Church Mouse Update 30th June 2024 (2024)

By Webmaster • 29 Jun, 2024

Bishop Richard ordained Fr Eddie Hopkins and Fr Gus Campanello to the Priesthood last Saturday, with members of clergy, religious, and many lay people in attendance. Eddie and Gus underwent formation at St John’s Seminary, Wonersh and Allen Hall, Chelsea, enjoying placements in a number of diocesan parishes to prepare themselves for the gifts and responsibilities of priestly ministry. Speaking during his homily, Bishop Richard said:  “This is a wonderful day in the life of our Diocese, and a wonderful day for the whole Church as you come to the moment of your Priestly Ordination. All of us present, and the many others who cannot be here today, support you in prayer as you embark upon the wonderful life that is a share in nothing less than the Priesthood of Jesus Christ Himself…

By Webmaster • 29 Jun, 2024

Annual Grandparents Celebration - 20th July, 15.00, Arundel Cathedral. Pope Francis calls us to this annual celebration for Grandparents and the more senior members of our community. A time to savour the fruits of family life and the wisdom of experience. Please join us for Mass celebrated by the Bishop followed by refreshments afterwards in the Cathedral centre. To register (essential):  www.abdiocese.churchsuite.com/events/tha4tc8y?

By Webmaster • 29 Jun, 2024

MARRIAGE ANNIVERSARIES MASS - 12th October, 11.30, Arundel Cathedral. Are you celebrating an anniversary with a particular significance for you this year? Bishop Richard will celebrate Mass at 11.30 followed by a small drinks reception. Please join us for a wonderful opportunity to renew your wedding vows and revel in the joy that marriage can bring. Family and friends are very welcome. The venue is wheelchair friendly with a number of disabled parking spaces. To register (essential):  www.abdiocese.churchsuite.com/events/tha4tc8y?

By Webmaster • 29 Jun, 2024

MASS FOR ENGAGED COUPLES - 5th July, 19.00 , Arundel Cathedral. Join Bishop Richard for a special Mass celebrating the momentous journey of discernment that is engagement towards the lifelong commitment made by couples preparing for marriage. Join us afterwards for a small drinks reception in the Cathedral Centre. We look forward to meeting many engaged couples from across the Diocese and sharing in their joy. To register (essential):  www.abdiocese.churchsuite.com/events/tha4tc8y?

By Webmaster • 29 Jun, 2024

OUR PARISH SUPPORTS THE COBHAM AREA FOODBANK Please can you help local people in crisis by purchasing items on the list below and placing them in the Foodbank’s collection point in the narthex  when to come to Mass at the weekend? Thank You!  UHT milk (semi-skimmed or whole)  UHT fruit juice  Breakfast Cereal for children  Tinned Veg (not baked beans or tomatoes please)  Pasta Sauce (not fresh please)  Tinned Fruit  Tinned/Carton Custard  Instant Coffee  Sweet Biscuits  Savoury Biscuits  Chocolate Spread  Tomato Ketchup  Sugar  Tinned Meat  Rice  Jam  Honey  Marmite  Toilet Rolls  Laundry Pods/Liquid/Powder  Shampoo/Conditioner  Shaving Foam/Gel

By Webmaster • 29 Jun, 2024

Born on October 16 1890 in Corinaldo, Italy, her farmworker father moved his family to Ferrier di Conca, near Anzio. When he died of malaria, Maria’s mother had to struggle to feed her children. Maria’s mother, brothers, and sisters worked in the fields while she cooked, kept the house clean, and watched her youngest sister Teresa. Though so very poor they were very close and loved God. On July 5, 1902, Maria was sitting outside the steps of her home sewing her brother or neighbour - it is unclear which - Alessandro’s shirt while he threshed beans in the barnyard. As she concentrated on her sewing, Alessandro surprised her and grabbed her from her steps. When he tried to rape her, Maria cried that it was a mortal sin and warned he would go to hell. When Alessandro persisted, she fought him and screamed, “No! It is a sin! God does not want it!” At her words, Alessandro began to choke her and she said she would rather die than submit. On hearing her words, Alexander pulled out a knife and stabbed her eleven times. When she attempted to reach the door, he stabbed her three more times then fled. Maria Goretti was beatified by Pope Pius XII in a ceremony at Saint Peter’s Basilica on April 27, 1947.  Three years later, on June 24, 1950, Maria was declared a saint and Alessandro was present in the St. Peter’s crowd to celebrate her canonization. He later became a lay-brother of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, where he lived in a monastery and worked as its receptionist and gardener until his death.

