Weekly Reflections, Announcements, News & Thoughts

Welcome Bishop Robert McElroy: Pastor Installation Ceremony, 10:30am Mass

We welcome the Bishop of San Diego, Most Reverend Robert McElroy, as he joins us for a special ceremony to install Fr. Pat formally as pastor of Mary, Star of the Sea Parish. This will take place at the 10:30am mass this weekend. Please pray for blessings on Fr. Pat and our parish community as we look to the future.

Stella Maris Academy Front Office Facelift

First impressions can make all the difference. This past week, we hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the school office as we did some small but very noticeable changes to the place where visitors, school families and parishioners come for school business. The new space communicates a warm sense of welcome and our emphasis on the focus of our existence…our Catholic faith…a beautiful statue of Jesus and the children, an incredible shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe…please come and see what is new at Stella Maris Academy!

Weekly School Mass Most Fridays at 11:15am (during school year)

Our weekly school mass begins this week as our school community roots all that we do in the central mysteries of our faith. It begins with the Eucharist. The kids and teachers will participate in the liturgy and the homily will focus on a message geared towards our kids and families. All are invited to join us!

Enhancing our Beautiful Church. Some Small Projects…

Vestibule… (in process)

Another effort to create a welcoming environment in the vestibule is the addition of two statues of Joseph and Mary. We have moved around bulletin boards and created focal points as people enter the church. Two beautiful wood-carved statues of Joseph and Mary will now welcome all to this sacred place. This reduces a little of the “busyness” or clutter of our vestibule and leads us to focus on our prayer time with God.

Finally, our Grotto Area at the side of the church… (in process)

This is a beautiful walkway at the side of the church and it can be a wonderful place of prayer and reflection. We are in the process of planning a new landscape (simple) with a beautiful new statue of our Blessed Mother and Child. The current statue (18 inches tall) is just sitting on some dirt. The new statue is 5ft. tall and will sit on a beautiful pedestal and send a message to the neighborhood about Mary’s role in guiding all to Jesus, her Son. This project will take some time and we are trying to finish it soon…

Have a blessed and holy week! In Christ’s love, Fr. Pat