TIMES OF SUNDAY HOLY MASS

Webmaster • June 1, 2026

Please may I remind you of the change in our Sunday holy Mass schedule, by direction of Archbishop John.


Every parish in the Archdiocese of Southwark is asked to consider a change in the number of parish Sunday holy Masses. For some parishes there may be no changes at all. For other parishes there may be a reduction in the number of Sunday holy Masses. For more parishes, there may be no change in the number of Sunday holy Masses but there may be a change in the times of their Sunday holy Masses. For some parishes changes may only be for the Summer months each year because Summertime sees smaller congregations while people are on holiday away from their parishes. For other parishes, the changes may be permanent.


This new Sunday holy Mass schedule throughout the Archdiocese will begin on 18th and 19th of July, the third weekend of the month.


Here, in our own parish, we have had two very well-attended general meetings to discuss what we should do. I have also asked you to let me have your views, via emails, telephone calls and in person. I have received many messages and had many conversations. Discussions have also taken place at Area (Deanery) level between parishes. In our parish, your almost unanimous comments and suggestions to me, have been:


1. That we do not need three Sunday holy Masses, given the smaller population of our parish in comparison with other much larger parishes.


2. That two Sunday holy Masses would be enough for our needs and in fact that just two Sunday holy Masses would actually help us to celebrate Sunday holy Masses much more together as a parish community and with more participation.


3. That the 9.00am Sunday holy Mass is the least well attended of our present three Sunday holy Masses.


4. That we could lose the 9.00am Sunday holy Mass, without too much difficulty for people, given that we would still have a choice of two Sunday holy Masses in our parish, every weekend.


5. That to help those who presently celebrate 9.00am Sunday holy Mass and because it wouldn’t cause too much of a change for the present large 11.00am Sunday holy Mass congregation, that we have our second Sunday holy Mass at 10.30am on Sunday itself.


6. That would mean that every weekend we have our first Sunday holy Mass as a Vigil Sunday holy Mass at 5.00pm on Saturdays. That we would have our second of two Sunday holy Masses at 10.30am every Sunday.


Please let me know if you have any further comments or suggestions. In particular, please let me know if you think the changes mentioned above, would have an impact on the size of our Sunday holy Mass congregations.

NEXT SUNDAY THE GREAT FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI - FIRST HOLY COMMUNIONS

By Webmaster • June 1, 2026
Please thank the Lord in your prayers that eight of our children will receive Our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion for the first time in their lives, next Sunday. Thank you, dear Lord for giving yourself to Ada, Mirielle-Esmé, Leon, Kamsi, Olivia Storey, Nikita, Olivia Sumaria, Alexander.

EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS OF HOLY COMMUNION ROTA

By Webmaster • May 31, 2026
May  30/31: 5pm Phil; 9am Margaret; 11am Mary, Lisa, Simone(H) June 6/7 : 5pm Jim; 9am Gaberielle; 11am Lorenza, David, Maggie(H) 13/14 : 5pm Regina; 9am Patrick; 11am Paul, Lizzie, Patricia(H) 20/ 21 : 5pm Marian; 9am Phil; 11am Angela, Margaret, Ross(H) 27/28: 5pm Simone; 9am Mary; 11am Lisa, Carolyn, Giannina(H) Thank you to our wonderful Ministers of the Eucharist who have accepted the Lord’s invitation to this awesome, sacred ministry, by their willingness to give up their own plans and convenience in order to do God’s will rather than their own. Let us pray for them because they too fight the same personal weaknesses we all have to fight against and they too have to fight the same temptations we all have to fight. God be with them.

DEALING WITH LONELINESS - 11TH JULY AT THE LONDON JESUIT CENTRE

By Webmaster • May 31, 2026
Deep in the human heart is a longing to be connected to others, to love and to be loved. I am leading this Workshop from 10.00am until 2.00pm on Saturday 11th July . The Workshop will help us to understand the reasons why we sometimes feel lonely and what a devastating effect Loneliness can have on us. I’ll suggest effective ways to ensure that your experience of Loneliness can actually become the means of finding deep, satisfying ways of being close to the Lord and to other people. The workshop will take place at the London Jesuit Centre. If you would like to attend this Workshop, please book now on the London Jesuit Centre website.

WEEK DAY LECTORS

By WEBMASTER • May 31, 2026
Tue: Giannina Wed: Marian Thu: Maggie  Fri: Lorenza

HOLY MASS INTENTION/STIPEND

By Webmaster • May 31, 2026
An Intention for holy Mass is a specific prayer, often for a particular person or purpose, that a priest offers during the celebration of a holy Mass. It is the best way that we have to unite our lives, our hopes, our fears, our joys and our sorrows with the Lord Jesus. It is the best way possible, because every time holy Mass takes place, the Lord’s Death and Resurrection also takes place. A holy Mass Intention is a prayer asking that the Lord’s victory over sin and death be applied to the Intention. The Intention can be for those who are still living in this world or for those who have left this world. Anyone, of course, may request a holy Mass - In Thanksgiving, for a Birthday, for someone who has died, on the occasion of a special Anniversary, for someone who is unwell or for any other intention that we believe the good Lord wishes to hear and possibly to give us. Every holy Mass is the making present of the Lord offering his saving love to everyone, so every holy Mass is for everyone! However, sometimes we have specific Intentions that we may wish to mention to the Lord. A ‘Stipend’ or Offering for the holy Mass is not a fee! It is not ‘the cost of a holy Mass’! The holy Mass is so sacred, so full of the Lord’s presence and saving power that it is priceless! In fact, the Stipend is only a gesture of gratitude and care for the priest who celebrates the holy Mass for you. It is a way for supporting our priests who, although they do not receive salaries, still need personal funds to meet their own ‘costs of living.’ The Stipend suggested by the Archdiocese of Southwark Finance Committee is a minimum of £10 for each holy Mass. Of course, anyone who can’t afford a Stipend should still request a holy Mass Intention and I’m sure every priest would always be more than happy to celebrate holy Mass for someone in that situation.  Here in our parish, please use the holy Mass Intention envelopes which you will find in the porch of the church. Please write the details of the Intention, a preferred date if required, enclose the Stipend, and let me have it directly or post it through the presbytery letterbox.

