Easter Sunday, The Resurrection of the Lord April 21, 2019

Tuesday, April 23, 6:30 pm Mass:  
For the intentions of Sun Kim
Mass intention by:  Julia Choi

Wednesday, April 24, 12:15 pm Mass:
For the repose of the soul of Jean Wilson
Mass intention by:  Marlene Bush

Thursday, April 25, 12:15 pm Mass:
For the repose of the soul of Ray Cardinal
Mass intention by:  Ellen Cardinal, Val & Dale Heath

Friday, April 26, 8:30 am Mass: 
For the repose of the soul of Elizabeth Briskie
Mass intention by:  Bob Briskie

Saturday, April 27, 7:00 pm Mass: 
For the intentions of the people of the parish

Sunday, April 28, 10:00 am Mass:
For the repose of the soul of Anne Briskie
Mass intention by:  Bob Briskie

Easter 2019
Praise be Jesus Christ, the Firstborn from the dead!
The Blessed Virgin Mary is most likely the only person who believed, with certainty and free of doubt, that Jesus Christ would rise from the dead! Yet nowhere in the Holy Gospels does it tell us that Jesus appeared to His Holy Mother on the day of His Resurrection or in the days that followed.
Some saints have suggested that He did appear to Holy Mary at midnight on Easter Sunday, the hour of His Resurrection, allowing her to be first person to behold His Resurrected Body. She was given this privilege because she believed that He would rise again, just she believed long ago that she would conceive and bear Him within her womb, knowing that He is Emmanuel, God with Us!
Our Holy Mother believed that Jesus would rise again without having to see His Resurrected Glory as a prerequisite to believe. Yet what joy she must have experienced when He appeared in her midst, consoling the one who just a few days before was Our Lady of Sorrows. She is the gentle woman who at the Cross bore her Crucified Son in her arms, and though she believed He would rise from the dead, nonetheless had her heart pierced by a sorrow unlike any other sorrow.
Our Blessed Lady would be the one who would help both the first Christians and those of today to believe in her Son’s rising to new life and the ways in which the power of His Resurrection continues to be present in our world.
This past month was a “resurrection” experience for our parish. After many years of waiting, preparing, experiencing setbacks, frustrations and moments of doubt whether our new church would be built, we witnessed how within one month, the steel superstructure of the new shrine church is nearly complete! Just last week we watched the bell tower and steeple rise into the heavens, its summit crowned with the sign of the Holy Cross, a sign of hope and heavenly protection over all within the Bow Valley!
May we continue to have great faith in our building project, since within this new shrine church we can see living proof of the power of our Lord’s Resurrection!
Please continue to watch for more construction updates by following our parish website at https://www.rockiesparish.com/updates.html. Please also continue or consider supporting our new shrine church through donations (which can also be made on our parish website). Please share these construction updates with your friends and family and invite them to help us through their prayers and financial support to build our new shrine church.
I remain yours in Jesus through Mary,
Fr. Nathan Siray

The Stain Glass Window of Our Lady of the Rockies
Please accept this prayer card of the stain glass window of Our Lady of the Rockies as an Easter gift! This newly fabricated window will be in the sanctuary of the new shrine church, just above the tabernacle and facing towards the east. Below is a brief description of some of the religious imagery and symbolism within the window:

The clouds at the top of the window appear in shapes that resemble the Cross, a Dove and angelic beings. These clouds appeared in the sky during the blessing of the site for the Shrine Church of Our Lady of the Rockies in June 2017.

The mountains at the top of the window are the iconic Three Sisters. In Marian iconography, three stars appear upon the head and shoulders of the image of Mary to represent the Virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity in her soul. The Three Sisters in this window, often known as Faith, Hope and Charity by older generations who lived in Canmore, show how these virtues continue to be present in the life and mission of the Blessed Virgin.

The mine shaft at the left centre of the window honours the coal mining heritage of Canmore. One can also see in this empty mine shaft a sign of the Empty Tomb of Jesus Christ and the truth of His Resurrection.

The two deer on the right centre of the window celebrate the natural beauty of the Bow Valley. The deer drinking from the stream is also a sign of Christian Baptism. In the ancient world, it was believed that when a stag was approaching the end of its life, it would eat a poisonous snake to cause it to have a terrible thirst and then drink a great amount of water to revitalize itself. Just as the stag looked to quench its thirst from the poison it consumed, so too at Baptism do we partake of the waters of salvation to drown out the evil of sin and be revitalized in the grace of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

At the centre of the window, Our Lady is seated upon a throne. Her crown, regal vesture, and placement upon a throne is meant to show that she is truly the Queen of Heaven and Earth. It is under the patronage of the Queenship of Mary that our shrine church celebrates its annual patronal feast day on August 22nd.

Finally, Our Lord Jesus Christ is depicted as a young child, safely held in the arms of His Mother. This depiction shows the beautiful innocence and purity of Our Saviour and the tender affection that Our Lady has for her Son.

​God bless you during this Easter Season and please continue to pray and offer your financial support for the construction of the new Shrine Church of Our Lady of the Rockies.

---

---

---

O Holy Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth,

safeguard us in your tender, loving care.

Under the mantle of your motherly protection,

Keep us safe from all evil and all harm.

Show us the way to love your Son,

Our Lord Jesus Christ,

Who lives and reigns with the father

In the unity of the Holy Spirit,

One God, Forever and ever.

Amen


​Our Lady of the Rockies, pray for us.