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Palm Sunday 2nd April Mass: Sat Vigil 6pm, 9am, 10.30am and 12noon.
Monday to Wednesday : 3rd to 5th April: Mass at 7.30am and 10am. Confession after 10am Mass. Monday 3rd April: Communal Rite of Reconciliation, 7.30pm Holy Thursday : 6th April: 9.30am Morning Prayer , 7.30pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament until 10pm. Good Friday 7thApril: 9.30am Morning Prayer, 12 noon Stations of the Cross (Children/Family), 3pm Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion. Confessions afterwards. 8pm Way of the Cross. Confessions afterwards. Holy Saturday 8th April: 9.30am Morning Prayer. Confessions afterwards. 9pm Solemn Celebrations of the Easter Vigil. Easter Sunday 9th April: Masses as usual, 9am, 10.30am and 12 noon. The 7.30am weekday Mass will resume on Monday
Updated Parish Privacy Statement
Childrens Passion PlayOn Good Friday at 12 noon, there will be an impromptu children’s Passion Play in the church. Children and their parents are cordially invited to this event – a prayerful child friendly narration with songs. Children are invited to come dressed as Roman soldiers, or any of the characters from the passion (men and women of Jersualem). Don’t worry as costumes will be available on the day ( are there are no speaking parts). All welcome.
Card DeliveryEaster Card, schedule and dues envelopes, will be delivered in this coming week in advance of Palm Sunday. We welcome the kind volunteers who have assisted in delivery previously and welcome also any new volunteers, willing to help. Contact the parish office (01 6683316), 9.30 – 12.30 or leave a message on the answering service.
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Inter-Church Prayer in Lent This Tuesday, March 28th, we will host the inter-church gathering for Evening Prayer in Lent at 7.30pm. We thank all who attended the two previous celebrations on inter-church Evening Prayer at Christ Church on March 14th and at St Matthew’s on March 21st. We welcome all this Tuesday evening.
Thursday Evening Prayer, which we hold on Thursday Evenings at 5.30pm during Lent, will not be held this Thursday given that Evening Prayer will be celebrated on Tuesday evening at 7.30pm instead.
Thursday Evening Prayer in LentEvening prayer is celebrated each Thursday evening the Lent at 5.30pm each evening.
Our annual parish Golf Classic will take place on Friday 19th May in Elm Park GC. Booking forms will be available from next weekend. We have always depended on the fund raising efforts of the Golf Classic to help us keep our heads above water but our needs are much greater now and your help is all the more appreciated. Thanks to Martin Coonan and the committee for their great commitment and organisation of the day.
Mercy Int Centre retreats
The Mercy centre is offering two in person retreats. A Spirituality Renewal Retreat: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matt 11:28. This gentle 5-day retreat will consist of reflection on scripture; guided meditation; art journaling; personal time and space and spiritual accompaniment. Refresh your spirit, re-discovering balance and wholeness in the gentleness of silence from Sun 23rd - Friday 28th April Residential: 575 euro (Accommodation & all meals provided). Non-residential: 290 euro (Lunch provided). And a Contemplative Practices Weekend - this weekend allows time to reconnect with the silence within. This short retreat will explore a variety of contemplative practices - guided meditation; lectio divina; visio divina; centering prayer; contemplative walk - while also providing time and space for personal reflection. Spiritual direction will be available. Friday 31st March - Sunday 2nd April. Residential: 280 euro (Accommodation & all meals provided). Non-residential: 90 euro (Lunch provided).programmes@mercyinternational.ie.
Knock PilgrimageThe annual 2023 Diocesan Pilgrimage to Knock, which will be led by Archbishop Farrell, will take place on Saturday, April 29. For more information and booking email knockpilgrimage@dublindiocese.ie..
Registration for Sacramental PreparationParents are now required to complete a form to register their child for Sacramental Preparation for First Holy Communion and/or Confirmation. The below forms can now be downloaded and sent to the Parish Office. Please see links below to choose the appropriate form for your child.
Inter-Church Prayer in Lent
Beginning this Tuesday, 14th March, and for three successive Tuesdays, 14th, 21st and 28th March, we are invited to pray together as Catholic, Church of Ireland and Methodist Christians in our preparation for Easter. The first of these gatherings will be in Christ Church, Sandymount Green, at 7.30 p.m. On March 21st we will gather in St. Matthews Church and on March 28th in Star of the Sea. All are most welcome.
WORLD YOUTH DAY – LISBON 2023The diocesan office organising Dublin’s participation in WYD-LISBON2023 has sent the following message to parishes.
Parishes and Individuals are now invited to register their interest in either attending WYD Lisbon or organising a parish group to participate. Over the past year many parishes and people have noted in submissions for the Task Force and also preparatory meetings on Synod the importance of reaching out to younger people. World Youth Day will take place August 1 to 6 in Lisbon 2023. Package options and costs are still being determined and the registration system will open in September. At present it is intended to have the option for teenagers aged 16-18 to participate as well as those aged 18-29. The Archdiocese of Dublin has a great tradition in participation at World Youth Day. This is a great opportunity to reach out to young people and connect them to young people in many parishes that will participate at WYD. A full pastoral programme for all pilgrims will also commence later in the year, with opportunities for leadership roles as well. Get in touch and keep in touchWe would like to hear from you before September so that we can focus and fine tune the various package options that will be proposed. · Parishes are now invited register their interest – providing information if possible on numbers and maybe local leaders also · Individuals can also use this system to register their interest · Groups (Schools, Third Level Chaplaincy, Faith groups) – can also use this system Expression of Interest for WYD Lisbon 2023 Contact wyd@dublindiocese.ie. We’d love to hear from young people in Sandymount interested in participating.
