The Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time

Sea Sunday Seeing pictures of ships trapped in the Straits of Hormuz has reminded us of the crews who have been unable to go ashore and have been in fear of violence. We have experienced a rise in the cost of fuel and increases in the cost of other goods. How easy it is to forget the human cost to the seafarers away from the relief of being in a port even for a short time. This Sunday we pray for them and their families, and support the pastoral ministry of Stella Maris – the Apostleship of the Sea – in a retiring collection.

Our Bishop-Elect Fr Stephen has been interviewed on his appointment in a number of places – Alison Ferns on BBC Radio Sussex, in The Tablet, and on YouTube. He has a lovely smile and speaks of looking forward to meeting us and visiting the schools. We pray for him as he prepares for his future ministry and ordination.

Mass Schedule

Sunday, 12 July, 10am – 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass
Monday, 13 July, 8.15am – St Mary’s House Mass
Tuesday, 14 July, 1.30pm – St Bernadette’s School Leavers Mass
Wednesday, 15 July, 9.30am – St Bonaventure Mass
Friday, 17 July, 9.30am – Weekday Mass
Sunday, 19 July, 10am – 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass

Patronal Feast Thank you to all who prepared and enjoyed the refreshments. It was also good to see and hear our future Bishop and to view the photographs of the opening by the Bishop of Southwark.

The July Word of Life This month’s leaflet helps our continuing prayerful reflection on today’s Gospel.

Rey D’ Souza RIP Please pray for the repose of the soul of Rey, who died on Friday, and keep his wife, son, daughter and other family members in your prayers. Only recently, he received an honour for his long-time membership of the Knights of St Columba.

To Christ the seed, to Christ the harvest
Into the barns of Christ, may we be brought.

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Gift of a Shepherd

Our prayers have been answered. Pope Leo has appointed Fr Stephen Wang as the Sixth Bishop of Arundel and Brighton. He is currently the Rector of the Venerable English College in Rome and a priest of the Diocese of Westminster. When you read his CV, you can see he will bring much to the Diocese and lead us into the future.

He is now described as Bishop-Elect and will be ordained Bishop and take possession of the Diocese sometime in the autumn. We have to wait until then to include him in the Eucharistic Prayers, but we will be praying for him from now on.

He has spoken to us on video and has been welcomed by Archbishop Richard and Archbishop John Wilson of the Southwark Province.

For more details of Fr Stephen Wang’s appointment, please click here.

The Patronal Feast

9 July 1963 was the date the Bishop of Southwark blessed and opened the church of St Thomas More, serving the areas of Patcham, Westdene, and Hollingbury. It was the Parish Priest of St Mary’s, Fr Edward Fooks, who initiated its building for the growing area. Subsequently, it was erected as a parish with Fr Peter Rogers as its first Parish Priest.

St Thomas More—scholar, statesman, and saint—was executed on Tower Hill on 6 July.

The Mass of the Dedication of the Church can be found in the back part of your Sunday Missals. We will be celebrating with a celebratory drink after Mass.

Mass Schedule

Sunday, 5 July, 10am – Patronal & Dedication Feast Mass
Monday, 6 July, 8.15am – St Maria Goretti Mass (at St Mary’s House)
Wednesday, 8 July, 9.30am – Weekday Mass
Friday, 10 July, 9.30am – Weekday Mass
Sunday, 12 July, 10am – 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Sea Sunday Mass)

The Word of Life

Copies for the month of July’s prayerful reflection are now available.

The Pallium

St Bernadette’s Governors

The governors will meet this Thursday afternoon.

Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

Psalm 122

Saints Peter & Paul

This Holy Day falls this year on a Sunday and gives us the opportunity to celebrate these two foundational members of the Church.

Their names bind them together and feature in a nursery rhyme you may remember:

Two little dicky birds sitting on a wall, One named Peter, one named Paul. Fly away Peter, fly away Paul. Come back Peter, come back Paul.

Don’t forget to do the hand gestures!

