St Simon Stock Catholic Church

Brookfield Road, South Ashford, Kent TN23 4EU

6th DECEMBER 2009
Tel: 01233 622399
Parish Priest: Fr John Boyle SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
BIBLE SUNDAY
Saint Simon of England RC Primary School,
Noakes Meadow, Ashford, TN23 2RB. Tel: 01233 623199 YEAR C
Head teacher: Mrs Elizabeth Willis

MASS TIMES AND INTENTIONS TODAY’S MASS TEXTS

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Sunday 6 Entrance Antiphon: cl. Isaiah 30:19.30
Second Sunday of Advent (C) People of Zion, the Lord will come to save all nations, and
Bible Sunday your hearts will exult to hear his majestic voice.
10.00am Mass (Mary and Harold Fuller RIP) First Reading Baruch 5:1-9
6.00pm Mass (People of the parish) God means to show your splendour to every nation.
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Monday 7 to Saturday 12
NO MASS Responsorial Psalm: Ps 125.R.v.3
Sunday 13
th R: What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were
glad.
Third Sunday of Advent (C)
10.00am Mass (Ashley Crook RIP) When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage,
12.00 noon Mass (Latin, 1962 Missal) it seemed like a dream.
6.00pm Mass (People of the parish) Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
on our lips there were songs. (R)
CONFESSION TIMES The heathens themselves said: ”What marvels
Weekdays: before or after Mass upon request. the Lord worked for them!”
Saturday: 10.30am; Sundays: ½ hour before Mass What marvels the Lord worked for us!
CHURCH CLEANING Indeed we were glad. (R)
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11 Tara; 18 Sheila; 24 Sue; January 1 Sue; Deliver us O Lord, from our bondage
COLLECTIONS LAST SUNDAY as streams in dry land.
Offertory: £469.52, (Gift Aid: £234.60, loose plate: £234.92) + Those who are sowing in tears
£96 approx by standing order. Second collection: St George’s will sing when they reap. (R)
Cathedral: £220.14. Thank you very much. Second collection They go out, the go out, full of rears,
today: Parish Maintenance and Development Fund. Next carrying seed for the sowing;
Sunday: Flowers for Christmas. they come back, they come back, full of song,
THE SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF UNBORN carrying their sheaves. (R)
CHILDREN COFFEE MORNING/BRING & BUY SALE TODAY Second Reading Philippians 1:3-6.8-11
Straight after 10 am Mass, all proceeds to The Society for the Be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.
Protection of Unborn Children. For those of you who signed up Gospel Acclamation: Luke 3:4-6
for membership this year, a good opportunity to support this in Alleluia, alleluia! Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths
our parish. straight. And all mankind shall see the salvation of God.
TODAY: BIBLE SUNDAY Alleluia!
The Scripture readings in Advent are replete with the hopes of Gospel: Luke 3:1-6
the people of Israel sustained by the promises of the prophets All mankind shall see the salvation of God.
and their fulfilment in the Gospels. Try to find time to read the Preface of Advent 1, Eucharistic Prayer 1
Bible at home. One simple method would be to buy a Sunday
Missal and/or a Weekday Missal from our repository and Communion Antiphon Baruch 5:5; 4-36
meditatively read the scripture readings assigned for each day of Rise up, Jerusalem, stand on the heights, and see the joy
Advent, even if you can‟t get to Mass on those days. Or why not that is coming to you from God.
consider coming along to the Bible Study group? PRAYERS FOR THE SICK
FLOWERS FOR CHRISTMAS Please pray for all our sick parishioners. Names of those who
To contribute towards the cost of decorating our church with need our prayers can be placed in the box in the church foyer.
flowers at Christmas, the second collection next Sunday will be SANCTUARY LAMP OFFERINGS
for „flowers for Christmas‟. If you would like the sanctuary lamp by the tabernacle to burn in
PARISH ADVISORY COUNCIL memory of any particular person or for any particular intention,
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Next meeting Monday 14 December. Please let Thereza Baker please hand a note of the intention with an offering (suggested
