Concordat cum originali: +Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin. Additional material, cum permissu: +Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin. Commentary by Fr Anthony Cassidy CSsR. The English translation of the Entrance and Communion Antiphons, Collect, Prayer over the Offerings, Gloria, Profession of Faith and Prayer after Communion are taken from The Roman Missal, © 2010 International Commission of English in the Liturgy Corporation. Jerusalem Bible version of the scriptures © Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd., and Doubleday & Co. Inc. Responsorial Psalms are copyright The Grail and/or Geoffrey Chapman Ltd. Published in Ireland by Redemptorist Communications (www.redcoms.org); Published in the UK by Redemptorist Publications (www.rpbooks.co.uk).

6TH SUNDAY OF EASTER17 MAY 2020

ENTRANCE ANTIPHONProclaim a joyful sound and let it be heard;proclaim to the ends of the earth:The Lord has freed his people, alleluia.

GLORIAGlory to God in the highest,and on earth peace to people of good will.

We praise you,we bless you,we adore you,we glorify you,we give you thanks for your great glory,Lord God, heavenly King,O God, almighty Father.

Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son,Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us;you take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer;you are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.

For you alone are the Holy One,you alone are the Lord,you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,with the Holy Spirit,in the glory of God the Father.Amen.

COLLECTGrant, almighty God,that we may celebrate with heartfelt devotion these days of joy,which we keep in honour of the risen Lord,and that what we relive in remembrancewe may always hold to in what we do.Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, for ever and ever.Amen.

FIRST READING Acts 8:5-8. 14-17

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

Philip went to a Samaritan town and proclaimed the Christ to them. The people united in welcoming the message Philip preached, either because they had heard of the miracles he worked or because they saw them for themselves. There were, for example, unclean spirits that came shrieking out of many who were possessed, and several paralytics and cripples were cured. As a result there was great rejoicing in that town. When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, and they went down there, and prayed for the Samaritans to receive the Holy Spirit, for as yet he had not come down on any of them: they had only been baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

The word of the Lord.Thanks be to God.

PSALM Psalm 65

Response:Cry out with joy to God all the earth.or Alleluia!1. Cry out with joy to God all the earth,

O sing to the glory of his name.

O render him glorious praise. Say to God: “How tremendous your deeds!” (R.)2. “Before you all the earth shall bow;

shall sing to you, sing to your name!” Come and see the works of God, tremendous his deeds among men. (R.)3. He turned the sea into dry land,

they passed through the river dry-shod. Let our joy then be in him; he rules for ever by his might. (R.)4. Come and hear, all who fear God.

I will tell what he did for my soul: Blessed be God who did not reject my prayer nor withhold his love for me. (R.) SECOND READING 1 Peter 3:15-18

A reading from the first letter of St Peter.

Reverence the Lord Christ in your hearts, and always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you all have. But give it with courtesy and respect and with a clear conscience, so that those who slander you when you are living a good life in Christ may be proved wrong in the accusations that they bring. And if it is the will of God that you should suffer, it is better to suffer for doing right than for doing wrong. Why, Christ himself, innocent though he was, had died once for sins, died for the guilty, to lead us to God. In the body he was put to death, in the spirit he was raised to life.

The word of the Lord.Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATIONAlleluia, alleluia!Jesus said: “If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him.” Alleluia!

GOSPEL John 14:15-21

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John.

Jesus said to his disciples:“If you love me you will keep my commandments.I shall ask the Father,and he will give you another Advocateto be with you for ever,that Spirit of truthwhom the world can never receivesince it neither sees nor knows him;but you know him,because he is with you, he is in you.I will not leave you orphans;I will come back to you.In a short time the world will no longer see me;but you will see me,because I live and you will live.On that dayyou will understand that I am in my Fatherand you in me and I in you.Anybody who receives my commandments and keeps themwill be one who loves meand anybody who loves me will be loved by my Father,and I shall love him and show myself to him.”

The Gospel of the Lord.Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

PROFESSION OF FAITHI believe in God,the Father almighty,Creator of heaven and earth,and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

(all bow during the next two lines)

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died and was buried;he descended into hell;on the third day he rose again from the dead;he ascended into heaven,and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic Church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and life everlasting. Amen.

PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGSMay our prayers rise up to you, O Lord,together with the sacrificial offerings,so that, purified by your graciousness,we may be conformed to the mysteries of your mighty love.Through Christ our Lord.Amen.

