Parish Newsletter Sunday 7th June 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 7 The Most Holy Trinity (B) 10.00am Mass (People of the parish) 12.00noon First Holy Communion Mass 6.00pm Mass (Mary Hynes RIP) th Monday 8 9.30am Mass (Sonny Fitzgerald RIP) th Tuesday 9 St Columba, abbot 9.30am Mass (Agnes McNicoll RIP) followed by Divine Mercy Chaplet. th Wednesday 10 9.30am Mass (Private Intention) th Thursday 11 6.45pm Mass of Corpus Christi (Latin, 1962 Missal) (William Kiely RIP) th Friday 12 7.00pm Mass concluding the Legion of Mary‟s Peregrinatio Pro Christo th Saturday 13 St Anthony of Padua, priest and doctor of the Church 9.00am Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 10.00am Mass (Giuseppe Panza RIP) th Sunday 14 Corpus et Sanguis Christi (B) Solemnity of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ 10.00am Mass (Irene Zolna RIP) followed by Blessed Sacrament procession 12.00noon Mass (Latin, 1962 Missal) 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 nd rd th 12 Sue; 19 Tara; 26 Bridie; July 3 Sheila; June 10 Sue th

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COLLECTIONS LAST SUNDAY Offertory: £428.17, (Gift Aid: £161.25, loose plate: £266.92) + £94 approx by standing order. Second collection: Parish Maintenance & Development Fund: £124.87. Thank you. Second collection today: Catholic Trust for England and Wales. Second collection next Sunday: Parish Maintenance & Development Fund. FUTURE PARISH EVENTS – DATES FOR YOUR DIARY th Parish barbecue after 10.00am Mass 5 July st Autumn Fayre 31 October BLESSED SACRAMENT PROCESSION NEXT SUNDAY Next Sunday is the feast of Corpus et Sanguis Christi (The Body and Blood of Christ) when we celebrate Our Lord‟s Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. There will be a Blessed Sacrament Procession after the 10am Mass in which the First Communion children will take part, followed by a reception in the hall for all parishioners. YOUNG READERS Final call: Are you in Year 6 or above and would like to read at Mass? If so please give your name to Samuel, Thereza Baker or Fr. John.

7th June 2009 THE MOST HOLY TRINITY YEAR B

TODAY’S MASS TEXTS Entrance Antiphon: Blessed be God the Father and his only begotten Son and the Holy Spirit; for he has shown that he loves us. First Reading: Deuteronomy 4:32-34.39-40 The Lord is God indeed, in heaven above as on earth beneath, he and no other. Responsorial Psalm: Ps 32 R: Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own. The word of the Lord is faithful and all his works to be trusted. The Lord loves justice and right and fills the earth with his love. (R) By his word the heavens were made, by the breath of his mouth all the stars. He spoke; and they came to be. He commanded; they sprang into being. (R) The Lord looks on those who revere him, on those who hope in his love, to rescue their souls from death, to keep them alive in famine. (R) Our soul is waiting for the Lord. The Lord is our help and our shield. May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you. (R) Second Reading: Romans 8:14-17 You received the spirit of sons, and it makes us cry our, “Abba, Father!” Gospel Acclamation: Revelations 1:8 Alleluia, alleluia! Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, the God who is, who was, and who is to come. Alleluia! Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20 Baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Preface of The Holy Trinity, Eucharistic Prayer 2 Communion Antiphon: Galatians 4:6 You are the sons of God, so God has given you the Spirit of his Son to form your hearts and make you cry out: Abba, Father. PRAYERS FOR THE SICK Please pray for all our sick parishioners, particularly, Rita Redman, Catherine Lowe. Names of parishioners who need our prayers can be placed in the box in the church foyer. All our sick parishioners, named and un-named, are remembered in our prayers. L’ARCHE ANNUAL PILGRIMAGE On their annual pilgrimage to Canterbury, a group of members of the L‟Arche community – made up of people who are ablebodied and others who have various more or less severe needs, will be arriving on Wednesday afternoon to stop over for the night in our Church hall. They will leave on Thursday after a service of prayer or Mass. If you would like to help welcome them please see Eileen Conn or Thereza Baker.

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

FROM FR JOHN’S DESKTOP As I hope all our parishioners now know, six volunteers from the Legion of Mary have come to our parish on what is called a „Peregrinatio Pro Christo‟ (PPC for short). The PPC movement is inspired by the „ambition to get in touch with every soul‟. (All quotes here are from the Legion of Mary handbook.) As the missionary monks of the West „traversed Europe in the sixth and seventh centuries, rebuilding the faith which the fall of the Roman Empire had brought down with it‟, so the PPC sends teams of legionaries to „distant places where the religious conditions are bad, on “the delicate, difficult, unpopular mission of revealing that Christ is the Saviour of the world.” (Pope Paul VI)‟ If possible PPC members travel to a different country from that in which they live. The „principle of travelling and venturing for the faith‟ is something that transforms the thinking of those taking part and those with whom they come into contact. Our six volunteers have travelled from Belfast, Dublin, Shannon and Edinburgh. During their time here the legionaries will visit in pairs as many houses as possible. If they call on you I hope you will make them welcome. If you are out when they call, you might find a copy of this newsletter in your letterbox.

