Baptism Chidimna Grace Christine Njoku

Belated congratulations to little Chidimna who was baptised last Saturday 28th November and her parents and brother pictured above together with Godparents. Once again we used the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite for the Baptism.

Baptism today

Today we had the joy of celebrating the Baptism of Anthony Trevor Young Han Leney. According to the parents' and grandparents wishes it was celebrated according to the Extraordinary Form. My supply priest Fr Piotr took a few photos during the ceremony and I have put them into a video.



Congratulations to the parents, Timothy and Jeoung-Hwa who live in Korea. Anthony's grandparents Trevor and Shirley attend the extraordinary form Masses here at St Simon's and were godparents.

On the last 26th July, feast of Ss Joachim and Anne, parents of Mary, grandparents of Jesus, Pope Benedict referred to the important role that grandparents play in family life. He said that the liturgical commemoration of Ss Joachim and Anne

invites us to pray for grandparents, who, in the family, are the depositories and often witnesses of teh fundamental values of life. The educational task of grandparents is always very important, and it becomes even more so when, for various reasons, the parents are unable to provide their children with an adequate presence while they are growing up. I entrust to the protection of St Anne and St Joachim all the grandparents of the world and bestow on them a special blessing. May the Virgin Mary who - according to a beautiful iconography - learned to read the Sacred Scriptures at her mother Anne's knee, help them always to nourish their faith and hope at the sources of the Word of God.

Baptism today

We congratulate Kilda and Sinarasa Antony Brown (pictured on the extreme right and left of the picture) on the baptism of their less-than-two-month-old little son Henry, who is in the arms of his godmother next to the godfather and their son Kevin. The godparents had come over from Switzerland. The Sri Lankan people have quite a diaspora. The Baptism took place immediately after the Mass at which the family had attended. Henry remained absolutely calm and quiet throughout!

Baptism today

Today we congratulate Emanuelle Maria Veronica Baldwin and her parents and godparents on the occasion of her baptism.


At the request of the family the Baptism was carried out using the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, i.e. according to the Ritual that was used before the reform of the Liturgy following the Second Vatican Council.


The Rite begins outside or at the entrance of the Church. The usual questionings are made directly to the child with the godparents answering in her name. There are many beautiful prayers over the child, but what is most striking is the exorcisms, the commands of the priest to the 'unclean spirit' to depart and remain far from the child to be baptised. These are not simply prayers to God that he might keep the devil away from the child, but actual commands made by the priest to the unclean spirit in the name of Jesus Christ. One can understand the need for preparation for such a ceremony for a priest who is in league with the 'unclean spirit' through dissolute living would not be able to give such a command to the devil. Is our newer liturgy weakened by the removal of these prayers?


After leading the child and godparents into the church reciting the Creed and Lord's Prayer, there is a further exorcism before we enter the sanctuary or baptistery, more or less telling the devil to keep out and to stay away from the child who is an image of God, called to be his holy temple.


Up to now the priest has been wearing a purple stole. Once he has anointed the child with the oil of catechumens, he changes to a white stole and all enter the baptistery/sanctuary for the renunciation of Satan and the baptism.


This is followed by the usual anointing with chrism, clothing and handing over of a lighted candle. The old ritual doesn't specify where the baptismal candle is to be lit from so we arranged for one of those mutual enrichments of the old by the new by lighting the candle from the paschal candle, as is directed in the newer ritual.

Afterwards we concsecrated Emanuelle to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and sang the Salve Regina by the statue of Our Lady.

With the parents and godparents.

And just the godparents.

Easter Vigil Baptism

At our Easter Vigil little Titus Msoka Jnr was baptised. Congratulations to his parents Soter and Lola Titus. Soter Titus is one of our organist, and in fact was playing the organ during the Easter Vigil. Rufina and Emeka Ebenebe stood in as proxies for the Godparents Colman Titus Msoka and Aida Blanka Msoka who live in Tanzania.

Italian-Polish Baptism

Congratulations to Massimo and Justyna on the Baptism yesterday of their son Oscar Oliver. My pre-baptism research informed me that the name Oscar means 'Spear of God' and Oliver relates to the olive tree. So reference to the Word of God being as sharp as a spear and praying that Oscar would know the truth that conquers the dictatorship of relativism was not difficult to make. And the fact that the oils of the Church's sacraments are made from olive oil was very appropriate too as we prayed for strength and healing. There is a wonderful Saint of course, St Oliver Plunkett, about whom more here. Oscar was also born on 22nd February, feast of the Chair of St Peter.

Pictured above are Oscar's godmother Dorotha (baby in arms) and godfather Mario (with candle), Massimo and Justyna and Massimo's mother and father.

Afterwards, a reception at Massimo's new coffee shop on North Street in Ashford and the opportunity was taken to bless the new business.

Divine Mercy Day Baptism

Belated congratulations to Andrew and Jane on the baptism of their daughter Sophie on 30th March, Second Sunday of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday. The name 'Sophie' of course refers to Christ as the Wisdom of God (Sofia in Greek). On Divine Mercy Sunday, we read in the Gospel of Jesus breathing upon the apostles bidding them receive the Holy Spirit. We pray that Sophie may be blessed with a rich indwelling of God's wisdom in her soul.

