Please Reload or Refresh to view the latest update. Updated June 30, 2009. Links are in blue or purple
Please kindly report all broken links and corrections by clicking here. Chau T. Phan, web minister
Santa Maria del Mar Catholic Church
Fr. Alberto Esposito, Pastor
Diocese of  St. Augustine, Deanery of  St. Augustine
915 North Central Avenue, Flagler Beach, FL 32136 (Map/Directions)
(Office) 386-439-2791; (Fax) 386-439-1362

LifeTeen is coming to SMDM! Join us!
Year for Priests
 Introduction to and Resources for Small Christian Communities
Pope to You: http://www.pope2you.net/
A prayer before logging onto the internet
Almighty and eternal God, who created us in Your image and taught us to seek after all that is good, true and beautiful, especially in the divine person of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant, we ask You, that during our journeys through the internet, we will direct our hands and eyes only to that which is pleasing to You and treat with charity and patience all those souls whom we encounter. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Staff
Masses / Sacraments
Daily Mass readings
Sacred Scriptures
Fr. Al Esposito, Pastor
Ministries
Religious Education
Prayers / Devotions
Stewardship
Inspirational Thoughts
History / Archives
Christian Unity
Bulletin
Catholic Web Resources
Women's Resources
Youth Corner
Archival pages
Ordination of Sal DiFazio to the Transitional Diaconate, May 16, 2009
Good News from the Pastor's Desk: 
Ordinary Heroism
 
Dear Family in Christ,
 
Do you remember the last time in your life when things seemed out of control, when nothing seemed to be going right?  I call this the experience of "hitting the wall," a moment when life seems to be asking way too much.  It may seem as if God is not very helpful or present in these moments of fear, frustration and discouragement; but in reality they are powerful openings to God's grace.  The English writer, Sir Francis Bacon, wrote, "The virtue of prosperity, is temperance; the virtue of adversity, is fortitude; which in morals is the more heroical virtue. Prosperity is the blessing of the Old Testament; adversity is the blessing of the New; which carrieth the greater benediction, and the clearer revelation of God’s favor."  Times of adversity, when the storm waters threaten to sink our ship, can be a call from God to receive the gift of heroic virtue.
 
But I have to admit that, in some of my worst moments, I have not had the courage and insight to receive God's help.  The disciples in last week's Gospel were being tossed about by the storm at sea--they were terrified.  (The Lord Jesus is in the boat, sleeping blissfully!)  They cry out to Jesus, "Hey!  Don't your care that all of us are dying here!  Help! Help!"  The storm at sea represents the evil that God conquers.  In the creation story in Genesis, God commands and brings order and calm.  In the same way, Jesus quiets this storm.  Jesus had spent a lot of time with disciples, but they were still a long way off from understanding who he really is--and a long way from trusting him in the storms!
 
Becoming a disciple of Jesus, a good steward of God's gifts, does not take away all storms--we are still going to hit the wall now and again.  But I know from personal, heartfelt experience that Jesus is always striving to calm the storms in my personal life and in my Church Community.  The more I trust Jesus, the more I grow in virtue; and the I grow in virtue, the more heroic my life becomes.  And so, my friends, take the plunge!  The water's fine!  Jesus will never let us down.
 
Love and Prayers,
 
Father Al
Pope: Bearing witness to the Faith through the Digital World

VATICAN CITY, 20 MAY 2009 (VIS) - At the end of his general audience, celebrated this morning in St. Peter's Square, the Pope made a brief appeal for World Communications Day, due to be held on Sunday 24 May. 
   Speaking English, the Holy Father recalled how in his Message for the Day this year "I am inviting all those who make use of the new technologies of communication, especially the young, to utilise them in a positive way and to realise the great potential of these means to build up bonds of friendship and solidarity that can contribute to a better world. 
   "The new technologies", he added, "have brought about fundamental shifts in the ways in which news and information are disseminated and in how people communicate and relate to each other. I wish to encourage all those who access cyberspace to be careful to maintain and promote a culture of respect, dialogue and authentic friendship where the values of truth, harmony and understanding can flourish. 
   "Young people in particular, I appeal to you: bear witness to your faith through the digital world! Employ these new technologies to make the Gospel known, so that the Good News of God's infinite love for all people, will resound in new ways across our increasingly technological world!" 

This parish website is a place for
  • hospitality (hundreds of people visit our website each week, not only parishioners, but visitors from afar)
  • prayer (the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Sacraments, the Rosary, and prayers for various seasons and occasions)
  • formation (learn about our faith with links to Catholic internet resources)
  • service (see our Ministries' work)

The New Revised Standard Version [NRSV] Bible in audio format. The Rosary in audio
Forthcoming special web pages April-May 2009
Divine Mercy (4/17), Ascension (5/18), Pentecost (5/30)

A prayer before logging onto the internet
Almighty and eternal God, who created us in Your image and taught us to seek after all that is good, true and beautiful, especially in the divine person of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant, we ask You, that during our journeys through the internet, we will direct our hands and eyes only to that which is pleasing to You and treat with charity and patience all those souls whom we encounter. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Preparing for the 2010 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
Daily Masses in the vicinity (click on church name for map)
  • St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, 4600 Belle Terre Pkwy, Palm Coast, FL. Click here for Mass schedule
  • St. Joseph Carmelite Monastery, 141 Carmelite Drive (off US 1 ? S. Old Dixie Highway), Bunnell, FL. Outdoor Stations of the Cross, and Rosary Garden (20 Mysteries). Sunday, 5:00 PM; Mon.-Fri.: 7:30 ? 9:00 AM (Polish on Thu.); Sat.: 9:00 AM (Latin).
  • St. Mary's Catholic Church (Korona; served by the Carmelites Fathers), 89 St. Mary's Place, Bunnell, FL.  Click here for Mass schedule
  • St. Anastasia Catholic Church, Anastasia, FL. North of Flagler Beach on A1A on  the left.
    		•
     
    Your "Reload/Refresh Button" gives you the most recent update

    IE's Reload/refresh button, 
    Top of your browser

    Netscape's Reload/refresh button, Top Left on your browser
    Mail addressed to parish personnel must carry full actual names and whether you are from SMDM, and if not,
    how did you find this web site. Thank you.
    Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
    E-mail Chau T. Phan, web minister
    About Chau T. Phan, web minister