COMMUNION ANTIPHONIf you love me, keep my commandments, says the Lord,and I will ask the Father and he will send you another Paraclete,to abide with you for ever, alleluia.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNIONAlmighty ever-living God,who restore us to eternal life in the Resurrection of Christ,increase in us, we pray, the fruits of this paschal Sacramentand pour into our hearts the strength of this saving food.Amen.

THE WORD Year A • Psalter Week 2

17 May 2020 Year A • Psalter Week 2 Sixth Sunday of Easter

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit? All of us would, no doubt, answer such a question with a resounding

Yes! We believe in the third person of the Blessed Trinity. Each time we recite the Creed, we say, “I believe in the Holy Spirit”. But if someone asks us if we believe in the Holy Spirit as something (or someone) real in our everyday lives, our reply might be rather less certain. And if the question were put in such a way that we had to consider the Spirit as the ongoing presence of Jesus in our lives as individual disciples and in the community

of the Church, the people of God, then we might have to ask for a little time to consider an angle which we might well not have thought of properly.

The Gospel of John may well appear attractive and spiritual, but it is no less demanding on our beliefs. It challenges our religious outlook in a way that the Synoptic Gospels perhaps do not. It emphasises our personal relationship with Jesus and does not allow us the escape route of activism, where we could think that being a disciple is primarily a matter of doing, of performing good

works of one sort or another, or of observing certain moral norms. Jesus promises another Advocate, another Paraclete, who will perpetuate Jesus’ presence in the world. The Paraclete will unfold to later generations the riches of Jesus’ teaching. If we believe, love and keep Jesus’ commandments, then we will experience the presence of the absent Jesus through the presence of the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit. Do you believe this? Does it seem too good to be true? Or are you perhaps afraid of the consequences for your daily life? Would that bring Jesus rather too close? n

REFLECT

Our Gospel passage today focuses on Jesus’ imminent departure. However, the end of his physical presence will not mean the conclusion of his being with his disciples. What Jesus has done for his followers, praying for them and revealing the Father, will continue through the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, who will be given as part of Jesus’ being glorified at his hour. The Spirit will communicate truth, and thus be the ongoing presence of God in the world. Jesus’ leaving should therefore not be a source of sorrow or grief, but rather the beginning of a new age which will be marked by the gift of the Paraclete: by love, a theme which runs right through our Gospel extract; this will be shown in the keeping of Jesus’ commandments and the promise of a future time when the Son and the Father will dwell with the disciples.

The followers of Jesus will experience this ongoing presence within the worshipping community, especially in the sacraments of baptism and Eucharist. Those who believe, love and keep the commandments of Jesus will experience the ongoing presence of Jesus, who is absent, through the presence within and among them of the Paraclete. n

SAY

Anybody who loves me will be loved by my Father(John 14:21)

Think about the penance you decided to practise during Lent: did it bring you closer to Jesus? If it proved to be an endurance test, then consider what might be more beneficial to you spiritually.

DO

The Paraclete/Advocate is John’s name for the Holy Spirit.

The handing over of the Spirit is the final act in the hour of Jesus’ glorification.

The Paraclete continues Jesus’ revealing presence and work in the world.

LEARN

Detail from the Throne of St Peter in Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome

THE GIFT OF THE PARACLETE(JOHN 14:15-21)

Concordat cum originali: +Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin. Additional material, cum permissu: +Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin. Commentary by Fr Anthony Cassidy CSsR. The English translation of the Entrance and Communion Antiphons, Collect, Prayer over the Offerings, Gloria, Profession of Faith and Prayer after Communion are taken from The Roman Missal, © 2010 International Commission of English in the Liturgy Corporation. Jerusalem Bible version of the scriptures © Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd., and Doubleday & Co. Inc. Responsorial Psalms are copyright The Grail and/or Geoffrey Chapman Ltd. Published in Ireland by Redemptorist Communications (www.redcoms.org); Published in the UK by Redemptorist Publications (www.rpbooks.co.uk).

6TH SUNDAY OF EASTER17 MAY 2020

ENTRANCE ANTIPHONProclaim a joyful sound and let it be heard;proclaim to the ends of the earth:The Lord has freed his people, alleluia.

GLORIAGlory to God in the highest,and on earth peace to people of good will.

We praise you,we bless you,we adore you,we glorify you,we give you thanks for your great glory,Lord God, heavenly King,O God, almighty Father.

Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son,Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us;you take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer;you are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.

For you alone are the Holy One,you alone are the Lord,you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,with the Holy Spirit,in the glory of God the Father.Amen.

COLLECTGrant, almighty God,that we may celebrate with heartfelt devotion these days of joy,which we keep in honour of the risen Lord,and that what we relive in remembrancewe may always hold to in what we do.Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, for ever and ever.Amen.

FIRST READING Acts 8:5-8. 14-17

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

Philip went to a Samaritan town and proclaimed the Christ to them. The people united in welcoming the message Philip preached, either because they had heard of the miracles he worked or because they saw them for themselves. There were, for example, unclean spirits that came shrieking out of many who were possessed, and several paralytics and cripples were cured. As a result there was great rejoicing in that town. When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, and they went down there, and prayed for the Samaritans to receive the Holy Spirit, for as yet he had not come down on any of them: they had only been baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

The word of the Lord.Thanks be to God.

PSALM Psalm 65

Response:Cry out with joy to God all the earth.or Alleluia!1. Cry out with joy to God all the earth,

O sing to the glory of his name.

O render him glorious praise. Say to God: “How tremendous your deeds!” (R.)2. “Before you all the earth shall bow;

shall sing to you, sing to your name!” Come and see the works of God, tremendous his deeds among men. (R.)3. He turned the sea into dry land,

they passed through the river dry-shod. Let our joy then be in him; he rules for ever by his might. (R.)4. Come and hear, all who fear God.

I will tell what he did for my soul: Blessed be God who did not reject my prayer nor withhold his love for me. (R.) SECOND READING 1 Peter 3:15-18

A reading from the first letter of St Peter.

Reverence the Lord Christ in your hearts, and always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you all have. But give it with courtesy and respect and with a clear conscience, so that those who slander you when you are living a good life in Christ may be proved wrong in the accusations that they bring. And if it is the will of God that you should suffer, it is better to suffer for doing right than for doing wrong. Why, Christ himself, innocent though he was, had died once for sins, died for the guilty, to lead us to God. In the body he was put to death, in the spirit he was raised to life.

The word of the Lord.Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATIONAlleluia, alleluia!Jesus said: “If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him.” Alleluia!

GOSPEL John 14:15-21

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John.

Jesus said to his disciples:“If you love me you will keep my commandments.I shall ask the Father,and he will give you another Advocateto be with you for ever,that Spirit of truthwhom the world can never receivesince it neither sees nor knows him;but you know him,because he is with you, he is in you.I will not leave you orphans;I will come back to you.In a short time the world will no longer see me;but you will see me,because I live and you will live.On that dayyou will understand that I am in my Fatherand you in me and I in you.Anybody who receives my commandments and keeps themwill be one who loves meand anybody who loves me will be loved by my Father,and I shall love him and show myself to him.”

The Gospel of the Lord.Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

PROFESSION OF FAITHI believe in God,the Father almighty,Creator of heaven and earth,and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

(all bow during the next two lines)

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died and was buried;he descended into hell;on the third day he rose again from the dead;he ascended into heaven,and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic Church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and life everlasting. Amen.

PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGSMay our prayers rise up to you, O Lord,together with the sacrificial offerings,so that, purified by your graciousness,we may be conformed to the mysteries of your mighty love.Through Christ our Lord.Amen.

COMMUNION ANTIPHONIf you love me, keep my commandments, says the Lord,and I will ask the Father and he will send you another Paraclete,to abide with you for ever, alleluia.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNIONAlmighty ever-living God,who restore us to eternal life in the Resurrection of Christ,increase in us, we pray, the fruits of this paschal Sacramentand pour into our hearts the strength of this saving food.Amen.

THE WORD Year A • Psalter Week 2

17 May 2020 Year A • Psalter Week 2 Sixth Sunday of Easter

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit? All of us would, no doubt, answer such a question with a resounding

Yes! We believe in the third person of the Blessed Trinity. Each time we recite the Creed, we say, “I believe in the Holy Spirit”. But if someone asks us if we believe in the Holy Spirit as something (or someone) real in our everyday lives, our reply might be rather less certain. And if the question were put in such a way that we had to consider the Spirit as the ongoing presence of Jesus in our lives as individual disciples and in the community

of the Church, the people of God, then we might have to ask for a little time to consider an angle which we might well not have thought of properly.

