ADVENT IS NEARLY HERE!

CAR PARKING RENEWALS Car parking Renewals for 2025-2026 are now due. This year’s parking subscriptions for 1st Nov 2025 – 31st October 2026 are: £135 Short Term Carpark – 3 Hours; £405 Long Term Carpark – All day. Renewals can be made using the following link https://www.stjohnshorsham.com/car-parking . We would encourage those that do not have access to the internet to get family or close friends to help with the renewals, as the Parish Office is not involved in this process. Once we have an idea of the number of renewals, any registered parishioner who is interested in obtaining a fob, may be put onto a waiting list, which will be held by the parish office.

Christ is King of the Universe! 'Father, "…you anointed your Only Begotten, Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, with the oil of gladness as eternal Priest and King of all creation, so that....making all created things subject to his rule, he might present to the immensity of your majesty an eternal and universal kingdom: a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace…"' These glorious words from the Mass of today's feast remind us of the words of St Paul to the Colossians, that all things were created by Christ, "through him and for him" and "in him all things hold together." (cf. Col 1:16-17) He is King of creation not only because He is the Creator, but because on the Cross He has conquered sin that threatened to disrupt the people He has made, by means of washing them with His blood, saving them, and setting His throne in their hearts by way of His Holy Spirit dwelling in them. The unusual thing about Christ's kingship, is, unlike flawed earthly rulers, it is totally selfless and manifests itself in service: the King who dies wearing a mocking Crown of Thorns. If the world around us does not yet completely show forth His Kingship, it is a call to us to show that we are His subjects in serving others. We cannot create a perfect world here below - and that is not our calling - but nonetheless in striving for 'truth, life, holiness, grace, justice, love and peace', we point others to Him, and to our heavenly homeland, even here below.  This is the last week of the liturgical year before Advent begins. We pray for a renewed courage, as the year turns into that new season, to proclaim to others Jesus as our King.

The 2026 First Holy Communion programme is now closed and no new applications will be accepted, thank you.

Today is the 9th World Day of the Poor. In his message to commemorate the day, the Holy Father writes, "The poor can be witnesses to a strong and steadfast hope, precisely because they embody it in the midst of uncertainty, poverty, instability and marginalization. They cannot rely on the security of power and possessions; on the contrary, they are at their mercy and often victims of them. Their hope must necessarily be sought elsewhere. By recognizing that God is our first and only hope, we too pass from fleeting hopes to a lasting hope. Once we desire that God accompany us on the journey of life, material wealth becomes relativized, for we discover the real treasure that we need [...] Wealth often disappoints and can lead to tragic situations of poverty - above all the poverty born of the failure to recognize our need for God and of the attempt to live without him. A saying of Saint Augustine comes to mind: "Let all your hope be in God: feel your need for him, and let him fill that need. Without him, whatever you possess will only make you all the more empty". The word of God tells us that Christian hope is certainty at every step of life's journey, since it does not depend not on our human strength but upon the promise of God, who is always faithful. For this reason, from the beginning, Christians have identified hope with the symbol of the anchor, which provides stability and security. Christian hope is like an anchor that grounds our hearts in the promise of the Lord Jesus, who saved us by his death and resurrection and will come again among us. This hope continues to point us toward the "new heavens" and the "new earth" (2 Pet 3:13) as the true horizon of our existence, where every life will find its authentic meaning, for our real homeland is in heaven (cf. Phil 3:20).  The city of God, therefore, impels us to improve the cities of men and women. Our own cities must begin to resemble his. [...] The poor are not a distraction for the Church, but our beloved brothers and sisters, for by their lives, their words and their wisdom, they put us in contact with the truth of the Gospel. The celebration Pope Leo XIV writes...of the World Day of the Poor is meant to remind our communities that the poor are at the heart of all our pastoral activity. This is true not only of the Church's charitable work, but also of the message that she celebrates and proclaims. God took on their poverty in order to enrich us through their voices, their stories and their faces. Every form of poverty, without exception, calls us to experience the Gospel concretely and to offer effective signs of hope."

