St Simon Stock Catholic Church

Brookfield Road, South Ashford, Kent TN23 4EU

5th JULY 2009
Tel: 01233 622399
Parish Priest: Fr John Boyle FOURTEENTH 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 5 Entrance Antiphon Ps 47:10-11
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) Within your temple, we ponder your loving kindness, O God.
10.00am Mass (John Kelly RIP) As your name, so also your praise reaches to the ends of
6.00pm Mass (People of the parish) the earth; your right hand is filled with justice.
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Monday 6 First Reading Ezekiel 2:2-5
St Maria Goretti, virgin and martyr The sons are defiant and obstinate and they shall know that
9.30am Mass (Holy Souls) there is a prophet among them.
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Tuesday 7
9.00am Mass (Michael Lanzino RIP) followed by Divine Responsorial Psalm: Ps 122
R: Our eyes are on the Lord till he show us his mercy.
Mercy Chaplet
th To you have I lifted up my eyes,
Wednesday 8
9.30am Mass (Peggie Fairess RIP) you who dwell in the heavens:
St. Simon‟s school year 2 attending my eyes, like the eyes of slaves
th on the hand of their lords. (R)
Thursday 9
6.45pm Mass of Ss John Fisher, Bishop, & Thomas More, Like the eyes of a servant
Martyrs (Latin, 1962 Missal) (Donor‟s intention) on the hand of her mistress,
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Friday 10 so our eyes are on the Lord our God
9.30am Mass (Alan & Ciaran Potter) till he show us his mercy. (R)
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Saturday 11
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
St Benedict, abbot, patron of Europe, feast
We are filled with contempt.
9.00am Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Indeed all too full is our soul
10.00am Mass (Mauro Deidda RIP)
Sunday 12
th with the scorn of the rich, with the proud man‟s disdain. (R)
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Sea Sunday I shall be very happy to make my weaknesses my special boast
10.00am Mass (People of the parish) so that the power of Christ may stay over me.
12.00noon Mass (Latin, 1962 Missal) Gospel Acclamation: Matthew 16:18
6.00pm Mass (Fr. Augustine Measures OSB) Alleluia, alleluia! The Word was made flesh and lived among
us; to all who did accept him he gave power to become
CONFESSION TIMES children of God. Alleluia!
Weekdays: before or after Mass upon request.
Saturday: 10.30am; Sundays: ½ hour before Mass Gospel: Mark 6:1-6
A prophet is only despised in his own country.
CHURCH CLEANING Preface of Sunday 2, Eucharistic Prayer II
th th th st th
10 Sue; 17 Sue; 24 Tara; 31 Bridie; August 7 Sheila
Communion Antiphon: Ps 33:9
COLLECTIONS LAST SUNDAY Taste and see the goodness of the Lord; blessed is he who
Offertory: £445.01, (Gift Aid: £171.71, loose plate: £273.30) + hopes in God.
£94 approx by standing order. Second collection: Peter’s
Pence: £113.83. Thank you. Second collection today: Parish PRAYERS FOR THE SICK
Maintenance & Development Fund. Please pray for all our sick parishioners, particularly Rita
SEA SUNDAY NEXT SUNDAY Redman, Ann Pullen and Mr. O.V. Baby. Names of parishioners
When the Church remembers all who live and work at sea. The who need our prayers can be placed in the box in the church
second collection will be for The Apostleship of the Sea which foyer. All our sick parishioners, named and un-named, are
provides pastoral care in ports throughout the world for those in remembered in our prayers.
the Merchant Navy. REGULAR EVENTS – COME ALONG!
PARISH BARBECUE TODAY DIVINE MERCY PRAYER GROUP
Come along to the parish barbecue after the 9.30am Mass on Tuesdays. Prayers of
after the 10.00am Mass today. intercession for various needs and silent adoration
Burgers, hot dogs and ploughman‟s of the Blessed Sacrament till 10.30am. (No
will be available to purchase. Come for adoration this week)
some fun and games, social time, and a bit of fundraising for the CHOIR PRACTICE TUESDAYS 7.30PM
parish. Everyone welcome. Newcomers always welcome.
BIBLE STUDY THURSDAYS 7.30PM
SOLEMN MASS FOR THE FEAST OF THE TRANSLATION OF Studying the Acts of the Apostles. Newcomers always welcome.
THE RELICS OF ST. THOMAS OF CANTERBURY
this Tuesday at 8pm in Canterbury Cathedral YOUTH 2000 EVENT: SANCTUARY@WALSINGHAM
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The celebrant will be Canon Michael Bunce, parish priest of St. Thursday 27 – Monday 31 August. Full details can be found at
Thomas‟ Church, Canterbury and our Dean. All are warmly www.youth2000.org for from 020 8675 2743. See poster on the
invited to attend. Fr. John can offer lifts. notice board.

