St Simon Stock Catholic Church

Brookfield Road, South Ashford, Kent TN23 4EU

22nd FEBRUARY 2009
Tel: 01233 622399
Parish Priest: Fr John Boyle SEVENTH SUNDAY IN
ORDINARY TIME
Saint Simon of England RC Primary School,
Noakes Meadow, Ashford, TN23 2RB. Tel: 01233 623199 YEAR B
Head teacher: Mrs Elizabeth Willis

MASS TIMES AND INTENTIONS TODAY’S MASS TEXTS

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Sunday 22 Entrance Antiphon: Ps 12:6
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) Lord, your mercy is my hope, my heart rejoices in your
Day for the unemployed saving power. I will sing to the Lord for his goodness to me.
10.00am Mass (Walter Borucki RIP) First Reading: Isaiah 43:18-19.21-22.24-25
followed by baptism of Sinead O‟Neill I it is who must blot out everything.
12.00 noon Mass (Latin, 1962 Missal, Quinquagesima Sunday)
(Tony Simmons RIP) Responsorial Psalm: Ps 40
R: Heal my soul for I have sinned against you.
4.00pm Mass in Polish
6.00pm Mass (For the people of the parish) Happy the man who considers the poor and the weak.
rd The Lord will save him in the day of evil,
Monday 23
St Polycarp, bishop and martyr will guard him, give him life, make him happy in the land
6.45pm Mass (Marie, Patrick, Annie & Hugh Treacy, Phylis and will not give him up to the will of his foes. (R)
Wood and Sarah Mills RIP) The Lord will help him on his bed of pain,
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Tuesday 24 he will bring him back from sickness to health.
9.30am Mass (In thanksgiving – Marie-Margerite Vella) As for me, I said: “Lord have mercy on me,
followed by Divine Mercy Chaplet & Exposition of heal my soul for I have sinned against you.” (R)
the Blessed Sacrament until 10.30am. If you uphold me I shall be unharmed
The Season of Lent and set in your presence for evermore.
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Wednesday 25 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel
Ash Wednesday- A day of fasting and abstinence from age to age. Amen. Amen. (R)
Ashes will be blessed and distributed at both Masses Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 1:18-22
9.30am Mass (Holy Souls) St. Simon‟s KS2 attending Jesus was never Yes and No: with him it was always Yes.
7.00pm Mass Gospel Acclamation: John 1:12.14
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Thursday 26 Alleluia, alleluia! The Word was made flesh and lived among
6.45pm Mass (Latin, 1962 Missal) (James Beach RIP) us; to all who did accept him he gave power to become
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Friday 27 children of God. Alleluia!
9.30am Mass (Les Oakley RIP)
Saturday 28
th Gospel: Mark 2:1-12
9.00am Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.
10.00am Mass (William Kiely RIP) Preface of Sunday 5, Eucharistic Prayer 2
5.30pm Holy Qurbana - Mass in the Syro Malabar Rite Communion Antiphon: Ps 9:2-3
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Sunday 1 March I will tell all your marvellous works. I will rejoice and be glad
First Sunday of Lent (B) in you, and sing to your name, Most High.
10.00am Mass (In thanksgiving – Jean Claude Bonnefin)
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5.15pm Stations of the Cross ASH WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY
6.00pm Mass (For the people of the parish) A day of fasting and abstinence. All aged 14 or over are obliged
to abstain from meat. All aged 18 or over and under 59 are also
CONFESSIONS/CONSULTATIONS obliged to fast. These are forms of penance and self-denial that
Saturday: 10.30am, Sunday 9.30am, 5.30pm. help us to be detached from the material comforts of this life and
Weekdays: before or after Mass upon request. to concentrate more on the welfare of our souls. They are also
CHURCH CLEANING important as reparation for sins. Lent is a particularly apt time for
th th th th th such penance as we seek to prepare for and identify with the
27 Sue; March 6 Tara; 13 Bridie; 20 Sheila; 27 Sue
commemoration of Our Lord‟s passion and death in Holy Week.
COLLECTIONS LAST SUNDAY
Illness obviously excuses one from fasting and abstinence.
Offertory: £357.73, (Gift Aid: £187.20, loose plate: £170.53) +
