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Welcome:



  • THE PARISH PRIEST WRITES:

      Dear parishioner

      Today’s Mass: PALM SUNDAY (B)

      Today the Christian community enters into the final week of preparation for Easter Sunday, a week often called Holy Week, with its climax in the Holy Triduum. Taken from a Latin root that means “three days,” it is a period of time that traces the final days of Jesus’ life, his death, and his resurrection.

      Starting on the Thursday before Easter Sunday, each day is traditionally marked with a particular liturgy. On Holy Thursday, there is the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, which marks the Last Supper that Jesus had with his disciples, wherein he showed them what it means to serve by washing their feet. It also marks what is seen as the establishment of the celebration of the Eucharist (or Mass).

      Good Friday is marked with fasting and prayer as a way to remember Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross. The Good Friday liturgy involves the reading of Jesus’ passion and death from the Gospel of John, as well as an opportunity to pray with and venerate a cross – the instrument of Jesus’ death and our salvation.

      Holy Saturday is meant to be a quiet day, remembering the empty space that was present for the disciples of Jesus after his death and before his resurrection. They did not expect the resurrection and so were left in a place of grief. After sundown on Holy Saturday, the Easter Vigil is celebrated. It is one of the longest of Catholic liturgies, involving several readings from scripture tracing God’s care for humanity, the baptism and reception of new members of the Church, the celebration of the Eucharist, and a great many joy-filled hymns. It was that night when Jesus rose from the dead. It is that great victory over sin and death that our community celebrates.

      We will then gather again on Easter Sunday to celebrate Mass and continue the joy of celebration. But first, let us embrace the Passion of Christ and prepare ourselves to walk the Way of Salvation with Christ.

      PALM SUNDAY
      At St Thomas’s, for the 9:15am and 11:15am Masses please collect your Newsletter, hymnbook and Palm Cross, and assemble in the Presbytery car park for the Palm Gospel and Procession. At other Masses please assemble in front of the main Entrance.
      At the other churches please assemble as directed by the welcomer. At Otford there is an ecumenical service at 11:00am on the Green.

      SECOND COLLECTION
      The Second Collection this weekend is for the Easter Flowers.

      MISSED SECOND COLLECTION
      Last weekend we missed the second collection for the Poor Parishes. This is a crucial support for the parishes experiencing financial difficulties. Therefore, this will be collected on the Divine Mercy Weekend, 6th/7th April. Please use the special Gift aid envelopes if you can.

      SVP LENTEN COLLECTION for the Food Bank (loavesNfishes) and for "Friends of the Holy Land". Please save your donations and bring them into all Masses on Palm Sunday 24th March.

      HOLY WEEK

      Welcome to Fr Wojciech Kuzar from the Archdiocese of Przemysl, Poland, who will  stay with us for the Holy Week.

      Parish Reconciliation Service on Tuesday, 26th  March  at 7pm  with 3 visiting priests available and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Please use this time, as it will be the last opportunity before Easter. Please note that in general the priests will NOT be available for confessions during the Easter Triduum.

      NEXT LENTEN TALK on Wednesday 27th March at 7:00 for 7:30pm: Being Passionate: Getting the most out of Holy Week and Easter by Sr Dr Gemma Simmonds CJ.

       

      WEEKDAY MASSES in HOLY WEEK

      Please note that there are no weekday Masses at Otford, Borough Green and West Kingsdown this week. Masses as normal at St Thomas’ on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
      On Tuesday the 9.30am Mass will be with our school children.

       

      CHRISM MASS on Wednesday at 11:30am in St George’s Cathedral. It is advisable to get there early if you want a seat.

      MAUNDY THURSDAY
      Mass of the Lord’s Supper in both St Thomas’ and Most Holy Trinity at 8:00pm, followed by the Watch before the Altar of Repose.  The Traditional Choir provides the music at St Thomas’

      GOOD FRIDAY
      Good Friday is a day of fasting and abstinence. The Collection is for the Holy Places; this helps to upkeep the churches, schools, clinics, etc in the Holy Land.
      Children’s Stations of the Cross in St Thomas’ at 10:30am.
      Good Friday Liturgy in all four churches at 3:00pm. 
      Prayer evening at 8.00pm at St Thomas’, meditation on the Seven Last Words of Jesus from the Cross led by Fr Peter.

      HOLY SATURDAY
      It is the silent preparation day for the Easter Celebrations.
      Święconka (blessing of food in Polish) at St Thomas’s at 11:30am.
      The Easter Vigil at Most Holy Trinity at 8:00pm.
      The Easter Vigil at St Thomas’ at 9:00pm. 

      EASTER SUNDAY
      Holy Mass at all four churches at the normal Sunday times. The Collection will be your Easter Gift Offering to Fr Piotr and Fr Vipin, for which they thank you in advance.

      DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY
      In preparation for Divine Mercy Sunday, the first Sunday after Easter, 7th April, Deacon Neil will lead the Divine Mercy Novena via Zoom. If you want to take part please contact Deacon Neil on neilphilipson@rcaos.org.uk. He will contact you with the details of Zoom links for each day. We start praying the Novena on Good Friday, this year from 29th March. You can also join a Divine Mercy WhatsApp group in our Parish. If you are interested please let Deacon Neil know, and he will add your details to the group. 
      Divine Mercy Hour at St Thomas’ will begin at 2:30pm, with the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Confessions, meditations , and refreshments after.

      CONFIRMATION 2024. Attention all those currently in Year 7 or above: Registration for this year’s Confirmation Programme is now open.  Please register online at sevrcparish.org.uk. A welcome meeting for parents, candidates and catechists will be held on Wednesday 22nd May 2024 from 7:30pm-9:00pm in St Thomas’ church. Closing date for registration: Tuesday 30th April 2024.

      WALKING PILGRIMAGE TO CANTERBURY. On Saturday 6th of April Br David and Margaret Briggs will guide a group on the first stage from Otford to Wrotham. Each month the group will be taken on subsequent stages (2nd Stage - Wrotham to Halling -  25th of May) ending in Canterbury later this year. If you have ever dreamed of walking the Camino or are simply curious about pilgrimage in general then please consider joining. The group is open to everyone and will start and end at a local train station for ease of transport.  There is no charge to join however we would advise purchasing a Pilgrim Passport for £5 (which we will be able to provide)to record your journey and gain free entry into Canterbury Cathedral at the end.  If you would like to sign up or find out more please contact Br. David or 07821 049827

      SAVE THE DATE for THE PARISH SUMMER PARTY on Sunday 7th July 2024 at 12:30pm in the Presbytery Garden.
      Join us for an incredible social gathering that brings together young and old, families, and retirees from Sevenoaks, Otford, Borough Green, and West Kingsdown. Entry is free! Enjoy a BBQ with plenty of food and drinks provided. The event will feature many attractions, including a performance by St. Thomas’ Primary School Choir, a variety of stalls from popular Bottle and Toy stalls to other Parish group offerings, and a raffle to raise funds for the Parish. We promise great fun and a wonderfully enjoyable atmosphere. If you have any ideas to make this event even better, please contact Fr Piotr or Ben Andradi.

      LENTEN TALKS 2024 The first three talks may now be viewed online here 2024 Talks. For those that found the second talk by Fr Lawrence Lew O.P. a little challenging, the text of this may be found Click To View here. This does not include the questions and answers after the talk.

      CHILDREN’S LITURGY Workshop Day organized by the Agency for Evangelisation and Catechesis of the Archdiocese of Southwark. The event is scheduled for Saturday, 27 April 2024 in St Thomas’ Parish Centre.  Participants will have the opportunity to share the joy of this ministry, be formed, and gain valuable insights. Booking required. More details on the Poster & the QR code.

      EASTER TRIDUUM

      St Thomas’s, Sevenoaks
      MAUNDY THURSDAY (28th March)
      - Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 8:00pm

      GOOD FRIDAY (29th March)
      - Children’s Stations of the Cross at 10:30am
      - Liturgy of the Passion at 3:00pm
      - Meditation on the Cross at 8:00pm

      HOLY SATURDAY (30th March)
      - Polish Blessing of Easter food at 11:30am
      - Easter Vigil Liturgy & Mass at 9:00pm

      EASTER SUNDAY (31st March)
       - Holy Mass at 8:00am (Latin), 9:15am, 11:15am, 6:00pm

      Most Holy Trinity, Otford
      MAUNDY THURSDAY (28th March)
      - Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 8:00pm

      GOOD FRIDAY (29th March)
      - Liturgy of the Passion at 3:00pm

      HOLY SATURDAY (30th March)
      - Easter Vigil Liturgy & Mass at 8:00pm

      EASTER SUNDAY (31st March)
      - Holy Mass at 9:30am

       St Joseph’s, Borough Green
      GOOD FRIDAY (29th March)
      - Liturgy of the Passion at 3:00pm
      EASTER SUNDAY (31st March)
      - Holy Mass at 9:30am

      St Bernadette’s, West Kingsdown
      GOOD FRIDAY (29th March)
      - Liturgy of the Passion at 3:00pm

      EASTER SUNDAY (31st March)
      - Holy Mass at 11:00am

       

       

       

      St Thomas of Canterbury, pray for us.
      St Joseph, pray for us.
      St Bernadette, pray for us.
      St Edith of Kemsing, pray for us.

      Fr. Peter.

      Fr Peter Kucharski, Parish Priest of Sevenoaks
      12 Granville RoadOffice
      Sevenoaks01732 454177
      TN13 1ER



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