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Welcome to St. Mary's Star of the Sea, Sandymount
A warm welcome to the website of St Mary’s, Star of the Sea Parish, Sandymount. Our parish was constituted in 1851 to meet the needs of a growing population in Sandymount – Irishtown. The foundation stone of a new church was laid in that year and in August 1853 the church was officially opened. Designed by J.J. McCarthy, of the Pugin neo-Gothic school, Star of the Sea has served the people well in Sandymount and Irishtown over the years and they in turn have looked after it in its beauty and prayerful atmosphere. The gatherings for the liturgy are creative of a community in touch with God and with each other. We hope you’ll find our website interesting and helpful. Don’t hesitate to contact us if we can be of any further assistance to you. Yours sincerely, Fr. John Mc Donagh P.P 
Clothing Collection for St. Vincent de Paul
The Society is seeking your help in its Annual Clothing Appeal in this Parish. The Appeal is for clean, good-quality clothes, bedclothes, curtains, shoes etc. Bags will be available outside the church on the weekend of 16th and 17th February and the Society will collect the bags outside the church on the following weekend, 23rd / 24th February at the Vigil Mass and Sunday morning Masses.
The Society is very conscious of the tremendous support given by the parishioners of this Parish for their charitable works over the years. They would like to thank you all most sincerely on behalf of those you have helped.
Every year during Catholic Schools Week the Laudate Festival is celebrated. A large choir of children from schools in the diocese take part with 500-1,000 participating in each of four venues, leading in song and prayer. The festival nights are joyful and reflective gatherings celebrating the gift of faith.
This is for everyone to enjoy and is free for all parents, families, friends and parishioners
Celebrations each evening begin at 7.00pm and end at 8.15pm. A special word of thanks to Deirdre Seaver who with their teachers prepared the girls in Scoil Mhuire for Wednesday’s celebration in Ballyroan.
Next Sunday, February 2nd, is the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord, Candlemas Day. Traditionally its the day we bless candles for use in the church or at home. You may wish to bring candles to be blessed.
This lovely feastday is also the Day for Consecrated Life. Archbishop Martin will celebrate Mass for Consecrated Life in the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Foxrock, at 3.30pm on Sunday next. The Dublin Diocesan Music Group will provide the music of the Mass.
To establish the definitive list of those who wish to celebrate Confirmation next March we ask again that if anyone has not already done so he/she and parents should submit their registration form as soon as possible.all candidates are asked to confirm their Baptism by presenting a Baptism Cert at earliest convenience. If a young person was baptised in Star of the Sea it will suffice to indicate so on the registration form, giving some direction as to the date.
A ceremony of Commitment will follow in November, on a date to be decided this week. 
Well Deserved
Many of our parishioners over the years have merited a ‘well done’ accolade. We are in debt to all who voluntarily commit themselves to serve the parish community in a host of different ways.
When Paddy Kavanagh reluctantly, and with doctor’s direction, reached a time to ‘step back,’ it brought to a close a service which Paddy had given over a span of seventy years. Apart from a short time spent outside his parish, Paddy was altar server, church collector, assistant sacristan and latterly assisted at every Baptism in the parish. Anxious to mark his long years of service the pastoral council decided to petition the Benemerenti Medal for him. Bob Harewood has been our wonderful sacristan since the death of a great servant of the parish, Margaret O’Doherty, nine years ago but over many years, like Paddy, he has been consistently present to help, counting and banking Sunday collections and ready to stand in whenever and wherever there was a need. We greatly appreciate Bob’s great commitment to the parish in a totally voluntary capacity with kindly cheerful disposition. We readily sought that he also should be honoured with the Benemerenti Medal. It’s a Pontifical medal requested by the Archbishop on behalf of each recipient and a limited number are awarded yearly. We are delighted that both Bob and Paddy have been honoured and were presented with Benemerenti Medals at the end of the 12 o’clock Mass on Sunday, 9th June. 