NOVEMBER IS THE MONTH OF THE HOLY SOULS – Here at St John’s, we will remember and pray for the Holy Souls throughout November. Please note in particular: • PRAYERS OF REMEMBRANCE – In the Lady Chapel, you’ll find a box in which you can place the name and anniversary of your deceased loved ones. These names will be prayed for during Masses throughout November. • REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY – On SUNDAY 9TH NOVEMBER, Fr Tristan will celebrate a Requiem Mass for Remembrance Sunday at 9:15am. • MASS FOR DECEASED MEMBERS OF THE CLERGY – On TUESDAY 11TH NOVEMBER, Canon Tim Madeley and the clergy of our Deanery will celebrate a Mass for Deceased Members of the Clergy at 11am at Corpus Christi, Tanyard, Henfield BN5 9PE. All are welcome.  • ANNUAL MASS FOR THE BEREAVED – On SATURDAY 22ND NOVEMBER AT 10:00AM, we will be holding our annual Mass for the Bereaved, when we remember all those who have died and offer prayers and support for the bereaved of our community. During the Mass, the names of those who have died over the last 12 months will be read out and there will be an opportunity to light votive candles for all those we love who have died. The Mass will be followed by refreshments in the Parish Hall, hosted by the SVP. Please let the Parish Office know if you would like the name of anyone who has died in the last 12 months to be added to our list. All are most warmly welcomed to this Mass.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, For many of us, when we think of Rome, we think of St Peter’s Basilica. In a Jubilee Year such as this, the entry through the Holy Door of St Peter’s is a high point of any pilgrimage. It is from the Apostolic Palace, next to St Peter’s, that the Holy Father makes his Angelus addresses and it is there that the public audiences take place, as well as significant celebrations in the life of the Church: canonisations, the inaugurations of new popes and the requiem Masses for deceased popes. Yet it is the Lateran Basilica, built originally by the Emperor Constantine, that is described as “the mother and head of all the churches of the City and the World.” It is the Cathedral Church of Rome, and popes lived in the Lateran Palace for hundreds of years. It is the Pope’s Cathedral, for he is the Bishop of Rome. It is for this reason that the whole Church celebrates this feast. It is a celebration of our unity with the Holy Father, the successor of St Peter. This Sunday’s first reading, the vision of Ezekiel of the Temple in Jerusalem, speaks of the water that flows from the Temple bringing life to the desert. So it is for the Church. The waters of baptism – in which, as St Paul tells us, we die and rise with the new life of Christ – bring us to live our lives in the love that exists in the Trinity, as members of Christ’s Church. The celebration of the dedication of any Church is a reminder, as St Paul tells us in this Sunday’s second reading, that the Church is made of the living stones of the baptised. We are the Church, called to reflect the wonder of the Gospel to the world around us. This is the mission that we have been given through our baptism – the mission that calls others to share in the wonder of the Church’s life, the life of Christ. The Lateran Basilica, the “mother of all the churches” stands as a witness to the world and a reminder to us, who are the living stones, of the mission to which we are called, in union with Pope Leo, the successor of Peter.  With every blessing,

Happy Feast of All Saints! Today the Church celebrates in a very broad way the astonishing reality of Heaven. Heaven means nothing other than to be full of God and fully in God. Heaven is not a guarantee for anyone: it is not something that comes part and parcel with our being created; it is a state that would not be possible for anyone had God not sent His Son Jesus to die to save us. It is an astounding and unwarranted gift! The promise of Heaven is given in Baptism, but it is only realised through our free co-operation to constantly turn away from sin and live in Christ, whose presence is communicated to us through grace, given through the sacraments of the Church - and this makes us saints. The feast of All Saints opens up before us this amazing reality of their existence in God, even now, who have bound themselves in love to Christ forever and thus live beyond death in eternity. We pray to the saints, not because they can do anything of themselves, but because they are totally united to Christ in Love and communicate with him constantly on our behalf; furthermore, they give us wonderful examples of how to live today. Directly after All Saints' Day comes All Souls. This day turns to the atrium of Heaven, that state which we call 'Purgatory'. We are reminded that, when we die, many of us are attached to less serious ('venial') sins that still mar our friendship with Jesus, and for which we have not accepted Jesus' reconciliation. In Purgatory, these souls suffer to pay their debt, as they long to be joined with Christ fully. Every Mass makes present Jesus’ own experience of death: His sacrifice for sins; every Mass thus causes souls to be cleansed and transferred to Heaven through His forgiving mercy. During November, when we pray in particular for the Dead who still need this cleansing, why not ask for a Mass to be celebrated for a deceased loved one? (You may have noticed that your priest tends to announce before each Mass a “Mass intention”, which is exactly what this is; usually a donation is given along with the intention; these donations - along with the offering on Christmas and Easter Days - are his main income). It is also good too, in November, to visit a cemetery and pray for the dead, for which we can obtain a special indulgence. We also pray for all our loved ones who have died this year in the parish, and for those who mourn. Please also join us for a special Mass for all the bereaved on Saturday 22nd November at 10am.

OPEN DAYS AT ST ROBERT SOUTHWELL CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL - We are delighted to invite prospective parents and carers to visit our school and see all that St Robert Southwell has to offer. Come and experience our warm, welcoming community, meet our dedicated staff, and see our children’s learning in action. Visit Dates:Thursday 13th November – from 1:30pm–2:30pm and 4:30pm– 6:00pm and Saturday 22nd November – from 10:00am. To book your place, please contact the school office on 01403 252357 or email secretary@strobertsouthwell.co.uk. We look forward to welcoming you to our school!

UPDATED: PARISH VOLUNTEERS’ PARTY, FRIDAY 21ST NOVEMBER – If you volunteer in any capacity here at St John’s – for example, with any element of the Liturgy, with anything to do with our buildings or grounds, in any of our Sacramental or formation programmes, with supporting our housebound parishioners – please join Fr Tristan for a little party on Friday 21st November from 7pm in the Main Hall. If you’re planning to attend, please email the Parish Office at horsham@abdiocese.org.uk, by Friday 31 October, giving your name and the number in your party, split between adults and children.