Can we hear Christ’s voice speaking to us today?

 Letter From Our Pastor

The Easter Mystery is the foundation of our faith.  In our celebration of the three holiest days of our liturgical year, the Easter Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Sunday), we participate in moments of great joy, like the first Mass instituted on Holy Thursday as well as the profound suffering of Good Friday.  The culmination of these special days is the Easter Vigil on the evening of Holy Saturday:  the most powerful liturgical celebration we share is an experience of the mystery, beauty and joy of Easter.  It is the proof of God’s love triumphing over death and of God’s grace and mercy defeating sin.

Easter is a time of rejoicing that Jesus, who shared in family life with Mary and Joseph, shares too in our family life, especially in those moments where we share our faith together with each other:  grace at mealtimes, family rosary, prayers at special moments of joy or sorrow, prayers before bed and celebrating Mass together as a family on Sunday.  Jesus shared in family life with Mary and Joseph, and he wants to join us in our family.  We do not have to be the ‘perfect family’ before we invite him into our lives.  Pope Francis writes in his encyclical on family life (Amoris laetitia:  The Joy of Love):  “I thank God that many families, which are far from considering themselves perfect, live in love, fulfil their calling and keep moving forward, even if they fall many times along the way… there is no stereotype of the ideal family, but rather a challenging mosaic made up of many different realities, with all their joys, hopes and problems” (n.57).  Just as Jesus entered into the suffering of the Cross on his way to the Resurrection, he is not afraid to join us in the family struggles we encounter as we journey through life.

Our family is God’s gift to us.  The family is the domestic church where we practice Christian virtues, love and pray with and for each other.  Because our family contains unique individuals with different personalities, gifts and struggles, in it we also learn the value of mercy, reconciliation and forgiveness towards one another when we are not at our loving best with each other.  Pope Francis writes:  “all family life is a “shepherding” in mercy.  Each of us, by our love and care, leaves a mark on the life of others” (AL, n. 322).  This unique human institution is the building block of society and also of the Church; truly it is a gift from God.

One of the Gospel’s for Easter Sunday recounts the experience of Mary Magdalene, Peter and John at the empty tomb on that first Easter morning.  That empty tomb they found was a sign that Jesus left the grave and had risen from the dead.   This is the great Mystery of our faith!  Because Jesus is risen from the dead, he can be present to us now in our family life:  “if a family is centered on Christ, he will unify and illumine its entire life” (Pope Francis, AL, n. 317).  Easter is a time to celebrate God’s love for us, a love that he definitively proves in the death and resurrection of his Son.  It is a love we mediate to each other in our family and that we are called to share with the world.  May the joy of the Risen Lord infuse your family with blessings this Easter Season!  May the Holy Spirit be your counsellor, guide and helper.

Father Geoffrey Kerslake

Pastor

Sunday Reflection:  4th Sunday of Easter, Sunday, May 11, 2025

Can we hear Christ’s voice speaking to us today?

Sunday Reflection

This Sunday of Easter is called “Good Shepherd Sunday”.  It is the Sunday on which our archdiocese takes up a special collection in support of men studying to the priesthood, our seminarians.  Jesus is unique because he is both the Lamb of God and the Good Shepherd.  We too are lambs or sheep – we are the flock of Jesus, who follow the Good Shepherd.  In the Collect at the beginning of Mass we prayed:  “Almighty ever-living God, lead us to a share in the joys of heaven so that the humble flock may reach where the brave shepherd has gone before.”  To be a disciple of Christ is to be a follower of Jesus, not someone blazing a new trail.  In our personal lives, we follow and live on into the reality of where Christ went first – a life of obedience to God, a life of service to our brothers and sisters, a life that encounters and embraces the Cross, a life that then looks forward to the Resurrection from the Dead and the life of the world to come.  We follow where Christ first walked.

Fr. Geoff

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To all the Parish’s generous faithful

Thank you to all who donate to the ongoing operation of the parish.  For e-Transfer please send it to admin@holyspiritparish.ca and use the password, Holyspirit (all one word with a capital H).  We currently have a significant number of parishioners who contribute via bank auto debit.  If you would like more information about the program or wish to participate, please contact the parish office at 613-836-8881 or email admin@holyspiritparish.ca