OUR PARISH SUPPORTS THE COBHAM AREA FOODBANK Please can you help local people in crisis by purchasing items on the list below and placing them in the Foodbank’s collection point in the narthex when to come to Mass at the weekend? 

Applications are now available for our Infant Baptism, First Reconciliation, and First Eucharist Preparation Programmes for the next academic year (Confirmation Applications will be made available once Bishop Richard provides a date for the celebration). PLEASE NOTE that these programmes are only for candidates from families who are Registered Parishioners who are actually regular members of our worshipping community - if this is not the case at present then talk to Fr Daryl about what can be done to rectify the situation for some point in the future.

On this feast day celebrating Saints Peter and Paul, we are treated to several stories about these giants of the early church. The Gospel reading is the famous account of Jesus changing Simon Peter’s name to “Petros” (petra = “rock” in Greek) and pronouncing him the foundation of the church Jesus promised to build. Matthew’s Gospel alone tells of this event, just as it is the only Gospel to tell two other unique stories about Simon Peter (Peter walks on water 14:23- 33 and he pays the temple tax for Jesus 17:24-27). It seems Matthew was a fan of Simon Peter and perhaps had particular knowledge of Peter’s major role in the days of the early Church. This re-naming story carries echoes of the stories of other figures in Jewish history who were given new names when God entrusted them with significant roles. Abram became Abraham, and Sarai became Sarah. Their grandson Jacob was renamed “Israel.” Much later, probably a few years after Simon Peter became the “Rock,” Saul became Paul when he was blinded by the light on the road to Damascus and God called him to preach to the Gentiles. At the time when Jesus gave Simon his new name there was a lot of hype surrounding Jesus and the crowds were trying to sort out what to make of him. Certainly the people were imagining he was at least on par with the greatest figures in their history: Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the other prophets, or maybe even John the Baptist whom Herod had recently killed.  The story seems to give the sense that Jesus was testing - or at least checking - the apostles’ comprehension. What did they really believe about him after the things they had heard and seen him do already? Maybe they all hoped or thought that Jesus was the Messiah their people had awaited for so many centuries, but to put it into words probably seemed audacious. It was Simon Peter who had the pluck to speak what was on his mind and so he was rewarded with Jesus’ praise. As the early Church developed in the decades after Jesus’ resurrection, Peter’s role became foundational as Jesus foretold. Still today, the Catholic Church looks back to this event as a key to understanding Peter’s role in leadership. Questions of the week  If you had been following Jesus with the apostles, do you think you would have had the courage to say aloud what others may have been thinking about Jesus’ true identity? Why or why not?  If Jesus were to ask you now “Who do you say that I am?” how would you answer, not necessarily in theological terms, but in personal terms? Who is he to you?

Every year on June 29th the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, and on this occasion, the traditional Peter’s Pence collection takes place. This is a concrete way in which the faithful throughout the world can support the Holy Father in his mission of service to the universal Church. This collection is in fact a gesture of communion and participation in the Pope’s mission to proclaim the Gospel, promote peace, and spread Christian charity. As every year, every offering – large or small – will support the Holy Father in his ministry and in his charitable activities in response to emergencies and needs around the world.

In a statement on the precarious situation facing care homes and hospices, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, and Archbishop John Sherrington, Archbishop of Liverpool, said: “Parliament has now rejected amendments that would have allowed [many care homes and hospices] not to be involved in assisted suicide. Stephen Kinnock MP, Kim Leadbeater MP, as well as other MPs, indicated that the rights that this Bill will give to individuals to seek assisted suicide, and to employees to participate in an assisted suicide, are likely to trump the mission and values of institutions such as hospices and care homes. “In other words, a right to assisted suicide given to individuals is highly likely to become a duty on care homes and hospices to facilitate it. Institutions whose mission has always been to provide compassionate care in sickness or old age, and to provide such care until the end of life, may have no choice, in the face of these demands, but to withdraw from the provision of such care.  “The widespread support which hospices attract from local communities will also be undermined by these demands which, in many cases, will require institutions to act contrary to their traditional and principled foundations.

St. Thomas was a dedicated but impetuous follower of Christ. When Jesus said that he was returning to Judea to visit his sick friend Lazarus, Thomas immediately exhorted the other Apostles to accompany Him on the trip which involved certain danger and possible death because of the mounting hostility of the authorities. At the Last Supper, when Christ told His Apostles that He was going to prepare a place for them to which they also might come because they knew both the place and the way, Thomas pleaded that they did not understand and received the beautiful assurance that Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  But St. Thomas is best known for his role verifying the Master’s Resurrection. Thomas’ unwillingness to believe that the other Apostles had seen their risen Lord on the first Easter Sunday merited for him the title of “doubting Thomas.” Eight days later, on Christ’s second apparition, Thomas was gently rebuked for his scepticism and furnished with the evidence he had demanded – seeing in Christ’s hands the point of the nails and putting his fingers in the place of the nails and his hand into his side.

In 2024 Sacred Heart, Cobham raised a wonderful £4,093.02 through our Red Boxes and donations to Missio, the Holy Father’s own Missionary Society in England and Wales. Your support of Missionary priests enables people to come together to celebrate the Eucharist and to work together to improve the lives of many missionary communities. Thank you!

The story of the feeding of the 5,000 is extraordinary in several ways. The fantastic miracle of the multi plication of the loaves is the most obvious. That was the flashy part. The substance behind the miracle, though, was Jesus’ compassion for the crowd which had followed him, or sought him, far out in the wilderness. The people in the crowd didn’t go out into the wilderness to get food from Jesus because they were hungry. Who, in their right mind, would leave their home or village to go seeking food out in the desert? No, when the scene begins, the people are out in the wilderness because they are hungry for something else. (It sounds similar to the story of the crowds of people who went out to see and hear John the Baptist in the wilderness.) What are people hungry for besides food? Hope. Peace. Security. Justice. Health and wholeness. Reassurance that they are known and loved and that God will care for them.  Throughout the Gospels, Jesus was incredible in his ability to see through people to the heart of what they most needed. For some, it was physical healing. For some, words of forgiveness and mercy. For some, words of truth and justice addressed to the powerful. So when a crowd of people seeks out Jesus in the wilderness, he offers them what they are most hungry for, healing for their illnesses and teachings about the Kingdom of God. After they spend the entire day with Jesus, then their physical hunger comes to the forefront, and Jesus provides for them in this way too. Questions of the week  What is important enough that you would be willing to leave home to seek out something else?  What are you hungering for most deeply at this time in your life?

Pope Leo has acknowledged the challenges that young people face today, urging them to be “agents of peace in a divided world.” Speaking in a video message to young people gathered in his home city of Chicago on Saturday, the Pope reflected on the significance of the Trinity as a model of divine love and unity: “Three persons in one God live united in the depth of love, in community, sharing that communion with all of us,” he said, inviting younger listeners to reflect upon their own relationships and communities in that same spirit of love.  Pope Leo called on those present to become “beacons of hope” in a world often burdened by division and despair: “Coming together as friends… we can find that the Lord’s grace, that the love of God can truly heal us.” Referring to St Augustine’s reflections on the “restless heart,” he also reminded young people that their longing for meaning is a sign of spiritual vitality rather than something to suppress: “We shouldn’t look for ways to put out the fire,” he said, “but to recognise that God can work through our lives. The world looks to you to announce a message of true hope and to promote peace.”