Resurrection of Our Lord Catholic Parish
A dynamic Catholic community called by the Risen Lord to share God’s love through worship, service, and solidarity.
We are located at
1940 Saunderson Drive, K1G 2C9
Pastor
Father Robert Masternak, SDS
Mass Times
Lord’s Day Masses
Saturday – 5:00 pm
Sunday – 9:00 am & 11:00 am
Weekday Masses
Tuesday to Friday – 8:00 am
Special Masses
First Saturday Mass (Nicodemus Mass)
Saturday, May 4th, 2024
12:01 am
Mass for the Sick with Anointing
Saturday, May 18th, 2024
9:00 am
Dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima
Confessions & Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
Every Friday – 8:30 am to 9:30 am
Every First Friday of the month – 5:00 pm to Midnight
(Confessions – 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm)
Every Saturday – Confessions – 4:00 pm to 4:30 pm
Please see the News section for any additional Adoration or Confessions times.
Christ is Risen! He lives!
This triumphant, faith-filled acclamation is an Easter greeting used in many parts of the world. That the Lord Jesus who was crucified and died on Calvary LIVES. He Is Risen! This is the foundational confession of our Christian faith.
On Good Friday, with the Apostles, we were the witness of Jesus’s suffering, humiliation and death. A terrible experience both for them and for us.
When the Apostles saw with their own eyes what happened to Jesus, they were horrified. As a result, they lost their faith, their trust, and their hope. In fear and with a sense of devastation, they fled from Jerusalem, from Jesus, from His mother, from the community, and from the Church.
The same can happen with us. When we hear terrible things, we too can be terrified and paralyzed. We may feel depressed, powerless. We want to run away, but we have nowhere to go. It can be difficult for us to cope with it all. This is why so often we run away from God, the Church, community, and even from members of our family. We try to blame God for our misfortunes, such as the death of a loved one or a serious illness in the family. We may find it easier to blame others for our sin, or make them guilty of the things that are happening to us. We try to shift our pain onto others. It’s a cry of despair. It is not an easy time for us.
The Apostles left. They disappeared. But when they heard what happened on that Sunday, they returned. They recognized that Jesus’ mission of redemption would have been a total failure if his death on Calvary had been the final stop of His journey.
But His body didn’t remain in the sepulcher because He couldn’t be held prisoner by death. That tomb couldn’t hold on to “the living one” (Rev 1:18).
The Resurrection is an event that has profoundly changed the course of world history, as well as the human experience and the lives of countless individuals. It tipped the scales once and for all on the side of life, of goodness, of hope, and of forgiveness.
The Apostles came back stronger. They were strengthened by the truth of the resurrection.
No one has described the absolute centrality of belief in the Resurrection better than St. Paul. He wrote, “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Cor 15:17). Without this firm conviction of Jesus’ bodily resurrection, Christianity loses its meaning and would never have developed. The Apostles would not have carried the faith to others. They would not have been martyrs.
This is why I deeply believe that those words about Christ’s Resurrection – “Christ is Risen” – can change us, just as they changed the Apostles. I hope that they will help us to return to unity with God, the community, the Church, our loved ones and ourselves. The strength of Christ and the Easter message can help us regain our faith and hope, and survive those things that cannot be changed.
Jesus overcame death. The Apostles overcame fear and hopelessness. We, through our faith and union with Christ, and strengthened by the prayers of the Apostles, Holy Mary and the Church community, can overcome many difficulties and keep our faith and love until death.
Take strength from the empty tomb, the Risen Christ, and the blessed Apostles.
Happy and blessed Easter!
Fr Robert Masternak SDS
Announcements
Blessing of the Seeds
Lord’s Day Masses, April 27th and 28th
The parable of the Sower is in all three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 13:1-9, Mark 4:1-9, Luke 8:4-8). In this Gospel Jesus says the seed represents the Word of God (the Gospel), the Sower represents anyone who proclaims it, and the different kinds of soil represent how people receive that Word. The parable is based on an ordinary yearly event, the sowing of seeds. Planting time was the same when Jesus walked this earth and continues to this day and will never change. Every spring (April in the northern hemisphere or September in the southern hemisphere), seeds are planted to provide us with the food we need. And, it is our responsibility to pay heed to the gift God has given to us in seeds and ask for His blessing of the seeds. This blessing will be on the 5th Sunday of Easter, after all Masses.
Hike for Life
Saturday, April 27th
Please consider supporting Aline Lawlor, our parish’s designated hiker for Action Life’s 33rd, annual Hike for Life. You are invited to participate in this fun event for the whole family; refreshments and prizes. Rain or shine, registration takes place from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at St. Theresa’s Roman Catholic Church on Somerset St. The Hike is a 5km route. Pledge forms are available at the entrances of our church. Enjoy a walk on “the side of life” while earning much needed support for Action Life, Ottawa’s pro-life educational organization. For more information: www.actionlife.org.
Please see the News page for additional information on what is happening at Resurrection of Our Lord Parish, or browse the latest bulletin on the Bulletins page.