Parish Newsletter Sunday 1st February 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 st Sunday 1 February Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) 10.00am Mass (David Bonnefin RIP) 6.00pm Mass (For the people of the parish) nd Monday 2 The Presentation of Our Lord, Candlemas, feast 6.45pm Mass (Moore Family) rd Tuesday 3 St. Blaise, bishop and martyr (Blessing of throats) 9.00am Mass (Antoinette & Angelo Vella RIP) followed by Divine Mercy Chaplet & Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament until 10.00am, then blessing of throats. th Wednesday 4 9.00am Mass (Holy Souls) th Thursday 5 St Agatha, virgin and martyr 9.00am Mass (Vivienne Smailes RIP) th Friday 6 First Friday 6.45pm Votive Mass of the Sacred Heart (Galloghy family) th Saturday 7 Our Lady 9.00am Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 10.00am Mass (Patrick Tracey RIP) th Sunday 8 Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) 10.00am Mass (Danny Kelly RIP) 12.00 noon Mass (Extraordinary form, Latin, 1962 Missal) 6.00pm Mass (For the people of the parish) CONFESSIONS/CONSULTATIONS Saturday: 10.30am, Sunday 9.30am, 5.30pm. Weekdays: before or after Mass upon request. CHURCH CLEANING th th th th th 6 Bridie; 13 Sheila; 20 Sue; 27 Sue; March 6 Tara

1st FEBRUARY 2009 FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B

TODAY’S MASS TEXTS Entrance Antiphon: Ps 105:47 Save us, Lord our God, and gather us together from the nations, that we may proclaim your holy name and glory in your praise. First Reading: Deuteronomy 18:15-20 I will raise up a prophet and I will put my words into his mouth. Responsorial Psalm: Ps 94 R: O that today you would listen to his voice! Harden not your hearts. Come, ring out our joy to the Lord; hail the rock who saves us. Let us come before him, giving thanks, with songs le us hail the Lord. (R) Come in; let us kneel and bend low; let us kneel before the God who made us for he is our God and we the people who belong to his pasture, the flock that is led by his hand. (R) O that today you would listen to his voice! ”Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as on that day as Massah in the desert when your fathers put me to the test; when they tried me, though they saw my work”. (R) Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 An unmarried woman can devote herself to the Lord’s affairs; all she need worry about is being holy. Gospel Acclamation: Matthew 11:25 Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom to mere children. Alleluia! Gospel: Mark 1:21-28 He taught them with authority. Preface of Sunday 2, Eucharistic Prayer 2

COLLECTIONS LAST SUNDAY Offertory: £376.14, (Gift Aid: £166.50, loose plate: £209.64) + £99 approx by standing order. To contribute by regular standing order please ask for a form. If you are a tax payer and are not already using the Gift Aid scheme, please ask for a Gift Aid form. Second collection: Parish Maintenance & Development Fund: £122.34. Thank you. Second collection today: Parish Maintenance & Development Fund. Next Sunday: Catholic Education.

Communion Antiphon: Ps 30:17-18 Let your face shine on your servant, and save me by your love. Lord, keep me from shame, for I have called to you.

CRIB OFFERINGS nd The Crib will remain on display up to 2 February, the feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Candlemas). Your offerings will go to the Good Counsel Network who help women to keep their children rather than opting for abortion. See the notice board for the Good Counsel News and their appeal for funds. Total collected so far since Christmas Day: £144.51.

ALTAR SERVERS DAY Can you help with welcoming, refreshments, supervision, etc. at th our altar servers afternoon on Sunday 15 Feb from 2.00pm until Mass at 6.00pm? If so please let Fr John know. Thank you.

READERS & EXTRA-ORDINARY MINISTERS OF COMMUNION Please pick up your rota for February and March. COUNTERS

Please pick up your counters rota for February - May

PRAYERS FOR THE SICK Please pray for Jean Borucki and all our sick parishioners. If you know of anyone who needs our prayers at the present time, please place their names in the box in the Church foyer.

MARGARET PENNY RIP Please pray for the repose of the soul of Margaret Penny, late of Hamstreet, who died on Tuesday, and for her husband Paul and young family. May she rest in the peace of Christ. POSSIBLE PARISH PILGRIMAGE TO KRAKOW, POLAND TH RD 19 – 23 OCTOBER A number of people have signed up, which encourages me to try to put some time aside to investigate further! Do sign up if interested and I’ll let you know how my research progresses. Fr John

Email: [email protected]; Web: www.stsimon.org.uk; Parish blog: http://st-simon-parish.blogspot.com/; diocesan website: www.rcsouthwark.co.uk