The Gospel of John may well appear attractive and spiritual, but it is no less demanding on our beliefs. It challenges our religious outlook in a way that the Synoptic Gospels perhaps do not. It emphasises our personal relationship with Jesus and does not allow us the escape route of activism, where we could think that being a disciple is primarily a matter of doing, of performing good

works of one sort or another, or of observing certain moral norms. Jesus promises another Advocate, another Paraclete, who will perpetuate Jesus’ presence in the world. The Paraclete will unfold to later generations the riches of Jesus’ teaching. If we believe, love and keep Jesus’ commandments, then we will experience the presence of the absent Jesus through the presence of the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit. Do you believe this? Does it seem too good to be true? Or are you perhaps afraid of the consequences for your daily life? Would that bring Jesus rather too close? n

REFLECT

Our Gospel passage today focuses on Jesus’ imminent departure. However, the end of his physical presence will not mean the conclusion of his being with his disciples. What Jesus has done for his followers, praying for them and revealing the Father, will continue through the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, who will be given as part of Jesus’ being glorified at his hour. The Spirit will communicate truth, and thus be the ongoing presence of God in the world. Jesus’ leaving should therefore not be a source of sorrow or grief, but rather the beginning of a new age which will be marked by the gift of the Paraclete: by love, a theme which runs right through our Gospel extract; this will be shown in the keeping of Jesus’ commandments and the promise of a future time when the Son and the Father will dwell with the disciples.

The followers of Jesus will experience this ongoing presence within the worshipping community, especially in the sacraments of baptism and Eucharist. Those who believe, love and keep the commandments of Jesus will experience the ongoing presence of Jesus, who is absent, through the presence within and among them of the Paraclete. n

SAY

Anybody who loves me will be loved by my Father(John 14:21)

Think about the penance you decided to practise during Lent: did it bring you closer to Jesus? If it proved to be an endurance test, then consider what might be more beneficial to you spiritually.

DO

The Paraclete/Advocate is John’s name for the Holy Spirit.

The handing over of the Spirit is the final act in the hour of Jesus’ glorification.

The Paraclete continues Jesus’ revealing presence and work in the world.

LEARN

Detail from the Throne of St Peter in Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome

THE GIFT OF THE PARACLETE(JOHN 14:15-21)

Sunday 17th May: Sixth Sunday of Easter Jn 14:15-21 11am: Mary & Matthew Quested RIP (Reynolds) Monday 18th May: St John I (Pope, Martyr) Jn 15: 26 -16:4 12 noon: Frances & Michael Joe Kearney RIP (Geraldine & Mary) Tuesday 19th May: St Dunstan Jn 16: 5-11 12 noon: Holy Souls COVID 19 (McGillie) Wednesday 20th May: St Bernardine of Sienna Jn 15: 26 -16:4 12 noon: Keith Purbrick RIP (Sue & family) Thursday 21st May: The Ascension of the Lord Mt 28: 16-20 12 noon: Thanksgiving (Pauline Ventress) Friday 22nd May: St Rita of Cascia Jn 16: 20-23 12 noon: Kripa Maria Jamon (birthday) (Jamon family) Saturday 23rd May: Feria Jn 16: 23-28 12 noon: Ian McEwan RIP (Whiting family) Sunday 24th May: Seventh Sunday of Easter Jn 17:1-11 9.30am: Michael & Margaret Reynolds RIP (Reynolds) 11.00am: John Delaney RIP

PARISH MATTERS

On Thursday, this week, we celebrate the feast of the Ascension of the Lord and the next day Friday 22nd May we are encouraged to begin a Novena to the Holy Spirit which is nine days before the feast of Pen-tecost. We read in the Acts of the Apostles that during the period between the Ascension and Pentecost "all...joined in continuous prayer, together with several women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers" while they awaited being "clothed with the power from on high" (Lk 24, 49). The Pente-cost novena, widely practised among the faithful, “emerged from prayerful reflection on this salvific event.”

Here is my suggestion for nine days of prayer as we prepare for Pentecost.

Friday 22nd : Wisdom

Come Holy Spirit, fill me with the clear light of your wisdom. Help me to pray for what I need to follow Je-sus faithfully. Help me to use the gift of wisdom to serve others. Help me to see that wisdom is a gift for all those you have gathered, not just a few. Give me the wisdom to embrace the truth wherever I may find it.

