A Parish of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton
SACRED HEART CATHOLIC CHURCH
Holy Mass
Weekdays Tuesday - Friday 09.30
Saturday Vigil Mass 18.00, Sunday 09.00 & 11.00
Reconciliation available Saturday 17.00-17.30
Please check our weekly newsletter for any changes to the schedule
Advent & Christmas at Sacred Heart 2025
Advent Evening Prayer on Sunday 30th Nov., 7th Dec., 14th Dec., & 21st Dec at 15.30
Parish Christmas Bazaar Saturday 6th December 10.00 -13.00
Parish Advent Carol Service Sunday 21st December 18.00
Christmas Eve Wednesday 24th December
Children's Crib Service 16.30 (N.B this is not a Mass)
First Mass of Christmas (Vigil) 18.00
Carols before Midnight Mass 11.30
Midnight Mass
Christmas Day Thursday 25th December
Mass of Christmas Day at 09.00 & 11.00
Please be sure to get this date into your diary now!
As the number of parishioners using the ‘Dona’ electronic giving machine at the rear of the church has been steadily growing, the Parish Finance Committee has decided that a second machine should be available to reduce the queuing that sometimes takes place whilst waiting to access the terminal. When the second terminal arrives we will be positioning both terminals half way down the two side aisles, this will assist access and ‘unblock the exit at the end of Masses. Of course, parishioners do not have to wait until the end of our Masses to use the terminals - after arrival and before taking seats?
Please be sure to put these dates into your diary now!
While the first reading and the Gospel connect in theme, as usual, the second reading from the Second Letter to the Thessalonians offers practical advice for any age. We can summarize Paul’s words as “Keep busy and mind your own business” as you go about doing God’s work in the world. Like other “apocalyptic” writings of the time, the first reading from Malachi offers a frightening prophecy of the end times while encouraging the faithful to remain steadfast when awaiting God’s justice. Jesus gives more dramatic imagery of the end times but also ends with a note of consolation for the listeners who may be frightened by what is to come. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus preached about the impermanence of material things: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal...” (Mt. 6:19). He consistently reminded his listeners, “life does not consist in the abundance of possessions” (Lk. 12:15). In today’s Gospel, Jesus addresses the crowds upon finally entering Jerusalem and its massive Temple, richly decorated and exquisitely built. The Temple building was the pride and joy of the Jewish people, but Jesus sees it from a much broader perspective. Just like every other human-made creation, the Temple will not last forever. It, too, will go the way of other material things: “there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.” Not even the most magnificent building accomplishment of the people can provide ultimate security to humans. Jesus gives this speech soon before his death. Four decades later, the Temple building was burned and razed by the Romans as they put down a Jewish revolt in a four year, gruesome war. In the end, the Romans slaughtered thousands of Jews and enslaved or expelled thousands more to foreign lands. The brutal defeat of their people and the destruction of the Temple threw the Jewish people into an existential crisis. Certainly, some of those who suffered remembered Jesus’ warning of impending destruction and were able to hold out trust that what appeared to be the end of this life was not the final ending. Questions of the week When thinking of Jesus’ teachings on the lack of permanence of possessions and material wealth, what is the lesson for you that you most want to remember? How do you feel when you hear Jesus’ prophecies about the “end times”? Does anything in his words give you consolation or hope?
Welcome to the Parish of the Sacred Heart
The Parish of the Sacred Heart is an active Roman Catholic community within the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton for those living in the environs of Cobham, Stoke D’Abernon and Oxshott. Comprised of people from all walks of life, from different age groups and diverse cultures the Parish is an active community offering spiritual and pastoral support in the Catholic tradition. If you are thinking about coming to live in the area or are already in residence you are very welcome to join our community you can be assured of a welcome, being offered a wide range of spiritual and educational support. We also run a thriving Sunday school providing Religious Education for children from four to fourteen years of age and provides preparation for the Sacraments of First Reconciliation, First Eucharist and Confirmation.