in the parish office know if there is anything you think needs to £5) in an envelope to the parish office or place it in the offertory
be put on the agenda, tel: 622399; email: tbaker@stsimon.org.uk basket. The intention will be mentioned in the weekly newsletter.
THIS WEEK’S SANCTUARY LAMP INTENTION
ADVENT PENITENTIAL SERVICE
th For the Holy Father Pope Benedict
7pm Tuesday 15 December. Visiting priests will be available to
hear confessions, including in Polish. Please put a note in your ARCHBISHOP KEVIN McDONALD RESIGNS
diary. Make it a family and parish occasion for confession. On Friday Pope Benedict accepted the resignation of Archbishop
Seasonal refreshments afterwards to which all are invited. Kevin. The reason for this decision is the health problems he has
BLESSING OF CRIB ‘BAMBINI’ been facing in recent years and which he continues to face. A
If any children or families would like to bring the figures of the letter will be read at all Masses today. Please remember
Baby Jesus that they plan to place in their cribs at home, these Archbishop Kevin in your prayers. Please also pray for the task
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will be blessed after the Masses next Sunday, 3 Sunday of of selecting his successor.
Advent (Gaudete Sunday).
Parish email: parish@stsimon.org.uk; Parish website: www.stsimon.org.uk; Diocesan website: www.rcsouthwark.co.uk
Fr John‟s blog: http://caritasveritas.blogspot.com/ Parish blog: http://st-simon-parish.blogspot.com/
 FR. JOHN’S DESKTOP
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The joy of the season of Advent is enhanced by the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on 8 December.
Mary is the bright dawn of our salvation. With her conception in the womb of her mother St Anne, the time of redemption
draws closer. The Light that enlightens the world begins to appear in the Eastern sky. With Mary‟s conception, the
preparation of the world as the dwelling-place of the promised Christ is reaching its climax. The body of Mary will develop
to become the tabernacle of the Most High Who will deign to dwell in her womb for nine months and then on this earth for
some thirty three years before returning to His Father.
Such a tabernacle must be untouched by sin. Whereas each of us inherits the original sin of our first parents, Mary
is granted the unique privilege of being preserved from the stain of original sin from the first moment of her conception.
This freedom from sin gives her a particular sensitivity to the plans of God and enables her to respond all the more freely
to her vocation to be the Mother of God.
Whilst being so pure and sinless, we should not consider Mary so far beyond us in holiness as to make it
impossible for us to learn from her and, indeed, imitate her. Whilst she is „full of grace‟, every grace is made available to
us to overcome sin and its effects in our lives. Mary herself was not without struggle and also needed the assistance of
God to know and fulfil His designs. We too can learn much from Our Lady as we seek to know, day by day, moment by
moment, the Lord‟s will for us.
We often hear or read about the heroic sanctity of those who are honoured with the title „Saint.‟ So I was very
consoled on reading recently an account of the life of St Jozef Damien De Veuster, the Belgian missionary who went to
the Hawaiian island of Molokai to look after abandoned lepers. He contracted leprosy himself and died in 1889 at the age
of 49. After his death, a Presbyterian minister named Hyde dismissed Damien as “a coarse, dirty man, headstrong and
bigoted”, and accused him of violating his vow of chastity. This criticism provoked a furious response from an unexpected
source: Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Stevenson
too was a Presbyterian. While conceding that Damien may have been “dirty”, “unwise” and “tricky”, he said that the priest
was “superb with generosity, residual candour, and fundamental good humour… A man with all the grime and paltriness
of mankind, but a saint and hero all the more for that. Think of the poor lepers annoyed with this dirty comrade. But the
clean Dr Hyde was at his food in a fine house… You were so refined, why were you not there, to cheer them up with the
