Twenty-fifth Sunday
Published
If Jesus’ parable today (Matt 20:1-16) were about employment and wages, we would be perplexed as those who clock in late, even as late as the last hour, get the same wage as those who clocked in at dawn. But Jesus’ parable is not about employment and wages; he uses the example of employment and wages to teach about the kingdom of God—that it is never too late to respond to God. In the parable, no matter how late in the day someone works in the vineyard, the wage is the same: life with God. There is always a welcome from God, a welcome from Jesus, no matter how late in life we allow God into our lives.
The landowner went out to hire labourers five times: at dawn, at about nine o’clock (the third hour in Matthew’s Greek; twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours of night, see John 11:9), at noon (the sixth hour in Matthew’s Greek), at three o’clock (the ninth hour in Matthew’s Greek) and about five o’clock (the eleventh hour in Matthew’s Greek). The parable shows us that God is merciful and welcoming, no matter how late we accept the invitation to allow God into our lives. That is also what we see in the lives of those who became Catholic and found Jesus at different times during their lives.
Fr Philip
TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY (A)
| Day / Date | Time | ChurchCh | Intention |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAT 19th SEP | 6.00pm | CC | Lourdes & Luis Costa (Costa family) |
| SUN 20th SEP | 8.30am | SJ | Vera Weston RIP (Barry Weston) Philip Weston RIP (Barry Weston) |
| SUN 20th SEP | 10.00am | CC | Wellbeing of Frances Hirst (Tina Kirk) |
| SUN 20th SEP | 12noon | SPH | For the People of the Parish |
| SAINT MATTHEW, APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST | |||
| MON 21st SEP | 10.00am | CC | Welfare of Lois Knoth (Lisa Nicholls)Angelica Raimondi RIP |
| TUE 22nd SEP | 10.00am | SJ | Sandra Thomas RIP (Richard Thomas) |
| WED 23rd SEP | Priest celebrates Mass privately | ||
| OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM | |||
| THU 24th SEP | 10.00am | CC | Simon Presnall RIP (Suzanne McGoldrick) |
| FRI 25th SEP | 10.00am | CC | Special Intentions Kathleen Davies (Mahoney family) |
| FRI 25th SEP | 6.15pm | CC | Mass (Latin) Holy Souls |
| SAT 26th SEP | 10.00am | CC | Patrick Duddy RIP & for the consolation of his family(Jacqui Shaw) |
| SAT 26th SEP | 6.00pm | CC | God’s Blessings on Connie Davis (Tina Kirk) |
| TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY (A) | |||
| SUN 27th SEP | 8.30am | SJ | Mary Barns RIP (Vivienne Bowman) |
| SUN 27th SEP | 10.00am | CC | Theresa Coutinho RIP (Coutinho family) |
| SUN 27th SEP | 12noon | SPH | For the People of the Parish |
Are you in year 7-13 and would like to come and join us for pizza, fun and games? We would love to see you at our meeting in Fisher Hall after Saturday 6.00pm Mass– Stefano. Meeting dates 19th Sept, 3rd Oct, 17th Oct.
Parish Bereavement Support: Please see our new leaflets with full details, at the back of each church.
MUMS/DADS NIGHTS Taking time to feed our own faith by exploring an aspect of Christianity with other parents in the parish. We meet in someone's home, watch some input to get us thinking and chat over pizza and drinks. All are very welcome. Contacts Isabel (07851062232 or Nick (07851609097)
COMMUNITY STOREHOUSE, PADDOCK WOOD Please continue with your much needed donations, which can be left in the Narthex at St Justus. Online bank transfer: Community Storehouse, HSBC Bank Sort code: 40-36-35Acc No: 11298410 Ref: St Justus member. Waitrose and Tesco gift cards are welcome as an alternative.
WAITROSE TONBRIDGE ‘COMMUNITY MATTERS’ PROGRAMME Thank you so much for your support in putting tokens into the SVP box at Waitrose. We only have until the end of September to fill this box so please let’s GO BIG so we raise much needed funds for Corpus Christi St Vincent de Paul (SVP) .
CORPUS CHRIST YOUTH GROUP has secured tickets for "Come From Away. It is being performed by the sell-out local amateur group LAMPS at the E M Forster Theatre in Tonbridge. Please contact eliz.owen0@gmail.com for all details
FIRST HOLY COMMUNION PROFRAMME 2027 REGISTRATION DATES Monday 19th October & Monday 26th October 7-8.00pm in the Fisher Hall. Programme begins in January. If you wish your child to be included in the Programme then you must come along and register them on either of those meeting dates.
DONA One of our card machines was offline for about two weeks. When this was fixed last Sunday, card payments given in the offline period were taken from the cards. Please be assured that payments were taken only once, even if with a slight delay.
TONBRIDGE Hall Bookings: Please contact the parish office during office hours 01732 353984 or by email. Not in the evenings or week-ends
THIS WEEKEND There is a second collection for Home Mission. This collection provides the bishops of England and Wales with resources to support Hole Mission, the spread of the gospel in our own country also enables a breadth of work in support of parish evangelisation.
THIS WEEKEND is the First National Mass Count and continues for the following three weekends. There will be count sheets for the collectors to complete which must be returned to the parish office each weekend/Monday. Thank you.
CORPUS CHRISTI SOCIAL MORNING The next meeting is on Tuesday 29th September at 10.00am in Fisher Hall for Coffee & Chat. There will be a speaker from a member of the Ambulance team. All welcome. We would appreciate any help in setting out the tables and chairs before the meeting.
RAFFLE PRIZES: Donations needed of prizes for the Jazz night raffle. Please leave at Parish office or let one of social committee know. Thank you!
CHANGE-PASTORAL COUNCIL MEETING to Wednesday 23rd September 7.30pm in the church.
TONBRIDGE SVP TEA PARTY Sunday 4th October 3-6 in the hall. Please let either Maura, Cherryl or Trevor know if you want to attend.
CORPUS CHRISTI JAZZ NIGHT Join us for a special evening of live jazz music at Fisher Hall on Saturday 26th September, from 7:15pm to 10pm. Adults: £12 £7 Children aged 14 and under. Licensed bar. Cash and card payments. Nibbles provided – bring along your favourite table snacks. No outside drinks are permitted. IMPORTANT ELECTRONIC TICKET PURCHASES Please make sure you include your name and full attendee details when purchasing tickets electronically eg John Smith – 2 adults and 1 child. All funds raised will go towards CCTV for our church to help improve security and make the church more accessible and available for parishioners and the community. Come along, enjoy the music and support the church.
Congratulations to George Downey who was baptized last weekend and to his parents and godparents.