Holy Week 2026 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church

It is to our hearts that we need to go so that Jesus may die and rise there. As we celebrate Holy Week and the Sacred Triduum, we are not re-enacting historical events. We are observing them unfold anew in our lives, and celebrating our good fortune to be those observers and participants. We are the Body of Christ. We celebrate in Reconciliation and Eucharist a union that only Christ’s death and resurrection can achieve. Christ’s action takes plac ein us as we grow in our belief in the power of God’s love to make it so. Come join us in the celebrations whose schedules are given below

Sunday, March 29: Passion (Palm) Sunday. Mass at 7:15am and 10:30am. Palms will be distributed before all the Masses and blessed during the Mass. The formal procession of Passion Sunday will be at 10:30am Mass (LS).

Monday, March 30: Communal Reconciliation Service, 7:00 p.m. in the church, with an opportunity for individual confession. (Please note that this is the last opportunity to celebrate confession before Easter. Confessions will also be heard on Saturday, March 28 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the church.)

Tuesday, March 31: Tenebrae Service, 7pm in the church.Tenebrae is a centuries-old tradition in which Christians enter into the darkness (“tenebrae”) of Christ’s Crucifixion by reflecting on his Seven Last Words.Hymns, readings from Scripture, communal prayer and short meditations. The service will be live-streamed.

Wednesday, April 1: Taizé Prayer Around the Cross, 6:00pm in the church. An opportunity for quiet meditative prayer punctuated by quiet music, prayerful silence, and short readings in a candlelit church.

TRIDUUM (Three Days) begins!

HOLY THURSDAY, April 2, 7:30 p.m., Mass of the Lord’s Supper. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament follows in the chapel until 9:30 p.m. Mass will be live-streamed. (There will be no 7:45am Mass this day.)

GOOD FRIDAY, April 3, No Mass. 12:00 noon - 1:30 p.m. (approx.) Prayer and Stations. 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. Liturgy of Good Friday with communion. The Stations will be live-streamed, as will the Liturgy of Good Friday. (There will be no 7:45am Mass this day.)

HOLY SATURDAY, April 4, 8:30 p.m. Together at this special Vigil Mass we celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord, beginning in darkness and moving in and towards His light. This is the major celebration of the Church’s year. (There will be no 7:45 a.m. Mass this day.) EASTER VIGIL MEMORIALS: Please bring a piece of paper (3"x5" or so) with the names of those who have died since last Easter. They will be used in the Easter Fire to remember those who have entered through death into the eternal and resurrected life of Jesus. The Vigil Mass will be live-streamed.

EASTER SUNDAY, April 5, Masses will be at 7:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.The 10:30 Mass will be live-streamed.

Remember that the EASTER SEASON continues through to Pentecost, May 23/24.

EASTER LILIES: You may, if you wish, donate a potted Easter Lily for the decoration of the church at Easter. You may designate it in memory of someone by attaching a card with the person's name on it. Please deliver the lilies to the church no later than Good Friday afternoon.

To access the live-stream of any of the above services, go to: https://www.facebook.com/mountcarmelmv. (Please do not log on more than 5 minutes before the service is to start, or you may need to reload your pagemore than once.)