LIVESTREAM STATUS: Normal - please check newsletter for Mass times
Quote of the week
"The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives
fully is
prepared to die at any time - Author unknown
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Our very latest news updates and information about Parish activities.
Although Saint Cecilia is one of the most famous of the Roman martyrs, the familiar stories told about her are apparently not founded on authentic material. There is no trace of honour being paid her in early times. A fragmentary inscription of the late fourth century refers to a church named after her, and her feast was celebrated at least in 545. According to legend, Cecilia was a young Christian of high rank betrothed to a Roman named Valerian. Through her influence, Valerian was converted, and was martyred along with his brother. The legend about Cecilia’s death says that after being struck three times on the neck with a sword, she lived for three days, and asked the pope to convert her home into a church. Since the time of the Renaissance she has usually been portrayed with a viola or a small organ. Like any good Christian, Saint Cecilia sang in her heart, and sometimes with her voice. She has become a symbol of the Church’s conviction that good music is an integral part of the liturgy, of greater value to the Church than any other art.
The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . Busy week once more as workmen replacing the roof of The Presbytery removed scaffolding from the front band side of the house and moved some of it to the rear in order to work on the bay window roof and the roof over the dining room. These are more complicated roofs as they join up to the building at different levels. The majority of the works should be completed by this weekend (with perhaps some guttering to be addressed at the beginning of next week. Fr D has been delighted by the work that has been done and is glad that we decided to do it eighteen months earlier than scheduled - there were parts of the main roof that had begun to show signs of rot and the tiles on the back of the house were at the point of crumbling (but given that they were all the original tiles from the 1930’s they’ve lasted well and owed us nothing!). Fr D sincerely hopes that the new tiles will last the same ninety years (becoming someone else’s problem to deal with!). As mentioned in last week’s newsletter remote work is beginning on looking at the next aspects of necessary works (church lighting system and the heating system for the church), research has begun on both these projects with a view to working out the ‘what’ and the ‘when.’ On Tuesday Fr D met with the rest of the deanery clergy, at Our Lady and St Peter’s, Leatherhead, for their regular monthly meeting. Increasingly most of the agenda is taken up with the Bishop’s Pastoral Plan and how this will be put into effect in our area. During Advent there will be postcards given out in each of the present parishes which parishioners will be asked to complete ready for presentations/questions to be asked at a meeting in each parish to be held in the first two months of 2026. Two teams of clergy/laity have been meeting throughout the Autumn working on the Bishop’s plan in our area; it is hoped that these will for the basis of a Parish Leadership Team and a Parish Finance Committee for the new larger Parish of several communities together. In the evening Fr D gain met with parents of our Reconciliation candidates to look at the work that the children will be doing with their parents on Saturday - this was the penultimate session ready to celebrate First Reconciliation on Saturday 29th November.
To ‘dedicate’ a place to God is a ritual that is found in every religion. To ‘reserve’ a place for God is an act of recognising His glory and honour. When Emperor Constantine granted full liberty to all Christians in 313 AD, they did not spare in order to construct places for the Lord - numerous are the churches constructed at that time. Constantine also constructed churches, one of which was a magnificent basilica on the Caelian Hill in Rome, over the ancient Lateran Palace, which Pope Sylvester I dedicated to Christ the Saviour (318 or 324). A chapel dedicated to St John the Baptist was built inside it which served as the baptistry. This moved Pope Sergius III to dedicate it to St John the Baptist as well. Lastly, Pope Lucius II also dedicated it to St John the Evangelist in the 12th century. Thus, the name of the Basilica is the Basilica of the Most Holy Saviour and of Sts John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran. Christians consider this Basilica to be the mother church of all churches in the world . The church was destroyed several times in the course of history, and always rebuilt. The final reconstruction took place under Pope Benedict XIII. The church was rededicated in 1724. It was at that time that the feast celebrated today was established and extended to the universal Church.
