Register
06 Aug 12:30 pm Thu
St Thomas -Divine Mercy Chaplet, after Noon Mass
06 Aug 12:45 pm Thu
St Thomas - Mothers Prayer
03 Sep 10:00 am Thu
St Thomas - Coffee morning restarts 03 Sep
09 Sep 7:30 - 9:00 pm Wed
St Thomas - Bible Study - restart 09 Sep
The Parish Priest writes:
2 AUGUST 2026 - EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Registration for FIRST HOLY COMMUNION
The registration for the First Holy Communion and Reconciliation programme is now open. To register your child online, click HERE. Children can apply as long as they are in Academic Year 3 or above in September 2026 or were born before 31st August 2019. Parents will attend sessions with Fr Peter, while the catechists will lead sessions with the children. It will also require parents to complete sessions at home.
There will be an initial meeting for parents on Thursday 15th October at 7:00pm. The programme begins on Thursday 12th November. All sessions are from 4:00pm to 5:00pm at St Thomas of Canterbury Church in Sevenoaks. All dates are listed at the end of the registration form. There is a charge of £20 towards the cost of the materials. For information, email sevenoaksfhc@rcaos.org.uk.
PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS
Gracious and loving God, we thank You for the gift of our priests, help them to be strong in their vocation and become instruments of Your love and grace. Send Your Holy Spirit to give courage and guidance to all You are calling to the Priesthood, Diaconate and Religious Life in our Archdiocese. May those called, hear Your voice, and respond wholeheartedly to become the person You have created them to be. Heavenly Father, form us all in the likeness of Your Son, Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd, so that we may love You more deeply and serve You more faithfully. We ask this through Christ Your Son, the Eternal High Priest. AMEN
PARISH OFFICE. We will be closed from 17th to 31st of August. Office hours will resume on Tuesday 1st September. Some of the priests will be away as well during this period. If you have any queries, if possible, please wait until we are open again. Thank you for your understanding.
PORTIUNCULA INDULGENCE. On Sunday, 2nd August (Feast in Assisi of St Mary of the Angels), a plenary indulgence may be gained once in a Parish church or a Franciscan church, in a visit during which the Our Father and Creed are recited together with a prayer for the Holy Father’s intentions, sacramental Confession and Holy Communion.
COULD YOU BE A FIRE WARDEN? Parishes are required to have at least two trained Fire Wardens at every weekend Mass, and we would be very grateful for your help. The role is simple but important: helping people find the fire exits, ensuring that everyone has left the church safely and assisting with traffic control during an emergency. It does not involve firefighting or rescue duties. Whether you regularly attend the same weekend Mass or attend different Masses, please consider becoming one of our Fire Wardens. The compulsory training session will last approximately 45 minutes and will take place on Wednesday 16 September: St Bernadette’s, West Kingsdown: 6.00pm; St Thomas’, Sevenoaks: 7.30pm. If you can help and attend the training, please add your name to the sign-up sheet displayed in the church porch.
THURSDAY COFFEE MORNING. Enjoy company and cakes at St Thomas’ parish centre from 10:00am to 11:45am. Meetings will restart on 3rd September.
BIBLE STUDY. The Bible Study group Opening up the Word is currently on summer break. The meetings are at the St Thomas' parish centre from 7:30pm to 9:00pm. They will resume on Wednesday 9th September with meetings every other Wednesday. The group is open to all, regardless of where you are at in your faith journey. For information, contact Paul at paulandsarahboyle@btinternet.com.
RIDE + STRIDE FOR CHURCHES 2026 will be held on Saturday 12th September, from 10:00am to 6:00pm. Join us and cycle, walk or run around Kent's churches to raise money for their maintenance. Last year, more than £ 150,000 were raised, which was a record breaking amount. Sponsorships forms are available in the parish office. Email sevenoaks@rcaos.org.uk for information. If you can help welcoming the participants in our churches, let us know.
MENTAL WELLBEING. Sevenoaks Counselling is hosting the panel Raising Teens in a Digital World: How can we support our teenagers' mental wellbeing? on Tuesday 22nd September at 7:00pm at Otford Methodist Hall. The discussion will feature counsellors, young people and wellbeing professionals. The goal is to explore how parents can support teenagers as they navigate today's digital world. All are welcome.
FATHERS PRAYERS. Are you a father, godfather or grandfather? Are you concerned about the spiritual welfare of your children, grandchildren or godchildren? Would you like to meet like-minded men in the parish? If that's you, we are setting up a Fathers Prayers group and plan to meet on the last Friday of each month. Come when you can, bring a friend. No need to commit. Meetings will be at 7:15am in the St Thomas's parish centre. There’s the option of going to 8:00am Mass afterwards followed by coffee, croissants and fellowship for those who would like to stay. Text or WhatsApp James McBrien on 07713 152190 if you would like to join us.
REPOSITORY SHOP TIMES THIS WEEK.
