Latest Parish News

Celebrating our diverse faith

There was plenty of enthusiasm at our initial planning meeting for the Multicultural Mass which we will celebrate on Sunday 18 June. Mark it in your diary! Everyone is invited! The gathering divided into two groups with one concentrating on the liturgy and working towards ensuring that the Mass will be a reflection of the colour, movement and diversity of our Parish Family and our Catholic faith and traditions.

The second group looked at the daunting challenge of the food and cultural extravaganza that will take place around Stella Maris Church immediately after the Mass. Our hope is for everyone to share in the culinary uniqueness and musical traditions of the many groups that make up our Parish. Now, if we are expecting over 400 at the Mass, that is a lot of dance and a lot of food!!!

Next weekend we plan on providing the contact details of the different coordinators who will help manage the post Mass food stalls. Between now and then, we hope a little bit of networking goes on behind the scenes. Next Saturday morning, 20 May at 9:30am will be our next Multicultural Mass preparation meeting and everyone who is interested in being involved is warmly invited to attend.

Confirmation preparation journey continues

Last Monday evening young parishioners and their parents gathered at Stella Maris Church for the first of their preparation nights. It was a chance to remember their baptism and realise the importance of being named and known. This weekend they are enrolled as Confirmation candidates during our Parish Masses. Their preparation continues this Monday evening as they reflect upon their baptismal promises. Please keep them in your prayers, and remember during this preparation programme there is no Monday 5:30pm Mass at Stella Maris.

Adoration Prayer time

In preparation for the Feast of Corpus Christi on the weekend of 10th and 11th June we are organising 24 hours of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. The adoration will begin after the 9.00am Stella Maris Mass on Friday 9 June and conclude with Benediction on Saturday morning at 9.00am. At the entrance to the church you will find a sign up sheet where you can indicate what time you would like to commit to during the 24 hours of adoration.

Vinnies CEO Sleepout

In support of the Vinnies CEO Sleepout on the Sunshine Coast, Marshall Morison of the St Peter’s Conference of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society at Coolum, and Nick Saunders from the St Gerard Majella Conference at Maroochydore will be taking part in the sleeping out at Maroochydore Beach on 22 June 23.

The aims of the Sleepout are to highlight the growing numbers of homelessness and those on the brink of homelessness; and to raise funds to assist.

“ Because of escalating house prices and all-time low rental vacancies, across our Parish and the entire Sunshine Coast, we at Vinnies try to assist individuals and families in our community who can no longer afford to live in the region they called home. More and more are finding themselves struggling to find a place to live and some are forced to live in parks, on the beach or in cars.”

While they’re not CEOs, Nick and Marshall have registered for the Sunshine Coast Sleepout because they think this is an important issue.

If you would like to support this initiative, sponsor donations can be made at CEO SLEEPOUT – Marshall Morison or CEO SLEEPOUT – Nick Saunders

Celebrating a Milestone

Last Saturday’s hospitality at St Peter’s took on added significance as we celebrated Rosie Morgan’s 90th birthday. A magnificent cake added to occasion and Rosie was at her usual best. For all those celebrating a significant birthday around this time – happy birthday!

To find out about what’s happening at St Peter’s, please read the St Peter’s May Good News

Celebrating and Remembering

We welcome into God’s Family, the Church, Melissa Morita, Lennox Sergeant, Cooper Thompson, Aliyah Clarito Thurston and Justin Clarito who will be baptised this weekend in our Parish. We pray for all our young girls and boys who will be officially enrolled to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation this weekend.

We prayerfully remember all those who have died, especially George Taylor whose funeral was celebrated last Friday, Elizabeth Allcock whose funeral will be celebrated on Thursday, and Luke Flanagan whose funeral will be celebrated on Friday. May the souls of all our departed priests, religious, parishioners and family members, through the rich mercy of God, Rest in Peace.

Eucharistic Ministers New Guidelines

Following on from the meeting of all Eucharistic Ministers who take Communion to our sisters and brothers who are sick, housebound or in hospital or nursing homes; from this week please remember, before you place your pyx on the offertory table, to record your name and whom you are going to see (the folder is at the entrance of each church). This important ministry always takes place on the day, ideally following when commissioned at the end of Mass, and only commissioned Eucharistic Ministers are allowed to take the Blessed Sacrament from the church.