If you were out when they called, then this newsletter is an invitation to you – whether you are a Catholic who is practising or „lapsed‟, a non-Catholic member of another Christian community, one who is not particularly religious, one who is interested in knowing more – to get in touch. If you would like to discuss any particular matter which might be keeping you away from Church, seize the opportunity. All are particularly invited to the Mass on Friday evening at 7pm when the PPC team will conclude their work in the parish, ready to depart on Saturday. We are praying that this week will be blessed through Mary‟s intercession and that the work of the Legion of Mary volunteers will bear fruit. If any parishioner would like to join the volunteers in the peregrinatio, just let one of them know. 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. As part of our efforts to promote prayer for vocations, one of these sessions each month will be specifically for that intention. CHOIR PRACTICE TUESDAYS 7.30PM Newcomers always welcome. BIBLE STUDY THURSDAYS 7.30PM Studying the Acts of the Apostles which This book which gives a very insightful account of the life of the early Church. Why not consider coming along and learning more about the Scriptures?

there will be a review of matters discussed during the „Vision Process‟ meetings two years ago and discussion of the mission of our parish. All, young or old, are encouraged to attend. If you have suggestions for agenda items, please let Fr John or Thereza Baker know. Thank you. YEAR OF PRIESTHOOD Pope Benedict has announced a „Year of Priesthood‟ th commenncing on Friday 19 June, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart and the annual World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification th th of Priests. The year coincides with the 150 anniversary on 4 August 1859 of the death of St Jean Marie Vianney, the saintly Curé (parish priest) of Ars in France who brought thousands of people back to the practice of the faith through his priestly life th and ministry. Do try to come along to the evening Mass on 19 June.

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YEAR OF ST PAUL – AYLESFORD 27 JUNE “PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS” Don‟t forget to sign up for a place on the coach. We‟ll be joining parishioners from St Teresa‟s. The coach will leave St Simon‟s at 10.15am and will depart from Aylesford for the return journey at 4.30pm; cost £10 each. You can, of course, go by car, but parking is likely to be a problem. DAY TRIP TO WALSINGHAM – ENGLAND’S NAZARETH rd 23 July. £20 for adults, £5 for youngsters. Sign up on the list on the notice board as soon as possible so we have an idea of numbers. Situated in Norfolk, Walsingham is England‟s national shrine to Our Lady with a history dating back to 1061. ALTAR SERVERS SUMMER ACTIVITIES Full details about the previously advertised summer activities for altar servers are available from the sacristy. Please book as soon as you can for a guaranteed great time. SUMMER ACTIVITIES FOR YOUTH th th Faith Summer Break, 17 – 20 August, for young Catholics aged 11 – 15. rd th Faith Summer Session: 3 – 7 August., for young Catholics aged 16+. Both at Woldingham School, Surrey. Full details and applications forms available from Fr John, the sacristy or parish office. Parish General Meeting Everyone is invited to a General Meeting of parishioners in our th church hall on Friday 19 June at 7.30pm. During the meeting

WORTH COMMENTING ON A couple of parishioners made a point last Sunday of remarking on the floral decoration of the Church throughout the Easter Season which came to an end last Sunday evening. Having completed our celebration of Easter, I would like to add my thanks to those who made our celebration of the season so uplifting. Without a doubt our team of florists has worked hard to ensure that flowers were beautifully arranged, kept freshly watered, renewed, etc. In particular, our paschal candle was beautifully decorated every single day for the 50 days of Easter without fail. I would also like to thank Catarina Beresford for her latest addition to the altar fabric. The altar frontals and the falls on the ambo by the Celebrant‟s chair are all her work. The church has been kept clean thanks to our team of cleaners. Our liturgy was enhanced by good music thanks to the dedication of our choir who give their Tuesday evenings to practise hymns, psalms, Mass settings, etc. We have been very fortunate to have a great group of servers at all the principal Masses of the season. Thank you to our servers and to their families who support them. There are many others who help in so many ways, some more noticeable, others more hidden. You all make an invaluable contribution to the life of the parish. May the Lord reward you abundantly. If you have any skills whatsoever that you can contribute, please do offer. (Maybe a couple of chaps would like to offer to replace the ceiling lights above the altar when they blow?) Remember, it‟s our church in which we come to encounter God. Many thanks. Fr John.

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