Saturday 1st August: Repository NOT open after 6:00pm Mass
Sunday 2nd August: after 8:00am Mass; after 6:00pm Mass
Saturday 8th August: Repository NOT open after 6:00pm Mass
Sunday 9th August: after 8:00am; after 6:00pm Mass
SUPPORTING SEVENOAKS (LOAVES AND FISHES) FOODBANK. The foodbank is very grateful for your continued support. They have really noticed the difference! Goods can be donated in the Tom Quinn porch or you can give financially (details on the Loaves and Fishes Sevenoaks Foodbank website). Current priorities are: tinned meat (e.g. chicken korma, stewed steak, Fray Bentos), pot noodles, biscuits and squash drinks. Just an extra item or two in your shopping trolley on a regular basis is so worthwhile. Thank you.
FAMILY RESOURCES. The CELEBRATE summer faith resources was created to encourage families to share the faith with their children. The pack contains faith filled activities, support for family prayer, books for different ages and film suggestions. The Summer Psalm Walk was designed to help explore Psalm 139 whilst walking in your local park or on holiday. Click here to access it.
The CELEBRATE festival is coming soon to Worth School and Abbey, West Sussex from 15th to 17th August. There will be speakers such as Fr Roberto Pasolini (Preacher to the Pope), masses, prayer time in Worth Abbey, fun and formation for children and young people aged 3-24. Camp in the field or stay in school accommodation. Weekend tickets also available. For information click here
CALLING ALL CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE. In the run-up to the 2026 National Eucharistic Congress ADOREMUS on Saturday 10th October, the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales is launching a national Catholic schools ART COMPETITION. Young people are invited to reflect creatively on themes such as the Blessed Sacrament, the presence of Jesus and the beauty of the cathedrals. Entries to be submitted by sending a photo of the artwork to artcompetition@christian.art by 15th September. Art experts will judge the categories 6-8, 9-12, 13-15 and 16-18 years old. Schools and pupils are encouraged to pray, imagine and create! For information, email info@christian.art.
FUNDRAISING FOR DIOCESAN LOURDES PILGRIMAGE. From Bishop Paul. One of the trustees of our Lourdes pilgrimage has been doing a sponsored walk to raise money to help disabled pilgrims to go to Lourdes. He will be in parts of Kent and SE London this week. If you would be willing to contribute, he has a fundraising page here
MARRIED COUPLES. Save the dates: September 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th. The Growing in Faith Together for married and engaged couples is an ONLINE course, which has been developed in collaboration with the Southwark Marriage and Family Life team, the Agency for Evangelisation and Sycamore, a programme about the Catholic faith by Fr Stephen Wang, Bishop-Elect of Arundel and Brighton. Growing in Faith Together consists of four one hour-long sessions via Zoom and is a wonderful opportunity for: married couples to enrich their friendship and love and engaged couples who want to continue exploring their faith together. The next course begins on Tuesday September 8th at 8.30pm. For further information and to book a place, please email Carole .Thank you for responding to the call from +John Wilson to celebrate marriage together.
TRIP TO POLAND. Save the date for our Parish trip to Poland with Fr Peter in June 2027. Details to follow.
RESIDENTIAL FOR CHILDREN. Summertime 2026 will be held from 11th to 14th August in the Westminster Pastoral Centre. The price is £199. For children aged 11-15, this residential trip has the goal of deepening their catholic faith, in a great social atmosphere, including football, sports and visit to Thorpe Park. For details of how to get to the venue, with a coach laid on at St. Anselm’s, Dartford, contact the parish office or Fr. Stephen Boyle, chaplain to the Guild of St. Stephen or 01322 220075.
MOTHERS PRAYERS. The St Thomas’ Mothers Prayers group meets on Thursdays, after the 12:00noon Mass. We start at 12:45pm, in the parish centre, and we finish by 1:30pm. Mothers Prayers is for ALL women, even if you are not a biological mother. Age is not important either or whether you have young or adult children. We have grandmothers who pray for their grandchildren too. You can check the MP website here.
For dads, there is a Fathers Prayers movement. And the one for children is called Children of Faith, which helps children to pray for anyone or something they may be concerned about. For information, email the parish office
DIVINE MERCY. Pray the Divine Mercy chaplet every Thursday, starting at 11:40am, just before the 12:00noon Mass, at St Thomas’ church. All are welcome.
ROSARY. Every Saturday, after the 9:30am Mass, you are invited to pray the Rosary at St Thomas’ church. At the same time, there are also Confessions.
HOME VISITS. We would like to come closer to you by visiting your homes to chat about how we can improve our ministry. Sign-up forms are available in the porch to schedule a priest’s home visit. Think of a day and suitable time when you could receive a priest for a cup of tea or coffee and a friendly conversation (no longer than 45 minutes). If you wish, we can also bless your home. Visits will continue throughout the coming year, until next Christmas.
RETROUVAILLE. Does your marriage need some TLC? Need help with communication and trust? Retrouvaille helps marriages. It can bring hope and healing to relationships.
For information, go to www.retrouvaille.org.uk or call 07887 296983.
LISTENING TO YOU. The team welcomes anyone who would like to meet to be listened to in a safe, friendly and confidential environment, on an individual basis at a convenient time for them. If you want to make an appointment, contact the Parish Office.