Saturday 23rd Understanding

Come Holy Spirit, make alive in me the gift of understanding that I may grasp how immeasurable is your love for me, for the earth, for all creatures. Help me to understand how I might better live my faith in my ordinary everyday life. Guide me as I struggle with the difficult moral and spiritual issues for this time.

Sunday 24th: Counsel

Come, Holy Spirit, nourish in my heart the gift of counsel that I know when to speak and when to be si-lent. By your gift of counsel, strengthen in me my ability to advise and guide one another as I respond to your guidance in my life. Help me, as part a community of faith, to counsel society in ways of love not condemnation.

Monday 25th: Fortitude

Come, Holy Spirit, fill me anew with your gift of courage. Help me to see life’s sufferings and troubles are temporary. Help me always to see the life at the end of the tunnel. By your gift of courage, I face each new day with the determination to act in all things with love.

Tuesday 26th: Knowledge

Come, Holy Spirit, increase in me the gift of knowledge that I may know you more intimately and for me to see more clearly what to believe and what not to believe. Help me to recognise how you would have me act so that my behaviour may show forth your infinite love.

Wednesday 27th: Reverence

Come, Holy Spirit, renew in me your gift of reverence that I might treat others with honour and respect my home, help me to be respectful towards others. In my relationships at work and with people I don’t know, help us to show respect. Help me above all, to have faith that is deeply reverent.

Thursday 28th: Fear of the Lord

Come, Holy Spirit, increase in me your gift of fear of the Lord. Help me to see with the eyes of faith God’s tremendous love for me. Through this gift, deepen the spirit of prayer in my life, and help me to share more generously my time, talent and financial resources.

Friday 29th: Our Family and Home

Come, Holy Spirit, bring a new birth to countless families that make up the foundation of the church. Heal and renew marriages, parent-child relationships, and all the human intimacy that constitutes family life. Help family members feel God’s love for them through their love for one another.

Saturday 30th: Our Parish Family

Come, Holy Spirit, open our hearts to receive and use the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our parishes. Help us to see and respond to the needs our people. Help us to support and encourage the variety of vocations found in our parishes. Above all, help us all be the Body of Christ in the world.

(Thanks to Mitch Finley “Pentecost Reflections—Come with our Grace” for the prayers)

NEWSLETTER

CATHOLIC CHURCH OF ST THOMAS OF CANTERBURY

59 Burgate Canterbury Kent CT1 2HJ Telephone: 01227 462896 Email: canterbury@rcaos.org.uk Web Site: www.stthomasofcanterbury.com St Thomas of Canterbury Parish Priest: Canon Anthony Charlton email: anthonycharlton@rcaos.org.uk Assistant Priest: Fr Sylvester Adeniyi CSSp Parish Administrator: Miss Linda Scott St Thomas’ Shop (01227 462896): open Sunday mornings & weekdays (Times on Shop Door)

University of Kent Chaplaincy: Fr Tom Herbst (01843 230 774) email: tjherbst@gmail.com St Thomas’ Catholic Primary School: Head Teacher: Miss Lisa D’Agostini (01227 462539) St Anselm’s Catholic Secondary School: Exec Prin Mr M Walters; Academy Prin: Mr J Rowarth (01227 826200)

Office closed during the Convid-19 pandemic. You can still phone

or email

From Fr Anthony ...

Please remember in your prayers:

Marie Strong, Pat Gill, Angeline Frizell, Alan Skeet,

Louisa Ward, Janette Hughes, Maurice Crosland,

Barbara Brett, Hannelore Hall, Mary Dittrich,

Kathleen Hutchinson, Pat Gibson, Jenni Aldridge,

Mary Reynolds, Brian Wicker, David Bull, Joan

Sutton, Audrey Martin, Elizabeth Gilhenny, Bill

Parker, Fr Paul Perry, Anne Queenan and Bernie

Fisher.

Please pray for the repose of the souls of: Ray

Scott, Margaret Stevenson, Daniella Rosher,

Archbishop Emeritus Peter Smith, Maria Bryant,

Pamela Dodds Fr Gerry Flood, Roberto de Paco,

John Todd, Carol Mary Kidby (sister of Sue

Purbrick ) and Anna Hesketh

Please pray for those whose first anniversaries

are this month: Berli Sammut, Norah Pitt and

James Chamerette

Live streaming of Mass at 9:30: Go to the parish website to watch it

Danielle Rosher RIP

Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) If you have a real need for this sacrament, Fr Syl-vester and Fr Anthony are willing to celebrate this with individuals face to face, with all necessary COVID-19 safety precautions, not in the church building or in the priest’s house but outside with social distancing rules. Please phone to arrange a suitable time.