Laetare Sunday Baptism

Congratulations to the Andrew and Chantima, parents of Aidy Peter Arnan Brooks who was baptised at Mass today. (It also happens to be the 50th anniversary of my baptism today!)

Baptism Congratulations

Elizabeth Ellen Quinn was baptised on 17th February, the 2nd Sunday of Lent.

Syro Malabar Baptism

A week late, but last Sunday 14th October we did a bit of mixing of Rites. I'm not sure how 'liturgically correct' this was but we did it anyway. Little Evelyn Lizmaria Thomas received the Sacraments of Initiation during the 10.00am Mass according to the Syro-Malabar Rite.

As is the custom in Eastern Rite Churches, an infant receives all three Sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. A Latin Rite priest can administer these Sacraments but would have to do so according to the Latin Rite. Where possible, it is preferable for a priest of the infant's own rite to officiate and so Father Joseph Karukayil concelebrated at Mass.

He baptised and confirmed after the homily.

Before the people's Communion, he and gave Holy Communion to Evelyn Lizmaria by placing some of the Precious Blood consecrated at the Mass into a small spoon, adding some crumbs of the Sacred Host and spooning it into the infant's mouth.

It's good for us to experience the different Catholic Rites and experience the universality of the Church. Congratulations to Evelyn Lizmaria and her parents Simi Therese and Manoj.

Rosary Sunday Baptism

We had the great joy today of celebrating the Baptism of Ciara Louise Aldridge, the third daughter of Gavin and Lisa Aldridge. It's lovely for a parish priest to experience such continuity with the family, having witnessed Gavin and Lisa's marriage and baptised all three of their children. Many family members and friends had travelled from near and far to be present and participated in a most attentive and - I believe - prayerful manner. Lisa has been a great help with First Communion catechesis, although understably asks to be excused from helping this year!

Day for Life Baptism

It was lovely to celebrate Day for Life with the birth into the new life of grace in Christ of Thomas James Fitzroy Leonard during the parish morning Mass. Here we have Thomas with his grandmother Evelyn and mother Elizabeth, Evelyn's daughter.

And here's the group photo after Mass: L to R yours truly, mum Elizabeth, grandparents Evelyn and husband Peter Leonard, godmother Catarina Beresford holding Thomas, godfather Guy Beresford and godmother Jada.

Thomas has usually made his presence in church known by his vocal skills, but today he was remarkably quiet, there being only a hint of a cry as the water was being poured.

Archbishop McDonald visits the parish

His Grace Archbishop Kevin McDonald (pictured above kissing the Book of the Gospels) visited the parish today to celebrate the 10.00am Mass during which he baptised and confirmed Michael Light, and confirmed Jessica Holmes and Verity Green.

If you have adobe photoshop, you can watch a slide show of the visit by clicking here (pre-download courtesy advice: it's a 3MB file).

Here are some photos:

Michael James Jerome is baptised with sponsor Eileen supporting.

Michael, wearing his baptismal garment, is confirmed. His confirmation name is Jerome.

Verity Mary Sophie Green is confirmed, taking the name Cecilia, with her sponsor aunt Helen.

Jessica Kate Holmes is confirmed, taking the name Therese, with sponsor grandfather Alan.

Fr John thanking His Grace for being with us.

Leaving the sanctuary.

Verity with some of her family after Mass, including her father Damian Green MP (2nd left - he represents Ashford in the House of Commons) and mother Alicia (on Verity's left).

Verity and Jessica with Archbishop Kevin.

Encore!

Michael receives his certificate of Baptism, Confirmation and First Holy Communion from His Grace.

Jessica receives her certificate of Confirmation...

and Verity hers.

Michael chatting with the Archbishop...

The Archbishop chats with local MP Damian Green, Verity's father.

Congratulations to all our newly initiated and thanks to all parishioners who helped make the Archbishop's visit such a success.

Divine Mercy Feast Baptism

Congratulations to Lisa and Gary Clark on the occasion of the Baptism of their daughter Tigerlily Mary. Here they are with Tigerlily's sister Molly, and her goparents Sonia and Nicholas. Two other sisters, Charlotte and Jemima, were obviously elsewhere when the photo was taken. May the newly baptised grow to truly acknowledge Jesus as 'My Lord and My God' as St Thomas did on seeing Jesus on the Sunday after the Resurrection.

Bsptism today

Congratulations to Sutha and Prem (from Sri Lanka) on the baptism of their son Euan. In the photo, from left to right: godfather Kunasuthakaran, mother Sutha, godmother Denisclemeti, father Visuvatham (Prem). Child with candle: Olivia, Euan's sister, plus two other young relatives.

Gaudete Sunday Baptism

Congratulations to Shau'n and Chinwe Ude on the baptism of their little daughter Olandu Charlotte Julia. Olandu, a Nigerian name, means jewel of life. Her godmother Adaeze Oreh is on the left with her daughter Kenne (her husband, being away on business, was unable to be present). I was able to visit the family yesterday evening and it was a joy to be shown the photographs of their traditional and their church wedding, both of which took place on the same day, the church wedding preceeding the traditional. The elaborate ritual of the traditional wedding emphasises the union of two families which must be an extremely supportive structure. Of course, the whole village turns out for the ceremony.