The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . Once more a very busy week around The Presbytery as building works begin to wind down and scaffolding begins to be removed . . . . . . . On Monday Fr D was making sure that everything was ‘in place’ for the Blessing of Graves to be celebrated this weekend (Sunday 15.30 Cobham Cemetery). Parishioners are asked to meet at the chapel end of the car park so that we can have a prompt start. There will then be a short formal service of prayer before parishioners go and stand by the graves of their relatives (acting as markers for Fr D to come to). When Fr D gets to each grave he will sprinkle it with Holy Water and say a prayer. Once all the graves have been blessed parishioners are invited to return to the Parish Centre for Tea & Scones. After Morning Prayer, Mass, and Exposition on Tuesday morning Fr D was off to the diocesan offices at Crawley where he was interviewing a new Plaintiff who is asking for an annulment investigation. These interviews are quite involved and obviously very personal to the persons concerned and usually take between two and three hours of questioning. In the evening Fr D began the second half of the Reconciliation Programme for this year with the parents; these sessions prepare the parents for the work that they will be undertaking with their children on the Saturday morning following (hopefully able to give answers to any questions that their children might ask). After this week there will only be two more sessions for the group before the celebration of this great sacrament of God’s love on Saturday 29th November. Following Morning Prayer and Mass on Wednesday Fr D had someone coming to see him in one of the rooms in the Parish Centre. By the time this meeting was over several sections of the scaffolding around the Presbytery were coming down to reveal a great transformation of the main roof! The works now started to turn to the smaller sections of roof projecting from the house (front door canopy, utility room, bay windows at the rear, along with some hanging tile work). In the evening at the Parish Finance Committee meeting work began on working out the running order for the next larger building projects that we need to face in the next couple of years - adapting the church lighting system for life without halogen bulbs, and what to do about the aging gas heating boiler for the church heating . . . . .
Parish Priest Notices
Important items highlighted by Fr. Daryl. These will contain news elements & important requests
As the number of parishioners using the ‘Dona’ electronic giving machine at the rear of the church has been steadily growing, the Parish Finance Committee has decided that a second machine should be available to reduce the queuing that sometimes takes place whilst waiting to access the terminal. When the second terminal arrives we will be positioning both terminals half way down the two side aisles, this will assist access and ‘unblock the exit at the end of Masses. Of course, parishioners do not have to wait until the end of our Masses to use the terminals - after arrival and before taking seats?
Traditionally the month of November is dedicated to the Holy Souls in purgatory. The Church commemorates all her faithful children who have departed this life, but have not yet attained the joys of heaven. St Paul warns us that we must not be ignorant concerning the dead, nor sorrowful, “even as others who have no hope . . . . for the Lord himself shall come down from heaven . . . . and the dead who are in Christ shall rise.” The Church has always taught us to pray for those who have gone into eternity. Even in the Old Testament prayers and alms were offered for the souls of the dead by those who thought “well and religiously concerning the resurrection.” It was believed that “they who had fallen asleep with godliness had great grace laid up for them” and that “it is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.” We know that a defiled soul cannot enter into heaven. As usual Parishioners who have taken the time to complete a ‘Dead List’ for any family or friends who have died since last November will now be able to ‘look up’ the names in our Parish Book of the Dead; which will be placed on the sanctuary throughout November. Each weekend during November one of our Masses will be celebrated for the Holy Souls
Please be sure to get this date into your diary now!
Please be sure to put these dates into your diary now!
