is not as real or definitive as people think.”
We will be reading The Crucible of Racism, the second book by Patrick Saint-Jean, author of the book we shared together last year, The Spiritual Work of Racial Justice. In this book, Saint-Jean shows how Ignatian Spirituality and faithful hope can, in fact, change us, the Church, our nation, and the world.
Study groups will meet in the Ministry Center on Thursday mornings at 9:00 am and Thursday evenings at 7:00 pm, ending March 30. Each meeting is one hour. Sign-up sheets are on the tables in the back of the church. For further information, contact me at mgabriel@stgertrudechicago.org.
Stations of the Cross: Fridays at 3:00 pm & 6:30 pm
On Friday afternoon at 3:00 pm, we offer the traditional way of the Cross. At 6:30 pm, we will also have stations of the Cross joining Jesus’ journey recognizing the present struggles and crosses that challenge modern world.
On Good Friday, April 7, we will have parish youth group performing the Living Stations of the Cross at 3:00 pm and Veneration of the Cross at 7:00 pm.
Care for Real Food Drive in Church Saturday, March 25 and Sunday, March 26
As we celebrate our blessings given in love, perhaps consider sharing your gifts and donating to the St. Gertrude monthly food donation benefiting Care for Real. The first donation opportunity will be Saturday, February 25 and Sunday, February 26 in the back of the Church.
You can also make a donation online to Care for Real, help with their Amazon Wish list or Chewy Wish List (for pet food), or drop-off your donation at their facility. Information about all of these options can be found here: https://careforreal.org/wishlist/.
Thank you for attending Mystic Path in Song!
Thank you coming out to "The Mystic Path in Song" on Wednesday, March 15th,
The evening featurede Gerry Dignan as he reflected on the spiritual journey of the great saints and the up and downs they faced in their own life.
Ways to Deepen Your Lenten Experience
- Pray more.
- Attend Mass daily or commit to going on Sundays if you don't attend weekly.
- Spend time with the daily scripture readings.
- Spend five minutes daily in silence with the Lord.
- Pray the Stations of the Cross at church or at home.
- Fast from specific things or foods.
- Turn off electronic devices for 30 minutes daily.
- Behavioral fasting from criticism, negativity, judgmentalism, resignation, self-righteousness, cynicism, know-it-all-ness, provincialism, self-absorption, divisiveness, intolerance, violence in thought, word or deed, excess pride, blindness to your own involvement in sin, criticism, anger, bitterness, despair, and hatred.
- Give to those in need. There are so many meaningful programs that could benefit from help! They include Almoner Program, Care for Real, Heart to Heart, our Refugee & Immigrant Ministry and more!
- Join our choir. One way to deepen your Lenten experience is through music. Please consider joining the choir and singing at the 10:30 am Sunday Masses during Lent and Holy Week. The group practices on Thursday nights from 7:00-8:15 pm in the church and usually gather about 9:30 am on Sunday mornings before Mass. Email Mary Clare Barker at mcbarker@stgertrudechicago.org if interested.
- Little Black Books of Lenten Reflections. These small books offer daily six-minute meditations on the Passion according to Matthew. The books are available for a suggestion donation of $1.
- Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowls. Join our faith community—and more than 12,000 Catholic communities across the United States—in a transformative Lenten journey with CRS Rice Bowl. Visit crsricebowl.org to learn more about this long-standing Catholic tradition. CRS bowls are available in Church.
- Use the National Pastoral Migratoria's Lenten Calendar. This fantastic resource asks all Catholics to accompany immigrants and refugees on their journey for justice. The calendar offers short, daily prayers and reflections.
- Listen to the Ignatian Solidarity Network's Lent 2023: Finding God in the Chaos podcast. Search for it wherever you listen to podcasts.
- Receive a daily email reflection from the Ignatian Solidary Network. Visit https://ignatiansolidarity.net/lent-2023/ for information and to sign up.
Online Lenten Resources
Our Growing in Faith Committee Suggests the Following Online Resources During Lent
The following suggestions were compiled by our Growing in faith Committee and other Archdiocese Catholic ministries.
- An Ignatian Guide to Lent: This Lent, use Ignatian spirituality to breathe new insight into the sacred rituals of Lent
- An Ignatian Prayer Adventure: An eight-week retreat online
- Return to Me: Lenten daily reflections from Holy Cross College 2023
- Stations of the Cross: Renew the Earth
- Lenten Prayers and Lenten Spiritual Reading
- Praying Lent
- Lenten audio conversations
- Meditative and Joyful Music for the Lent and Easter Seasons
- User-Friendly Lent by David Steindl-Rast, OSB
- Lenten Music: Steve Angrisano Songs
- My Favorite Thing to Do for Lent
- Lenten Activities for Children
- Pastoral Migratoria Lenten Campaign 40 Days of Prayer, Fasting and Action for Immigration Reform: Join us live via Zoom (Meeting ID: 87423832789) or Facebook Live Every Wednesday in Lent at 6:00 pm CST Starting Ash Wednesday, February 22 through Holy Week, April 5 All are welcome to join in the 2023 Multilingual Lenten Campaign for Immigration Reform. The campaign provides the opportunity to share one’s faith through prayer, fasting and acts of mercy to raise awareness of the need for immigration reform. Please register at https://bit.ly/lenten-rosary. For more information, please visit https://pvm.archchicago.org/immigration-lenten-campaign. Contact Mauro Pineda at mpineda@archchicago.org or 312.534.8103 or Huguet Gonzalez at mdgonzalez@archchicago.org, with any questions and/or if you would like to pray a decade in your native language.