Parish Newsletter Sunday 19th July 2009

St Simon Stock Catholic Church Brookfield Road, South Ashford, Kent TN23 4EU Tel: 01233 622399

Parish Priest: Fr John Boyle Saint Simon of England RC Primary School, Noakes Meadow, Ashford, TN23 2RB. Tel: 01233 623199 Head teacher: Mrs Elizabeth Willis

MASS TIMES AND INTENTIONS th Sunday 19 Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) 10.00am Mass (Betty Gogarty RIP) 6.00pm Mass (People of the parish) th Monday 20 St Apollinaris, bishop and martyr 9.30am Mass (Helmi Mekelic RIP) st Tuesday 21 St Laurence of Brindisi, bishop and doctor of the Church 9.30am Mass (Peggie Fairess RIP) followed by Divine Mercy Chaplet & Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament until 10.30am nd Wednesday 22 St Mary Magdalene, 9.30am Mass (Gladys Persich RIP) rd Thursday 23 No Mass th Friday 24 St Sharbel Makhluf, priest 9.30am Mass (The well-being of Rita Redman ) th Saturday 25 Our Lady 9.00am Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 10.00am Mass (Richard Cavanagh RIP) 5.30pm Holy Qurbana -Mass in the Syro Malabar Rite th Sunday 26 Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) Day of Prayer for Human Life 10.00am Mass (Deceased parents and brothers of Josephine Diffley) 12.00noon Mass (Latin, 1962 Missal – eighth Sunday after Pentecost) 4.00pm Mass in Polish 6.00pm Mass (People of the parish) CONFESSION TIMES Weekdays: before or after Mass upon request. Saturday: 10.30am; Sundays: ½ hour before Mass CHURCH CLEANING th st th th st 24 Tara; 31 Bridie; August 7 Sheila; 14 Sue; 21 Sue COLLECTIONS LAST SUNDAY Offertory: £372.28, (Gift Aid: £150.20, loose plate: £222.08) + £94 approx by standing order. Second collection: The Apostleship of the Sea Parish: £118.88. Thank you. Second collection today: Parish Maintenance & Development Fund. Next Sunday: Day for Life. DAY FOR LIFE NEXT SUNDAY This year’s Day for Life aims to highlight why the Church believes that every life is worth living even when a person has lost all hope and feels suicidal and the vital role played by families and a compassionate parish community in supporting and sustaining those who may be struggling to cope. Next Sunday’s collection will go the Linacre Centre for Healthcare Ethics and other life-related activities supported by the Church. There will also be an appeal for new members of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC).

19th JULY 2009 SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B

TODAY’S MASS TEXTS Entrance Antiphon Ps 53:6.8 God himself is my help. The Lord upholds my life. I will offer you a willing sacrifice; I will praise your name, O Lord, for its goodness. First Reading Jeremiah 23:1-6 The remnant of my flock I will gather and I will raise up shepherds to look after them. Responsorial Psalm: Ps 22 R.v.1 R: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose. Near restful waters he leads me, to revive my drooping spirit. (R) He guides me along the right path; he is true to his name. If I should walk in the valley of darkness no evil would I fear. You are there with your crook and your staff; with these you give me comfort. (R) You have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of my foes. My head you have anointed with oil; my cup is overflowing. (R) Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life. In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever. (R) Second Reading: Ephesians 2:13-18 Christ Jesus is the peace between us, and has made the two into one. Gospel Acclamation: John 10-27 Alleluia, alleluia! The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice, says the Lord. I know them and they follow me. Alleluia! Gospel: Mark 6:30-34 They were like sheep without a shepherd. Eucharistic Prayer 4 with its proper preface Communion Antiphon: Ps 110:4-5 The Lord keeps in our minds the wonderful things he has done. He is compassion and love; he always provides for his faithful. INTERESTED IN JOINING THE TEAM OF FLOWER LADIES? You could if you wish work with one of them before going on the rota every 3 months. If you are interested please speak to one of them, their names are on the notice board. PRAYERS FOR THE SICK Please pray for all our sick parishioners, particularly Rita Redman and Jean Borucki. Names of parishioners who need our prayers can be placed in the box in the church foyer.

ROMAN ZOLNA RIP Your prayers are asked for the repose of the soul of Roman who WELCOMERS ROTA died suddenly last Sunday evening. His coffin will be received If you would like to help distributing the parish and children’s th into church at 4pm on Tuesday 28 with the funeral Mass taking newsletter before the 10am Mass please sign up on the notice th place on the 29 July at 10am. May he rest in peace. board. Email: [email protected]; Web: www.stsimon.org.uk; Parish blog: http://st-simon-parish.blogspot.com/; diocesan website: www.rcsouthwark.co.uk