lights of culture?”
Saints can be far from perfect, but they are open to the grace of God and are filled with love. Fr. John
REGULAR EVENTS – COME ALONG! WHITSTABLE PARISH PATRONAL FEAST
All are invited to the Church of Our Lady Immaculate in
DIVINE MERCY PRAYER GROUP
Whitstable for Mass at 7.30pm on Tuesday, Solemnity of the
after the 9.30am Mass on Tuesdays. Prayers of
Immaculate Conception. The preacher will be the scripture
intercession for various needs and silent
scholar and former Principal of the Canterbury Franciscan Study
adoration of the Blessed Sacrament till 10.30am.
Centre Father Joseph O‟Hanlon. Mass will be followed by a bring
(Not this week).
and share supper.
CHOIR PRACTICE THURSDAYS 7.30PM
CHRISTMAS MASS NOVENA CARDS
Newcomers always welcome
The Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) has
BIBLE STUDY WEDNESDAYS 7.30PM produced these cards which it uses as one of the ways to fund
Studying the letters of St. John. Newcomers its seminary in the Philippines and the overseas missions of its
always welcome. Meeting this week by arrangement with the sisters. The cards are available from the repository and the
group. suggested donation is £2 per card. The donor then submits the
YEAR OF PRAYER FOR PRIESTS name(s) of the recipients and leaves them with the repository
Come and pray the Rosary for our priests 20 minutes before the who will forward them to SOLT. All the names are then placed in
morning Masses, Monday to Friday. All are welcome to join. A a basket before the altar and included in the novena at Mass
special prayer calendar has been produced by the Southwark starting on Christmas Day.
diocesan Vocations Office to help us pray for all the priests of ‘DOWRY’
our diocese. Please take one and say the prayer daily. This Some complementary copies of „Dowry‟, the periodical of the
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week you are asked to pray for: Sun 6 Dec Fr. Peter Geldard, Fraternity of St Peter (FSSP) in England, are available in the
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Mon 7 Fr. David Gibbons; Tues 8 Fr. Michael Gibbons; Weds church foyer. Please feel free to take one.
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9 Fr. Philip Gilbert; Thurs 10 Fr. Gary Gill; Fri 11 Fr. Philip
th th CATENIAN ASSOCIATION CHRISTMAS PARTY & BUFFET
Glandfield, Sat 12 Fr. Robert Gould; Sun 13 Fr. Barry Grant.
The local Catenian Association is hosting its annual Christmas
Thank you. th
Party on Sunday 20 December at Sandyacres Sports and
CHURCH CRIB Social club, Sandyhurst Lane. The function is from 12.30 pm
In a change to the practice of previous years, rather than build until 4.00 p.m. Cost is £10 per adult with children free. Santa is
up our crib week by week, after the morning Mass on Sunday expected to make a visit and will have presents for young
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20 December children will have the opportunity to take the crib children. A Booking Form with payment details is available at
figures and, with the help of their parents, place them in the crib the back of the Church.
ready for Christmas night. WINTERSHALL
DIVINE MERCY HOUSE PRAYER GROUP The Nativity Play at Wintershall has now been booked for
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The group extends an invitation to join them on Monday 14 Monday 21st December; those whose names were on the list
December for prayer and social at 16 Gravelly Field, Singleton. should have received a letter, and this production is now a
Arrivals from 10.00am finish approx. 11.30am. Contact Teresa complete sell out.
Davies 01233 625799. All welcome. THE GOOD COUNSEL NETWORK NATIONAL DAY OF
CHURCH CLEANING PRAYER AND FASTING FOR LIFE
Could you please spare a few hours at least once every 5 to 6 On Monday, the Vigil of The Immaculate Conception, please
weeks or so to clean our Church? The more cleaners we have pray and fast for the end of abortion and euthanasia. Your
the better coverage when someone is unwell and unable to prayer and fasting is urgently needed. See notice board.
cover that weeks cleaning. See Thereza Baker if you can help.

To catch up on previous newsletters visit http://www.stsimon.org.uk/Newsletters/