By Webmaster • 29 Jun, 2024

Poor Paul! He came late to the Jesus movement. He never knew the historical Jesus or even witnessed Jesus’ earthly ministry. So of course there is nothing in any of the four gospels about Paul. He first arrives on the scene in the Acts of the Apostles, where he is present during Stephen’s stoning. Paul then persecutes Jesus’ followers. By the time he was finally baptised, his reputation among the disciples was so awful that they would not believe he had become a follower of Jesus. Though Paul eventually reached a mortal understanding with the leaders of the Jesus movement in Jerusalem, it appears to have been a misunderstanding as the battle of words between Peter and Paul in Antioch would reveal (Gal. 2:1-4). These two pillars of the Church, Peter and Paul, did not quite see eye to eye on all issues. According to Acts, it’s possible that they spent no more than a few weeks together throughout their entire lives. But they are eventually united as ‘founders’ of the Church in Rome, even though there was a thriving Christian community there before either set foot in the city. Their shared title of ‘founder’ comes from the legends that each was martyred there; Paul was beheaded and Peter was crucified upside down. Our Gospel this weekend gives us a seminal episode in Peter’s life. In fact, according to Matthew’s gospel, it was this episode whereby Jesus named Simon son of Jonah, ‘Peter,’ which means rock, as he and his confession would be the rock on which the Church was built. Peter’s confession of Jesus as ‘the Christ . . . the Son of the living God’ is a hallmark of the New Testament. Matthew expands the story from what he found in Mark, giving more authority to Peter. Matthew mentions the terms ‘rock’ and ‘Church,’ which are not found in the Markan story. The Matthean story, even more than the Markan story, elevates the importance of Peter and sets the stage for later theological developments concerning the primacy of Peter, and therefore the primacy of the pope.  But today’s solemnity is not for Peter only. It is for Peter and Paul. And thirteen letters, or about twenty-five percent of the New Testament, are attributed to Paul, a self-described apostle who did not witness the historical Jesus, and who seems to have been at odds on some issues with Peter. All of this is to say that no one person, not even Peter or Paul, has a complete lock on what it means to be a follower of Jesus. There is more than one way to live as a disciple. Moreover, being a disciple means not that there will be complete unanimity of opinion on all issues. Instead, being a disciple means simply being a follower of Jesus. These two disciples, apostles even, are our examples for today, each in his own way. QUESTION OF THE WEEK . . .  Have you ever found yourself possessing the ‘keys of the kingdom’ that ‘unlocked’ God’s grace to someone, or has someone ‘unlocked’ such grace for you?  When have you had an exchange like the one between Jesus and Peter in which a rift was healed, a chasm was crossed, a relationship was restored?

By Webmaster • 21 Jun, 2024

Applications are now available for our Infant Baptism, First Reconciliation, and First Eucharist Preparation Programmes for the next academic year (Confirmation Applications will be made available once Bishop Richard provides a date for the celebration). PLEASE NOTE that these programmes are only for candidates from families who are Registered Parishioners who are actually regular members of our worshipping community - if this is not the case at present then talk to Fr Daryl about what can be done to rectify the situation for some point in the future.

By Webmaster • 21 Jun, 2024

The Church is fortunate that Irenaeus was involved in many of its controversies in the second century. He was a student, well trained no doubt, with great patience in investigating, tremendously protective of apostolic teaching, but prompted more by a desire to win over his opponents than to prove them in error. As bishop of Lyons he was especially concerned with the Gnostics, who took their name from the Greek word for “knowledge.” Claiming access to secret knowledge imparted by Jesus to only a few disciples, their teaching was attracting and confusing many Christians. After thoroughly investigating the various Gnostic sects and their “secret,” Irenaeus showed to what logical conclusions their tenets led. These he contrasted with the teaching of the apostles and the text of Holy Scripture, giving us, in five books, a system of theology of great importance to subsequent times. Moreover, his work, widely used and translated into Latin & Armenian, ended anymore influence of the Gnostics. The circ*mstances and details about his death, like those of his birth and early life in Asia Minor, are not at all clear.  However in 2022, Pope Francis named Saint Irenaeus a Doctor of the Church.

By Webmaster • 21 Jun, 2024

The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . A little less hectic this week than the past few, here at The Presbytery . . . . . . At our 11.00 Mass on Sunday we were delighted to celebrate with several younger members of our Parish community their first meeting with the Lord in Holy Communion. They and their families had worked hard from last September to prepare for the ‘BIG DAY’ and everything culminated on Sunday. Despite what the sky looked like for most of the morning we were able to have photographs in front of The Presbytery (Fr D always has trouble keeping the youngsters in place whilst the photographers click away . . .). After celebrating Morning Prayer, Mass, and Exposition on Tuesday morning, Fr D was off in the car down to the diocesan offices at Crawley where he had a full ‘in-tray’ to work through as well as continuing on one of his judgements for a case. He now has a ‘dongle’ which means that whilst he’s in his office working he can have the car plugged in and being charged. Whilst he was at the office the electrician came and was able to get on with some electrical works around the Parish plant. On Wednesday Fr D celebrated Morning Prayer and Mass before finalising his homily for the funeral that was to take place on Thursday. He also started an order to re-stock some items that the Repository needed - this normally arrives quite quickly. In the afternoon Fr D had one of his regular diabetic clinic appointments at the Health Centre (where he complained that if they took much more blood there would not be enough to go around!). On Thursday there was no Morning Prayer because a Requiem was taking place at Mass. The church was quite full for the funeral and the burial afterwards was at the Weybridge cemetery which Fr D had not been to before (horrendous lack of parking - good job the cemetery staff saved a space for him). After getting back home after the burial service Fr D was off out again for a lunch with Fr Ruslan at Walton-on-Thames—they have been trying to get together for some time but one or the other of them is always already booked!  Early Friday morning Fr D was working on the last of his parts of the Newsletter before going into the church to celebrate Morning Prayer and Mass. He then had a booked telephone meeting after Mass. After lunch he took off in the car to pick up another priest before they both made their way to a Golden Jubilee of Ordination celebration at Swanley, Kent . . . . .