Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart

Power of Positivity

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Sun Gazing

Power of Positivity

Power of Positivity

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Photos from St Mary's Parish Altona's post

Congratulations to the children who participated in the Nativity Play on Christmas Eve. Well done.

A Message from Fr. Shabin: At St. Mary's we are a Catholic community that is "An active, welcoming and joyful faith community, giving Christian witness to the Mission of the Gospel", which is reflected in our Parish Vision Statement . This statement provides us with purpose. I thank you all for being part of this mission of our growing community in different ways throughout 2016. This has been a great year, and we thank God together as one family of St. Mary's for the gifts of 2016, we also look forward with great hope to the future . Now as we prepare for Christmas and wait for the arrival of 2017, it would be appropriate to reflect on a few events which have shaped the life of the parish this year. We have re-established a Parish Pastoral Council and Finance Committee with great vision and plans for our community. We encourage vibrant, inclusive liturgies, that promotes participation in the Eucharist and other forms of prayer. The new Music ministry is enhancing our active celebration of the liturgy with its ministry. The Year of Mercy Holy Hour this year was a time of adoration of the blessed sacrament and to contemplate different dimensions of God's relentless Mercy. Key concerns of the Parish committees have been to answer these questions; How do we best engage with the younger members of our parish? What can we do to help bring them into closer relationship with Jesus ? Our youth rally in November, which was a mix of faith, music and fun was a key imitative to support our youth. We used this event as a catalyst for developing youth Ministry in the parish and I am happy to inform that we had our first youth Mass on the 19th December at 5pm. This imitative we will be continuing next year, with a Youth Mass being held once in a month on a Sunday at 5pm to which all are invited, specially our young families with children. In this year of Mercy we are proud of our outreach to the poor and the needy and the care provided for the aged and housebound. Our stewardship programme enabled us to reflect on who we are as a parish, our involvement in various ministries and groups, our plans for the future and our current financial situation. I thank all the parishioners for their generosity in their time and talent, and their financial contributions. We do have very strong and committed young boys and girls really enthusiastic about Alter serving, I really do appreciate their service and it's a great joy to see them at the alter. My sincere thanks to their parents. What does 2017 holds for us then ? The answer to this question will fill us all with excitement about the life and future of our parish community. I am really looking forward to organising at least one parish gathering next year, to meet new members and to celebrate who we are as a community. We do need to complete significant repairs to the roof, upgrade toilet facilities, relocate the parish office by creating a parish centre and to renovate the parish house . There are exciting challenges ahead of us as we plan for our future. We stand on what past generations have been inspired to do for the development of our parish. It is now up to us to build the future so that the next generation will have something to ground their life and faith . For Christians throughout the world the Holy Night resonates with wonder of what happened on that special night in Bethlehem so many years ago. It is a night of joyful thanksgiving. This can also be a moment of new discoveries and decisions, new opportunities, as we prepare for a new year. To each and every member of the community, I wish peace and joy of Christmas and a happy new year . Fr. Shabin Mary Help of Christians Parish Priest

Catholic Radio

The JOURNEY CATHOLIC RADIO PROGRAM AIRS 25 December 2016 This week The Journey Catholic Radio program will continue to bring you weekly Gospel reflections, great music and wonderful inputs from amazing people. Wisdom from the Abbey this week is a very Happy Christmas greeting from the Nuns at the Jamberoo Abby, Bruce Downes, The Catholic Guy touches on The Promise Written in the Stars (Repeat), and the wonderfully inspiring Marrilyn Rodrigues reminds us to Pray, Hope and Don’t Worry. To add to this great line up, we have a show that is all a about faith, hope and life. Go to www.jcr.org.au or www.itunes.jcr.org.au where you can listen anytime and subscribe to weekly shows by email.

VIVA LA VITA!

St Mary's Parish Altona

Please refer to our webpage on www. stmaryparish.org.au for our Christmas Timetable.