
No servant can serve two masters.

Father Geoffrey Kerslake
Letter From Our Pastor
Welcome to Holy Spirit Parish’s webpage! You are most welcome to join us anytime.
The Holy Spirit is the patron of our Roman Catholic parish here in Stittsville – what a wonderful friend we have in the Spirit!
The Holy Spirit, the Advocate, poured out upon the early Christians at Pentecost, helped the Apostles and other disciples grow from scared people hiding behind locked doors, afraid of the authorities, into bold proclaimers of the Gospel message in the public square. That is quite a transformation. Not only, though, were they emboldened to become evangelizers to the local community in Jerusalem, God equipped them to be able to share the message with the whole world. Jesus Christ is not meant for a select few, but for the whole world.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone; it has universal significance. Parishioners range in age, background, culture and language in our parish, reflecting the universality of the Church here in our own community of Stittsville. Truly the embrace of Mother Church encompasses everyone in her loving arms.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are meant to catch fire in our hearts and to blaze in our life like a roaring fire, throwing off sparks to start new fires! Two years ago, the late Pope Francis in his Pentecost homily said: “Without (the Spirit), the Church is lifeless, faith is mere doctrine, morality mere duty, pastoral work mere toil. With him, on the other hand, faith is life, the love of the Lord convinces us, and hope is reborn. Let us put the Holy Spirit back at the centre of the Church.
The Holy Spirit, is a powerful companion who equips us to live our Catholic Christian belief with faith, hope and charity. May God bless you and may the Holy Spirit be your Guide and Advocate!
Father Geoffrey Kerslake
Pastor
Sunday Reflection: 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sunday, September 7, 2025
Love for God should be the inspiration for and goal of everything we do.
Gospel Reflection
Jesus uses the rhetorical technique of exaggeration telling us unless we hate our loved ones, we cannot be his follower. He follows this by telling us we need to embrace the Cross in our life if we are be his disciple. The point Jesus is making is that the most important thing is our relationship with him: everything else is seen through the lens of this foundational relationship: being his disciple involves a total commitment. An occasional Christian or a Sunday only Catholic is not a disciple. I remember after one Mass a number of years ago talking to someone outside the church who said to me “what you talk about in there is fine Father, but I go back to work on Monday and the real world doesn’t work that way.” Isn’t it our calling to try and make the world more Christ-like wherever we find ourselves?
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
Mass Times
Sunday Eucharist:
Saturday 5:00 pm
Sunday 9:00 am & 11:00 am
Weekday Eucharist:
Tuesday 9:00 am
Wednesday 9:00 am
Thursday 9:00 am
Friday 9:00 am
Notices
This week’s Synod Update:
Echoes from the Synod Assembly in Rome: A Voting Delegate’s Insight: Dr. Catherine Clifford, professor and founding director of the Centre for Research on Vatican II and 21st century Catholicism at St. Paul University, served as a voting delegate and expert consultant at the Synod on Synodality. What happened in Rome? What does synodality mean for you and me? Click on the button below to watch the full recording of the event!