Christ the King Baptism

Congratulations to Francis and Aude Alecks whose baby Connor Francis was baptised at Mass today. Members of Francis' family had travelled from Scotland and Aude's family had come from France. In the photo: Francis and Aude with baby Connor Francis and godparents Angela Chesney and Damien Pinault, sister of Francis and brother of Aude respectively. As the second reading (Rev. 1:5-8) from today's Mass says: (Christ) loves us and has washed away our sins with his blood, and made us a line of kings, priests to serve his God and Father.

Baptism of Harriet Jean Moore

Congratulations to Eric and Annelise Moore on the baptism of their third child, Harriet Jean, today. Three years ago on 31st October, I baptised their second child Alice, and their first-born son Sam was baptised at St Francis' Church, Maidstone. Eric and Annelise are, of course, one of the couples who submitted the wonderfully positive feedback on the baptism preparation course which I have previously posted. Annelise's father and mother, together with other family members, had travelled from France for the occasion. Eric's mother was also present. As is almost customary in this parish, the baptism took place during the 10.00am Mass in the presence of the parish community, and children were invited to gather round the font for the anointings and the baptism itself. So it's a great catechetical opportunity too. Our next baptism, that of Conor Alecks, is scheduled for the feast of Christ the King in four weeks time.

Further feedback on our Baptism Preparation Programme

Answers in quotes. Other options in brackets.

1. What did you think of the timing (11.30am Sat):
"Fine". (Inconvenient)

2. Your evaluation of the four sessions.
"Very worthwhile" (Reasonably helpful. Not really necessary)
Comment: It allowed us to cover key elements quite thoroughly and, because the course was over 4 sessions, each time we could revise & recap what we had previously talked about which gives the course more weight that way.

3. Presentation style:"Excellent." (Good, Fair, Poor)
Comment: Well thought out. Concise Powerpoint presentation, complemented (or vice-versa) by two friendly and accessible "teachers."

4. Opportunity for discussion:"Excellent." (Good, Fair, Poor)

5. Would you be happy to recommend this preparation course to others?
"Yes." (Yes, with reservations. No.)

6. We acknowledge that you have given up four Saturday mornings which are probably precious in this busy world in which we live. Would you say:
"It was worth it." (It's too much to expect of families.)
Comment: We didn't see it really as giving up our time, as it was a good course to attend, and for a good reason!

7. It is not our intention that those who have previously attended this programme and who show that they practise their faith should have to repeat it when they ask that subsequent children be baptised. Would you:
(Say 'What a relief!')
"Like to attend for your own formation."
(Like to attend so as to support other parents who might be doing this for the first time.)

8. Is there anything else you would like to add?
Thank you for devising the course, Father John, and thank you to Rufina and Evelyn for bringing such passion and enthusiasm! The course really helped to consolidate our sometime shaky/vague knowledge of the key elements which must be included as part of the practice of the catholic faith, and also the session on the different approaches to prayer was inspiring and again Rufina was great at doing so. Thank you for putting it into words so well.

New Baptism Preparation Programme

After much thought and prayer and discussion with a couple of parishioners, we decided to institute a four-session preparation programme for parents preparing for Baptism. Full details can be found at the parish website. Two families came along and today we had the final session. My thanks to Rufina Ebenebe and Evelyn Leonard for giving up their Saturday mornings to guide these families in their preparation.

I invited both families to evaluate the programme, and here are the replies of one of them (the other has yet to return the evaluation form):
(answers in quotes, options not selected in brackets)

1. What did you think of the timing:
"Fine". (Inconvenient)
2. Your evaluation of the four sessions.
"Very worthwhile" (Reasonably helpful. Not really necessary)
Comment: Good to hear about God and Baptism and would like to hear more.
3. Presentation style:
"Excellent." (Good, Fair, Poor)
Comment: Very professional.
4. Opportunity for discussion:
"Excellent." (Good, Fair, Poor)
5. Would you be happy to recommend this preparation course to others?
"Yes." (Yes, with reservations. No.)
6. We acknowledge that you have given up four Saturday mornings which are probably precious in this busy world in which we live. Would you say:
"It was worth it." (It's too much to expect of families.)
7. It is not our intention that those who have previously attended this programme and who show that they practise their faith should have to repeat it when they ask that subsequent children be baptised. Would you:
(Say 'What a relief!')
"Like to attend for your own formation."
(Like to attend so as to support other parents who might be doing this for the first time.)
8. Is there anything else you would like to add?
We would like to thank you for the inspiration you have given us. The personal experiences and message of God you have passed on to us has really helped re-unite us with God and the Church and we are sure this has helped put us back on the right parth. The more we hear, the more we long to hear more. Thanks again!

The baptism of Harriet Jean Moore will take place at 10am Mass on Sunday 29th October, and that of Connor Francis Alecks at 10am Mass on Sunday 26th November (feast of Christ the King.) Please pray for them and their families.