FR. JOHN’S DESKTOP THE RELICS OF ST THÉRÈSE As you may know, the relics of St Thérèse of Lisieux will be making a visit to this country from th th 16 September to 15 October. Thérèse lived a hidden life as a Carmelite nun in Lisieux, France, th towards the end of the 19 century from the age of 15 until her death at the age of just 24. She didn’t travel anywhere (except as a young girl to Rome when she asked the Pope to allow her to enter the Carmel at a younger age than that normally permitted) and yet her fame has spread throughout the world. She had a great love for the missions and so is a patron saint of missionaries, even though she never went to mission territories. She had a great love for the priesthood and prayed particularly for priests. Although she would have loved to have done great and heroic deeds, she found her vocation as being ‘love in the heart of the Church.’ She was declared by Pope John Paul II a ‘Doctor of the Church’ because the way of trust in God that she lived became known as the ‘Little Way’ by which we learn that we must place our trust in God and that is He who will give us the grace so that our lives may bear much fruit. When her relics have travelled to other countries, they have attracted huge crowds of people. Even when ecclesiastical authorities might have thought that no one would be interested, they have invariably been proved wrong. th th St Thérèse’s relics will be at Aylesford Priory from Friday 9 to Sunday 11 October. Archbishop Kevin McDonald will celebrate a diocesan Mass at 11.30am on the Saturday at Aylesford and everyone is invited. If you would like to travel by coach, please sign your name on the notice board and we will then look into organising this. If you would prefer to travel by car, please indicate if you can provide lifts. We need to let the diocese have some idea of how many people will be attending. The full programme of events for that weekend at Aylesford is on the notice board. A leaflet about the visit of the relics is available from the repository and CTS pamphlet rack in the church foyer. Fr. John REGULAR EVENTS – COME ALONG! DIVINE MERCY PRAYER GROUP after the 9.30am Mass on Tuesdays. Prayers of intercession for various needs and silent adoration of the Blessed Sacrament till 10.30am. CHOIR PRACTICE TUESDAYS 7.30PM Newcomers always welcome BIBLE STUDY THURSDAYS 7.30PM Studying the Acts of the Apostles. Not this week due to Walsingham trip. Newcomers always welcome. YEAR OF PRAYER FOR PRIESTS Come and pray the Rosary for our priests 20 minutes before the morning Masses, Monday to Friday. All are welcome to join. MONTHLY PRAYER REQUESTS FOR PRIESTS August/September list now available in the church entrance. TORCHES Donations of £200 (£256, gift aided) towards the new torches have been received. Thank you. We are looking at other possibilities to see if we can get torches of worth and dignity at a lower price than that mentioned last week (£537) but these items are not cheap. All donations received will be put towards the eventual purchase. Thank you. CHURCH MAINTENANCE The Tabernacle doors are back in place having been restored and re-lacquered. The woodwork around the church roof and all the windows have also been restored and repainted with preserver. Your generous contributions towards the church maintenance fund are much appreciated. Please don’t forget to gift aid your contributions if you can – this enables us to claim from the Revenue 28p for every £1 (£2.80 for every £10, £28 for every £100) that you give. It all adds up. If you are not part of the Gift Aid scheme, please see Viv Conn at the repository or Fr John to request a form. Thank you. ALTAR SERVERS SUMMERTIME AND ROME TRIP There are still some places available on the Altar Servers th th Summertime 11 – 14 August, Woldingham School, Surrey, th th and on the Altar Servers Rome Trip 27 – 29 October. Application forms from the sacristy or Fr John. HAVE WE FORGOTTEN WHAT IT IS TO BE CATHOLIC? (4) (From Fit for Mission? Church by Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue) Those who live oblivious to the sufferings of the poor forget they are Catholic. HUMOUR CORNER Ladies, don’t forget the rummage sale. It’s a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don’t forget your husbands.

WALSINGHAM VIDEO All, but particularly those going on the Walsingham pilgrimage on rd 23 July, are invited to a showing of ‘Virgin by the Sea’, a 40 minute video about the National Shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham, at 7.30pm tomorrow in the presbytery. NATURAL FERTILITY AWARENESS Greg Clovis from Family Life International is returning at 11am this Saturday to speak about Natural Fertility Awareness, also commonly known as Natural Family Planning. All are welcome to hear about the natural and moral way of regulating fertility. Suitable for married couples, those preparing for marriage, parents, young people 16+. THE ROAD TO COMPOSTELLA The Confraternity of St James has organised a number of activities about the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, in celebration of their patron St James whose body is enshrined in the famous shrine at Santiago de Compostela, one of the principal pilgrim destinations in Europe. For further information, contact Susie Gray (720696) who rode her horse Apollo from Canterbury to Compostela. You might remember the blessing of Apollo after Sunday Mass two years ago. Susie is th giving a talk on her pilgrimage at 7pm on Thursday 30 July at the Dominican Priory, St Peter’s Lane, Canterbury. Details of other events are on the noticeboard. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED The charity LIFE, who offer pregnancy counselling and care services, are looking for volunteers to be counsellors. Full counselling training is given of if you have counselling skills consider going along to help them. Contact Agnes Rees, the London co-ordinator on 07515578598 or email: [email protected] for details. ‘LIFE, THE GIFT WE TREASURE MOST, YET REFUSE TO BESTOW ON OTHERS’ My attention was drawn recently to an article by Charles Moore on the Telegraph website. You can find it by entering the above title into your search engine. Copies are also available in the church foyer. A very timely comment on the problems Britain faces because of the collapse of its birth rate. Fr John. YEAR OF PRIESTHOOD A Daily Prayer for Priests Heavenly Father, grant that our priests be strengthened and healed by the power of the Eucharist they celebrate. May the Word they proclaim give them courage and wisdom. We pray that all those whom they seek to serve may see in them the love and care of Jesus our eternal High Priest. Who is Lord for ever and ever. Amen. Mary, Mother of the Church, look tenderly upon your sons, our priests.

To catch up on previous newsletters visit http://www.stsimon.org.uk/Newsletters/. Parish blog: http://st-simon-parish.blogspot.com/