While the first reading and the Gospel connect in theme, as usual, the second reading from the Second Letter to the Thessalonians offers practical advice for any age. We can summarize Paul’s words as “Keep busy and mind your own business” as you go about doing God’s work in the world. Like other “apocalyptic” writings of the time, the first reading from Malachi offers a frightening prophecy of the end times while encouraging the faithful to remain steadfast when awaiting God’s justice. Jesus gives more dramatic imagery of the end times but also ends with a note of consolation for the listeners who may be frightened by what is to come. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus preached about the impermanence of material things: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal...” (Mt. 6:19). He consistently reminded his listeners, “life does not consist in the abundance of possessions” (Lk. 12:15). In today’s Gospel, Jesus addresses the crowds upon finally entering Jerusalem and its massive Temple, richly decorated and exquisitely built. The Temple building was the pride and joy of the Jewish people, but Jesus sees it from a much broader perspective. Just like every other human-made creation, the Temple will not last forever. It, too, will go the way of other material things: “there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.” Not even the most magnificent building accomplishment of the people can provide ultimate security to humans. Jesus gives this speech soon before his death. Four decades later, the Temple building was burned and razed by the Romans as they put down a Jewish revolt in a four year, gruesome war. In the end, the Romans slaughtered thousands of Jews and enslaved or expelled thousands more to foreign lands. The brutal defeat of their people and the destruction of the Temple threw the Jewish people into an existential crisis. Certainly, some of those who suffered remembered Jesus’ warning of impending destruction and were able to hold out trust that what appeared to be the end of this life was not the final ending. Questions of the week When thinking of Jesus’ teachings on the lack of permanence of possessions and material wealth, what is the lesson for you that you most want to remember? How do you feel when you hear Jesus’ prophecies about the “end times”? Does anything in his words give you consolation or hope?
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OUR DIAMOND JUBILEE - VIEW THE GALLERY
PRAY FOR OUR BISHOP RICHARD MOTH
As a Parish we encourage our community to pray for our shepherd, Bishop Richard as he leads our Diocese.
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Bishop Richard - News & Podcasts
Saturday 11th October, 10.00 - 13.00 at St Dunstan’s Catholic Church, Shaftesbury Road, Woking GU22 7DT. Curious about spiritual direction? It’s not about being told what to do, but about having someone walk alongside you as you listen for God’s voice in the middle of daily life. Spiritual direction is a gentle space to grow in your relationship with God, to notice where God is already at work, and to be encouraged in faith, hope and love. The diocese has a network of trained spiritual directors so please join us for tea/coffee from 10.00, a short talk at 10.30 with time for questions, then try a 10 - 15 minute taster session with trained A&B Diocese spiritual directors. Free; all welcome.
The Diocese is gathering on Saturday 20th September (10.00-16.30) to celebrate the Jubilee Year of Hope, the 60th Anniversary of the Diocese, and our continuing mission in these present times. The celebration will be taking place at the South of England Showground in Ardingly, which has a capacity for 1,200 people to attend. We have a number of guest speakers scheduled to inspire and uplift us during the day; topics covered include: • Communities of Hope - Michelle Moran (Sion Community) • Scriptures of Hope - Dai Woolridge (Bible Society) • Missionaries of Hope – Rev. Greg Bakker (Church Mission Society) We will also be joined by the ‘One Hope Project,’ a Catholic Worship Collective who will assist us with our music and those involved in our diocesan Schools Singing Programme will also be with us for the day. Families are encouraged to attend, as there will be a special ‘youth stream,’ allowing the younger members of our communities to engage with the virtue of hope in a way that is meaningful for them. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will also be available throughout the day. The day will finish with Mass. Tickets have been allocated proportionally to each parish according to Mass attendance; Sacred Heart Parish has 11. The festival is free to attend, members of the Parish attending are asked to travel by coach, leaving from the Sacred Heart (the cost of this is covered). Those people with disabilities/access issues will be able to travel independently and parking for this will be available on site. If you would like to receive one of our Parish tickets to attend please get in touch with the Parish Office within the next two weeks (by 13.00 Monday 11th August) - first come first served (no additional tickets available).
Bishop Richard - A talk on Mary leading us to Her Son
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Vocations
Are you feeling increasingly compelled to spend time with Jesus? Do you find that your time is spent seeking him and all things connected with him?
