Church office will close on Thursday, November 26 in observance of Thanks\giving Day. We wish each of you a day filled with love and abundant blessings.

The Catholic Daughters would like to extend a big Thank You to all who attended our bake sale. Your generous support was simply awesome! Our scholarships have begun because of you. Hope to see you again in January. Thanks again!!!

If you would like to have a mass celebrated for a loved one or a special intention, please contact church office at 361-758-2662 or mail in your requests with your contact information. Each person is allowed only 6 Days/Masses. This will allow those with recent deaths to offer a Mass. Once everyone who is interested in having a Mass has done so, anyone wishing to request additional masses may contact the parish to fill in the dates not taken.

There will be no Baptisms in December. The next Baptism class will be in January 2021 if Covid 19 situation gets under control and numbers don’t increase. Please contact the parish office as soon as possible for more information.

During this time of Fr. Emilio’s absence from November 18 – December 11, we may not be able to find a priest to celebrate daily mass, so there will likely be Communion Services on these days. There will be no First Saturday morning mass on December 5 or anointing of the sick, but there will be a Saturday morning mass on December 12, at 7:30 am on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. There will be Thursday Adoration from 8 am – 9 am every Thursday.

Thanksgiving Day Mass Thursday, November 26 10 am. Please bring one item from your dinner table to be blessed.

SATURDAY: 5 pm SUNDAY : 9:30 am, 11:30 am. Once we have reached the number of people who can safely congregate at the 9:30 mass, people will be asked to come back to mass at 11:30. We apologize in advance to anyone who will be turned away. Please continue to follow “social distancing” rules, and wear a mask throughout mass. This will continue indefinitely.

First day of class is November 7 from 9:30 am – 11:30 am ONLY for those who have pre-registered. We will be having both live classes with an instructor (teacher) and at home classes conducted by parents. Parents who have children requiring sacramental preparation for the Sacrament of First Communion and Confirmation are asked to contact the parish to register their child. Only persons who have pre-registered will be allowed to attend class. (People who have not preregistered will not be allowed to attend class.)

Beginning on Sunday, November 1st, we will get back to our regular mass schedule on the weekends. We will have Saturday evening mass at 5 pm and 2 masses on Sunday; 9:30 am and 11:30 am. Once we have reached the number of people who can safely congregate at the 9:30 mass, people will be asked to come back to mass at 11:30. We apologize in advance to anyone who will be turned away. Please continue to follow “social distancing” rules, and wear a mask throughout mass. This will continue indefinitely.

"My Dear Brothers and Sisters of St. Mary, Star of the Sea, in Aransas Pass, little by little, we are beginning to resume our regular ministries here in the parish. We have received some calls regarding Baptisms. For a list of requirements for baptism, please contact the parish office. We will email these to parishioners. Non-parishioners will be referred to their home parishes/parish of residence. Our deadline to have your child baptized on the last Sunday of October will be Thursday, October 15 by 12pm. Only those persons who have all the required documents on that date will be able to attend the Baptism Class for October. Anyone lacking any documents will have to wait until the next time baptisms will be celebrated. At this time, we will be having celebrations in November, but not December. If for some reason, the pandemic worsens during the winter months, we may suspend baptisms once again. We regret that the current situation may require some time before we get back to "normal." Always feel free to contact the parish office with your questions. With regard to Religious Education, we will be having both live classes with an instructor (teacher) and at home classes conducted by parents. Children requiring sacramental preparation for the Sacraments of First Communion and Confirmation are asked to contact the parish to register their children beginning Monday, October 12, 2020. Live classes are tentatively scheduled to begin on Saturday mornings beginning November 7, 2020. The classes will go from 9:30am - 11:30am. This is subject to change based on information we receive from the parents. Students receiving instruction at home will receive lessons via regular mail or email. These lessons are to be completed by the deadline indicated and parents will be responsible for ensuring that the requirements are satisfied and paperwork is submitted in a timely fashion. All non-sacramental classes will not officially begin until January 2021, assuming that the situation with Covid-19 does not hinder our plans. Some information regarding non-sacramental classes will be given/distributed before January 2021. More information will be forthcoming and parents registering their children will be given further instructions at the time of registration. Please, be patient with the process during these difficult times. Thank you and God bless all of you. Hope to see you soon! Your pastor, Fr. Emilio"

