Brother Tom Ash and friends of

the Blackpalfrey Motor Club of Kent

raised much needed funds for Demelza Hos-

pice for children last year. See Page 2 for fur-

ther details of their exploits. Well done to

Tom and John we are proud of you.

13th Year in a row

John gives a week

helping the vulner-

able and homeless

read his story page

2.

Brother Tom Ash & the Blackpalfrey Motor Club of Kent raised urgent funds for Demelza Hos-

pice for Children. See Page 2 it isn’t too late to sign up for Demelza Dry Tri and join Community Fundraiser in Jan.

John

Denby

spends

Christmas

at CRISIS

& the

homeless

F U T U R E

Burns Night 26th Janu-

ary 2017 + Piper

Kirkham Cup 13th Feb

2017 at Maidstone

Don’t forget next Cir-

cle Meeting 16th Janu-

ary 2017 8.00pm

Look for Bromley Cir-

cle in next edition of

Catena!

LATCH Chinese New

Year 9th Feb 2016

Burnt Ash Lane

Next Council Meeting

Monday 30th Jan 2017

AGM + Conference

Bristol 12-14th May

2017

Bromley Circle

Newsletter J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7

S P E C I A L P O I N T S

O F I N T E R E S T :

‘Once in our world, a

stable had something in

it that was bigger than

our whole world’ CS

Lewis ‘The Incarnation

does not promise heav-

en on earth. It promises

heaven in heaven’ Fr

Ronald Rolheiser

P A G E 2

A giant crib scene in the medieval mountain village of Luce-

ram in Provence most visited in Europe

Prayers for Catenians and

families:

We remember the late Canon Jack

Madden PP of St Edmunds

Beckenham for 27 years who passed

away in December our prayers are

for him and his family. Also

remember John Moffett and his

family following his sad passing in

December too.

Please remember Alan Craddock

who had an operation recently and is

recovering. I understand however,

this hasn’t affected his drinking arm!!

Brian Daley continues also to need

our prayers and Brigid his wife as

well—they have not been well this

past month. I met Sheelagh Daly and

she is much better but still in need of

prayers.

Billie (Aidan’s prospective daughter

in-law) who needs our prayers ever

more earnestly as she tries

desperately to recover her life. Billie

and Tony have set a date in March

2017 to be married; we wish them

both our blessings for a happy day

and a good life together.

DA

Eileen with her bouquet - + Bromley Community Chorale with us again—we collected a Christmas gift of £100 for them .

Before Christmas a Tom Ash and a few friends from the Blackplafrey Motor Club of Kent at-tended the Demelza Children's Hospice near Sittingbourne. They raised money for them from their Scenic Tour, the Tour of Kent and they were there to pre-sent a cheque for £1240. All money that is raised for them goes to running the hospice where they "add life to days when days cannot be added to life". The 2017 Tour of Kent takes place on 1st October and is open to all classic cars over 20 years old. Tom is on the left next to the 1966 Lo-tus Cortina, sadly his Triumph refused to start. The other cars are a 1966 Triumph TR4, a 1959 MG Mag-nette and a 1971 VW Beetle.

Greyhound Close, Hedge End, Hants, one of the most visited places for Christmas lights in the UK

Don’t forget this big Event when Grand President will

be attending accompanied by his lovely wife Eileen

B R O M L E Y C I R C L E N E W S L E T T E R

P A G E 3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7

Fr Aurelio’s annual visit to Bromley

Catholic Prayer: Blessing of the Home on Feast of Epiphany

This ceremony of the blessing of the home and inscription of the initials of the three Magi above each

door can be performed either by a priest/deacon or the father of the family. The feast of manifesta-

tion, or Epiphany, is traditionally celebrated the 12th day after Christmas, January 6th. In the UK this

feast has been moved to the Sunday 8th January 2017. You can adopt this custom in your family to ask

God’s blessing on your home and on those who live in or visit the home. It is an invitation for Jesus to

be a daily guest in your home, your comings and goings, your conversations, your work and play, your

joys and sorrows. Blessing of the Chalk: Leader: Bless the chalk which you have created, that it may be

helpful to your people; and grant that through the invocation of your most Holy Name that we who

use it in faith to write upon the door of our home the names of your holy ones Caspar, Melchior, and

Balthazar, may receive health of body and protection of soul for all who dwell in or visit our home; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer: On entering the home: Using the blessed chalk mark the lintel of your front door (or front porch step) as follows

Leader (Priest,/Deacon if present, or the Father/Mother of the family) : Peace be to this house. All: And to all who dwell herein.

All: From the east came the Magi to Bethlehem to adore the Lord; and opening their treasures they offered precious gifts: gold for the great King, incense for the true God, and myrrh in symbol of His burial.

All Pray: The Magnificat. During the Magnificat, the rooms are sprinkled with holy water (and in-censed if available). After this is completed:

All: From the east came the Magi to Bethlehem to adore the Lord; and opening their treasures they offered precious gifts: gold for the great King, incense for the true God, and myrrh in symbol of His burial.