SEVENOAKS COUNSELLING is a professional service offered by Christians to the whole community. We have provided a trusted, affordable counselling service to Sevenoaks and the surrounding district since 1983. We are welcoming and non-judgemental to everybody. We provide counselling which is professional and caring; confidential; tailored to individual needs, either short term or long term and offered by qualified and experienced therapists. Click on the website for information.
MASS INTENTIONS - A BEAUTIFUL WAY TO PRAY. We have available spaces for Mass intentions in the coming weeks. Offering a Mass for a loved one, whether living or deceased, is a profound act of love and faith. Please contact the parish office to reserve a date. Let us continue to pray for one another through the powerful gift of the Eucharist
SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE. The Maryvale Institute is launching a new course this September, designed for all who wish to go deeper into the Sacrament of Marriage. It is for parish priests, counsellors, those working with married couples, and couples themselves. The course is rooted in the Church's richest theological tradition. The programme explores marriage as vocation, covenant, and a path of sanctification — not merely a ceremony, but a lifelong participation in Christ's love for the Church. It runs over six modules, designed to be both academically robust and accessible to participants without prior theological background. Details may be found HERE.
Pray for the recently died in our Parish and for God to comfort the families who mourn them.
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Magnifica Humanitas — Pope Leo XIV
the Soul of the Human Person in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
With his first encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV addresses one of the defining questions of our age: what happens to humanity when technology develops faster than moral wisdom?
At first glance, the document appears to focus on artificial intelligence, digital systems, and technological ethics. But beneath the discussion of algorithms and machines lies something much deeper. The encyclical is ultimately about the human person — about whether modern civilisation still understands what a human being truly is.
The title itself, Magnificent Humanity, reveals the Pope’s concern. Humanity is not magnificent because of technological achievement, productivity, or intellectual power. Human dignity comes from something far greater: that every person is created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27). Pope Leo deliberately places this encyclical within the tradition of Catholic social teaching. Just as Pope Leo XIII responded to the Industrial Revolution in Rerum Novarum, Pope Leo XIV now responds to a new digital revolution. But this time the danger is not only exploitation of human labour. It is the gradual reduction of the human person into data, efficiency, consumption, and controllable behaviour.
One of the strongest themes running through the document is the concentration of power. The Pope repeatedly warns about systems — political, technological, and economic — that increasingly gather influence into the hands of a small number of individuals or institutions. Artificial intelligence can become a tool not only of progress, but of manipulation: shaping opinions, controlling attention, influencing behaviour, and quietly reducing human freedom. In many ways, Pope Leo identifies one of the greatest temptations of modern civilisation: the desire to maximise power, productivity, and influence by extracting more and more from others. Human attention becomes a commodity. Relationships become transactional. Even silence and rest are treated as inefficiency.
Theologically, this reflects one of the oldest patterns of sin: the desire to dominate rather than to serve. This is why the encyclical repeatedly contrasts intelligence with wisdom. Artificial intelligence may analyse information, imitate speech, and organise knowledge, but it cannot love, repent, sacrifice, worship, or possess conscience. Human beings are not machines. We possess souls. We are capable of communion with God and with one another. No algorithm can reproduce this mystery. Pope Leo also warns that society increasingly risks losing its relationship with truth itself. Synthetic media, digital manipulation, and systems designed to influence emotion create a culture where reality becomes unstable. Here the encyclical echoes Christ’s own words: “The truth will make you free” (John 8:32). When truth is weakened, freedom itself begins to disappear.
Another major theme is work. The Pope strongly rejects the idea that human worth should be measured only by productivity or usefulness. Catholic theology has always understood work as participation in God’s creative action. Human labour possesses dignity because the worker possesses dignity. Technology should assist the human person, not slowly render humanity spiritually irrelevant.
The encyclical is particularly powerful when discussing autonomous weapons and AI-driven warfare. Machines may calculate probabilities, but only human beings can make moral judgments. To delegate decisions of life and death to systems without conscience is, for Pope Leo, a deeply dangerous step for civilisation.
Yet perhaps the deepest insight of Magnifica Humanitas is its spiritual diagnosis of modern humanity. The real crisis is not technological but theological. The danger is not simply that machines become more human-like, but that human beings begin living like machines: constantly connected yet isolated, endlessly stimulated yet spiritually empty, efficient yet incapable of contemplation.
At several points the Pope recalls the image of the Tower of Babel. Humanity again seeks greatness through its own power while attempting to build a civilisation without transcendence. The result is confusion, fragmentation, and loss of meaning.
The Christian response is therefore neither fear of technology nor blind enthusiasm for it. The Church does not reject scientific progress. Rather, she insists that every development must remain ordered towards the good of the human person and ultimately towards God.
In the end, Magnifica Humanitas is far more than an encyclical about artificial intelligence. It is a warning about a civilisation that risks losing its soul. And at the same time, it is a call to rediscover what it truly means to be human.
St Thomas of Canterbury, pray for us.
St Joseph, pray for us.
St Bernadette, pray for us.
St Edith of Kemsing, pray for us.
Fr Peter Kucharski, Parish Priest of Sevenoaks
12 Granville Road email
Sevenoaks 01732 454177
TN13 1ER