OCTOBER IS THE MONTH OF THE HOLY ROSARY
THE TWENTY-EIGHTH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME
Dear parishioners,
This Sunday is ‘Prisoners’ Sunday’.
Prisoners’ Sunday is the national day of prayer and action for prisoners and their dependants as marked by the Catholic Church and across the Christian denominations. It is a day to direct our thoughts and prayers to prisoners, their families and children. Prisoners’ Sunday is the time to reflect on how we as individuals, as a Church and as a community are serving those affected by imprisonment.
Prisoners’ families, prisoners and people with previous convictions often find themselves on the margins of society due to the social stigma associated with imprisonment. They are often forgotten or come lower down on the list of causes to ‘hold a hand out to’. But the gospel of Matthew 25: 36 reminds us of our duties towards them:
I was naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.
PACT is the Christian charity that supports PRISONERS, FAMILIES & their COMMUNITIES to make a FRESH START TOGETHER, working to embody the Christian value of mercy and belief in the innate dignity of every human being. Through this campaign they ask us to engage with a core element of Catholic social teaching and put our faith into action. Below is the link for online donations. There will also be envelopes in the church.
Cardinal Vincent Nicholls says:
The Gospel message for Prisoners’ Sunday show how God’s forgiveness and welcome are for all: no one is excluded. So let us not forget that the needs of prisoners are great and growing, particularly as we emerge from the lockdown imposed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. For prisoners this has meant being confined to their cells over 23 hours each day for many months and receiving visits from their loved ones, including their children. We must not forget either the prison staff or our chaplains who too have had to confront the additional challenges posed as a result of pandemic.
Please refer to the PACT website for more information about Prisoners’ Sunday and the work of PACT. ( https://www.prisonadvice.org.uk/prisonerssunday )
Macmillan Coffee Morning: message from Annette.
Dear all
Thank you for your overwhelming response to my coffee morning. I was touched by your generosity with all the cakes and bakes.
Thanks to all the volunteers who helped me make it a success.
Thank you all for helping me to raise £730 for Macmillan Cancer Care.
A big thank you.
Annette
And on behalf of everybody, I thank Annette very much for all she put into raising this money for Macmillan nurses but also for providing the parish with a most enjoyable social morning, our first since coming out of lockdown.
If anyone else would like to organise Sunday coffee mornings to raise money for a particular charity, please let me know. For many years, the Co- workers of Mother Theresa organised coffee mornings on Sunday, but as you may remember, they retired last Christmas. Coffee mornings bring great blessings to the life of our parish, but do involve some effort by the organisers. Speak to Annette about that and she can advise you.
First Holy Communion 2022
Applications are now open. Closing date for applications is on Sunday 14th November. Classes will take place on a Saturday morning at 10.30 a.m. in the Hall from Saturday 8th January 2022. However, even more necessary than the classes is Sunday mass attendance. Sadly, this should not need to be stated as attendance at mass for all who are able, is the first visible expression of faith for all Catholics who follow Jesus and love God. This will be an obligation for all First Holy Communion children from Advent Sunday, 27th/28th November. Advent Sunday will also be the children’s day of public commitment to their full participation in the preparation for First Holy Communion in June, the priority being Sunday mass attendance every week from 27th/28th November. Reception of First Communion is dependent on making this commitment on Advent Sunday and fulfilling it before June.
Applications are available from me after Sunday mass.
Can you serve your parish as a catechist? Have you had experience in helping your own child prepare for First Holy Communion and can now offer your service and time for other children in the parish? Please pray about this and if there is a little niggling thought at the back of your mind, that yes, this applies to you, it may be the Holy Spirit calling you to serve.
Please contact me, or Dorota Stochel or Suzie Glasson if God is calling you to support the children of the parish in this way.
Parish Pilgrimage to Walsingham (possibly May 2022) . More interest has been expressed. I’m waiting to get at least a mini – bus full and then will make bookings. Please let me know if you would like to come too. Dates to follow and coach or mini -bus will be booked.
Church Back Wall Repair & Redecoration
We have enough to proceed, although not the full £2,000 requested. If you would like to support this, the details are below.
NATWEST
ACC NO. 21361606
SORT CODE 517014
for the credit of: RCAS ST THOMAS MORE - BOSTALL PARK
Ref: church redecoration
Deaths For all our brothers and sisters who ate the Body of Christ, the bread of Life, that they may be raised up on the Last Day. (Drawn from the intercession of the Funeral Mass)
Please pray for the souls of:
Helen Gaskin. who died on Tuesday 24th August aged 69. The funeral was on Thursday 16th September.
Johannes Franciscus Gerritsen who died on 26th August 2021 aged 94. The Funeral was on Monday 20th September 2021 at 2.30 p.m.
