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Christ the King Parish

Springfield, IL

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“And He shall reign forever and ever.”

Revelation 11:15


Since 1963, Christ the King Parish has been a source of God’s love and grace for the west side of Springfield, and the greater community. Through love of God and neighbor in prayer, service, formation, and hospitality, we seek to be active coworkers with Christ our King in building-up his kingdom. We hope that you will find this website helpful. Please contact us for further information or assistance.

God bless you!


April 25, 2025
This Sunday concludes the Octave of Easter. An octave is a celebration of eight days in the Church and each day is honored liturgically in the same way as the day in which the octave began, in this case Easter Sunday. With the liturgical reforms of the late 60’s and early 70’s, only two octaves remain in the ordinary form of the Church’s liturgical calendar: the octaves of Easter and Christmas. The Gospel for this weekend, the Second Sunday of Easter, is popularly known as the Gospel of Doubting Thomas. Here our Lord appears to Thomas, and the other ten Apostles, and invites Thomas to see and probe his wounds so that Thomas might believe that the Lord is truly risen and that he is who he says he is. While the Lord’s body has been changed and glorified, the wounds from his crucifixion remain. Theologians have marveled over this reality for 2,000 years and posed various reasons as to why. As in the case of St. Thomas the Apostle, the wounds identify the Lord for who he is and they also tell us what death is not; death is no longer an eternal reality for those who live and die in God’s friendship. The marks of the Lord’s death remain, but death has no power over him, and through him neither over us. St. Leo the great says it more eloquently in a homily on the Lord’s Passion: He did away with the everlasting character of death so as to make death a thing of time, not of eternity. As we continue our journey through this Easter Season, let us turn to the risen Lord to draw newness of life from him, remembering that the wounds and the scars of our present lives, painful as they may be, are only things of the here and now; in the Resurrection on the last day, when Christ makes us new, those things will be no more. Triduum and Easter Masses – Thank you!  I am immensely grateful to all those who helped to make our Masses for Triduum and Easter Sunday so beautiful. Many thanks to our choir members and musicians, to our environment team, to our readers, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, ushers, servers, and to all who came to worship. I hope that our Lord was pleased with the worship that we offered to Him during those most sacred days. We were also blessed to have two other spiritual offerings for Holy Week this year. The first was a wonderful cantata offered by members of our choirs together with choir members from Laurel United Methodist Church; the second was a moving production of the Living Stations of the Cross presented by students from our parish grade school. Thank you to all who helped to provide these extra opportunities during Holy Week. Blessings of Easter joy & peace to you and yours for the week ahead! Father Chris House
April 18, 2025
Today we celebrate the greatest joy of our faith: our Lord Jesus Christ has conquered sin and death and risen to new and everlasting life. The tomb is empty. Life has triumphed over death. Love has conquered hate. Light has overcome darkness. But St. Paul, in our second reading today from his Letter to the Colossians, reminds us that Easter is not only about Jesus rising from the dead—it is also about us. Listen again to his words: If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God… For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. What does this mean? St. Paul is telling us that the Resurrection isn’t just a past event; it is a present reality for us. Jesus is risen and we are invited to rise with Him—to live a new life, a different life, a Resurrected life. But to rise with Christ we must also die with Him. We must let die all that keeps us trapped: our sins, our selfishness, our fears, our attachments to this world. Easter invites us to leave the tomb of sin and those things that hold us back and step into the life of God’s grace. St. Paul says, seek what is above . That does not mean ignoring the world or escaping our responsibilities. It means seeing everything through the lens of Christ—letting our thoughts, decisions, and desires be shaped by heaven and not by the passing things of earth. So, on this Easter day, the question is not, “Did Jesus rise?” He did. The question is are we rising with Him to a new and more abundant life? The world offers us distractions, temporary pleasures, and false promises; the Risen Christ offers something far greater: a share in His victory. For those who live and die in the Lord’s friendship, life does not end in the grave but transforms into the fullness of the Risen Lord’s glory. We are called to be witnesses of the Resurrection in our homes, our workplaces, our schools, and here in our parish. People should encounter us and experience joy, goodness, and hope because we have been raised with Christ. While our true life may be hidden with Him, the totality of our lives should point to the good things to be revealed. So, where did the Easter Bunny come from? I’ve shared this before, but I’ll do it again for good measure. A long time ago, it was believed that rabbits did not sleep. They are not nocturnal animals, but termed crepuscular, meaning that they are most active at dawn and dusk. Because of this, rabbits were many times included in early art depicting the Resurrection because it was assumed that a rabbit was a witness to the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus and that rabbit was given the honor of becoming the Easter Bunny, tasked with brining treats to boys and girls to celebrate the joy of the Resurrection. Easter Blessings to you and yours for the week ahead!  Father Chris House