Under our GDPR Policy a request for Baptism certs must be accompanied by a completed form either by the adult person requesting his or her own Baptism cert or by the parent requesting a son or daughter’s Baptism certificate. Parents of children preparing for First Communion and for Confirmation will accordingly need to complete that form when seeking , as is required, their child’s certification of Baptism. This applies to every parish in the Diocese.
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Mass and Confession Times:Sunday
Vigil: 6.00 p.m (Saturday) 9:00 a.m. Mass 10.30 a.m Family Mass 12.00 noon Choir Mass (Choir away during July and August) Weekday 7.30 a.m. Mass 10.00 a.m. Mass Saturdays: 10.00 a.m.: Mass (6.00 p.m. Sunday Vigil) : Mass First Fridays: 7.30 a.m. Mass 10.00 a.m. Mass Confessions Saturdays: After 10.00 a.m Mass And at 5.30 p.m Open Hours: Weekdays: 7:15am to 5:30pm Saturday: 9:15am to 7:00pm Sunday: 8:45am to 7:00pm Sacrament of Marriage: Please contact the Parish Office at 668-3316. 
Click on the blue buttons below for more information
WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY
The week of Prayer for Christian Unity will be observed as usual from 18th to 25th January 2020. Its inauguration in Dublin will take place at an interdenominational Service in the Church of the Assumption, Booterstown Avenue, on Sunday 19th January 2020 at 4.00pm. The Rev. Abigail Sines, Dean’s Vicar, Christchurch Cathedral, will preach the sermon.
This year the theme, ‘Unusual Kindness’ was chosen by the Christian Churches in Malta reflecting on the ‘drama of St. Paul’ who experienced unity and acts of kindness locally following his shipwreck on the island.
This coming week is Catholic Schools Week, a week in which we celebrate our schools for their significance and importance in our lives. A school with Catholic ethos will uphold important values in education.
The first of these is the valuing and appreciation of how precious each person’s life is. Regardless of race, creed or social standing the Catholic school will uphold and respect the dignity of each person, ‘made in the image and likeness of God.’ The second is that the school is a community of people, students, teachers and parents who work together supportively in relationships guided by Christian values – a community of love, peace and joy, a community of understanding and forgiveness, a community that fosters care and concern for the vulnerable and poor. As one principal teacher puts it – ‘our school is our parish.’ A third feature is that a Catholic school prepares students for the whole of life’s journey. That’s why its curriculum will be seen to embrace both knowledge and faith and why growth in virtue will be prized as much and more than growth in academic achievement. The ecumenical spirit and the desire to be in peaceful harmony with members of other religions means that non Christian students will be respected within its faith dimension. The Catholic faith will be celebrated with respectful recognition of the faith journeys of others. Finally, the Catholic school will seek to prepare its students to meet the modern world as adults who are educated across the arts and sciences in what one great philosopher called ‘the funded capital of civilization.’ Perhaps it’s fair to say that this is often the only evaluative measure that some bring to the Catholic school. Catholic schools around the world are prized for academic achievement of students but it’s important to see the wider picture of schools’ purpose and endeavour. This year the theme for Catholic Schools Week is “Catholic Schools: Living in Harmony with God’s Creation.” The theme encourages us to see that we all have a responsibility to care for the earth, not just for our own future, but for the future of every one of God’s creatures. Our local Catholic schools will hold special celebrations this week in Marian College and in Scoil Mhuire and Star of the Sea Primary Schools. We’re delighted too that girls from Scoil Mhuire will sing in the Laudate Festival along with other schools at the Church in Ballyroan (Holy Spirit) next Wednesday at 7.00pm. The boys in Marian College will also participate in the Emmanuel Festival at the Helix, DCU on March 11th.
The World Day of the Sick will be celebrated on Sunday February 9th, the nearest Sunday to the World Day which is on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, February 11th. The diocesan celebrations will be held at Newtownpark Avenue, Guardian Angles Church. The Archbishop will lead the celebration of Mass there at 3.30pm. Anointing of the sick will take place during Mass.
On the previous day, Saturday February 8th, between 9.30am and 1.00pm a Seminar will take place in the Newtownpark Parish Pastoral Centre. This year’s theme will be on Hope in the Face of Suicide.
