The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . A much quieter week this time around The Presbytery, enforced on Fr D by the events of last Sunday morning . . . . At our Sunday morning 09.00 Mass we welcomed our Confirmation Candidates among our community as they celebrated the Rite of Inscription; the candidates have taken part in several sessions now and this was their opportunity to decide to go ahead and present themselves before Bishop Richard in May to celebrate the sacrament. Just as they had completed this rite with Fr D, stepping backwards, Fr D caught his alb under his feet and fell over backwards, hitting his head on the marble base of the altar. Fortunately two medics from among the parishioners were present and came up to attend to him. Whilst they were doing this Fr D had deacon Paul lead the Prayers of Intercession and the reader continue as normal; during this Fr D went off with the medics into the sacristy where they were able to ‘tidy him up.’ Deacon Paul managed to set the music running for the Offertory Hymn and by the time this ended Fr D was able to get to the altar and continue Mass (though communion under both kinds had to be abandoned) and Fr D sat through the distribution of holy communion. At the end of Mass Deacon Paul took the newsletters to the back along with the server and Fr D retreated to the sacristy where the medics worked on stopping the bleeding. Fr D arranged for Fr Tony Churchill to celebrate the 11.00 Mass as he went off to Epsom hospital where he ended up with eight stitches into the back of his head! On Monday, with a ringing headache Fr D was taken out for a pre-arranged lunch by a couple of parishioners from one of his old parishes. Later in the afternoon he prepared a homily for the following day (Annunciation of the Lord), before having a sandwich and taking himself off to bed. Going to bed early seemed to become the pattern for the week as his headache continued, being particularly bad when he woke up in the morning (the doctor at A & E had told him that the concussion could take two to three weeks to disappear). On Tuesday evening Fr D went across to St Michael’s, Ashtead, to take part in the Deanery Adult Lenten Reconciliation Service which Bishop Richard was leading.  As the week progressed Fr D was managing to get over the shock of the fall but the headache was very definitely still with him . . . . .

The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . Again, not quite as mad busy around The Presbytery this week, although things began to ‘heat up’ as we neared the weekend . . . . . On Sunday afternoon, after our morning celebrations of Mass, there was a celebration of the Evening Prayer of the Church and Benediction. This takes place on every Sunday of the Lenten Season and is an opportunity to spend some quiet time with the Lord, out of the normal hustle and bustle of life. The service is approximately 40 minutes in length. On Monday (Fr D’s day off) there was a delivery of a new Paschal Candle Stand for use from this coming Easter. The stand matches the benediction candelabra and some of the flower stands and is black wrought iron in manufacture. After Morning Prayer, Mass, and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on Tuesday morning Fr D made a start on this week’s newsletter and dealt with some paperwork that had begun to buildup on his desk. In the later part of the afternoon Fr D got prepared for his meeting with this year’s Confirmation candidates in the evening. This session was about the Holy Spirit and the ‘Gifts’ and ‘Fruits’ of the Spirit. Wednesday morning, following Morning Prayer and Mass, Fr D finished off his parts of the newsletter for this week and completed a Charity Aid Foundation form (six pages!) to allow someone (anonymous) to make a donation to the Parish Buildings Fund. He’s now waiting to see what transpires. In the evening Fr D began working on his homilies for Holy Week this year. Having celebrated Morning Prayer and Mass on Thursday Fr D went off in the car to the diocesan offices at Crawley, he had not been for a couple of weeks because his secretary had been off sick. Several of his marriage cases had moved on slightly and were nearer to coming back to him for completion and there were several queries to be attended to. After leaving Crawley Fr D had a meeting of the Bosco Catholic Education Trustees to attend at a school on the south coast. By the time he got back home he just had supper and took himself off to bed.  After morning Prayer and Mass on Friday, Fr D worked on this weekend’s intercessions before joining parishioners at our Lenten Soup Lunch for CAFOD. Afterwards he was over in Ashtead for a meeting about the bishop’s Diocesan Pastoral Plan . . . . .

CAFOD LENTEN FAST DAY – Last Friday (14th March) was the occasion of the annual CAFOD Lenten Fast Day. Our Retiring Collection today(16th March) is the opportunity to donate the results of your self-denial, and to be a ‘pilgrim of hope’ with CAFOD this Jubilee Year. You’ll be supporting communities suffering the impacts of war, poverty, and climate change to find solutions and hope. To make your donation tax efficient please use the CAFOD envelope in the church narthex.