Leader: begins the Our Father. Leader: All they from Saba shall come All: Bringing gold and frankincense. Leader: O Lord, hear my prayer. All: And let my cry come to you.

Leader: Let us pray. O God, who by the guidance of a star didst on this day manifest thine only-begotten Son to the Gentiles, merci-

fully grant that we who know Thee by faith may also attain the vision of Thy glorious majesty. Through Christ our Lord. All: Amen.

Leader: Be enlightened, be enlightened, O Jerusalem, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee—Jesus Christ

born of the Virgin Mary.

All: And the Gentiles shall walk in thy light and kings in the splendour of thy rising, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon thee.

Leader: Let us pray: Bless, + O Lord God almighty, this home, that in it there may be health, purity, the strength of victory, humility,

goodness and mercy, the fulfillment of Thy law, the thanksgiving to God the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. And may

this blessing remain upon this home and upon all who dwell herein. Through Christ our Lord. All: Amen.

After the prayers of the blessing are recited, each room of the home is sprinkled with Epiphany water (and incensed if available). The

initials of the Magi are inscribed upon the doors with the blessed chalk. (The initials, C, M, B, can also be interpreted as the Latin

phrase "Christus mansionem benedicat" which means "Christ bless this house".)

Example: 20 + C + M + B + 17 The custom in Germany is that of the childrens' festival between January 1-6 (Three Kings Day). The

children go from house to house to gather offerings for poor children in poor countries. They are dressed as the three kings and car-

ry sticks with stars on the top. At the homes they sing songs and recite messages of Christmas. At each house they paint the letters

"20+C+M+B+17" which are for the Latin Christus Mansionem Benedicat (Christ bless this house). Source: 12 Days of Christmas by

Elsa Chaney The Liturgical Press Colleville MN 1955

Fr Patrick Pearson (previous PP at St Joseph’s) always insisted that Christmas should be celebrated until

Candlemas, ie 2nd February. That was the way the Church’s calendar intended it. The other Twelfth Night, the

vigil of the Epiphany, which is the time for grown-ups to play party games, in the spirit of the season. Incidentally,

Bulgarians still do, as Catholics once did on the Epiphany, celebrate the Baptism of Christ then—an interesting

combination of feasts.

A U G U S T 2 0 1 6

Photo of the hair shirt worn by St Thomas More as he contem-plated a martyr’s death in the Tower of London has been enshrined for public veneration. The folded garment made from goat’s hair was encased above an altar in Buckfast Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in south-west England.

St Thomas, a former Lord Chancellor of England, wore the shirt while he was incarcerated in the Bell Tower of the Tower of London while awaiting execution for opposing the Protestant reforms of King Henry VIII. He was beheaded July 6, 1535, after telling a crowd gathered on London’s Tower Hill that he was “always the king’s good servant, but God’s first.”

Benedictine Abbot David Charlesworth told Catholic News Service on November 21 that the shirt had not been shown in public before. He said that although the shirt was a secondary relic, he believed it was of greater significance than a body part, or primary relic, be-cause it was directly linked to the religious convictions of the saint.

“What this relic represents is St Thomas More’s faith,” Abbot Charlesworth said. “This relic says something about who Thomas More was as a Christian.” Every Catenian should consider making a pilgrimage to the Shrine and I hope to do so in 2017 anyone wants to join me? Duncan

Tom Ash has kindly responded to my request and sent in a selection of his playlist to add the list I started some months ago if I recall correctly. Tom says “If you want a song played and sung with real integrity they don't get

much better than this by Mississippi John Hurt - (‘Since I laid my burden down)’ refers to Mat-thew 11:28.30Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me

For more you can always check out Mahalia Jackson's rendition of the 23rd Psalm on Duke Ellington's Black Brown and Beige Suite - there is no doubting her belief as she sings this.

As a contrast you can always try Thomas Tallis's 40 part motet for 8 choirs Spem in Allium (Spem in allium nunquam habui - Hope in any other have I none).

I found Tom’s suggestion on youtube and it is a great song and you should also listen to John Hurt’s ‘Nearer my God to thee’ and ‘Irene good bye Irene’ and ‘I shall not be moved’ (which I always thought was 60’s protest song) . Thanks Tom there are some great songs here from the cotton era of the 1920’s in the USA. Look at the photographs which give the songs even more meaning and I shall add this to my own playlist? Duncan

Christmas Presents for 2016 I bet many of you received a book as a Christmas present—well I did from Mar-

ian and I think she wanted me to work in the 52 weeks of 2017 as the title of the book gives it away!!

“100 Bible Verses everyone should know” Apparently

memorisation of bible verses is very big in the United States and there are competitions held across the country. Recently, a 5-year old girl won a national competition by reciting all 176 verses of Psalm 119. You see the competition I am against? Anyone wants to join me and I will e-

mail the 2 verses each week;. Here is your starter for ten? One

way to recall the num-ber of books in the Old (3) Testament (9) equals 39. Recall the Torah as GELND God’s Everlasting, Love, Nev-er, Dies. Equals: Gene-sis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuterono-my. Duncan