St. Maurice Parish

10/23/2026

September 22: Pope St. John Paul II
"Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ!"
- Pope John Paul II's homily for the inauguration of his pontificate, 22 October 1978

Elected to the Papacy in unusual circumstances following the death of Pope John Paul I after 33 days, Pope John Paul II would go on to become one of the most consequential figures of the Twentieth Century.
Training in the seminary while Poland was under N**i occupation, Karol Wojtyła was ordained a priest in 1946. Serving as a priest and bishop while Poland was controlled by a Communist regime, John Paul II would eventually be recognized as a major figure in the fall of Communism across Europe.

After the unexpected death of Pope John Paul I, Wojtyła was elected to the Papacy in the second conclave to be held in 1978, taking the name of his predecessor. As Pope, John Paul II was a prolific writer and teacher, travelled throughout the world – the first Pope to visit a number of countries - instituted World Youth Day, beatified more than 1000 people and canonised nearly 500.

Although canonisation is normally a lengthy process, the crowd chanting "Santo Subito!" ("Saint Now!") at John Paul II's funeral inspired his successor, Benedict XVI to begin the cause for his canaonisation immediately. He was beatified in 2011 and canonised in 2014 and has come to be known as Pope St. John Paul "the Great", one of just four Popes to have that title.

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The image used in this post is a portrait of Pope John Paul II in 1988. The original image was created by Wikimedia user Gregorini Demetrio and is used here under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. A link to the full licence is included in the comments of this post.

10/23/2026

10/16/2026

St. Marie-Marguerite D’Youville, pray for us.

10/15/2026

October 15: Theresa of Ávila (1515-1582), Doctor of the Church — patron of Spain and members of religious orders.

"Let nothing disturb you.
Let nothing make you afraid.
All things are passing.
God alone never changes.
Patience gains all things.
If you have God you will want for nothing.
God alone suffices."
- a prayer known as 'Nada te turbe' (its opening words in Spanish), found in Theresa's breviary, presumably written by her.

A Carmelite nun and one of the most famous Catholic mystics. Alongside her fellow Carmelite and Doctor of the Church in his own right, St. John of the Cross, Theresa of Ávila was active in reforming and renewing the Carmelites, though their efforts were not without controversy from Church authorities.

Theresa is one of the most famous mystics of the Church and like St. John of the Cross, with whom she is often associated, she was a visionary and prolific spiritual writer.

She was canonised in 1622 and was declared the first female Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI in 1970
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The image used in this post is a depiction of St. Theresa by the French painter François Gérard. The image was taken from Wikimedia Commons, where it is identified as being in the Public Domain.

10/12/2026

Wishing the parishioners of St. Maurice a blessed Thanksgiving weekend.

10/11/2026

Join us in celebrating Mass at St. Maurice Parish in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Visit our website at www.stmauriceparish.com

Our Mission is to encounter Jesus and know Him personally, to grow together as His disciples, and to go and share the gospel with others. Know. Grow. Go.

Click on the link below to view our vision and core values. https://www.stmauriceparish.com/AboutUs1

If you feel called to give to our church, visit https://www.stmauriceparish.com/Give


CCLI License # 1669509

10/10/2026

Due to most of leaders being unavailable or sick, the Young Adults event scheduled for tonight has been cancelled.

10/09/2026

October 9: St. Denis (died c. 250) – Bishop & Martyr, patron of headaches, France, and Paris.

Said to be the first bishop of Paris, St. Denis (the modern French form of the Latin name Dionysius), was martyred during the persecution of Christians under the reign of Emperor Decius in the later half of the second century.

Famously, after being beheaded, St. Denis is said to have picked up his own head and continued preaching. He belongs to the class of saints known as cephalophores, those saints who similarly are said to have carried their own heads after being beheaded.

In his capacity as the patron saint of those suffering headaches, St. Denis is venerated as one of the 14 Holy Helpers, saints particularly associated with intercession against common ailments.

The image below demonstrates the longstanding importance of St. Denis to the military of the Kingdom of France. He is depicted bestowing the Oriflamme, the royal standard of the Kingdom of France to Henri Clément (at right), who was Marshal of France, the highest-ranking soldier in the Kingdom of France. "Montjoie Saint Denis!", a phrase of unclear origin and meaning, was traditionally used as a battle cry by the soldiers of the Kingdom of France.
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The image used in this post was taken from Wikimedia Commons, where it is identified as being in the Public Domain

10/09/2026

A prayer by St. John Henry Newman, the great English theologian, who converted to Catholicism in his 40s.

https://ow.ly/u6OG50WQF52