St Boniface . . .
Webmaster • May 30, 2025
Boniface, known as the apostle of the Germans, was an English Benedictine monk who gave up being an abbot to devote his life to the conversion of Germanic tribes. Two characteristics stand out: his orthodoxy and his fidelity to the pope.
How necessary this orthodoxy and fidelity were is borne out by the conditions Boniface found on his first missionary journey in 719 at the request of Pope Gregory II. Paganism was a way of life. What Christianity he did find had either lapsed into paganism or was mixed with error. The clergy were mainly responsible for these latter conditions since they were in many instances uneducated, lax, and often disobedient to their bishops.
These are the conditions that Boniface was to report on his first return visit to Rome. The pope instructed him to reform the German Church. The pope sent letters of recommendation to religious and civil leaders. Boniface admitted that his work would have been unsuccessful, from a human viewpoint, without a letter of safe-conduct from Charles Martel, the powerful Frankish ruler, grandfather of Charlemagne. Boniface was made a regional bishop and told to organize the whole German Church. He was eminently successful.
On a final mission, Boniface and 53 others were massacred as he was preparing converts for confirmation.
To restore the Germanic Church to its fidelity to Rome and to convert the pagans, Boniface had been guided by two principles: to restore the obedience of the clergy to their bishops in union with the pope, and the establishment of many houses of prayer which took the form of Benedictine monasteries.
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?
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.”
St Thomas Garnet (born 9th November 1575 – died 23rd June 1608) was a Jesuit priest who was executed in London. He is the protomartyr (i.e., the first martyr associated with a place) of Saint Omer and of Stonyhurst College. A nephew of the Jesuit Henry Garnet, he was born in Southwark, England, and studied for the priesthood St Omer in France, and at Valladolid, Spain. Initially ordained as a secular priest, he joined the Jesuits in 1604 and worked to advance the Catholic cause in Warwick until his arrest in 1606. He was exiled after months of torture but returned again in 1607 and was very quickly arrested once more. This time was executed at Tyburn, London. Beatified in 1929, he was canonized in 1970 and is included among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.
The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . Although this week has seen much more sunshine it has also developed into a very busy week here at The Presbytery (and, of course, Fr D does not do extreme heat!!!!) . . . . . At our 11.00 Mass last Sunday morning Fr D was delighted to celebrate the Mass at which our First Eucharist candidates this year celebrated their First Eucharist. On the Saturday morning he had taken the candidates and parents through the Mass; so that they knew what was going to happen and where they had to be (they also practised receiving Holy Communion with un-consecrated hosts and wine). After the Mass they were with Fr D in the front garden of the Presbytery using the bushes as a backdrop for the ‘paparazzi’ to take photographs. Having celebrated Morning Prayer, Mass, and Exposition on Tuesday morning Fr D took off in the car to the Tribunal Office in Crawley (he has two judgements coming up next month and wants to complete his assessment of both cases). Following on from his stint at the Tribunal he was off to Burgess Hill where he attended a Catholic Standards and Ethos Committee of the Bosco Trust where they were looking at pupil attendance figures at all the Trust schools over the past year. Whilst he was having his breakfast on Wednesday at about 07.30 the gas engineers arrived to remove the gas meter at the house (they had said that they would be there between 09.00 and 13.00!). Fr D was delighted that the thing was finally out and that the whole business of standing charges was now dealt with forever (a long and awkward story that we have spoken about previously)! He had his monthly lunch with Fr Ruslan (Walton) before coming home for a ‘Teams Meeting’ online to shortlist for a new Director of Chaplaincy Services for the Bosco Trust (interviews will take place next week). By the time this was all over he just collapsed in his armchair with the fan running directly into his face for a couple of hours! On Thursday after Morning Prayer and Mass Fr D was made aware that some of the hedging bordering the car park were involved in a fire on Sunday night and that we had lost twenty–two of the trees. This happened late at night and was probably deliberate; he will now have to make an insurance claim and make a decision about a replacement ‘hedge’ or ‘fence’ (-there goes the summer lull!) . . . . .