THE MAGNIFICAT - the May edition is available to buy from the Presbytery - please telephone Fr Anthony (01227 462896) if interested.

THANK YOU to everyone who continues to send in their Mass donations, weekly collections and

other very generous payments to the parish funds. The Masses will get said - we are though

limited to one a day (2 on Sunday) at the moment so it may take a little longer. Thank you too for all

the generous donations to our SVP and to CAFOD. Please be assured they are being

passed to the right people.

THE UNIVERSE We are continuing to get some copies of the Universe Catholic paper. If anyone would like to pick one up from the presbytery or have one delivered to them please let me know via Parish Office email canterbury@rcaos.org.uk or telephone 01227 462896.

This week is Christian Aid Week. Envelopes through the door are not possible this year but

Christian Aid is running an ‘E-envelope’ scheme online. For more information about Christian Aid

and this year’s appeal, visit: https://www.christianaid.org.uk/

Sunday 17th May: Sixth Sunday of Easter Jn 14:15-21 11am: Mary & Matthew Quested RIP (Reynolds) Monday 18th May: St John I (Pope, Martyr) Jn 15: 26 -16:4 12 noon: Frances & Michael Joe Kearney RIP (Geraldine & Mary) Tuesday 19th May: St Dunstan Jn 16: 5-11 12 noon: Holy Souls COVID 19 (McGillie) Wednesday 20th May: St Bernardine of Sienna Jn 15: 26 -16:4 12 noon: Keith Purbrick RIP (Sue & family) Thursday 21st May: The Ascension of the Lord Mt 28: 16-20 12 noon: Thanksgiving (Pauline Ventress) Friday 22nd May: St Rita of Cascia Jn 16: 20-23 12 noon: Kripa Maria Jamon (birthday) (Jamon family) Saturday 23rd May: Feria Jn 16: 23-28 12 noon: Ian McEwan RIP (Whiting family) Sunday 24th May: Seventh Sunday of Easter Jn 17:1-11 9.30am: Michael & Margaret Reynolds RIP (Reynolds) 11.00am: John Delaney RIP

PARISH MATTERS

On Thursday, this week, we celebrate the feast of the Ascension of the Lord and the next day Friday 22nd May we are encouraged to begin a Novena to the Holy Spirit which is nine days before the feast of Pen-tecost. We read in the Acts of the Apostles that during the period between the Ascension and Pentecost "all...joined in continuous prayer, together with several women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers" while they awaited being "clothed with the power from on high" (Lk 24, 49). The Pente-cost novena, widely practised among the faithful, “emerged from prayerful reflection on this salvific event.”

Here is my suggestion for nine days of prayer as we prepare for Pentecost.

Friday 22nd : Wisdom

Come Holy Spirit, fill me with the clear light of your wisdom. Help me to pray for what I need to follow Je-sus faithfully. Help me to use the gift of wisdom to serve others. Help me to see that wisdom is a gift for all those you have gathered, not just a few. Give me the wisdom to embrace the truth wherever I may find it.

Saturday 23rd Understanding

Come Holy Spirit, make alive in me the gift of understanding that I may grasp how immeasurable is your love for me, for the earth, for all creatures. Help me to understand how I might better live my faith in my ordinary everyday life. Guide me as I struggle with the difficult moral and spiritual issues for this time.

Sunday 24th: Counsel

Come, Holy Spirit, nourish in my heart the gift of counsel that I know when to speak and when to be si-lent. By your gift of counsel, strengthen in me my ability to advise and guide one another as I respond to your guidance in my life. Help me, as part a community of faith, to counsel society in ways of love not condemnation.

Monday 25th: Fortitude

Come, Holy Spirit, fill me anew with your gift of courage. Help me to see life’s sufferings and troubles are temporary. Help me always to see the life at the end of the tunnel. By your gift of courage, I face each new day with the determination to act in all things with love.

Tuesday 26th: Knowledge

Come, Holy Spirit, increase in me the gift of knowledge that I may know you more intimately and for me to see more clearly what to believe and what not to believe. Help me to recognise how you would have me act so that my behaviour may show forth your infinite love.