PARLA COME UN ITALIANO

Way back in February an invitation was extended to any parishioners who would like to learn Italian to sign up for Italian classes. Over 50 accepted the invitation and every Tuesday, having completed their homework, continued on their language journey. Each week they made a donation of $5 which went to support the work of our local St Vincent de Paul Conference. The course came to an end last Tuesday when they put their new found language knowledge to the test and went to dinner at Mattarello Italian Restaurant. They had to order their meal and drinks in Italian and the good news is that no one starved on the night!!! Thank you to Carmel Barbagallo and her helpers for running the Italian course. In October we hope to restart this Italian programme.

Month Of May

Virgin Mary statue

Traditionally, the month of May is dedicated to Mary and it holds a special place in Australia because on the 24 May we celebrate Our Lady Help of Christians, the patron of Australia. In the lead up to this feast there will be a “Rosary Crusade” that will begin on 15 May. Sign up now

Retreat Opportunity

If you have a desire to deepen your relationship with God and find God’s presence in your everyday life, why not consider joining this retreat? The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola are a means of opening oneself to the work of God in one’s life. Ignatius, a Basque nobleman of the late 15th and early 16th centuries, underwent a powerful spiritual conversion in his late twenties. The experience of his own conversion led Ignatius to share what he learned with others and, eventually, refine his personal prayer journal into what we now call the Spiritual Exercises. There are no special requirements to attend – come as you are!

Monday 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31 July from 9.30am to 11.00am at “The Avenue” Conference Room, 32 Baden Powell Street, Maroochydore Retreat

Givers: Marie and Eric (Trained and Certified Givers of The First Spiritual Exercises) Just go to to register. This retreat is free of charge. You may gift any amount towards the ongoing support of the First Spiritual Exercises Ministry when you register.

The Marriage Course

When did you last spend time really investing in your relationship? Regardless of whether you’ve been together for only a few months or several decades, whether your relationship is thriving or facing challenges, The Marriage Course offers practical, online sessions to help strengthen your most important relationship. No group sharing, just time together for you and your partner.

Be supported and encouraged with seven online sessions in the privacy of your own home covering topics from the art of communication, to resolving conflict, to the power of forgiveness.

Time: 7:30pm to 9.00pm

Date: Wednesday nights beginning 31 May 2023 (for seven sessions with a break over school holidays, finishing on 26 July)

Where: Online Zoom link will be shared after registration

Cost: Course is free. Option to purchase journals at $50 per couple or to download the PDF version for free

RSVP: Wednesday 24 May

Find out more and register now

Be Careful

All of us have no doubt come across scams looking for money or banking details. We have to continually be vigilant because many of the scams are very clever and often hard to initially identify. At the moment there are emails doing the rounds purportedly coming from your priests looking for money – they are scams – your priests will never send you an email asking for money or your banking details. If you do come across an email that is a scam what you should do is: never open the email, and immediately delete it from both your Inbox and your Recycle Bin/Deleted folders.

Technology of the Third Age – problem solving

This Friday 19 May after the 9.00am Mass we continue with our Technology of the Third Age gatherings at Stella Maris. It is a chance to gather and explore some of the tricks in dealing with our modern iPhones and iPads and together find solutions to those annoying problems that prevent us from getting the most out of our iPhones and iPads. Everyone is welcome – this week the gathering will deal with Apple devices.

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. Fr William will be representing our Parish Community at the Summit. All parishioners from Stella Maris Catholic Parish are invited to attend – Secure your tickets now to be encouraged, inspired and equipped for mission!

Each week, Evangelisation Brisbane will provide information about each priority during this Easter season. This week we feature:

Priority Five: Engaging Anew with First Nations Peoples

“The injustice done to First Nations peoples in this country is a running sore at the heart of the nation. It is contemporary Australia’s original sin… We need a genuinely new engagement of the Church with the First Nations peoples, especially in an Archdiocese like this where the Indigenous presence is strong. A new engagement will mean, first of all, listening to Indigenous voices, and believing that we can learn if we really listen. In the past, non-Indigenous Australia has struggled to believe that we could learn anything from First Nations peoples. They could learn from us, but not we from them. That has to change, both in the Church and in Australia more generally. Then the listening and learning need to lead to action.”

Archbishop Mark Coleridge

You can Read the Document here