"Special Announcement - Beginning Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, the public celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (confession) will be made available to our parishioners at St. Mary, Star of the Sea in Aransas Pass. Confessions will be heard from 6pm to 7pm in what was formerly known as the "Library," which is the room located next to the choir area of the church. If you are facing the altar, it is to the left of the altar. The Sacrament will be celebrated each First Friday of the month until further notice. Private confessions can still be scheduled through the parish office. Masks must be worn and social distancing must be observed. The options of behind the screen and face to face confession will be made available. Please observe signs and instructions regarding where to line up for the reception of the Sacrament. Please call the parish office if you have any questions. In October additional announcements will be made regarding Baptisms and Religious Education classes. Please stay tuned. Thank you all for your patience and God bless all of you. Fr. Emilio"

My dear brothers and sisters of St. Mary, Star of the Sea, parish, I pray that all of you are well. The parish will resume regular activities including Masses with morning Mass on Thursday, July 16 at 7:30 am followed by adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from 8am-9am. The church has been completely sanitized and we will resume 5pm Mass on Saturdays and 9:30am Masses on Sunday. Even more now than ever I ask that everyone wear masks and maintain social distancing when coming to church. Please Do Not come to Mass if you are not feeling well, especially if you are running a fever. Please, in Christian charity, consider the health and wellbeing of our brothers and sisters. We must take seriously the situation that we are in. The Lord gives us this time as an opportunity to show our love for one another by making these small sacrifices. It's really is a small thing to ask to help to protect one another. Remember you are still not under the obligation to attend Mass on Sunday until the end of August. Let's continue to pray for each other and let's find new and creative ways to live out our faith and to spread the Gospel. God bless all of you and especially those of you that have not forgotten to continue to support the parish and me through your many acts of kindness and generosity. Hope to see you soon! Your Pastor, Fr. Emilio

Dear Parishioners of St. Mary Star of the Sea, 

 Due to COVID-19 related concerns, effective July 11, 2020, we are temporarily closing the parish office, and discontinuing all Masses, and church public activity until further notice. We will continue to monitor phone calls, e-mails, and correspondence. For further updates as to Mass and other liturgical services, visit our website at www.stmaryss.org or our Social Media page. We strongly recommend that you monitor your health for any COVID-19 related symptoms. If you experience symptoms of COVID-19, seek medical attention immediately. There may be COVID-19 test sites in our community. For a list of current testing sites, call the San Patricio County Health Department or visit https://diocesecc.org/covid-19-updates/ for COVID-19 related resources.

We ask that you please keep everyone affected by this virus in your continued prayers.
  
 Sincerely in Christ, Fr. Emilio

My dear Brothers and Sisters of St. Mary Star of the Sea, I would like to announce that on Thursday, July 16, 2020, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, we will initiate an hour of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament after the 7:30am Mass. Exposition will begin immediately after Mass and end at 9am. I believe that more than ever at this time of crisis and suffering in the world, we need to intensify our prayers. Please join us for prayer if you are able. If you are not, please, join us in spirit by saying a short prayer on Thursday mornings during the time of adoration. God bless all of you and keep you safe and healthy. Fr. Emilio

My dear brothers and sisters of St Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church, I would like to encourage all of you to be very thoughtful about the decision to come to Mass this weekend in light of the increase in the number of infections and hospitalizations due to covid-19. If anyone has any anxiety whatsoever about coming to Mass and fears possible exposure to the virus, please remain at home. Most of you are aware that the obligation to attend Mass has been suspended at least until the end of the month of August. Our Bishop is also asking, I should say pleading, that all persons coming to Mass wear masks.  Please, use good judgment. We will continue to pray for each and every one of the members of the parish and your families and we ask that you pray for all of us, as well, here at the parish and for all those who will be Celebrating the Eucharist with us. God bless all of you.  Fr. Emilio