Last chance to enrol for the 2023 Confirmation program this year!
The start of our Sacramental Program for 2023 is not too far away – if you have a child in Grade 3 or older, now is the time to enrol
This is our parish’s only Confirmation program this year. Simply go online now via our parish website to enrol. For any questions please contact Carrolyn Watt.
The Rich Faith Traditions & Expressions of our Parish Family
The face of our country is continually changing and you only have to look around at Mass to see that reality reflected in our Parish family. Each member of our parish brings to our community a unique and rich faith tradition that adds each week to our celebrations and parish life. This year we want to celebrate our unity in the midst of our diversity by gathering for a multicultural Mass on Sunday 18 June . It will be a chance to recognise the many different faith backgrounds and experiences as well as allowing us to come together to taste the flavours, colours and traditions of the many people who make up our Parish Family.
Naturally an event like this does not just happen and it requires the assistance and generosity of many people to bring all the threads together. On Saturday, 6 May at 9:30am in the Stella Maris meeting room we will have a preparation meeting and everyone who wants to be involved is welcome. In the meantime, all the different cultural groups and associations are invited to start getting organised to come up with ideas about the multicultural Mass and the celebration that will follow.
VOICE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS EASTER TO PENTECOST DISCUSSION RESOURCE
In September 2021, Archbishop Mark Coleridge publicly endorsed the Uluru Statement From the Heart and made an historic commitment on behalf of the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Brisbane. Evangelisation Brisbane, in partnership with the Edmund Rice Centre, have created a resource that invites Catholics to reflect with Christ when reading the Uluru Statement From the Heart. Designed to take people on a journey in the weeks between Easter and Pentecost, Voice Crying in the Wilderness includes scripture, prayer and discussion questions for individuals or groups to engage with the significance of the Uluru Statement and our response to it. You can download the resource
Holy Communion to the sick and housebound
As a Parish Family we are grateful to all those who take Holy Communion to the sick in nursing homes, and to those who cannot make it to Mass on the weekend. In such a large parish your ministry is vital and not taken for granted. Because this is such an important ministry we want to make sure that we are following best practice and are compliant with the latest safeguarding regulations. Everyone who takes Holy Communion to the sick or housebound is invited to attend a short meeting on next Saturday, 29 April at 9.30am at Stella Maris. At this meeting we will also outline some new procedures and parish requirements for this ministry.
With Lamps Ablaze
In the lead up to the Archdiocesan Summit, Archbishop Mark has published a document entitled “With Lamps Ablaze: Apostolic Priorities for the Archdiocese of Brisbane from 2023” which outlines seven priorities for our local Church.
Each week, Evangelisation Brisbane will provide information about each priority during this Easter season. If you would like a copy of this week’s reflection, email or phone the Parish Office.
Priority One
Teaching Prayer: “ We must first find our way into a new and deeper experience of prayer not just as one of many elements in a busy life but as a way of life for all the baptised. Often we urge people to pray but don’t really teach them how to pray in a way that moves beyond the prayers of childhood and youth. Now is the time to teach ways of prayer which are mature and all-embracing. Christian prayer begins not with speaking but with listening; and learning to pray is therefore learning to listen – to listen even to the silences of God. If all we do is speak, then in the words of Jesus we “babble like the pagans” (Matt 6:7). But if we speak after listening and in response to God who always has the first word, then we speak according to the mind of the Holy Spirit. That’s what we need to teach and learn.” Archbishop Mark Coleridge
Thank you
On Good Friday the tradition has been that at the end of the Good Friday service there is a leaving collection for the support of Christians in the Holy Land. This Collection brings indispensable support to the Christian minority throughout the Middle East, not only in Israel and Palestine but in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and other regions. To put this in perspective, presently in the State of Israel and Palestine, Christians make up about 1.5 percent of the total population. Christians’ lives become very difficult and many families are forced to leave in order to seek a livelihood, or to avoid various forms of discrimination and persecution. When the Christian presence disappears, the loss of a Christian culture and the holy sites, precious and vital for Christians throughout the world, follow in the wake. This year over $3500 was collected in our parish and this money will be forwarded to the Commissariat of the Holy Land, to support our brothers and sisters.
Celebrating and Remembering
We welcome into God’s Family, the Church, Darcy Wright, Lucie Herrera, Breeze Schwartz, Sunny Schwartz, Amara McKeown, Oliver Reilly, Ella Reilly and Mia Reilly who will be baptised this weekend in our Parish.
We pray for all those who have died, especially Tony Palmero whose funeral was celebrated last Friday.
May his soul and the souls of all our departed priests, religious, parishioners and family members, through the rich mercy of God, Rest in Peace. Rest in Peace.