FROM FATHER JOHN’S DESKTOP Spaghetti Westerns and the Mass! What can they possibly have in common? Well I suppose the good, the bad and the ugly can all like spaghetti, and we find them all at Mass too. You might have listened to “The Morricone Affair” on Radio 4 last Thursday morning. Enrico Morricone, aged 80, is a prolific composer of film music. For those of us of a certain generation, his most famous music appears in the spaghetti westerns, so-called because of their amusing Italian take on the American westerns, for example “For a Fistful of Dollars”, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, “For a Few Dollars More”. A more recent box office hit was “The Mission.” The programme was immensely interesting of itself, but I was struck by the source of the inspiration for Morricone’s music. He said: I believe the sound of my western scores, like a lot of my work, comes from my love of Gregorian chant, Hebrew music and ancient sacred music. I tried to translate the idea of certain ancient rituals into this music as well, such as the act of killing a person. Killing a person is, after all a kind of sacred act, albeit an evil one, an act of the devil. But then God is also involved in such an act. [Indeed He is, particularly in the death of His only-begotten Son on the Cross, made present for us at Mass.] All these factors are part of my music. When speaking of the human voice, he said: The human voice is the most amazing instrument that exists. We don’t need an instrument, we are the instrument. It’s us, our body… The voice can do anything, that’s why I love using it as the principal instruments. We are often used to hearing beautiful, sweet-sounding, voices, but of course there are terrible voices, sub-human, cruel voices as well. The tone of the voice can represent all the good and all the bad in human nature. At Mass we naturally try to sing as sweetly as we can, whether the songs be of joy and praise or of sorrow and repentance. One of the contributors to the programme said: One of the things that distinguishes the Roman Catholic Church from other religions is the beauty and depth of the music, for the Latin Mass for example the music is very powerful and that will be right in the very heart of Morricone’s soul. Morricone himself went on to say: I would say that Gregorian chant has particularly influenced me, yes, I’m in love with Gregorian chant and I study it deeply even now, I feel it reflects who I am and so, when I write music there is always a bit of this ancient mystical music in there. When talking about “The Mission”, the programme’s presenter Sir Christopher Frayling said that the music in that film was a means to salvation. In that film, Morricone’s passion for epic stories, his faith and his love for sacred music converged in a most dramatic way. Morricone himself summed this up by saying: “The Mission” is a film that really represents me both technically and spiritually. The Church has never wanted us to abandon its ancient and mystical chant which has a capacity to lift us to God that is unparalleled by other forms of music. That is why we have it regularly in the parish. If it seems challenging, perhaps it calls for a disposition of humility, which should never be lacking when we approach the Sacred Liturgy, to allow the liturgy to be done to/for us, rather than we doing the liturgy. It is also an opportunity to learn: about music, Latin, culture, liturgy – and films! As the adage has it: “Scientia non habet inimicum nisi ignorantem”. (Knowledge has no enemy but the ignorant.) Who knows: one of our young parishioners might be a budding Morricone! Fr John REGULAR EVENTS DIVINE MERCY PRAYER GROUP after the 9.00am Mass on Tuesdays. Prayers of intercession for various needs and silent adoration of the Blessed Sacrament till 10am. MUSIC PRACTICE TUESDAYS 7.30PM Newcomers always welcome. BIBLE STUDY THIS WEEK ON MONDAY AT 7.30PM Studying St Paul’s letters to the Corinthians and Pope Benedict’s Wednesday audiences on St

NEXT SUNDAY – EDUCATION SUNDAY Mrs Elizabeth Willis, headteacher of our parish primary school, will say a few words about Catholic Education and the vocation of school teachers after the Masses next Sunday. Teaching our young people is both challenging and a privilege, forming the next generation of citizens and passing on the Catholic faith, a vocation/career worth considering by all young men and women. Mr Ferdi McDermott, Principal of Chavagnes International College in France, has asked if he may mount a display about the college in the church hall for parishioners to visit after Mass. Please feel free to take a look. Further details about the school at www.chavagnes.org.

CONFIRMATION GROUP Next meeting this coming Friday. 6.15pm confessions and preparation for Mass, refreshments, session, 8.45pm Finish. EVANGELIUM – CATHOLIC FAITH ENQUIRY For all, Catholic or not, who would like to deepen their knowledge of the Catholic faith. Next meeting: 7.15pm this th Friday 13 February. Topic: The Trinity

HOPE FOR A NEW BEGINNING – A BEGINNING EXPERIENCE WEEKEND FOR THE WIDOWED, SEPARATED AND DIVORCED AT AYLESFORD PRIORY 27-29 MARCH This is a ministry to the widowed, separated and divorced led by a trained team of volunteers. Their work is carried out at special weekend gatherings which encourage participants to share their need and deal with the natural process of grief and loneliness. It is important to book in advance as the weekends are residential and accommodation is limited. Contact Ruth 0208 8679 7157, Sandra 01293 783965, Susan 01227 264961.

Paul.

VOCATIONS RETREAT FOR WOMEN for women aged 18-30 considering the religious life from Friday th th 13 to Sunday 15 February at St. Joseph’s Priory, Lymington. For more information, contact the Diocesan Vocations Office: [email protected] IN YOUR 30’S? There is a group for Catholics your age from parishes around London and the South East that organizes a variety of social, spiritual and charitable events as well as weekends away, holidays, pilgrimages and retreats. If you would like to know more see notice board or go along to Penderel’s Oak, High Holborn, London (side exit from Holborn tube station, turn right and Penderel’s Oak is 300 yards along on right-hand side) next Sunday from 1.00pm. If you can’t find us ring 07977 904479.

MASS IN CELEBRATION OF THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY WITH ARCHBISHOP KEVIN MCDONALD AT TH AYLESFORD PRIORY 3PM SATURDAY 30 MAY Archbishop Kevin is celebrating this Mass and wants to specially invite all couples and their families in the Diocese who are st th th th th th celebrating their, 1 , 10 , 25 , 40 , 50 and 60 + wedding anniversary this year. Please let Fr. John know if you would like to attend so that you can receive an invitation.

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