St Agnes' Catholic Parish

St Agnes' Catholic Parish Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from St Agnes' Catholic Parish, Nonprofit Organization, 49 Hay Street, Port Macquarie.

A welcoming Catholic community in the heart of Port Macquarie, supporting people at every stage of life — through compassionate aged care, quality education and training, pastoral care, and vital community and family services.

Parish Priest Fr Leo Donnelly’s Silver Jubilee Mass celebrated the milestone of 25 Years of Ordination (Rome, 21 Decembe...
18/06/2026

Parish Priest Fr Leo Donnelly’s Silver Jubilee Mass celebrated the milestone of 25 Years of Ordination (Rome, 21 December 1950). Pictured above is Fr Leo Donnelly, Most Revd.

Bishop John Satterthwaite Bishop of Lismore, Fr Rex Hackett with other priests from the Lismore Diocese, Mass commentator Brian Tierney and altar servers Patrick Reed, Darren Hall, Patrick O'Malley, John Sims and Neil Kelly.

Almost an entire week of celebrations took place with a special clergy dinner at West Port Bowling Club, a Jubilee Mass with nearly 50 priests followed by a testimonial and supper in the Catholic Hall.

Another Mass attended by over 100 nuns from the Lismore Diocese and the Sisters of St Joseph Lochinvar was followed by a special lunch.

The festivities concluded with a parish picnic at Bonny Hills with an open air Mass followed by games and beach activities.
Photo from St Agnes' Archives

Our friendly team is at the Aging Well expo at Laurieton United Services Club to talk about all things aged care. Pop do...
17/06/2026

Our friendly team is at the Aging Well expo at Laurieton United Services Club to talk about all things aged care. Pop down and say hi and see how we can support you through every stage.

17/06/2026

Deacon Shane Hyland, Leader of School Evangelisation at St Joseph’s Regional College reads today from the Gospel of Matthew (6: 7-15) in which Jesus teaches his followers how to pray with the words of the Our Father.

Shane says we are blessed to have instructions from our Lord on how to pray.

Jesus instructs us not to babble like the pagans do but to pray like this: to pray to our Father in heaven, the most holy name, to keep his name holy; to pray for the kingdom to come and to do this by doing the will of God; and to make the kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven, to bring heaven to earth; to be given our daily bread, to lean in on God and to trust that he will provide for us; to forgive all of our debts, and, as we’ve heard in the last few days, not to take revenge, to forgive those who are in debt to us; and to not put us to the test, we are all tested at some point but we pray that we are saved; It teaches us to forgive other people their failings so that we can be forgiven ourselves.

We are privileged to have this teaching and today, Shane says, we pray that we can live out these things that the Lord teaches us, every day of our lives.

Encounter Youth & Kids recently enjoyed some much-needed Brotherhood & Sisterhood time!Sisterhood got creative with scra...
17/06/2026

Encounter Youth & Kids recently enjoyed some much-needed Brotherhood & Sisterhood time!
Sisterhood got creative with scrapbooking while reflecting on Proverbs 31:25: “She is clothed with strength and dignity…” and the Brotherhood explored “Keeping Your Word” through learning about knighthood (and an iconic game of ninja 🥷) We are grateful for these moments of faith, fun, and friendship!

Our aged care experts are at the Aged Care expo at Panthers ready to talk all things aged care. From Support at Home to ...
16/06/2026

Our aged care experts are at the Aged Care expo at Panthers ready to talk all things aged care. From Support at Home to our Villages, residential aged care and dementia care, come say hi to the friendly team.

16/06/2026

Deacon Shane Hyland, Leader of School Evangelisation at St Joseph’s Regional College reads today from the Gospel of Matthew (6: 1-6, 16-18) which Jesus said to his disciples: 'Be careful not to parade your good deeds before men to attract their notice; by doing this you will lose all reward from your Father in heaven.

Shane says, this passage is read on Ash Wednesday and helps us to focus on prayer, service and fasting. Today I would like to focus just on what Jesus says about prayer. Jesus seems to be warning us about an over emphasis on public prayer.

What we know about Jesus’s prayer life is that he often went off by himself to pray, early in the morning and before important moments in his ministry and of course the 40 days in the desert where he would have missed many occasions for public prayer such as the family sabbath meal and synagogue service.

Shane says it seems to him that Jesus is teaching us to have a balanced prayer life.

Public prayer is important; it's what keeps us bound together, in communion with the body of Christ. So what about private prayer?

Jesus says “But when you pray, go to your private room and, when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in that secret place, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.” The houses of first century Palestine didn't have a private room so we mustn’t take this literally. Here Jesus is referring to mental prayer, the private room of the mind. It is an intimate invitation to have a conversation with God.