OLDE FORGE CAFE - FREE COFFEE AND CAKE FOR OUR VISITORS

By Webmaster • May 31, 2026
Please do your best to bring members of your family, your friends, neighbours and colleagues who normally have little, if any contact with our Catholic parish, to the Olde Forge Cafe. Please remember that those you bring with you DO NOT give a donation for their coffee and cake. Only us, who are regular members of our parish, are asked to give a donation, each time, to cover the cost of the Coffee machine, coffee beans, heat, light etc. Dear Bakers and those who provide milk, please remember to take your expenses from the donations received.

BEQUEST, IN A WILL

By Webmaster • May 31, 2026
It is wise to write a Will so that the resources you have when the time comes for you to leave this world, goes to the people and organisations you wish. May I suggest that you might consider leaving a Bequest in your will to our parish or to our diocese or to our priest as well as to other causes. A gift in your will can enable us to continue to help people to know the Lord Jesus and his saving love. What a wonderful legacy you would be leaving behind.

PARISH FOOD BANK

By Webmaster • May 31, 2026
Our rota for the delivery of food to the Good Shepherd school in New Addington begins this week. Please find the rota below. The dates indicated are Thursdays during the school term. Please collect the two hessian bags of fruit on Thursdays from the porch of the presbytery between the hours of 8.30am and 2.30pm. Please then bring the fruit to the school in New Addington. The fruit could even be collected and delivered on Friday mornings too, if necessary. The address of the school is: 23, Dunley Drive New Addington CR0 0RG. The school is close to the Good Shepherd Catholic Church. JUNE 2026 4: Andrea 11: Paul Donovan 18: Patrick Fernandes 25: Ros

OLD FORGE CAFE BAKER’S AND HOST'S ROTA

By Webmaster • May 31, 2026
OLDE FORGE CAFE BAKERS/PROVIDERS ROTA MAY 2026 30: Lizzie JUNE 2026 6: Mary Lawlor 13: Marian 20: Helen Mallows 27: Lorenza Please, if possible, could you provide enough cakes for the whole of each week. Thank you to everybody who is helping to provide cakes. To avoid having too many cakes, Coral mentioned to me that non-perishable cakes can be safely stored in the Cafe for a short while. When it is your turn to provide a non-perishable cake, please bring your cake to the Cafe a few days before the date of your turn. OLDE FORGE CAFE - HOSTS ROTA MAY 2026 26: Jenny, Lorenza 30: Mary, Ros 31: David, Jim JUNE 2026 2: Marian, Jenny 6: Phil, Mary 7: Emmanuala, Patricia 9: David, Ross 13: Paul, Lizzie 14: Regina, Patrick 16: Maggie, Lorenza 20: Jim, Patricia 21: Collette, Giannina 23: David, Marian 27: Jenny, Mary 28: Emmanuala, Phil Please note that for each of the above dates when the Cafe is open, one of the two Hosts has been trained in the use of the new coffee machine. Please would that trained person be the only person operating the machine and also please train the other person in its use. Many thanks. Thank you to everybody who acts as a Host. If an unexpected emergency occurs on the date you are scheduled to be a Host, please don’t worry about the Cafe. No need to try to find someone to ‘stand in’ for you. There is no need whatsoever to ‘swop’ with someone! We are not a Business, having to stay open to make money! - we open when and if we can. We take this role of ‘Host’ as a Vocation from the Lord to be his Missionary and his Prophet. Actually, the Cafe has, at times, functioned well with just one Host. The success of our Evangelisation Cafe depends on us. The more we speak to others of our Cafe, inviting them to visit us, the more successful it will be. Please invite members of your families, your friends, your neighbours and colleagues. Please check when it is your turn to be a Host (or a Baker!). Please see this role as a Calling, a Vocation from the Lord which you are generously telling the Lord you will do”. Thank you so much for your trust in the good Lord

A VOCATION MEANS TO BE CALLED AND CHOSEN BY THE LORD, THROUGH HIS CHURCH - APPOINTED, NOT SWOPPED!

By Webmaster • May 31, 2026
In ordinary jobs, people swop roles and swop arrangements for their jobs with each other. That is good and necessary. A Vocation is something very different than a Job! A Vocation is a Calling from the Lord to a particular person, to fulfil a sacred and a specific role on specific occasions. Our Eucharistic Ministers and our Lectors have a Vocation to sacred roles. They have been called and chosen by the Lord, through his Church, to exercise specific, sacred Callings for specific moments.  Dear Eucharistic Ministers and Lectors, if it is impossible for you, at any time, to fulfil your sacred role on a specific occasion, please let me know as soon as you can so that I can appoint someone else to exercise their Calling on that specific occasion. I would be very grateful if you could please advise me rather than swop with someone else, for the above reason. Many thanks.