St John of The Cross Catholic Church, Aylsham

11/06/2026

Father Alan’s Induction Mass – This will take place at Sacred Heart on Thursday July 2nd at 6pm. Bishop Peter will preside over this ceremony, and we look forward to welcoming as many parishioners as possible to this joyful occasion. Teas, coffees and refreshments will be served in the hall afterwards and to be sure of numbers we ask if you would sign the list at the back of the church from today, if you are hoping to be there.

11/06/2026

SVP Bake Sale – This will take place on Sunday 14 June after Mass at St John of the Cross and Sacred Heart. Please bring along cakes and baked goods. Sales and cash donations welcome.

11/06/2026

From the Parish Priest:

Corpus Christi: This Sunday, as we celebrate our Mass, be particularly mindful of the Words of Institution when the priest consecrates the bread and wine and transforms these objects into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. We should always be mindful of this during the Mass and pay rapt attention to the action on the altar as we remember the Lord’s Last Supper on Maundy Thursday. The sacrifice of the spotless lamb who endured the Passion for our salvation. The feast of Corpus Christi was suggested by St Thomas Aquinas to Pope Urban IV in the 13th century and then brought to reality in 1264 in Orvieto after the Pontiff recognised the Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsena – the appearance of blood was found pouring from the Blessed Sacrament onto the corporal during Mass. Since that time, the feast has been celebrated throughout the Catholic Church with a Mass and, often, a procession with the Blessed Sacrament through the streets. It is traditional for the Holy Father to process from John Lateran to Mary Major on this day. I pray that we will all find a spirit of adoration and profound belief as we celebrate Mass this Sunday and that this will remain with us whenever we enter the sacred stillness of the church. This is the only feast that we celebrate throughout the Church’s calendar that is celebrated specifically in honour and love of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

04/06/2026

Parish Quiz -Please join us for this fun event on Saturday 6th June, 2pm-4pm. Come as a team of up to 6 or join others there to make one! Half-time refreshments. Raffle contributions welcomed.

04/06/2026

Marriage Celebration Mass – All married couples of the diocese are invited to attend the Annual Marriage Celebration Mass on Saturday 13th June at 11.30 in the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Norwich or details and to register online, please see

Marriage Celebration Mass Registration Bishop Peter and the Marriage and Family Life Commission warmly invite you to join us at the Cathedral for our annual Marriage […]

04/06/2026

From the Parish Priest:

I look forward to the ‘quiz afternoon’ on Saturday (June 6th) as we are challenged in areas of general knowledge and, perhaps, not so general! These events are an important part of parish life as they help to foster closer relationships between people from the three churches and maybe even forge new friendships. They also raise much needed funding for the church in a fun and entertaining way. We have three churches with three very challenging gardens and grounds as well as a parish hall and presbytery to maintain and repair. This is where the bulk of our money goes and we have to be aware that, as our buildings get older, so the maintenance increases. Thank you to Bob for arranging the fund-raising events with such a good grace and charm – thank you to all the volunteers who do work around the parish with a quiet dignity and help to save us on salaries and other expenses. We have spent the last few weeks in the office designing a new newsletter so that the letter gains more clarity and has a more modern feel to it. There are a few new pieces of information and there will be some ‘old favourites’ that will be left out. This is due to a number of reasons – space being the main factor. Change can often be challenging, and it is just not possible to keep everyone happy all of the time. I am sure that, over time, the new format will become familiar to everyone.

30/05/2026

28/05/2026

🇰🇭 Join us this Saturday (30th May) for a Coffee Morning in Aid of Support Cambodia

☕️ We'll be at St John of The Cross Catholic Church, Aylsham from 10am until noon

🍰 Coffee, tea & homemade cakes available

🦒 Cambodian craft sales, including new product lines

💻 Short presentations (5 minutes each) at 10:30am and 11:30am

🪙 All proceeds go to the Bob Maidment Educational Support Fund

😊 We look forward to seeing you there!

👉 Find out more about our work at https://supportcambodia.org.uk/

27/05/2026

Fr Alan writes:

Pentecost: The wonderful feast of Pentecost has arrived and in the Catholic Church we always celebrate this feast with great joy and anticipation. Joy, that Jesus has sent us his Advocate to share a life of intimacy and strength with us, and anticipation, because of the power and love of the Holy Spirit as he descends to be with the Church. Pentecost marks the very end, the final day, of the Easter season and we now move into Ordinary Time right through until Advent and the start of the new liturgical year. We must not make the mistake of assuming that as it is called ‘Ordinary Time’ that it is in any way boring or mundane – It is rather a time of ‘counting’ – each week being given a chronological number (the 8th week of Ordinary Time – for example). Rather, it represents the orderliness of the Church’s calendar. I love orderliness and systems, so I am quite comfortable with the title. During this time, we focus on the life, times and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ and how he gathered people around him through this ministry and through his love for all of humanity. We have many feasts to look forward to during this time; Corpus Christi, Holy Trinity, Christ the High Priest as well as in our secular life the many milestones and celebrations that are in our calendars. Definitely not a time of boredom and far from ‘ordinary’. May we all have a blessed Pentecost celebration.

17/05/2026

Fr Alan writes:

The wonderful celebration of the solemnity of The Ascension seems to give us a ‘soft herald’ of the impending feast of Pentecost where we are promised, by Christ, that he will not leave us orphans and that he will send us the Paraclete to be with us and all the associated gifts that he brings. The Apostles needed this dramatic event to give them strength, awe, fortitude and courage, to embark on their mission to all corners of the earth. They were gaoled, beaten, stoned and mocked yet, through the grace of Pentecost, they clung on and baptised thousands of people, converted whole communities and lands and changed whole nations to convert and believe in the peace of Christ.

All, except John, were martyred for the faith and were the forerunners of the many, many martyrs over the centuries – plenty were martyred in this country and continue to be martyred in other countries even today. Just imagine if Christ had not sent the Holy Spirit to strengthen those Apostles or if they had ignored him and continued with their comfortable, safe lives. This is a good time to look at our own lives. Is it too safe? Too comfortable? What do I do that is different, that makes me Catholic? How have I used the gifts that were bestowed upon me when I was Confirmed? Am I a true disciple of Christ? Next Sunday, as we celebrate the power of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, I encourage you to wear an item of clothing that is red so that our church looks as if it is full of the flames of Pentecost during Mass. In the meantime, think about your own gifts and the way that you use them to tell the Gospel to the world.