Email: parish@stsimon.org.uk; Web: www.stsimon.org.uk;

Parish blog: http://st-simon-parish.blogspot.com/; diocesan website: www.rcsouthwark.co.uk
 FR. JOHN’S DESKTOP
Things parishioners ask about
I was recently asked about in vitro fertilisation (IVF). When couples find themselves unable to have children, they
usually suffer great heartache and disappointment. In such a situation, IVF will often be suggested, yet the Church
declares IVF to be immoral as it is against the Natural Law. Why is this?
In this age of rights, it is tempting to think that every woman or couple has a right to a child. But this is not so. A
child is never a right one can claim but a gift. The reasons why infertility occurs are many, but just like all health problems,
it is ultimately a result of the fallenness of human nature that is a consequence of original sin. As with other health
anomalies, it is quite legitimate to treat the condition of infertility so that conception might occur. However, the process of
conception itself should never be a technological one but rather a natural one resulting from the physical union of father
and mother. To bring a new child into the world in a laboratory makes that child a product of technology rather than of
nature and human love expressed sexually.
From the very first moment of the union of sperm and egg, there is a unique individual human being who has rights
and for whom society is responsible. It is never legitimate to carry out experiments on human embryos, however they
come into existence. Each embryo has a right to live and to be protected from any harm. In the IVF process, a number of
eggs are fertilised by human sperm. Scientists then examine the resulting embryos to see which might be suitable for
implantation in the mother‟s womb. To guard against the risk of a multiple pregnancy, those which are considered
unviable or surplus or, perhaps, with unwanted characteristics, are discarded, i.e. these human beings are deliberately
killed. Some of the preferred embryos might then be frozen for later use which is also incompatible with the dignity of the
human person. One or two or sometimes more of the selected embryos are then implanted. Of course, should anything
be found to be wrong with one or more of the embryos during the pregnancy, they can quite logically be „terminated‟ since
they are a product of human selection anyway.
Further problems with IVF arise nowadays, particularly with egg and sperm donation: the union of the egg of the
mother with the sperm of someone who is not the husband, and the implantation of the fertilised embryo into the womb of
someone who is not the natural mother. The resulting child may therefore not be the natural child of the father and/or
mother. Recently in the news we heard about a couple who had an embryo stored for future implantation, but the embryo
was mistakenly implanted into the womb of another woman. When the mistake was discovered, the pregnancy was
„terminated‟, without reference to the natural mother and father of the child concerned. They were naturally distraught. So
a real Pandora‟s box has been opened by departing from the natural process.
The Church takes this position not because She lacks compassion but because She understands and defends the
dignity of human life. There are now organisations that help infertile couples and women who suffer repeated
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miscarriages in a completely morally acceptable manner. One such organisation is the Central London FertilityCare
Centre. They can be contacted on 020 7437 0892 or you can visit their website: www.fertilitycarecentre.co.uk. Couples
unable to have children of their own might also consider adopting a child, or devoting themselves to works of charity and
apostolate, making the wider human family „their‟ family. Fr. John
“A DIOCESAN DAY OF CELEBRATION”, SHARING IN THE THE TABERNACLE DOORS
GIFTS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AT Have been taken away for restoration. This could take between
AYLESFORD PRIORY, NEXT SUNDAY two and four weeks. In the meantime, apart from before and after
This yearly event enables many people of all abilities, to share in the Sunday Masses and any other major Masses, the Blessed
a day of activity and prayer; activities include art, music and a Sacrament will be reserved in a small tabernacle in the
disco. The day will begin with a gathering service at 12.00 noon Confessional area. This area will normally be locked for security
ending with a Mass of celebration at 4pm. but it will still be possible to pray before the tabernacle at the
benches at the back of the church.
SPUC PRO-LIFE PETITION TODAY CAR PARK
After Mass please sign The Society for the Protection of Unborn You may have found your parking skills tested in the area
Children‟s „Child Protection Petition‟ to the Prime Minister to stop immediately in front of our „piazza‟. The lines were not meant to
secondary schools being used as abortion referral centres. be painted where they are currently. Apologies! The bill hasn‟t
Among SPUC‟s concerns are that the Government is giving a been paid so the mistake will hopefully be rectified soon.
clear remit to school nurses and other advisers to refer
schoolchildren for abortions without informing parents, insisting I NEED TO GO TO CONFESSION BUT I DON’T FEEL SORRY
that sex education lessons include information on how to get This is a common predicament. Sometimes people feel
abortions, and aiming to establish school-based sexual health hypocritical going to confession when they cannot guarantee
clinics. SPUC hopes to gather half a million signatures to put they won‟t commit the same sin again. We all know that we are
pressure on the Government to reverse its policy. Please add likely to commit the same sin and other sins in the future. This
your name to the petition and help stop this unjust attack on the does not mean that we are not sorry for the sins we have
rights of schoolchildren, families and the unborn. committed in the past. We would generally like to be perfect, to
overcome our faults and failings and avoid sin. We know that,
YEAR FOR PRIESTS with the grace of God, everything is possible. But we are also
Some parishioners have decided to gather to pray the Rosary for aware of our human frailty. St John Marie Vianney, the Curé of
our priests. It will initially be before the morning Masses Monday Ars, said this to encourage us to go to Confession: “The good
to Friday and then see how it goes. Commencing tomorrow at Lord knows everything. Even before you confess, he already
9.10am. knows that you will sin again, yet he still forgives you. How great
This link (http://www.catholicchurch.org.uk/ccb/catholic_ is the love of our God: he even forces himself to forget the future,
church/events/year_for_priests) has interesting information about so that he can grant us his forgiveness.”
the year, including an interview with a priest about the biggest ACTUAL CHURCH BULLETIN BLOOPERS
decision he‟s had to take in his life. The sermon this morning:
HAVE WE FORGOTTEN WHAT IT IS TO BE CATHOLIC? (3) 'Jesus Walks on the Water.'
(From Fit for Mission? Church by Bishop Patrick O‟Donoghue) The sermon tonight: 'Searching for Jesus."
Those who never pray forget they are Catholic.

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