The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . Another busy week around The Presbytery as we begin our remote preparations for the great Easter ceremonies at the end of Lent . . . . . Last Sunday morning members of our Parish Gift Aid Scheme, who use weekly envelopes, were able to collect their next year’s supply of envelopes from our Gift Aid Organiser. Many thanks to these and all our Gift Aid Scheme Members who have joined the scheme, it makes a big difference financially to the Parish, with a further 25p coming from HMRC for every pound donated. Sunday afternoon we celebrated the first of this Lenten Season’s Evening Prayer of the Church and Benediction services. This short service (about forty minutes) gives parishioners to join with the rest of the universal Church in celebrating the ‘Prayer of the Church’ as well as some quality time before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament - time out from the normal hustle and bustle of daily life. On Monday Fr D was ‘playing host’ to his Ministry to Priests Support Group. They met at midday in the church, spending an hour before the Lord, before celebrating the Prayer of the Church, and retiring to a local hostelry for lunch. In the afternoon they spent time reviewing life since the last meeting and sharing experiences in ministry. The day ended with Evening Prayer and all returning to their respective parishes. After Morning Prayer, Mass, and Exposition on Tuesday Fr D took off in the car with Fr Tony to Epsom where this months Deanery Clergy Meeting was taking place. It was a packed agenda this time round with substantial discussion taking place concerning aspects of the Diocesan Pastoral Plan in our area. There is an enormous amount contained in the plan that the bishop has put forward and it will mean major changes in the way in which our respective communities operate going into the future. In the evening Fr D met with this year’s Confirmation candidates for their next session as they prepare to be confirmed by the bishop in May. Wednesday evening our singers and musicians met once more, preparing for the services of Holy Week at the end of Lent. They would be delighted if any further parishioners wanted to join them at their rehearsals (scheduled as follows - Sat. 22/3 10.30, and Tue. 15/4 19.30).  Don’t forget that during the Lenten Season parishioners are invited to take part in the traditional ‘Way of the Cross’ devotion at 12.30 on Fridays; there is a bread and soup lunch afterwards in aid of CAFOD . . . . .

The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . Really very busy this time around as we prepared for the Lenten Season in various ways . . . . . . . Last Saturday morning Fr D met with the candidates and parents on this year’s First Eucharist Programme where they talked about the Offertory part of the Mass, looking at how we also give ourselves, our talents, to God at this point in the Mass. After the morning Masses on Sunday Fr D was collected and taken for lunch by a parishioner from a previous parish - lots of chat and reminiscence! Monday Fr D was doing the necessary shopping for the Parish ‘Pancake & Quiz Night’ which was taking place on Shrove Tuesday; he got some very funny looks with the number of pancakes in his trolley! Following Morning Prayer, Mass, and Exposition on Tuesday, Fr D was meeting with the daughter of a parishioner whose requiem is approaching to finalise the service. In the afternoon Fr D and Sarah were preparing the Parish Centre for the evening Parish Social. Fr D had a mental block about how to rewire the video projector to put the Quiz on the wall and resorted to a large television instead. A good time was had by all who attended and the profits from the evening will be added to our CAFOD Lenten Fast Day collection (along with the donations at our Lenten Soup Lunches). Wednesday was, of course Ash Wednesday (the beginning of Lent); after Morning Prayer, the imposition of Ashes, and Mass Fr D quickly wrote up the finances of the Quiz Night before he visited a local nursing home, where several Catholics are in residence, and celebrated the Ashes with them. In the evening Fr D celebrated the second Ash Wednesday Mass in the church. The numbers in attendance were, bizarrely, greater than occur on a Holy Day of Obligation (Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day, of course)? After Morning Prayer and Mass on Thursday Fr D did not go down to Crawley as usual as his secretary at the diocesan offices was off sick; this was just as well as Fr D managed to get a whole lot of little bits completed that would otherwise have had to wait.  Having celebrated Morning Prayer and Mass on Friday Fr D finished his parts of the newsletter and re-opened the church for Stations . . . .

The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . A reasonably full week around The Presbytery this time, as Fr D gets things ready for the Lenten Season which has crept up on us and begins on Wednesday of this coming week . . . . . Before we begin our Lenten ‘Spiritual Exercises’ we have our Shrove Tuesday Parish Social which takes the form of a ‘Pancake and Quiz Night’ on Tuesday (4th March) - tickets (£5) for these are available after our Masses this weekend and from the Parish Office until midday on Monday. ‘Ash Wednesday’ marks the beginning of the Lenten Season where ‘ashes’ (from the palms of the previous year’s Palm Sunday) are placed on our foreheads during Mass. There will be two Masses in the Sacred Heart (09.30 & 19.30). On the Fridays of the Lenten Season the ‘Way of the Cross’ will be celebrated in the Sacred Heart at 12.30; led by a variety of volunteer parishioners (please ‘sign-up’ for any blank slots at the back of church). After these celebrations there will be the opportunity of joining in a Fast Lunch (bread & Soup - note not on 14th March) prepared by teams of two volunteer parishioners (please ‘sign-up’ for any blank slots at the back of church) - donations from these lunches will be added to our CAFOD Lenten Fast Day (collection Sunday 16th March). On the Sunday Afternoon’s of Lent (2, 9, 16, 23, 30 March & 6, 13 April) at 15.30 there will be a celebration of Evening Prayer & Benediction, a chance to step away from the normal hustle and bustle of daily life to spend a short quiet time with the Lord. The Lenten Season is a time when Catholics look at the spiritual state of their life and, most often, take advantage of the extra opportunities to celebrate God’s forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. There is a ‘regular slot’ for this in the Sacred Heart at 17.00- 17.30 on Saturday, but also a Deanery-wide Reconciliation Service with Bishop Richard present on 25th March at St Michael’s, Ashtead (KT21 1RS) at 19.00. A reminder that ALL CATHOLICS who have celebrated their First Reconciliation are expected to use this great sacrament at some point between Ash Wednesday (5th March) and Trinity Sunday (15th June). All of these opportunities to ‘take stock’ of the state of our relationship with God and others are given by the Church for us to make use of . . . . .!