£99 approx by standing order. To contribute by regular standing STATIONS OF THE CROSS IN LENT
order please ask for a form. If you are a tax payer and are not As in previous years, this will take place on Sunday evenings at
already using the Gift Aid scheme, please ask for a Gift Aid form. 5.15pm. Do make an effort to participate in this devotion in Lent.
Second collection: Parish Maintenance & Development Fund: If you would come on a Friday evening, let Fr John know and it
£121.47. Thank you. Second collection today and next Sunday: will be organised.
Parish Maintenance & Development Fund. MONTHLY PRAYER REQUESTS FOR PRIESTS
Please pick up the revised list for February and the list for March
KATHLEEN SORRELL RIP from the table in the foyer. It is most important that priests be
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Kathleen who died on encouraged by the knowledge that they are being supported by
Thursday aged 90 and for her family that they be given strength the prayers of the faithful.
and comfort by our Risen Lord. May she rest in the peace of
Christ. PRAYERS FOR THE SICK
Please pray for Jean Borucki, Sarah Shinn, Barry Crook and all
PARISH ADVISORY COUNCIL our sick parishioners. If you know of anyone who needs our
A reminder to members of the Parish Advisory Council that the prayers at the present time, please place their names in the box
next meeting is tomorrow at 7.30pm. in the Church foyer.
Email: parish@stsimon.org.uk; Web: www.stsimon.org.uk;
Parish blog: http://st-simon-parish.blogspot.com/; diocesan website: www.rcsouthwark.co.uk
 FROM FATHER JOHN’S DESKTOP
Lent can take us by surprise. Unlike the season of Advent, there is no lead-up to
Lent in the Liturgy. As we approach the end of the Church‟s liturgical year, the Mass texts
are already preparing us for the second coming of Christ, which is one of the aims of
Advent. With Lent, however, we simply interrupt the observation of „Ordinary Time‟ and
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will not pick it up again until Sunday 21 June after Easter, Pentecost, Trinity Sunday and
Corpus Christi. So, are you ready for Ash Wednesday this coming Wednesday?
Resolutions for „giving up‟ things are, of course, good in themselves but they
are meant to result in some positive change in our lives. An initial aim could be to begin
Lent well, by doing all in your power to attend Mass on Ash Wednesday and receive the
ashes as a sign that we recognise the need for conversion. „Remember, man, you are dust and to dust you shall return‟ is
one of the formulae the priest may say as he places ashes upon us. It has its origin in the Book of Genesis when the
LORD God explained to Adam the consequences of the sin that he and Eve had committed in eating the fruit of the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil: “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree of which
I commanded you, „You shall not eat of it‟, cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of
your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you… In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the
ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Gen. 3:17-19)
Eve listened to the serpent, Adam listened to Eve, and all the evils that afflict mankind find their origin in that fall of
our first parents. They both listened to the wrong message and so inherited a curse instead of a blessing. Perhaps Lent
might be a time for reflecting on the messages we listen to. How easily does the Lord God gain access to our hearts and
minds? When we receive him in the Holy Eucharist, can he take full possession of our souls? Does he find our hearts
undivided in love for him? Or does he have to compete with other „priorities‟, other messages (from TV, internet,
newspapers, magazines…)? If, through our observances of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we find ourselves listening
more closely to God whose Word comes to us through the Scriptures, prayer, the teachings and Sacraments of the
Church, we will truly experience the blessings of being once again in right relationship with Christ and our neighbour. We
will also see more clearly our need for forgiveness and prepare ourselves for a good confession. Oh, and we can be