Then there is the saying “to rob Peter to pay Paul” — said to originate from the 13th century when money from the Abbey of St Peter (known now as Westminster Abbey) was used to pay for repairs of St Paul’s Cathedral.

The lives and martyrdom of the two will be recalled in our Sunday Liturgy.

Mass Schedule

Sunday, 28 June, 10am – The Solemnity of St Peter and St Paul (Sunday Mass)
Monday, 29 June, 8.15am – Weekday Mass at St Mary’s House
Wednesday, 1 July, 9.30am – Mass for The Dedication of Arundel Cathedral
Friday, 3 July, 9.30am – Mass for St Thomas the Apostle
Sunday, 5 July, 10am – Patronal & Dedication Feast (Intention: For members of the community)

Peter’s Pence

The traditional gift all churches make to assist the Pope with his charitable responses. The card machine is set up to receive your gift.

The Pallium

Archbishop Richard Moth, now of Westminster, will be in Rome to receive from the Pope the Pallium given to Metropolitan Archbishops and worn over vestments within his jurisdiction.

The white woollen band is woven from the wool of lambs, blessed on the feast of St Agnes, 21 January each year. The bands are adorned with six black crosses and are traditionally kept at the tomb of St Peter in Rome. It symbolises the role of the Archbishop as shepherd of his flock and his unity and communion with the Pope. The ceremony will be on YouTube.

(His Suffragan Sees are Brentwood, East Anglia, Northampton, and Nottingham.)

St Thomas More’s Community, Patronal & Dedication Feast

Next Sunday at the 10am Mass with refreshments afterwards. Do join us.

Cardinal Newman Summer Festival

Friday, 3 July, 4pm–7pm. See poster for details.

St Peter holds the highest place, Yet Paul is not the least by grace. An equal faith was given to Paul, The chosen vessel of God’s call.

On such foundations Rome may claim The highest service of God’s name; His noble blood has dignified The city where this prophet died.

The Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

Halfway through the year 2026, we have the longest day of the year, Father’s Day, and the Day for Life—and two days of heatwave ahead. We also have the last verses of Chapter 10 of St Matthew’s Gospel, containing the instruction of Jesus about undertaking his mission. Additionally, we wait patiently for a Bishop!

Mass Schedule

Sunday, 21 June, 10am – 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Monday, 22 June, 8.15am – Ss. John Fisher & Thomas More (at St Mary’s House)
Wednesday, 24 June, 9.30am – The Birth of St John the Baptist (Intention: Hilda Searle RIP)
Friday, 26 June, 9.30am – Weekday Mass (Intention: Teresa & Patrick RIP [F.P])
Sunday, 28 June, 10am – Ss. Peter & Paul

Day for Life

Each year, there is a Day for Life celebrating the dignity of all human life. This year, the theme is “The Wonder of the Child in the Womb”.

The Bishops of the UK and Ireland have sent a message and Pope Leo has added his prayers. There is a retiring collection to assist bodies promoting protection.

The Assisted Dying Bill

As this Bill is due to return to Parliament, please read Archbishop Sherrington’s letter.

The Missions & Red Boxes

There are copies available of the Annual Report showing the results of your giving to assist the Church in developing territories. Do please read it. If you have a Red Box that needs emptying, please bring it along next Sunday. Thank you.

Our Patronal Feast

The martyred saints, Bishop John Fisher of Rochester and St Thomas More, share 22 June as a combined Feast in the National Calendar on Monday. The original Feast of St Thomas More was on 9 July, the day on which our church was opened by Bishop Cowderoy of Southwark. Each year as a community, we celebrate the nearest Sunday as our Patronal Feast.

This year, we will be doing so on Sunday, 5 July at the 10am Mass. Do come along.

Forward Looking

Events in the future are currently being advertised, including the Marriage Anniversaries Gathering, the Pilgrimage to Walsingham, and the Adoremus Day in London.

St Bernadette’s Summer Festival

Saturday, 27 June, 11am. All welcome.

On Tower Hill 22nd June 1535

"I am come here to die for Christ's Catholic Church, and I thank God."

Saint John Fisher, Cardinal Bishop of Rochester

The Tenth Week In Ordinary Time

Sunday – The Feast Of The Body And Blood Of Christ

This Sunday is Farmers’ Sunday, when farms will be open for people to discover how our food is grown and produced. It is to educate us as to what happens to enable people to be fed and nourished. By chance, it coincides with the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ received by us in the Eucharist – one of the Latin phrases we may know as Corpus et Sanguinis Christi. In certain areas, such as London and Arundel, there are processions of the Blessed Sacrament in which people join to witness in faith in the gift that Christ gives of himself as we recognise his presence.
Can you remember when you first became a regular Communicant enjoying the presence of Christ in Holy Communion? The first time for me was the 6th June 1946.

Bishop Paul Mason Reflects On Corpus Christi

Pope Leo’s Apostolic Journey To Spain

Follow via our Useful Websites, Vatican News and the Holy See.
Madrid, Barcelona and the Canaries.

You can follow this link by clicking here.

Mass Schedule

Sunday 7th June 10am The Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ
Monday 8th June 8.15am St Mary’s House
Wednesday 10th June 9.30am Weekday (Int. Diana Wilkins RIP)
Friday 12th June 9.30am The Sacred Heart of Jesus (being a Solemnity, no abstinence today)
Saturday 13th June 8.30am HMP Lewes
Sunday 14th June 10am 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Clergy Conference

Monday and Tuesday

Parish Of Brighton and Hove Renewal Meeting

This Thursday 11th June 7:30pm St. Bernadette’s School.

Diocesan Pilgrimage To Lourdes – Help Needed

Our Lourdes Pilgrimage Director, Alex Manko, is appealing for help to prepare for this July’s Pilgrimage to Lourdes. Can you help the Pilgrimage by purchasing any items on the new Pilgrimage Wishlist?

Alex says: “We are incredibly grateful to our supporters for their generosity and encouragement. The pilgrimage is such a big group effort where every little counts. Whether it is PPE for use on the Jumbulance or in the Accueil Notre Dame, portable shower chairs, music stands, or prayer resources for the youth, people are again supporting each other to make their pilgrimage – thank you!” To find out more about our Pilgrimage to Lourdes, visit the diocesan website.

Our Works Of Art – Part 3

The painter and teacher, Guy Roddon, was born in London (1919–2006) and studied at Goldsmiths’ College of Art. He was on the staff of Brighton College of Art and during the war was a member of the Camouflage Corps along with other artists, first at Farnham, Surrey and then in Norwich. Portraiture was one of his interests, which included paintings of the novelist L.P. Hartley and the composer John Ireland. He was commissioned to paint the Stations of the Cross and Resurrection for St Thomas More’s, Patcham in 1963. Comments are made about the colour, the style of elongated features, the hands, and the atmosphere of suffering in the 15 stations.

Tantum Ergo Sacramentum

Come adore this wondrous presence
Bow to Christ the source of grace...

Trinity Sunday

TRINITY SUNDAY marks the beginning of a number of feasts or Solemnities, Corpus Christi or the Body & Blood of Christ, the Sacred Heart and Saints Peter and Paul, along with the Dedication of the Cathedral and our Patronal Feast of St Thomas More on Sunday July 5th.

Celebrating the unity and diversity of God as Trinity leads to many different images used to “explain” what is meant. Apart from the shamrock leaf, there is one I came across. It begins with the sun – “look down and see its reflection, feel the heat, and enjoy its shining” – threefold effects yet one.

When we pray, just think of the many ways in which we do so in a Trinitarian way.

Magnifica Humanitas

Pope Leo’s first Encyclical Letter ‘Magnifica Humanitas – On safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence’ was published on Monday. Did you notice in how many ways AI was the subject of the media this week, Question Time as an example? It is 53 pages long, so it will appear in a few weeks’ time.