First Communion Enrolment
The Enrolment Ceremony for First Communion classes will be held in the church on Tuesday October 8th at 7.00pm.
A meeting of parents in Scoil Mhuire and in Star of the Sea schools intending to present a child for First Communion in 2020 will be held in the church on Tuesday October 1st at 7.30pm. Registration will take place that evening.
Classes for students preparing for Sacraments
Pre-Sacrament classes for children attending St. Matthew’s school (and for any who live in the parish and attend non-Catholic school) continues this week.
The preparation period is over two years towards First Communion and also towards Confirmation. The classes are scheduled as follows and are held in the parish meeting rooms in the church. 1st class meets Tuesday evening at 5.00pm 2nd class meets Thursday evening at 4.00pm 6th class meets Thursday evening at 4.00pm 5th class meets Thursday evening at 4.45pm
‘Do This in Memory’We again welcome boys and girls and their parents to this Sundays ‘Do this in Memory’ Mass. After this Mass, Grapevine 5 will be distributed, in church for St. Matthew’s parents and in school for the other children and parents. You’re asked to work through the relevant pages of Thumbs, pages 18, 19, 54 and 55, and Grapevine 5, before our next Mass on February 9th. The preparation group meet next Saturday at 9.00am. Because of mid-term break in February, our next Mass has had to be brought forward. Hence the short interval to our next special Mass.
Church Notice Board
Details of two new courses beginning in October are on the Church Notice Board:
Faith for Life – Deepening the connection between Faith and Life is a course run over four weekends to help you discover new ways to live out your faith in the reality of today’s world through relationships in family, parish, workplace, and the events of daily life. The course costs €200 and places are limited. For further information- Tel: 01-8373732 ext 247/239 or email: evangelisation@dublindiocese.ie. Active8 – 8 sessions over 8 months 8 new ways of sharing Good News, in Holy Cross Diocesan Centre on 2nd Oct, 6th Nov, 15th Jan, 12th Feb, 11th Mar, 1st April, 6th May, 10th June all at 7.30-9.30pm. For those who are 30-55 years old who want to grow in skills of sharing faith. Price €80 and places are limited. Contact: mary.dent@dublindiocese.ie 
The new European Data Protection law, the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), is being introduced on 25th May 2018. This new law applies to any organisation, including our parish that manages and processes people’s personal information. We are now working on ways of ensuring that what we do with your information is compliant with this new law. It is a work in progress and over the next few months we will keep you informed through the parish website and in the newsletter as policies are put in place. Click on the Button below to view the Parish Data Privacy Notice:
There may be a Primary School Teacher in our community who would like to be involved in the classes for children attending St Matthew's School and preparing for First Penance, First Communion and Confirmation. Classes are held on Thursdays, from around 3.45 to 5.15. If so, please contact the Parish Office or Fr John.
A Jesuit Publication for your homeWhy not have a look at one issue. You might find it’s like a spiritual “Readers Digest”. There’s something for everyone: chatty articles, accessible theology, out-loud thinking on spiritual questions and serious issues, comforting news, art appreciation, a kid’s page (with puzzles and jokes) gardening hints, seasonal recipes and a challenging crossword.
The Iris Charles CentreThe Iris Charles Centre re-opens after the Christmas break on Tuesday next, 7th January with Chair Exercises, Lunch and Bridge. All Welcome!
Chair exercises have been extended to two days a week – Tuesdays and Fridays at the Centre on Newbridge Avenue, from 11.45am to 12.45pm at a cost of €2 per class. Afternoon Bridge will also resume on Tuesday at 2.30pm. New members are always welcome – with or without a Bridge partner. If you would like to make yourself available as a volunteer on an occasional basis, please contact Phyllis 087-6225471 or Claire 087-2368548. The Iris Charles Centre is one of our local gems with a dedicated group of people running it. Senior Citizens can meet and enjoy a great lunch or participate in a range of organised activities. The Centre also hosts a Bridge evening every Thursday beginning at 7:00pm for both experienced and novice players. All are welcome. IRIS CHARLES CENTRE MAP
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