Thanksgiving Mass on 2 Feb 2026

February 8, 2026 | Current News

On 2 February 2026, we celebrated a special feast day. It is the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in the temple. It is our foundation day. On this day, we offered a Thanksgiving Mass for all our donors, volunteers, staff and contractors, everyone who have helped us to be where we are now. Some of them attended the mass in person, some through online livestream.

Bishop Brian Mascord celebrated the Thanksgiving Mass with us together with Fr Denis Minns, our chaplain, and Fr Michael Dwyer, a good friend of our community. It was a wonderful day of celebration. If you would like to watch the livestream, here is the link.

At the beginning of the mass, Sr Mary Barnes welcomed all of us. Her address is available below.

At the end of the mass, Sr Petra Dorothy gave an update on the property work that has been done and what more still need to be done. Her address is available below.

Following the mass, we all had lunch at the guestry. Here are some photos from the day.

Sr Mary Barnes welcomed all of us

Good morning everyone!

On behalf of our community, I extend a very warm welcome to each of you as we gather for this celebration of joy and thanksgiving. We are so pleased that you are able to be with us on this special feast day, as we celebrate the dedication of our abbey under the title of The Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple. Your presence with us today makes our celebration all the more meaningful.

Welcome to our Bishop and Oblate, Brian Mascord, and to our chaplain Fr Denis Minns, and Fr Michael Dwyer, a good friend to our community, who will celebrate Eucharist with us.

A special welcome to Abbess Anna Brennan from Stanbrook Abbey in England. Anna has been with us for the last three weeks and will be supporting our community over the coming year.

Throughout our 178 years in Australia, our holy temples – in Parramatta, Pennant Hills and Jamberoo – have never existed for the Benedictine community alone. In every place, we have been accompanied and sustained by generous people and communities who have joined us in prayer and praise, in friendship and joy, in love and support.

Today, here in our Jamberoo Church, our holy temple, we rejoice to gather with our own wonderful community of friends and benefactors. We honour you, we celebrate you, and we thank you for the gift you are to us. Your support, friendship, and love, especially over these past years of difficulty and major works, have helped us immensely. You have not only enabled us to continue living our monastic life, but have also helped preserve the physical structure of this holy place on Jamberoo Mountain.

We thank those of you who contributed financially to our appeal. Your response has been overwhelming and extremely generous.

We also thank those who offered freely of their time, skills, and practical assistance, especially our Good Samaritan sisters who have and continue to walk closely with us.

We are deeply grateful to you all.

Yesterday during Vigils we sang the words, “Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place?” This morning our answer rings out with joy and thanksgiving! As one people, honouring our past, present and future, we affirm that we have indeed climbed the mountain of the Lord; we are standing in his holy place: The Abbey of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple.

I invite you now to stand as we begin the Candlemas ceremony.

Sr Petra Dorothy gave an update about the property maintenance

Dear friends,

Thank you for being here with us for this thanksgiving mass. My name is Petra. I am the property maintenance coordinator here at the abbey. I would like to share a little bit of what you have enabled us to do for the last 1.5 years.

In June 2024, we started our fundraising appeal and opened a form on our website for donations. Since then, we have received a lot of generosity and support. It is the kind generosity and support from all of you here as well as those who are attending this mass online through our live streaming. Not only have we received financial donations, we have also received the gift of time, friendship and volunteers.

Your kindness and support has enabled us to attend to 2 major property maintenance that needed to be done.

In August – October 2024, we did the first stage of roof replacement work. This covers our workplaces. Before this work was done, when it rained outside, it used to rain inside too. We became very skilled very quickly on how to place the buckets and towels to get the most amount of water. We just worked around the leaks. Now every time it rains, we give thanks for the roof over our heads and we ask God’s blessing for all of you.

In 2025, from June to September, we did a huge work to fix the contour of the ground around the Abbey. This Abbey was built in 1989. Over time, the soil outside the building has built up. This caused the ground outside to be higher than the damp proof course of the building. This means when it rains, the water flowed into the building and caused the floor to disintegrate and wooden frame and doors to rot. There were even some locations that always get flooded when it rains. This work done last year were to address the drainage issue so that water can flow away from the building instead of in to the building. Other than that, we were also able to address another section of the leaking roof at the guestry and refectory verandah. It was a delight when it rained for the first time after the work was done, and to see that no water came into the building and the guestry and refectory verandah ceilings were dry.

All of this was possible thanks to your kind donation and support for us.

This year, we plan to do the next section of the roof replacement which covers our formation area. This area, too, urgently needs to be addressed. Some of the ceilings and walls have gone mouldy due to the leaks. Other than this, there are still other areas of the property that needs maintenance and/or repair due to wear and tear or worn by age.

We continue to give thanks to God and ask God for his blessings upon you, our friends, who have enabled us to keep our building and property as a safe haven of peace and prayer.

After Mass, we invite you to come over to the guestry. There will be lunch and drinks and lots of joy to be shared on this wonderful day in this place where you have helped to care for.

Thank you.