More on Magnifica Humanitas can be found on our diocesan website here and on our national website here.

Mass Schedule

Sunday 31st May 10am Trinity Sunday
Monday 1st June 8.15am St Mary’s House, St Justin
Wednesday 3rd June 9.30am St Charles Lwanga & Companions, Ugandan Martyrs
Friday 5th June 9.30am St Boniface
Sunday 7th June 10am The Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ

Corpus Christi In Arundel

On Wednesday & Thursday the Carpet of Flowers will be on view in preparation for the Mass and Procession of the Blessed Sacrament to the Castle.

The Word Of Life For July

he leaflet for your prayerful use and reflection is now available. It has a commentary on a text from Matthew’s Gospel which should be used during the month of June. Keep it handy so that you can read a section of it, pray about it and put it into practice.

Praying For The Gift Of A Shepherd

Now that his Letter has been published, Pope Leo will be informing the Apostolic Nuncio to invite someone to be the Sixth Bishop of Arundel & Brighton.

Back To School

It was a sunny half-term. Raincoats on Monday.

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty
All thy works shall praise thy name
in earth, and sky and sea.
Holy, Holy, Holy, merciful and mighty,
God in Three persons, Blessed Trinity.

Pentecost

The fifty days of Easter conclude with the promise of Jesus to send the Holy Spirit, the Helper—advocate, consoler, and animator—expressed in the Creed as the Lord, the giver of life, proceeding from the Father and the Son. All the words we use are active, guiding and leading us. The Acts of the Apostles reveals an outpouring of energy, change, belonging, and unity. The Catechism describes the Holy Spirit as the life of the Church; that is why we celebrate the birthday of the Church and why our invitation is for the Holy Spirit to come anew.

Mass Schedule

Sunday 24th May 10am Pentecost
Monday 25th May 8:15am St Mary’s House Mary, Mother of The Church
Wednesday 27th May 9:30am (Intention Frank Power)
Thursday 28th May 12 Midday Arundel Cathedral Jubilarians’ Mass of Jesus Christ Eternal High Priest
Friday 29th May 9:30am for the gift of a Shepherd for the Church of Arundel and Brighton
Sunday 31st May 10am Trinity Sunday

Pope Leo XIV’s First Encyclical

On Monday morning, May 25, there will be a press conference introducing the Letter on the anniversary of the encyclical Rerum Novarum, a presentation of Catholic Social Teaching by Pope Leo XIII. The new Letter is entitled Magnifica Humanitas: “On Preserving the Human Person in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” We will be able to read the text on the Vatican News site or through our website.

Half-Term

Our schools will be closed this week. Have a happy and safe time!

Our Works of Art

Moving into the church, in the far corner, we have the statue of the Madonna—Mary holding the Child Jesus. It was created by Antonio Pacitti (1924–2009). He was born in Cassino, Italy. In 1928, his father, who was in the trade union movement, was given 24 hours to leave by the local fascist movement. The family then experienced severe poverty in Glasgow.

Antonio gained a place at the Glasgow School of Art. When war broke out, he joined the Highland Light Infantry. After the war, his family moved to London, and he gained a diploma at the Slade School of Fine Art. He later became a Head of Department in Adult Education and a part-time teacher at Wormwood Scrubs. In 1964, he won a commission for the sculpture in the newly built church in Patcham. When you venerate Mary and perhaps light a candle, please do remember the artist.

Renew your wonders in this our day, as by a new Pentecost.
Grant to your Church that, being of one mind and steadfast in prayer with Mary,
and following the lead of Peter,
she may advance the reign of our Divine Saviour:
The reign of truth and justice,
The reign of love and peace.

— Pope St. John XXIII

The Seventh Week of Easter

Invitation time

As we approach the Feast of Pentecost it is a time of promise and invitation as we await a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Before his departure into glory the risen and ascended Lord foretold the gift of the Spirit to be our Helper and Advocate along side us as the Spirit of Truth and Understanding. The days before next Sunday prepare us by prayer and waiting with the call ‘Come Holy Spirit!’ We will recall with all the active words the action of this great gift.