Synodal Pathway Update Some of us in the parish have already been receiving emails with updates and information in relation to the Synod on Synodality (Universal Synod 2021-2024) along with resources that were prepared by the Task Group for the Synodal Pathway here in Ireland. The latest newsletter – with information on how to subscribe to updates – can be found on www.dublindiocese.ie
Click on Button Below for Responses from Synod Meetings
The Synod Prayer
DCU Theology CoursesScholarships are available for incoming students wishing to pursue studies in Theology and Religious Studies at the beautiful DCU All Hallows Campus in Drumcondra, where there is a part-time BA course on offer and an MA programme in Theology and World Religions. Visit https://www.dcu.ie/your-guide-to-student-application-portals/.
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.
The Iris Charles Centre-Sandymount Community CentreIRIS CHARLES CENTRE MAP
Home from Home
Sandymount Community Centre, formally the Irish Charles Centre, on Newbridge Ave is very excited to announce their new Home from Home initiative. Every Thursday from 10-12 the centre will be open to the community offering a warm cuppa, newspapers, cards and games as well as loads of chats! |
RCN: 20016166
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 
Mass and Confession Times:
Sunday
9:00 a.m. 10.30 a.m. 12:00 p.m. Weekday 7:30.a.m. 10.00 a.m. Saturdays: 10.00 a.m. 6:00 p.m. Vigil First Fridays: 10.00 a.m. Confessions Saturdays: After 10.00 a.m Mass (Suspended for now due to Covid Restrictions) And at 5.30 p.m (Suspended for now due to Covid Restrictions) 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
Do This in MemoryAfter today’s ‘’Do this is Memory Mass’’ Sunday, 2nd April, with First Communion children and parents, we hope that during holidays from school, the exercises in Thumb will continue at home on pages 24 and 25 ( for parents to share) and that children mark Holy week by completing exercises on pages 60 and 61. The Palm Sunday colour-in may yet need to be completed too. With only one more special Mass to be celebrated before First Communion Day, it’s a good time to review all that was shared and done up to now in your Thumb book. Grapevine 7 offers further encouragement in our preparation. Our next, and final, ‘Do this in memory Mass’’ will be on Sunday, April 23rd, at 10.30am. Our next celebration with children and parents preparing for First Communion will be next Sunday at 10.30am.
First Penance this week
This Tuesday, March 28th, at 5.30pm, the boys from Star of the Sea will celebrate First Penance and girls from Scoil Mhuire, Lakelands, will have their celebration on Thursday evening at 7pm.
World Youth Day Lisbon 2023, Aug 1 to 6
Interest is invited from our young people to attend WYD Lisbon or also to form a parish based group to participate.
We’re invited to register our interest on either or both of these possibilities with the diocese. So we’d welcome indicators of interest from young who will be aged between 16 and 29 in August 2023.
A programme for our teenagers?The diocese is establishing a Laudato Si’ Award for teenage groups in parishes who engage in a programme to explore and inform
fellow-parishioners around issues of ecology, sustainability, climate change and the spirituality invited to care for the earth. Laudato Si’ was the title of Pope Francis Letter on Caring for the Earth. This September is a starting point for such groups with training around the programme’s operation for those who lead. We’d love to hear from teenagers (13 to 17) who might be interested in knowing more about this project and from people interested in assisting the project as animators/leaders or whose knowledge and advice might inform the undertaking. It would unfold as a meeting point for teenagers with a mixture of social, education, research and prayer dimensions. Give it thought. We’d love to facilitate it.
Building HopeIn April 2021, Archbishop Dermot Farrell established a Task Force called Building Hope. The Task Force was asked to assess the needs of the people of the Archdiocese emerging from Covid-19 and to work to support parish communities as they undertake a radical renewal, looking to the future with creativity. 3,000 people, mostly lay faithful, responded to the invitation to share their views.
In October the Task Force reported and highlighted four dimensions valued by people which provide a framework for pastoral renewal. This framework gives a focus for the discussion and discernment around pastoral renewal Our Parish Leadership Team has identified two dates, Wednesday May 25th at 7.30pm and Sunday May 29th at 4pm for parishioners to meet in reflection and discussion of these four areas.
Affirmation of priestly ministry, Co-responsibility of clergy and Lay Faithful, Active Lay Ministries, Role of Women, Youth involvement, Pastoral Outreach, Administration
Advocacy, Active Outreach, Solidarity, Accompaniment, Care of Creation
After a time of reflection on these four areas we will be asked to answer a series of questions in respect of each of these areas as they pertain to our parish. Further questions will relate to local parish partnerships. Subsequently, these and further questions will be answered in an online form submitted to the diocese.
Baptism CelebrationsOn the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month we currently celebrate baptism with four families at a time. Covid impacted heavily on parents trying to organise the baptism of their children and understandably, too, we are baptising two babies of a family together quite frequently. Over the first two years of Covid our numbers baptised were down 70 below the annual expected number but slowly we’re catching up again on the backlog. Last Sunday saw the baptism of six little children. Whereas previously we held a meeting once a month with all parents coming in celebration of their child’s baptism, we do so now in anticipation of each baptism whether on the two Parish Baptism Days each month or when on other days a visiting priest is coming to celebrate. We ask all parents to attend a preparation meeting.
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.
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General Data Protection Regulation
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: