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Dear Friends, 

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This Sunday marks the beginning of a new liturgical year and the season of Advent, a time of preparation, expectation, and hope. The word "Advent" comes from the Latin adventus, meaning "coming" or "arrival," and during these four weeks the Church invites us to reflect deeply on the threefold coming of Christ: His incarnation as a child in Bethlehem, His presence among us now, and His glorious return at the end of time. 

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In the Gospel (Luke 21:25-28, 34-36) this weekend Jesus speaks of signs in the heavens, distress among the nations, and the roaring of the seas. These powerful images might seem alarming, yet they carry a sincere message of hope. Jesus encourages us not to fear but to stand tall and lift our heads high, for these signs proclaim the nearness of our redemption. For those who live in trust and faith, His return is not a moment of dread but of joy, fulfilment, and salvation. 

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Advent is a season of reorientation, inviting us to pause amidst the busyness of life and focus our hearts on what truly matters. Just as the people of Israel waited with longing for the promised Messiah, we are called to wait with anticipation, preparing not just for the celebration of Christmas but for the fulfilment of God’s ultimate promise: the return of Christ in glory. 

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This Advent also brings a noticeable change: we are now using the newly updated lectionaries with a fresh translation of the Scriptures. We are grateful to everyone who generously donated towards the purchase of these liturgical books. Please remember, that if your personal Sunday Missal will have to be replaced with the updated version, which is available in our Repository shop or can be ordered on demand. 

 

Let this Advent be a time of renewal and watchfulness. May we find the strength to focus on prayer, simplify our lives, and deepen our relationship with God, so we are ready to welcome Him at every moment. 

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Wishing you a blessed and hope-filled Advent, 

Fr Peter

 

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Statement from the Archbishop of Southwark

Following the Vote on Assisted Dying in the House of Commons

 

I am deeply saddened and extremely worried by the progress made in the House of Commons towards the legalisation of assisted suicide. While this is not yet the final step in enacting this legislation, it represents a seismic and concerning shift in our nation’s approach to caring for the most vulnerable among us.

 

Compassion, rightly understood, means standing with those who suffer, sharing their burdens, and honouring their dignity until the natural end of their lives. It does not mean hastening death, even in the face of pain or despair. Every human life is of immeasurable value, and our response must always be to protect and support those who are most in need.

 

The experience of other countries where assisted suicide has been introduced serves as a grave warning. Promised safeguards are eroded over time, leaving the elderly, disabled, and seriously ill at risk of feeling their lives are a burden to others. The subtle, and sometimes overt, pressure this creates threatens the very fabric of a society built on care and protection for the weakest.

 

Legalising assisted suicide also undermines the essential trust between patients and healthcare professionals. Those who dedicate their lives to healing and comforting the sick are being placed in an untenable position. Conscientious objection — the right of medical practitioners, nursing and care staff, and institutions to refuse to participate in practices that violate their deeply held ethical or religious convictions — must be upheld and protected. Without this assurance, the ethos of our healthcare system and the integrity of those who serve within it are at serious risk.

 

Instead of moving towards assisted suicide, we must commit to improving palliative care, ensuring that expert pain relief, emotional support, and spiritual care are available to all who need them. No one should feel alone or abandoned in their suffering.

 

As we face this challenging moment, I call on Catholics and all people of goodwill to advocate for the protection of life at every stage and to stand in solidarity with those who are most vulnerable. Let us also turn to the Lord Jesus, who shared in human suffering and revealed the depth of his love through his death and resurrection. Through him, we find the strength to defend the dignity of every person and to build a society that values the gift of life from conception to natural death.

 

Archbishop John Wilson

29 November 2024

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ADVENT. As we prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ this Advent, why not make time for quiet prayer and reflection before the Lord in Eucharistic Adoration? 

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Here are the Adoration times across our churches: 

St. Thomas of Canterbury, Sevenoaks: 

Mondays, 8:30–9:30am & Tuesday, 6:00–7:00pm 

St. Joseph’s, Borough Green: 

Thursdays, 10:30–11:00am 

St. Bernadette’s, West Kingsdown: 

Wednesdays, 12:00–1:00pm 

Most Holy Trinity, Otford 

Thursdays, 7:30–8:30pm & Fridays 11:00am–12:00pm 

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Please make a special effort to attend our Advent Specials:

Taizé Prayer Evening – Saturday, 7th December, at 7:15 pm;

and Rorate Candle Mass – Wednesday, 18th December, at 7:30 pm
(candlelit, honouring the Blessed Virgin Mary). 

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Make time this Advent to prepare your heart through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Confessions are available every Saturday at 10:00–10:30am and 5:15–5:50 pm. 

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FATHER VIPIN’S WELCOME MASS is scheduled for Saturday 14th of December, at 5:30pm at St Lawrence Church, followed by refreshments in the hall after the service. All are welcome. 

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ST THOMAS's CHURCH PRE-CHRISTMAS CLEAN. Christmas is fast approaching and it would be wonderful to give our church a deep pre-Christmas Clean! Do you have just one hour to spare on Thursday 12th December 10:00 am to 11:00 am? No experience required just enthusiasm to present Our Lord’s House at its best for this most holy feast. Just turn up on the day (side door opposite the Presbytery) and if you have any questions beforehand don’t hesitate to contact James or call 07917032024

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CHRISTMAS CRIBS. Our team is now getting the cribs in the windows and on the shelves of shops in central Sevenoaks. If you see a spot at Tubbs Hill, Bat and Ball or Dunton Green (usually independent businesses) we would be glad to hear asap to try to follow up the lead. Thank you. You may contact Pat Harman or write an email to Silvana in the Parish Office.

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PARISH MORNING OF REFLECTION AND TRAINING FOR READERS. We warmly invite all parish readers to this a special meeting on Saturday, 7th December. (Note NEW date).We aim to offer a dedicated time to deepen our appreciation and understanding of the ministry of reading the Word of God at Mass and other services.

  9:30am Holy Mass with the blessing for readers

10:15am Instruction and reflection in the Parish Centre, on the new lectionary translation

11:45am some practical advice

12.00pm closing prayer with the Angelus.

This is a wonderful opportunity to grow in this vital ministry, ensuring we serve the Word with greater clarity and reverence. We look forward to welcoming you for this time of enrichment and prayer.​​​

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ST THOMAS' CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL PTA. Volunteers will be selling tickets for our Christmas hamper raffle after Mass for the next three weekends. The raffle will be drawn on Friday 13th December. We will be raffling some fantastic hampers, each with a different theme. Money raised by the PTA is greatly appreciated by our parish school and supports the children’s learning experience.

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AUTUMN QUIET DAY. You are invited to an Advent Quiet Day of Reflection on Saturday 30th November 2024 at The Barn, Poult Farm, Ashes Lane, Hadlow, TN11 9QU (entrance opposite North Frith Farm) from 10.00 to 16.00. Through the use of poetry, prayer, music, scripture and nature, the day will be an opportunity for quiet contemplation of Gospel stories in preparation for Christmas and how these stories resonate for us today. The day will be led by Gilly Fenner who has worked as a spiritual director for over 21 years. Bring a bible, a packed lunch and a change of shoes as part of the day can be spent outside. Suggested contribution for the day is £5. If you would like to attend please email Gilly 

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ST THOMAS' REPOSITORY Repository opening times THIS week:  Saturday 30th Nov: after 6pm Mass Sunday 1st Dec: after 6pm Mass Advent calendars and Christmas cards are available, as well as other items, including copies of the new CTS New Sunday Missal, People's Ed. Any queries, please email Esther Ford Thank you for your support.

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MUSIC AT MASS - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED. Pianists, organists, instrumentalists, singers - your help is needed! As we look towards the Music Rota for the coming Autumn and Advent seasons, the gaps are more noticeable than ever. Please consider sharing your gifts to help us enhance the Liturgy of our 6pm Vigil, 9:15am Childrens and 11:15am Sunday Masses at St Thomas. There are no fixed expectations and full guidance and support is available. If you are musical and can help us, please get in touch with Kathleen Bouverie

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BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT. There will be no Bereavement Support on the third Monday in December but if you would really like someone to listen to you, please contact the Parish Office and we will be happy to arrange a mutually convenient time. The next date will be on Monday, 20th January in the Parish Room from 10.30 to midday.

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MOTHER’S PRAYERS every Thursday after the 12noon Mass in the Parish Centre. It is a special time for mothers to unite in faith and offer prayers for their families and the broader community. All are welcome.

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St Thomas’ COFFEE MORNING. Everyone is welcome to our weekly coffee mornings to be held every Thursday morning 10:00-11:45am in our Parish Centre.

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ST PADRE PIO PRAYER GROUP. This is a prayer group for those discerning and practicing discipleship in our parish led by Deacon Neil which meets in the Parish Centre from 7:30pm on the 2nd & 4th Tuesdays of the month, and includes time of fellowship over tea and coffee, praise & worship led by musicians, consideration of Church teaching and prayer. For more information please contact Deacon Neil.

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ENHANCED LISTENING SKILLS COURSE to enhance skills you already have innately and enable you to use them with confidence. It is an interactive course which could help you both in your daily life, and in a range of settings from ministry in visiting people or supporting people to working as a mentor at school or work. The course will be held over 2 dates: 29th November and 6th December from 7-9pm. It will be led by Sue Buddin who is a very experienced former Relate counsellor and trainer. She has kindly agreed to run this course for us in our parish on a voluntary basis. It will be held in the parish centre. Tea and coffee will be available. There is a limit on numbers attending the group so if you would like to attend can you please contact either Catherine Rodger or Gina Hartnett 

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SCAM EMAILS targeting parishioners are on the rise, with fraudsters impersonating parish priests, often requesting gift cards. Legitimate parish emails always come from addresses ending in @rcaos.org.uk. If you receive a suspicious email, do not respond. Report it as spam and contact the parish office to verify. Stay alert to protect our community!

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UKRAINIAN CANDLE APPEAL. Last year we had a wonderful response to our request for candles for Ukraine. The candles, whether unused or used, were melted down and reconstituted in tins to be sent to the Ukrainian front-line troops to heat their food during winter. Candles are still urgently needed. Any contributions will be gratefully received. There will be a box in each church.

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RECENTLY DIED

• Bernadette Frances Butterworth - funeral on Wednesday 4th December (1:30pm) at St Thomas’
   

• Jane Franklin - funeral on Tuesday 17th December (11:30pm) at St Thomas’
   

• Jo Bell - funeral on Wednesday 18th December (12.30pm) at Bluebell Crematorium

May they rest in peace. Amen.

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THE ADVENT OF GOD AND HUMANITY

 

Joshua Abraham Heschel, a Jewish theologian and philosopher, wrote in one of his books that a single phrase ties together the entire Bible—a cry filled with longing and fatherly tenderness, reminiscent of Jesus’ parable of the Merciful Father. This cry is familiar to us from the Book of Genesis: “Adam, where are you?” (Genesis 3:9). It is God seeking humanity and humanity, in its innermost being, seeking God - the Advent of God and humanity. But let us start at the beginning.

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The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The world created by God was secure and harmonious. It is significant that the Bible begins with the Hebrew letter beth, which symbolises a “house.” Thus, Bethel means “House of the Most High,” and Bethlehem, “House of Bread.” Humanity could freely enjoy the abundance of the biblical paradise, and was completely cared for by God, free from suffering and death. Everything fell apart because of the ill-fated symbolic tree of the “knowledge” of good and evil. The introduces us to a paradox: don’t we read the Bible, go to church, and pray to understand what is good and what is evil? Why, then, did God forbid the first parents from eating the fruit of this tree? The answer lies in the Hebrew verb yada, which means “to know” but also carries the connotations of intimate knowledge (as between spouses) and “to hold” or “to decide.” From this comes Yad Vashem, the institution committed to preserving and deciding on the memory of Jewish Holocaust victims.

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When humanity replaced God as the decider of good and evil, good was called evil, and evil was called good. Consequently, humans abandoned God and could no longer remain in paradise.

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Restoring the Order of Paradise. This was Jesus’ missions. The Messiah did this with extraordinary precision, calling good what is good and evil what is evil. For example, as with the Pharisees who came to test Him about the possibility of divorcing one’s wife (Matthew 19:3-8). This restoration is also evident in Jesus’ miracles, many of which involved healing the sick as it is in our nature to see, walk, and function properly. Miracles do not contradict nature; they restore its proper order. In Christ, the Advent of God is fulfilled because in Him the truth of the loving Father is fully revealed. There will be no further revelation. In Christ, God has said everything He wished to say to humanity. It is enough to believe and accept Jesus’ redemption to follow Him into salvation—into paradise. This paradise is not a mythical place in the clouds with angels bouncing around; it is the state of bliss and harmony that existed at the beginning.

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That We Might Become Children of God… During the Christmas season, we read the magnificent prologue of John’s Gospel. I recall one celebration when I was struck by the reason for Jesus’ coming. Why did the Word become flesh and “pitch its tent among us” (a beautiful allusion to tabernaculum, the Latin word for “tent”)? Theologically, we might say: to redeem us, to open the way to salvation. Yet these words resonated deeply with me: "But to all who did accept Him, He gave power to become children of God, to those who believed in His name, who were born not from blood, nor from the will of the flesh, nor from the will of man, but from God” (John 1:12-13). Jesus came—the Word became flesh—so that we might become children of God. It reminds me of Christ’s words: “Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3b).

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Our life’s Advent must be lived like children. A child is wholly dependent on its parents, receiving from them everything essential for life. This is the essence of the first Beatitude: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). Jesus and the apostles had money, and not a small amount (see John 6:7), yet they were spiritually poor. Adam and Eve in paradise had everything yet were spiritually poor. To such belongs the kingdom of heaven. A child also values and sees the world through the eyes of its parents. Jesus taught us to view the world through the Father’s perspective, to be children of God who are not driven by lust or earthly concerns but born of God.

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In Advent, we look to Mary, the perfect child of God that exemplifies this trust. Her heart was immaculate, not only through divine privilege (see Luke 1:28c) but also because she trusted God’s judgment, calling good what is good and evil what is evil. Our hearts remain impure because we still struggle to trust the Father.

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The Advent of Humanity… We await the Parousia—the final coming of Christ—when the harmony of the biblical paradise will be fully restored. This earthly Advent is meant to help us grow with and in Him. That crying infant in the manger will soon stand as a grown man at the Jordan, beginning His public ministry. "He must increase; I must decrease,” said John the Baptist (John 3:30). This is yet another paradox: as He increases within me, I too grow— toward salvation, toward a wise and fulfilling Advent of my life.
 

OTHER INVITATIONS:
 

SOUTHWARK ARCHDIOCESE ROSARY PRAYER PROJECT. Everyone is warmly invited to join this Archdiocese-wide prayer initiative, praying a decade of the Rosary each day for priests and parishes in their deanery. For details see the poster on the noticeboard, pick up an invitation leaflet at the back of church or email southwarkrenewal@gmail.com.

 

A DAY WITH MARY is taking place at St George's Cathedral, Southwark on Saturday 14 December (10.15am to 5.15pm). Mass will be celebrated by the Archbishop of Southwark Diocese, John Wilson. Further information at www.adaywithmary.org

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THE DIVINE MERCY APOSTOLATE London is holding a Divine Mercy Lenten Retreat on Saturday 30 November 2024 from 1:30-4:30pm at St Scholastica 17 Kenninghall Road, Clapton, London E5 8BS. The Retreat will include teachings on the Message of Mercy, Stations of the Cross, Holy Mass, Hour of Mercy with Adoration and Benediction and Veneration of the Image of Merciful Jesus. All are welcome. For details call Millie on 07957594646.

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SING AT THE STATION. Choir church members in Sevenoaks have sung carols at Sevenoaks Railway Station for the last 10 years in order to bring Christmas cheer to commuters and to raise funds for Christian Aid. This year, we are welcoming singers to increase our numbers. Those interested in singing an hour at Sevenoaks Railway Station on Tuesday 17th December, between 5pm and 8pm, should call Peter Ashwell on 01732 461087 or email peter.ashwell@btinternet.com to inform the preferred availability across the three hour-long slots. Each choir will be led by a conductor and song sheets will be provided. No need for a rehearsal.​​​​

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​St Thomas of Canterbury, pray for us.
St Joseph, pray for us.
St Bernadette, pray for us.
St Edith of Kemsing, pray for us.

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Fr Peter Kucharski, Parish Priest of Sevenoaks

12 Granville Road     email

Sevenoaks               01732 454177

TN13 1ER

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