For our reflection today, Shane asks us ‘How often do you go to your private room to pray?’

YOUTH THEME ANNOUNCEMENT 🔍This Friday, on the 19th June, Encounter Youth will be having an Escape Room Mystery night set...
16/06/2026

YOUTH THEME ANNOUNCEMENT 🔍
This Friday, on the 19th June, Encounter Youth will be having an Escape Room Mystery night set in the time of Jesus. Come along dressed like you’re from old Jerusalem, or like you’re on the set of The Chosen.

It runs from 5:30pm - 7:30pm and bring $5 for dinner! See you there and spread the word🕵️

15/06/2026

Deacon Shane Hyland, Leader of School Evangelisation at St Joseph’s Regional College reads today from the Gospel of Matthew (5: 43-48) which continues with Jesus says, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’.

Shane says it is easy for us to interpret this passage as Jesus teaching that the scriptures instruct us to hate our enemies. However, it is quite the opposite.

If we pay close attention to the way in which Matthew phrases these passages, they begin with “you have learnt that it was said” or in the NRSV translations “you have heard that it was said”. Elsewhere in the Gospel of Matthew when Jesus is referring to scripture he always says, “have you not read” or “let the reader understand”. So, when Jesus is referring to the interpretation and teaching of scripture he says “you have learnt” or “you have heard” but when referring directly to scripture he uses ‘read’ or ‘it is written’.

So, when Jesus says, 'You have learnt how it was said: you must love your neighbour and hate your enemy’, we can understand that Jesus is critiquing the way that those teachings were being interpreted by the teachers of the time and, in particular, the Pharisees.

He is not attacking the Old Testament or the Hebrew scriptures as we now call it; he is defending it and its incorrect interpretation. And how easy it is for us to hate our enemies, to exact revenge for the wrong that people do to us.

Instead, Jesus points out that we are all sons and daughters of God, made in God’s image who God makes rain fall on each of us equally.

In closing, Shane invites to reflect on these questions: Who do you consider to be your enemies? How have you reflected the image of God to those around you?

14/06/2026

Deacon Shane Hyland, Leader of School Evangelisation at St Joseph’s Regional College presents our Gospel reflections this week.

Today, Shane reads from the Gospel of Matthew (5: 38-42) which continues with Jesus says, ‘Give to anyone who asks, and if anyone wants to borrow do not turn away’.

Shane says there are many times in the Gospel where are shown the lavish generosity of God. In the Good Samaritan story, the Samaritan man anoints the wounds of the man who was injured with expensive oil; he pays for an extended stay in accommodation for him. We see Mary Magdalene anointing the feet of Jesus with an expensive oil; she does this out of her lavish generosity upon meeting our Lord.

In the reading today, Shane notes, we hear about the ‘eye for an eye’ and ‘tooth for tooth’ but Jesus offers the antithesis to that idea saying that if anyone hits you on the right cheek offer him the other as well. If a man takes you to law for your tunic, let him also have your cloak. If anyone orders you to go one mile, go two miles with him. If anyone wants to borrow something do not turn them away.

Shane says, if someone hits you it is very difficult to other them the other cheek. If you go to court and somebody sues you, do you give them everything you have? It is a hard teaching.

We are called to lavishly generous, especially with those who are less fortunate than us. So, we pray today to be able to give generously just as God gives us in the Gospels..

12/06/2026

Marg Gobius, Leader of School Evangelisation at MacKillop College, reads today from the Gospel of Matthew (5:33-37) in which Jesus says, ‘All you need say is "Yes" if you mean yes, "No" if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the evil one.'

Marg says, in this Gospel Jesus teaches his disciples and us the profound value of honesty and simplicity in our words. By advising us not to swear oaths, He emphasizes that our integrity should be so evident that a simple "Yes" or "No" is enough.

This reflection highlights the importance of living a life of authenticity and truth, where one's word is trusted without the need for elaborate promises.

Jesus calls us to be genuine in our commitments and interactions, reminding us that our honesty reflects our faith and respect for God's presence in every aspect of our lives. This guidance encourages us to cultivate trustworthiness and transparency, fostering a community built on mutual respect and sincere communication.

And so, Marg invites us to pray:
Lord, grant us the grace to speak with honesty and simplicity, reflecting Your truth in our every word. Help us to live with integrity, so that our "Yes" means yes and our "No" means no, always honouring Your presence in our lives. Amen

Address

49 Hay Street
Port Macquarie, NSW
2444

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm

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