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? 

The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . A more relaxed week around The Presbytery, given that all the schools are on half term and many families were away on a spring-break . . . . Last Saturday morning parishioners joining together to form a choir for our Easter Liturgies held their first rehearsal in the church. Anyone who would like to join them are most welcome to come along to the rehearsals [Tue. 25 Feb. 19.30, Wed. 12 Mar. 19.30, Sat. 22 Mar. 10.30, Wed. 9 Apr. 19.30, and Tue. 15 Apr. 19.30 - all in the church]. On Tuesday after Morning Prayer, Mass, and Exposition Fr D was in the garage measuring up the available space for parking and getting a set of racked shelving along one side. After the removal of years and years of dumped rubbish had been taken away it was surprising just how much room was available - he’ll now work on getting it into a usable, efficient state. In the afternoon he had an appointment over in Weybridge that he needed to attend. Early evening he began starting on his parts of the newsletter. Following Morning Prayer and Mass on Wednesday Fr D continued with work on the newsletter before going out to meet Fr Ruslan (Walton) for lunch. When he arrived home after lunch Fr D started researching racked shelving for the garage (sizes, prices, ease of use etc.). Not having any meeting in the evening, due to half-term, Fr D was able to work out the questions (and answers) for our upcoming ’Pancake & Quiz Night.’ After Morning Prayer and Mass on Thursday Fr D was off to the diocesan offices in Crawley to continue work on some of his cases and see what had built up in his ‘in-tray’ since last week. Unfortunately when he got there he discovered that his secretary was not in due to flu.  On Friday following Morning Prayer and Mass Fr D shot out in the car to celebrate the Sacrament of the Sick with a parishioner who was failing in her nursing home. When he got back in he was racing to complete his bits of the newsletter so that Sarah could both print and post it on the Parish Website (sacredheartcobham.org.uk). The newsletter can be emailed to parishioners and arrives at about 12.15 on Saturdays to receive this you need to complete the permission at the bottom of the Parish Website, this will put you on the list of recipients. The paper copies of the newsletter (available after Masses at the weekend) are intended for those who cannot receive the digital copy via email (i.e. those without a computer/ipad . . . . .

The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . Quite a busy week again as we come to school half-term week . . . . After our morning Masses last Sunday Fr D was able to celebrate the Baptism of a younger member of our community, her family having undertaken the Infant Baptism Preparation Course over the past few weeks. Monday, being the second Monday of the month, was his day of Fr D’s Ministry to Priest’s Support Group, which this month was taking place down in Lancing on the south coast. Early on Tuesday morning builders were at the front door of The Presbytery ready to begin remedial works on the garage. The garage was built with the house in around 1932 and the door at the back (into the garden) has rotted away over the years. In addition to this the lintel over the door and window was wooden (this wouldn’t be acceptable with today’s building regs) and it had also rotted leading to the bricks above becoming unstable. The project was to take down the back wall, removing what was left of the door and lintel, and rebuild using a modern steel lintel and UPVC units for the window and door. By the time that Fr D had celebrated Morning Prayer, Mass, and Exposition the whole of the back of the garage was down and the rebuilding was starting. Our Parish was then hosting the monthly Deanery Clergy Meeting and Lunch. Once again on Wednesday morning the builders were hard at work on the refurbishment of the garage as Fr D was having his breakfast. After celebrating Morning Prayer and Mass Fr D was preparing for a meeting with this year’s prospective Confirmation candidates in the evening. When he surfaced from this at midday he went out to view the progress on the garage and was heartened that things were progressing smoothly (although being a Catholic building there were no right angles nor any straight lines!). Fr D checked in with the builders before celebrating Morning Prayer and Mass and was soon off down to Crawley to the Diocesan Offices. When he came back (a bit earlier than normal) in mid-afternoon he was just in time to see the project largely completed, just a little bit of work to do at the base of the door and the fitting of the sealed units into the door and window frame.  Workers back on site in the morning whilst Fr D celebrated Morning Prayer and Mass. Fr D is very pleased with what has been achieved over the week and also that the garage is now cleared of years of rubbish . . . .