Stella Maris Catholic Parish eNewsletter

Happy Mother’s Day! We also hit a milestone today within the “Great Fifty Days of Easter” as we celebrate The Ascension of the Lord this weekend. This is the formal ascension back to heaven of Jesus to God the Father after his bodily resurrection on earth. All the post-resurrection appearances and interactions of Jesus with…

We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which our communities celebrate liturgies and live out our faith.  We pay respects to leaders past, present and emerging. May their example of stewardship be reflected in our lives. Monday 13 May 4.30pm Adoration, Stella Maris Church, Maroochydore. 5.30pm Mass, Stella Maris Church, Maroochydore. 7.00pm-9.00pm Catholic…

Siena Catholic Primary School  This year Siena Primary is living and breathing the world-renowned Resilience Project which promotes gratitude, empathy, mindfulness, and emotional literacy. The Resilience Project teaches positive mental health strategies, which are as important as teaching, reading, writing and maths skills. As a Catholic Education school we link Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness to…

Whitsunday Next weekend, we celebrate the feast of Pentecost (also called Whitsunday or Whitsun. Pentecost takes place 49 days after Easter Sunday and commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Mary, mother of Jesus and the Apostles while they were in Jerusalem. We invite all parishioners to wear the colour red at mass next…

NET Team update As a team, we’ve been kept busy with lots of Siena Catholic College and Parish events and activities! To start with, we began the school holidays by attending a three-day retreat at Alexandra Headland facilitated by Alpha Youth Australia. (You may remember the Parish running the Alpha series a few years back.)…

The Beatles song of the same title makes it all sound so easy!   In John’s Gospel, which we listen to again this weekend, love abounds. Indeed, today’s passage begins and ends with love. Not just that, Jesus declares quite clearly that if we love him we will keep his commandments. That is reassuring because,…

Hospitality – everyone welcome! This being the first weekend of the month we always have a special emphasis on hospitality across our Sunshine Coast Parish Family. If we want to be a friendly community, we need to also be a welcoming community and providing hospitality is an excellent way of meeting new and old parishioners…

St Catherine’s Feast Day highlights  The Feast Day of St Catherine of Siena was celebrated last Sunday with our Sippy Downs church packed with members of the local community. The liturgy was supported by the Siena Catholic Primary School, Sippy Downs, and Bishop Brian Heenan was the celebrant. Across our Parish last weekend over 100…

We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which our communities celebrate liturgies and live out our faith.  We pay respects to leaders past, present and emerging. May their example of stewardship be reflected in our lives. Monday 6 May 4.30pm Adoration, Stella Maris Church, Maroochydore. 5.30pm Mass, Stella Maris Church, Maroochydore. 7.00pm-9.00pm Catholic…

Siena Catholic Primary School  Our school-led parish Mass was a beautiful community celebration of faith and worship last Sunday. It was heart-warming to see so many school families celebrate Mass with the St Catherine’s parishioners. Thank you to Bishop Brian for presiding over the Mass. Your homily was both interesting and meaningful to all attending.…

Our parish Family highlights this week Last Monday evening, while the Evangelisation Brisbane adult education HUB was being conducted in the function room, on the Stella Maris presbytery balcony it was a chance for the Parish to say thank you to the many people who helped with our Holy Week ceremonies. The different ceremonies require…

We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which our communities celebrate liturgies and live out our faith.  We pay respects to leaders past, present and emerging. May their example of stewardship be reflected in our lives. Monday 29 April– St Catherine of Siena feast day 5.15pm Adoration, Stella Maris Church, Maroochydore. 5.30pm Mass,…

Dear Parishioners, As ‘Mullets for Mental Health Month’ draws to a close this Tuesday, I want to sincerely thank you all for supporting the Black Dog Institute and their endeavour to improve the lives of those suffering from mental illnesses. The Australian icon that is the mullet may have more theological significance and importance than…

Siena Catholic Primary School  Laps for Life and Laundry – What a Great Morning! Congratulations children, staff and family members who walked, danced, and smiled their way through our hour-long Laps for Life and Laundry venture on the last day of term 1. What a terrific atmosphere of joy, community spirit and commitment to assist…

Hospitality next weekend On the first weekend of the month we always have a special emphasis on hospitality. If we want to be a friendly community, we need to also be a welcoming community and providing hospitality is an excellent way of meeting new and old parishioners alike. Please join us after Mass next weekend.…

ANZAC Day this year falls on next Thursday. The Honour Rolls on the big city cenotaphs or small country memorials remind us that the Dardanelles Campaign and World War I touched every family and affected every community in Australia. Accompanying our young men as they left our shores for distant lands were countless other Australians…

WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS Today the Church throughout the world prays for vocations. The Word Day of Prayer for Vocations coincides with this weekend’s Good Shepherd Sunday. It’s a day when we as a Church community remember the Lord’s Instruction to “Pray the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into his harvest…

We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which our communities celebrate liturgies and live out our faith.  We pay respects to leaders past, present and emerging. May their example of stewardship be reflected in our lives. Monday 22 April  5.15pm Benediction, Stella Maris Church, Maroochydore. 5.30pm Mass, Stella Maris Church, Maroochydore. 6.00pm Holy…

Our Confirmation Programme starts this Wednesday evening for an hour long adult information and preparation meeting at Stella Maris church beginning at 5.00pm. Theologian and author, Fr Richard Leonard SJ will lead the session. If you have a child in Year 3, or older, please enrol online: enrol your child.     Feeling Crafty Our…

Siena Catholic Primary School  This year Siena Primary is partnering with The Resilience Project to support student wellbeing and mental health. The Resilience Project delivers emotionally engaging programs to schools, sports clubs and businesses, providing practical, evidence-based mental health strategies to build resilience and happiness. Through presentations, school curriculum and proven strategies the project will…