Category: News & updates

This weekend our pope emeritus, Pope Benedict XVI, was called home to his eternal reward. As we make our goodbyes to a beloved pope, the Church offers many traditions for us to mourn and pray for him.

At Saint Mark parish, we will celebrate a memorial Mass on Thursday, January 5th at 9:30 am – the same day Pope Benedict’s funeral Mass will be offered in Rome.

Catholics everywhere are encouraged to pray for the pope. There are several traditional ways this might be done during the Novemdiales (the nine days of mourning after the death of a pope):

• Joining in Masses offered for Pope Benedict XVI
  • Saint Mark’s will be offering a Mass on Thursday, January 5th at 9:30 am
  • Archbishop Etienne will offer a Mass at Saint James cathedral on Monday, January 9th at 12:10 pm
• Praying the traditional prayers for the Pope (the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be), ideally in common
• The Office for the Dead (from the Liturgy of the Hours)

Archbishop Etienne has shared a personal reflection on the ways Pope Benedict XVI touched his life on his blog, as has Father Maurer on his blog. We have indeed been blessed by the many ways Pope Benedict XVI offered his ‘yes’ to the call of the Lord – may we together pray for his entrance into the heavenly kingdom.

V. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.
R. And let the perpetual light shine upon him.

And may the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Starting Sunday, January 1st, Saint Mark parish will be taking part in 40 Hours of adoration, spread over the first week of 2023. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed in the main body of the church, available to all who desire to come pray before the Lord. Benediction will be celebrated each evening at 6:00 pm, except for Saturday evening, where it will be celebrated at 4:30 pm (just before the 5:00 pm vigil Mass). Come spend an hour with our Savior!

Dear friends,

Happy Advent! I hope that you’re enjoying these final days before Christmas. Once again, we are blessed with beautiful snowfall in the Seattle area. I admit that I very much enjoy waking up to a winter wonderland – though it plays havoc with us each time it comes around.

With that in mind, I wanted to share the latest with regard to the cold temperatures, snow, and ice here at Saint Mark parish. Foremost, our schedule of Masses & confessions is unchanged. We will have our planned daily Masses, confessions, and Christmas Masses. For your convenience, the schedule is included below.

When you do come to church, please drive extra slowly and walk carefully. We are clearing snow as best we can (the new snowblower is fun!) and putting down salt on the walkways. Despite our best efforts, icy roads & sidewalks are a strong likelihood – please take special care in walking around the campus.

One schedule change we are making is that our parish offices will be closed for the rest of this week and throughout next week (December 21 – December 31). The parish emergency line will be ready for emergencies involving death or dying. For everything else, please leave a voice message or send an e-mail to the appropriate staff member. We will get back to you when we return to the office on Tuesday, January 3.

Finally, I want to acknowledge that the heat in the church at Saint Mark has not been what it should be. We’ve been working hard over the last several weeks to track it down, but for now, the heat is intermittent. The good news is that we do have heat! However, it can’t quite keep up with these freezing temperatures. When you come to Masses, consider wearing an extra layer. I’m not saying you should wear the sweater from your family ‘ugly sweater’ contest – but something warm wouldn’t go awry!

All of us among the faculty & staff of Saint Mark are looking forward to celebrating this Christmas, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and New Years with you!

                                                          Yours in Christ,

                                                                             Father Maurer

As was announced this last weekend, longtime parishioner Margaret Zeran passed away early this month. Since that announcement, the funeral Mass location and time have changed: Mass will be offered at Saint Matthew parish (click here for directions) at 11:30 am. Following the Mass, a rosary will be prayed at Saint Mark parish pro-life memorial. The family has established a online memorial, which can be accessed here: https://kennethzeran.com/margaretmaryzeran.xhtml

Let us pray together for Margaret, her family members, and all who love them. Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul rest in peace. May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

With the end of Advent in sight, Saint Mark parish is preparing for the celebration of the Nativity of the Lord and the Solemnity of Mary, Holy Mother of God. We hope you’ll join us for the celebrations (both on Sunday this year). For your convenience, we are posting the Mass schedule below.