Sandra Nourse who died on 3rd September 2021. The Funeral was on Wednesday 22nd September.
John Joe Corbett who died on 23rd September 2021, aged 73. Funeral Requiem at 10.00 a.m. on Wednesday 13th October 2021 followed by committal at Eltham Crematorium.
Patrick Joseph Flynn who died on Saturday 25th September, aged 93. Funeral Requiem at 11.30 a.m. on Monday 25th October followed by committal at Eltham Crematorium.
Raymond Frank Hawkins who died on Thursday 30th September, aged 91. Funeral details awaited.
Ray Hawkins was a man of many talents who came to St Thomas More’s Parish in 1964 with his late wife, Ann. For many years he lead the Choir at the 9.00 a.m. mass on Sundays. He was a member of Council 380 of the Knights of St Columba for over fifty years and provincial Treasurer during that time. He was a member of the Parish Council in recent years and Treasurer of both St Thomas More’s Social Club and the Thursday Lunch Club. He is survived by his three sons, Simon, Michael and Andrew. Ray,who was an Engineer, was a very focussed man who carried out his responsibilities to a very high standard and once he got his teeth into the task carried it out to successful completion. May he rest in peace.
On this Prisoners’ Sunday, I would also ask you to pray for the soul of a beloved brother in Christ, Canon Richard Hearn who died on Thursday aged 56. He was Vicar General and Moderator of the Diocesan Curia and for most of his priestly ministry had a very particular and special calling to prison ministry. His home parish had been St Lawrence’s, Sidcup where he will be well remembered and missed. I got to know him when he was assistant priest at St Thomas’ Canterbury and I was still at seminary and would meet up with him for lunch on visits home. Richard’s death is big loss to us all in this diocese and beyond. May he rest in peace.
May the divine assistance remain with them always, and may their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.
MASSES AND INTENTIONS FOR THE COMING WEEK: THE TWENTY-EIGHTH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME
Psalter week 4 Ferial cycle 1 at mass.
Saturday 9th October THE TWENTY- EIGHTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (B) Day of prayer for prisoners and their families. CAFOD collection (final week)
6.00 p.m. Confessions
+ 6.30 p.m. MASS [said] Oliver Fernandes & Family W.B.
Sunday 10th October
8.30 a.m. The Daily Rosary
+ 9.00 a.m. SUNG MASS. The people of the parish.
+ 11.00 a.m. SOLEMN LATIN MASS [with English Readings] Catherine Otene T.G. (on her birthday)
4.00 p.m. October Parish Rosary & Benediction (with devotions to Our Lady and prayers for World Mission).
6.00 p.m. No Social Evening in the Hall due to a booking.
Monday 11th October St. John XXIII, pope.
The Daily Rosary at home.
NO PUBLIC MASS TODAY
Tuesday 12th October St. Wilfred, bishop.
9.30 a.m. The Daily Rosary
+ 10.00 a.m. Ferdie Rodrigues R.I.P.
5.00 p.m. Reception in church of the late John Joseph Corbett.
Wednesday 13th October St. Edward the Confessor, king, feast.
9.00 a.m. The Daily Rosary (please note earlier time)
+ 10.00 a.m. Funeral Requiem for John Joseph Corbett followed by committal at Eltham Crematorium
Thursday 14th October St. Callistus I, pope & martyr.
9.30 a.m. The Daily Rosary
+ 10.00 a.m. Fr Robert Copsey R.I.P.
2.00 p.m. No Thursday Lunch Club Afternoon Tea due to works in the Hall.
Friday 15th October St. Teresa of Jesus (of Avila), virgin & doctor of the church, memorial.
9.30 a.m. The Daily Rosary
+ 10.00 a.m. Johannes Franciscus Gerritsen R.I.P. (forty days)
6.00 p.m. choir practice
Saturday 16th October St. Hedwig, religious.
9.30 a.m. The Daily Rosary & Confessions
+ 10.00 a.m. [Latin] Noel & Sheila Egan W.B.
[+ 6.30 p.m. THE TWENTY- NINTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME. Vincent & Helen D’Souza T.G. on their 67th wedding anniversary)
OCTOBER PRAYER
The Rosary in October
Those who recite five decades of the Rosary in church, or as a family, a religious community, or as a group of the faithful, may gain a plenary indulgence daily; in other circumstances a partial indulgence. A partial indulgence may be obtained daily by reciting the Litany of Loreto and the Prayer to St. Joseph. (Southwark Directory p215)
Pray the Rosary Daily this October! See the daily times above and come to the October Parish Rosary and Benediction at 4.00 p.m. this Sunday, 10th October.
Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
God bless,
Fr. Jonathon