Each year ALL Catholic Parish communities are expected to have a period of extended Eucharistic worship. Many parishes throughout the world take the Opportunity of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi to do this, and for the past few years our Parish has held a period of Extended Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Accordingly we will be doing this this weekend from after our 11.00 Mass and ending with Evening Prayer and Benediction at 15.30. As always we will need to make sure that there are sufficient parishioners present in the church during this time and to this end there is a ’sign-up’ sheet at the rear of the church for parishioners to choose a twenty minute slot where they commit themselves to being present. Please make a point of making sure that we are covered for the entire period of Exposition.
JUBILEE YEAR PILGRIMAGE TO ROME - 5 - 10 November (Cost £1,220 inc. travel, accommodation & half board; single supp. £188). Join two of our diocesan priests Fr Gus Campanello & Fr Nick Harden on pilgrimage to Rome. To find out more and book:- sarah@tangney-tours.com or 01732 886666
St. Alban was the first martyr of England. During a persecution of the Christians, Alban, although a pagan, hid a priest in his home. The priest made such a great impression on him that Alban received instructions and was baptised a Christian himself. In the meantime, the governor had been told that the priest was hiding with Alban, and he sent his soldiers to capture him. But Alban changed clothes with his guest, and gave himself up in his stead. The judge was furious when he found out that the priest had escaped and he said to Alban, “You shall get the punishment he was to get unless you worship the pagan gods.” The Saint answered that he would never worship those false gods again. “To what family do you belong?” demanded the judge. “That does not concern you,” said Alban. “If you want to know my religion, I am a Christian.” Angrily the judge commanded him again to sacrifice to the gods at once. “Your sacrifices are offered to devils,” answered Alban. “They cannot help you or answer your requests. The reward for such sacrifices is the everlasting punishment of Hell.” Since he was getting nowhere, the judge had Alban whipped. Then he commanded that he be beheaded. On the way to the place of execution, the soldier who was to kill Alban was converted himself, and he too, became a martyr.
The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . Quite a busy time around The Presbytery this week as Fr D had several meetings that were not Parish based . . . . . Last Saturday morning Fr D had the final session before Communion Day with the parents and candidates on the First Eucharist Programme this year. This ‘slice of the cake’ was the penultimate one and covered the actual Communion Rite at Mass (how to receive Holy Communion). This Saturday the participants will practice receiving Holy Communion and ‘walk through’ what will be happening on Sunday when they celebrate their First Eucharist. After the 11.00 Mass on Sunday Fr D celebrated the Baptism of a young parishioner whose parents had been preparing for the sacrament over the past couple of months. On Monday Fr D was quickly off to Worthing where he was meeting with his Ministry to Priest’s Support Group. Being his old parish he was ‘spotted’ by some of his former parishioners and it took a little while to get from the car park into the church for their hour before the Blessed Sacrament! After celebrating Morning Prayer, Mass, and Exposition on Tuesday, Fr D picked up Fr Tony and headed off to Ewell where there was a Deanery Clergy Meeting that had been arranged outside of the normal pattern whilst Fr D was away last month at the Canon Law Conference (Deanery Clergy Meetings usually only take place between October and May!). The ‘cause’ for the meeting was a push by the diocese to move forward with the coming together of all the deanery parishes as one single parish, according to the bishop’s plan. The local clergy were all unanimous that we are not yet ready to move forward with this at this point in time and that things have to be done at our local speed not an external timetable. This decision will be taken back to the bishop at the next Council of Priest’s Meeting. In the evening on Tuesday Fr D met with those younger members of our Parish who recently celebrated their confirmation by Bishop Richard down in Arundel Cathedral. This was the last formal meeting of this year’s preparation course and looked at how the Confirmation Service went and into the future as they start life as fully adult members of the Church. The youngsters will be helping at the First Eucharist celebration this weekend and will receive their Certificates of Confirmation along with our First Communicants on Sunday 29th June (09.00) . . . . . .