World Communication Sunday

Pope Leo in his message calls us to preserve human faces and voices in the way we use means of communication. “We must value artificial intelligence, in as far as it can be of benefit – but be careful not to lose our sense of our own personality and humanity.”

Bishop John Arnold, Bishop of Salford and Lead Bishop for Communications for the Bishops’ Conference, has spoken ahead of the 60th World Day of Social Communication about the opportunities and pitfalls of AI. You can hear what he has to say by playing the audio file below.

There is a second collection to support the work of communications in the Church in this country.

Mass Schedule

Sunday 17th May 10am 7th of Easter
Monday 18th May 8:15am St Mary’s House
Wednesday 20th May 9:30am St Dunstan – Julie Hilton RIP
Friday 22nd May 9:30am
Saturday 23rd May 8:30am HMP Lewes
Sunday 24th May 10am Pentecost Day

This Week

Monday. Clergy Welfare visit
Tuesday Brighton & Hove Clergy Team Meeting
Wednesday Annual Lightning Conductor inspection
Thursday City Pre- Pentecost Day of prayer for Christians
Friday Tribunal Judgement

Prayer for Vocations

In this 7^th Week we pray for more priests who will celebrate the sacraments of healing with the living and the dying.

Our Works of Art

With the Brighton Festival week underway it seemed an appropriate time to remember for history the works of Art , Fr Edward Fooks the builder of St Thomas More’s Church opened in 1963, commissioned. On entering the church there is the carved wooden statue of our Patron, St Thomas More,

Lord Chancellor and Martyr -Statesman , Scholar and Saint. On the base you will see the signature of Arthur J. J. Ayres. He was born in 1902 and died in 1985. Sculptor and teacher, noted as a distinguished carver. Studied at the Royal Academy Schools and the British School in Rome. Some of his works are held in the Bolton Art Gallery and others exist in the Tyburn Shrine to the Martyrs – a carved wooden crucifix, a statue of St Aidan of Lindisfarne in East Acton, stone works on Westminster Abbey – where his memorial service took place and the Adelphi building. An artist to research further. His wood carving was mainly in lime wood.

Come Holy Spirit, dance

Within our hearts today

Our earthbound spirits to entrance

Our mortal fears allay

And teach us to desire

All other things above

That self-consuming holy fire

The perfect gift of love.

Sixth Week of Easter

Thursday of this week marks the Ascension of the Lord. In the Nicene creed it is described as “He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father” It marks the end of Jesus’ historical physical life and the beginning of a far-reaching, all pervasive presence unlimited by time or location. We who believe are given the promise that we shall one day share his glory”. There are now nine days of preparation for Pentecost.

Mass Schedule

Sunday 10th May 10am Sixth Sunday of Easter
Monday 11th May 8:15am St Mary’s House
Tuesday 12th May 9:30am Carthusian Martyrs’ Mass
Thursday 14th May 9:30am and 7pm Ascension Day – Holy Day of Obligation
Friday 15th May 9:30am
Sunday 17th May 10am Seventh Sunday of Easter

Pope LeoXIV’s First Anniversary

Please read this message from Archbishop Richard Moth

The Carthusian Martyrs

At Mass on Tuesday we will remember the courage of the monks from the London Charthouse taken to the gallows at Tyburn. It is said St Thomas More saw them being taken from the Tower to their martyrdom under Henry the eighth.

England’s remaining Charterhouse, St Hugh’s, is just up the road from Henfield to Cowfold.

The Life of Christ

Discover the wonder of Jesus’ life with an unforgettable event for all the family. The Life of Christ is a play like no other, placing you in the middle of an immersive theatre experience. Join over a hundred actors in the stunning grounds of Wintershall Estate as this magnificent story is movingly recreated with authentic detail in an epic open-air production. Watch the Wedding in Cana, the Feeding of the 5000 and the Last Supper unfold before your eyes. It’s the perfect day out for families, faith groups, theatre lovers and schools.