cheerful in Lent – see the picture above! Fr John.
REGULAR EVENTS – COME ALONG! MASS IN CELEBRATION OF THE SACRAMENT OF
DIVINE MERCY PRAYER GROUP MATRIMONY WITH ARCHBISHOP KEVIN MCDONALD AT
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after the 9.30am Mass on Tuesdays. Prayers of AYLESFORD PRIORY 3PM SATURDAY 30 MAY
intercession for various needs and silent Archbishop Kevin will celebrate this Mass and wants to specially
adoration of the Blessed Sacrament till 10.30am. invite all couples and their families in the Diocese who are
st th th th th th
celebrating a 1 , 10 , 25 , 40 , 50 or 60 + anniversary this
MUSIC PRACTICE TUESDAYS 7.30PM
year. Couples celebrating 1, 25 and 40 years of marriage have
Newcomers always welcome.
already requested invitations. Why not join them? Please let Fr.
BIBLE STUDY THURSDAYS 7.30PM John know if you qualify for a special anniversary invitation.
Studying St Paul‟s letters to the Corinthians and
FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT
Pope Benedict‟s Wednesday audiences on St RD TH
23 FEB – 8 MARCH
Paul.
Two billion people – a third of
EVANGELIUM – CATHOLIC FAITH ENQUIRY humanity – still survive on
For all, Catholic or not, who would like to deepen their less than $2 a day. Unfair trade rules keep them in poverty, but
knowledge of the Catholic faith. Next meeting: 7.15pm Friday they face the global challenges of food shortages and climate
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27 February. Topic: The Church. change too. Fairtrade is a people‟s movement for change that
aims to tip the balance of trade in favour of poor producers. We
HELPING YOUR CHILDREN MAKE GOOD LIFE CHOICES all need Fairtrade more than ever and we all have the power to
Come and hear Greg and Aghi Clovis of Family Life International create positive change for people and planet. Make it happen.
share the experiences they have gained from raising a family of Choose Fairtrade.
their own after 10.00am Mass next Sunday in the Church hall. TH
LENT FAST DAY FRIDAY 6 MARCH
The session will end at 12.15pm. Adults and teenage children
Fasting is one of the penitential disciplines for Lent. It is
are welcome to attend. See notice board.
connected very closely with prayer (our senses pray in a real
SERVERS DAY LAST SUNDAY sense through fasting) and almsgiving (we are able to give the
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Over 40 servers from the parishes of New Addington, Northfleet, money saved by fasting to the poor). On Sunday 8 March a
Parkwood & Wigmore, Stamford Hill and, of course. South second collection will be taken and the proceeds sent to the
Ashford, attended last Sunday‟s event. A special thanks to all our Pontifical Council ‘Cor Unum’. COR UNUM expresses "the care of
parishioners who helped on the day: Susan Radecka, Kenneth the Catholic Church for the needy, thereby encouraging human
and Martine Standish, Thereza Baker (and anyone I have left fellowship and making manifest the charity of Christ" and, on the
out) and Dara Farrell for helping with the sports. Thanks, too, to Pope‟s behalf, grants humanitarian relief in response to disasters or
Fathers Ugo Nnaji MSP and Robert Copsey SOLT for hearing in promoting integral human development in needy areas of the
confessions. world. Please give generously.
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WEEKDAY MASS TIMES WOMEN’S WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FRIDAY 6 MARCH
Following consultation on Friday Mass times, no consensus was Services will be held at 11am at St Teresa‟s and 7pm at
apparent, so I have made the following decision: Mass on Kennington URC. See notice board. All are welcome.
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays will, as a rule, return to the SITUATION VACANT
former customary time of 9.30am, except on the First Friday of Parish Secretary/Parish Administrator for Hythe Catholic
the month when it will be at 6.45pm, at least for the time being. Church. Hours and salary are negotiable. Please contact Deacon
On Monday and Thursday Mass will remain at 6.45pm as at Ray Partridge at 01303 873835.
present. Fr John.

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