Wednesday 27th: Reverence

Come, Holy Spirit, renew in me your gift of reverence that I might treat others with honour and respect my home, help me to be respectful towards others. In my relationships at work and with people I don’t know, help us to show respect. Help me above all, to have faith that is deeply reverent.

Thursday 28th: Fear of the Lord

Come, Holy Spirit, increase in me your gift of fear of the Lord. Help me to see with the eyes of faith God’s tremendous love for me. Through this gift, deepen the spirit of prayer in my life, and help me to share more generously my time, talent and financial resources.

Friday 29th: Our Family and Home

Come, Holy Spirit, bring a new birth to countless families that make up the foundation of the church. Heal and renew marriages, parent-child relationships, and all the human intimacy that constitutes family life. Help family members feel God’s love for them through their love for one another.

Saturday 30th: Our Parish Family

Come, Holy Spirit, open our hearts to receive and use the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our parishes. Help us to see and respond to the needs our people. Help us to support and encourage the variety of vocations found in our parishes. Above all, help us all be the Body of Christ in the world.

(Thanks to Mitch Finley “Pentecost Reflections—Come with our Grace” for the prayers)

NEWSLETTER

CATHOLIC CHURCH OF ST THOMAS OF CANTERBURY

59 Burgate Canterbury Kent CT1 2HJ Telephone: 01227 462896 Email: canterbury@rcaos.org.uk Web Site: www.stthomasofcanterbury.com St Thomas of Canterbury Parish Priest: Canon Anthony Charlton email: anthonycharlton@rcaos.org.uk Assistant Priest: Fr Sylvester Adeniyi CSSp Parish Administrator: Miss Linda Scott St Thomas’ Shop (01227 462896): open Sunday mornings & weekdays (Times on Shop Door)

University of Kent Chaplaincy: Fr Tom Herbst (01843 230 774) email: tjherbst@gmail.com St Thomas’ Catholic Primary School: Head Teacher: Miss Lisa D’Agostini (01227 462539) St Anselm’s Catholic Secondary School: Exec Prin Mr M Walters; Academy Prin: Mr J Rowarth (01227 826200)

Office closed during the Convid-19 pandemic. You can still phone

or email

From Fr Anthony ...

Please remember in your prayers:

Marie Strong, Pat Gill, Angeline Frizell, Alan Skeet,

Louisa Ward, Janette Hughes, Maurice Crosland,

Barbara Brett, Hannelore Hall, Mary Dittrich,

Kathleen Hutchinson, Pat Gibson, Jenni Aldridge,

Mary Reynolds, Brian Wicker, David Bull, Joan

Sutton, Audrey Martin, Elizabeth Gilhenny, Bill

Parker, Fr Paul Perry, Anne Queenan and Bernie

Fisher.

Please pray for the repose of the souls of: Ray

Scott, Margaret Stevenson, Daniella Rosher,

Archbishop Emeritus Peter Smith, Maria Bryant,

Pamela Dodds Fr Gerry Flood, Roberto de Paco,

John Todd, Carol Mary Kidby (sister of Sue

Purbrick ) and Anna Hesketh

Please pray for those whose first anniversaries

are this month: Berli Sammut, Norah Pitt and

James Chamerette

Live streaming of Mass at 9:30: Go to the parish website to watch it

Danielle Rosher RIP

Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) If you have a real need for this sacrament, Fr Syl-vester and Fr Anthony are willing to celebrate this with individuals face to face, with all necessary COVID-19 safety precautions, not in the church building or in the priest’s house but outside with social distancing rules. Please phone to arrange a suitable time.

THE MAGNIFICAT - the May edition is available to buy from the Presbytery - please telephone Fr Anthony (01227 462896) if interested.

THANK YOU to everyone who continues to send in their Mass donations, weekly collections and

other very generous payments to the parish funds. The Masses will get said - we are though

limited to one a day (2 on Sunday) at the moment so it may take a little longer. Thank you too for all

the generous donations to our SVP and to CAFOD. Please be assured they are being

passed to the right people.

THE UNIVERSE We are continuing to get some copies of the Universe Catholic paper. If anyone would like to pick one up from the presbytery or have one delivered to them please let me know via Parish Office email canterbury@rcaos.org.uk or telephone 01227 462896.

This week is Christian Aid Week. Envelopes through the door are not possible this year but

Christian Aid is running an ‘E-envelope’ scheme online. For more information about Christian Aid

and this year’s appeal, visit: https://www.christianaid.org.uk/