April 11, 2025
Luke’s Passion Narrative The Passion narratives of Matthew, Mark, and Luke rotate on a three-year cycle for Palm Sunday and this year the Church is presented with Luke’s narrative. Throughout Ordinary Time this year we have been presented with Gospel selections from Luke and that will continue after Pentecost, but this Lucan year also continues in the upcoming Easter season as Acts of the Apostles is traditionally understood as being authored by Luke too. Luke’s Passion Narrative is divided into four parts: in the garden, before the Sanhedrin, before Pilate and Herod, and finally Jesus’s crucifixion, death and burial. While Mark and Matthew present us with a Jesus surrounded by darkness and impending doom, and John portrays a triumphant Christ, Luke offers us a gentle and merciful healer who has given himself over to the Father’s will and continues his mission to the end. One of the more poignant occurrences in Luke’s Passion begins at the Last Supper, when Jesus speaks to Peter telling him that the devil had demanded to sift Peter like wheat, but that Jesus had prayed for Peter’s faith. This scene is one of the highpoints of the written artistry that Luke’s Gospel is known for. Peter quickly responds that he will never falter in his faith, in fact that he is prepared to go to prison for the Lord and to even die for him. Yet, in that same moment, Jesus tells Peter that he will deny him three times. Later that evening, the Lord’s prophecy comes to pass, just as he is being mocked by the Temple guards who tell Jesus to prophesy. When Peter denies Jesus, Luke tells us that Peter catches the Lord glancing through the crowd at him in that moment. After that moment, realizing what has happened, Peter goes out and weeps bitterly for his betrayal. I have often thought about that glance of Jesus towards Peter. What did it look like? I can imagine it being mixed with heartbreak and pain but also with love and mercy, void of condemnation. What about our lives, in those moments when we fail the Lord through our sinfulness and human weakness, how is the Lord looking at us? Perhaps a look of pain, but also one that invites us back, to know again the love that the Lord always has for us. His glance is one that does not illicit fear but that invites us to the fullness of mercy. Just as the Lord’s prophecy of Peter’s denial came to pass so did his prayer that Peter would not fail because Peter ultimately turns back to him. Peter humbles himself in contrition and therefore can receive the grace and the strength that the Lord wanted him to have. Sinners though we are, the Lord Jesus continues to intercede for us as he did for Peter. Mindful of our sinfulness in these sacred days of Holy Week, and always, let us turn to the Lord with humble and contrite hearts that we might know the fullness of his mercy, the power of his grace, and ultimately share in his victory as St. Peter did. Let us make this a true holy week as we are invited to walk with Jesus through his passion, death, and resurrection beginning today and culminating in the Sacred Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. The times for our liturgies and Masses are listed in the bulletin. Make time for the Lord Jesus and to ponder on the mystery of the depth of his love for us either through participating in these acts of worship or in your own personal prayer. Back Home – Thank You I don’t think I have ever experienced two months pass so quickly but my time at Saint Meinrad was good, both spiritually and in being able to advance my dissertation work. I thank all of you for your prayers during my absence. I especially wish to thank Fr. Alex, Deacon Scott, and all the parish and school staff for keeping the home fires burning in my absence and for allowing me to be able to truly devote these past two months to prayer and study. Blessings to you and yours for a grace-filled Holy Week! Father Chris House
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Mass Times


Saturday Vigil: 4:30pm

Sunday: 8:00am, 10:00am, 5:00pm


​Daily Mass:

Monday thru Friday: 7am


Office Hours

Monday thru Friday: 8am - 4pm

Confession:

Monday - Friday: 6:30am - 6:50am
Saturday: 3:00 - 4:00pm
Sunday: 4:00 - 4:45pm


Eucharist Adoration:

Wednesdays from 12:30pm - 5:00pm


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Parish School of Religion

Our Parish School of Religion (PSR) classes in September of 2024

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Live Streaming at Christ the King

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Christ the King Parish Springfield IL

 

Recordings of the videos will also be posted. 


Schedule for Live Stream

Saturday 4:30 p.m. Mass


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