Tickets can be booked at https://www.wintershall.org.uk/event/life-of-christ/

World Communications Day

Next Sunday with retiring collection/ Dona card machine.

Message From The Diocesan Administrator

My dear brothers and sisters,

It’s become a regular Sunday evening ‘thing’ for me to flick through parish websites and social media platforms to get a glimpse of the life of our communities of faith. How blessed we are to be in such good company with one another in our discipleship of Jesus and in our service of the Gospel. I recently spent a week in Rome with the Bishops of England and Wales, amongst whom there was much talk of, and encouraging interest in our Diocesan Pastoral Plan. I know that, across the Diocese, you are working closely with your priests and deacons to help realise the beautiful vision Bishop (Archbishop) Richard set out for us in ’The Word Who is Life’.

I pray for you all daily. I’m especially mindful of the people of the parishes in which I have been privileged to serve; of the specific needs, sorrows, and joys marking the life of our parish communities in any given week; and of those whose names appear in your newsletters by reason of receiving the Sacraments, or in sickness or bereavement, and the souls of those of our number who have died. All of these prayers I gather together in the Mass I am asked to offer each Sunday ‘for all the people of the Diocese’. Please pray for me; and keep praying, each day, for the election of a new Bishop for our Diocese.

God bless you all.

Father Jonathan Martin

Diocesan Administrator

Prayer For Vocations

During the Month of May keep up our prayers for vocations to Priesthood.

His glory still praising

On thrice holy ground

The apostles still gazing

His mother around

With hearts that beat faster

With eyes full of love

they watched while their

Master ascended above.

No. 493 Venerable Bede

Holy Week

The forty days seem to have gone quickly and we may be saying what have they meant for us? The small efforts, the moments of prayer, the acts of reaching out, the returns or turn arounds, the moments of growth and so… you name them.

After the time of preparation of Lent we now come to the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem where he faces his destiny. In the last 3 days or Triduum we recall in slow motion what he says, what he does and what he goes through and it is up to each one to understand more fully why.

Our Holy Week Schedule

Sunday 29th March 10am Palm Sunday Of The Passion, The blessing of Palms, the procession and the Passion of Jesus from St Matthew’s Gospel
Tuesday 31st March 9:30am Mass
Wednesday 1st April 9:30am Mass
Wednesday 1st April 6pm The Chrism Mass in Arundel Cathedral. All welcome or you can livestream. The renewal of Priestly Promises and the blessing of the oils used in the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Orders and for those seriously ill.
Thursday 2nd April 7pm Maundy Thursday, The Mass of the Lord’s Supper and the new Commandment
At the end of Mass the Blessed Sacrament is reserved in the Chapel and there is “watching”, silent praying, – as did Jesus and Apostles in the Mount of Olives or Gethsemane until 9pm
Friday 3rd April Good Friday 10am Way of The Cross in church
Friday 3rd April Good Friday 10am – 11am Walk of Witness – from India Gate (Pavilion Gardens) to St Nicholas’ church by Christians of Brighton and Hove
Friday 3rd April Good Friday 3pm – The Passion Of The Lord and Veneration Of The Cross
Saturday 4th April Holy Saturday 7pm The Easter Vigil and Mass Of The Resurrection
Sunday 5th April 10am Easter Sunday Mass

Easter is celebrated as The Easter Octave

Practical Notes

The palms will first be blessed and then handed out.

Good Friday is a Day of Fasting & Abstinence

Do join in the crowd parts of the Passion Reading

A collecting Basket will be on a table for the Holy Places in the Holy Land under prevailing war conditions -AM & PM

Holy Saturday. Candles with drip trays to be picked up on arrival and for a light from the Paschal Candle to gradually be shared.

Three Films Explaining Holy Week

Do take time to watch three short videos by three of our priests describing the Three Days of Holy Week