You will be required to wear a mask upon entering the Shrine Church and wear it at all times. The only time during Mass the mask is temporarily removed is when consuming Holy Communion to the side of the Communion line.
To financially support our parish, please visit the DONATE section of the parish website, mail donations to: Our Lady of the Rockies, 2 Silvertip Trail, Canmore, AB, T1W-2Z7, or bring them to the parish office during regular office hours. Click here for the current parish financials. Please scroll down this home page for spiritual reflections and homilies by Fr. Nathan. PRIVATE PRAYER AND PILGRIM VISITS
The Shrine Church is open for private prayer and devotion Click here for Drop In times. Due to Masses, Weddings and other Sacramental celebrations on the weekends, there are no scheduled times for private prayer and devotion, though if the church doors are open and no celebrations are taking place, you are welcome to visit the church. Out of courtesy to others, please observe reverent silence during these scheduled times of private prayer and devotion. |
ADORATION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT Adoration will take place on Tuesday evenings from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm with the Holy Rosary and time for silent contemplation. SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION Tuesday: 7:00pm-7:45pm Wednesday: 11:00am-11:45am Thursday: 11:00am-11:45am Saturday: 3:30pm-4:15pm Sunday: 3:30pm-4:15pm or by Appointment Anyone requesting the celebration of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick and the Last Rites for the dying can contact Fr Nathan via the emergency parish line at 403-675-5044. |
Spiritual Reflections from a Priest in the Rockies
To watch Live-streamed Sunday and Weekday Masses from various parishes and at different times in the Diocese of Calgary, please click here
Homily Notes for the 11th Sunday of OT, Year A (Mk 4:26-31) (2021)
If you remain unable to receive Holy Communion at this time, I invite you today to make a Spiritual Communion, using the following formula or one of your own choosing:
My Jesus,
I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You.
Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen."
St. Alphonsus di Liguori
In Jesus through Mary, Fr. Nathan
To watch Live-streamed Sunday and Weekday Masses from various parishes and at different times in the Diocese of Calgary, please click here
Homily Notes for the 11th Sunday of OT, Year A (Mk 4:26-31) (2021)
- The return of Ordinary Time in the liturgical life of the Church provides a necessary reprieve from the intense emotions and intricate celebrations that mark Lent, Holy Week, Easter and the solemnities of The Most Holy Trinity and Corpus Christi, not to mention the added stress we have this year with COVID Restrictions, being reduced to only 15 people at Mass for the month of May and the difficult time our Church and country is experiencing at the present moment.
- Might then this Sunday be a chance to breathe deeply and rest in the goodness of the Lord as we once again enter into the longest period of the Church’s liturgical year that focuses primarily on the Public Ministry and Teaching of Jesus Christ.
- It is significant that the priest’s vestments during Ordinary Time are Green on Sunday. In the eastern Catholic tradition, Green is always the colour worn to celebrate the Holy Spirit, while in the western Catholic tradition it is Red. But the two colours teach us something significant about Ordinary Time.
- The red vestments worn at Pentecost remind us of that day the Holy Spirit came down upon the earth and spiritually set it ablaze with the fire of heavenly love. Anyone familiar with forest or grass fires know that after a raging fire takes place new growth begins to emerge, often with greater health and vitality than was present before.
- So too does the priest put on green vestments after Pentecost to remind us that the Holy Spirit has once again poured out the fire of his love on the earth and now invites us to experience new life and growth in the ways he is working amongst his people.
- Our Lord’s parable of the sower and mustard seed speak to the action of the Holy Spirit in every age, since his presence is what will help bring the harvest of good works and Christian love to completion and also allow from small mustard seeds of faith and service for impressive trees of faith and service to rise up, bringing good to the world and glory to God.
- I believe we will soon be experiencing further fire of the Holy Spirit and the potential for new growth in our Christian lives and the life of our parish as it our province is moving more and more to removing COVID restrictions, including allowing churches to have greater capacity for attendees (as is noted this Sunday in allowing up to 1/3 fire code capacity) and the promise of even more opening to occur as the summer approaches.
- Certainly, we need to continue to be prudent and respectful to how well and quickly these easing of restrictions will take place but it is a sign of good news for us that we will be able to welcome more and more people to attend Mass and visit our shrine church this summer.
- But that also means we need to be prepared! In a recent zoom meeting with a group of fellow priests they reminded with me that while most parishes enter a quiet time during the summer, parishes like ours and St. Mary’s in Banff will see some of our busiest days as I think it safe to say many will be looking to take holidays this summer and blessed are we that many will want to come to both the Bow Valley and make a visit to our parish part of their holiday plans.
- The next few weeks will be telling just how much we will be fully open to welcome many in our parish who have been unable to attend Mass for some time and those who will visit, so I would ask once again that we take time to ponder how we each might assist the parish as we start to move back to a certain normalcy, though likely things will never be like they once were in parish life!
- I continue to invite you to consider if you might look to join our cleaning teams on Monday afternoons to help keep our shrine and church beautiful or to assist with care of our lawn and outdoor landscaping over the summer. Thank you to those who have shown interest to be tour guides, I promise a short script will be ready to assist you soon and the invitation remains for others to join this ministry. Thank you to those who have offered to look after the kiosk as I expect it will be quite popular this summer!
- We are hoping there might be a chance this summer to have a few social gatherings after Mass as restrictions ease and a chance for more people to be involved as lectors at Mass, altar servers, sacristans, ushers, musicians and hospitality ministers to help welcome people as they arrive for Mass and other celebrations. Please join me as we now look to see what a new chapter in the life of our shrine and parish will look like!
If you remain unable to receive Holy Communion at this time, I invite you today to make a Spiritual Communion, using the following formula or one of your own choosing:
My Jesus,
I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You.
Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen."
St. Alphonsus di Liguori
In Jesus through Mary, Fr. Nathan
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Our Lady of the Rockies, Pray for us. |
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