St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Epsom

07/06/2026

Weekly update:
June is not only the month of the longest day and,
we pray, a month of good summer weather but it
is also the month where the Church celebrates the
Sacred Heart of Jesus in a particular way. This
beautiful devotion reminds us of the supreme
importance of the loving mercy of the Triune God
and that this mercy overflows from Him. It is a
mercy that knows no bounds if we turn to the One
who was pierced for our transgressions and
humbly ask for it. It is a mercy that we must allow
to flow from ourselves to those around us. We live
in a world where mercy is considered weakness
when, in reality, mercy (which flows from the
meeting of love and justice) is true strength.
We also have the joy of having Corpus Christi
falling in this month this year as well. This
beautiful Solemnity points to us a fundamental
truth of the Catholic faith. Jesus is truly present,
Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, in the Sacred
Species. We can all, at times, fall into a blasé
attitude when we become overfamiliar with things.
We should, at times, ask ourselves whether we
have fallen into that trap in our faith. Perhaps we
should ask the Lord this day; ‘have I become
blasé about the Eucharist?’ ‘Do I approach the
Eucharist with love for the Lord who is truly
present or have I forgotten this in the routine?’
As we approach these blessed Solemnities this
week, let us make these lines from this beautiful
hymn our prayer to be drawn ever deeper into the
Lord’s love and mercy.
‘Deep in thy wounds, Lord, hide and shelter me;
so shall I never, never part from thee’ (Soul of my
Saviour).
With every blessing,
Fr Gary

https://newsletters.st-josephs-epsom.org.uk/Vol66.27_07.06.26.pdf

Pompeo Batoni (1708-1787) is the painter who depicted the most famous image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

07/06/2026

For anyone who would like to sponsor Fr Ruslan not using the link, pop money in an envelope, and give to the
Parish Office—who will ensure is forwarded on to Fr Ruslan—Note this charity is Gift Aided

All 26 pilgrims are heading off on Tuesday. We wish them all well with their final preparations and packing and pray for them. If you would like to help them towards their fundraising target follow the link https://www.justgiving.com/page/stercscamino26?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

30/05/2026

Weekly reflection

Deep Sea Diving . . .

During this hot spell the image used by St Catherine of Siena came to mind: God reflected in the immensity and depths of the sea.
This Trinity Sunday, celebrated this weekend, we are invited to go out into the deep waters, to do some deep sea diving, and ponder and pray over the very nature and essence of the One God – Three Persons – the Divine Communion of Eternal Life and Infinite Love. To touch the very essence and nature of God. At times this may all seem a bit abstract and remote but here we are dealing with Reality itself.
To get this wrong is to get everything wrong – Church teaching is to be treasured for it is so easy for us to wander into virtual reality and illusion – as Pope Leo XIV reminds us in his new letter Magnifica Humanitas.
It is too easy for our contemporaries not to see the sea, and for us Christians to spend our time in the shallow end of the paddling pool whilst the ocean is all around us. Again, St. Catherine: ‘You, O Eternal Trinity, are a deep Sea, into which the deeper I enter the more I find, and the more I find the more I seek.’

By glorifying the Most Holy Trinity may we be impelled to recognise God in our neighbour in whose image we are all created and sustained. The beauty of our faith is that we are called to enter the depths of the ocean yet the journey begins with the simple gesture of a drop of water poured over us at the Baptismal Bath. And then as we learn to serve the Kingdom is as close as a glass of water offered to our neighbour in their thirst. The immensity of God waiting to be discovered in the infinity of small gestures that make up our lives. Every blessing on this Trinity Sunday: Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.

Fr Simon Hall.

https://newsletters.st-josephs-epsom.org.uk/Vol66.26_31.05.26.pdf

22/05/2026

Canon Bill;
The birthday of The Church;
The feast of Pentecost celebrates the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit on the Apostles and thus the beginning of
the spread of the Gospel to the ends of the world. The
many celebrations we have held here at St Joseph’s
Parish these past weeks bear continued witness to that
same Gospel.
We have had a wonderful celebration marking twenty-five
years of our new church on this site so close to our
school. On 9 May we had over one hundred young
teenagers from the deanery here to receive the sacrament
of Confirmation and last weekend ninety children made
their first Holy Communion. All this bears witness to the
power of God’s Holy Spirit living and working among us, as
He is in all parishes and churches in our Deanery and
Diocese, and indeed throughout the world.
Pentecost is truly a celebration of the Good News, the
Gospel as it continues to be proclaimed among us, and
how the world needs to hear it increasingly. I am not
surprised when many people tell me that they switch off
from the negative news that daily pours into our homes on
the television, the radio and all platforms of
information. Even more reason therefore, that we should
focus on what is good, especially the good works so many
are doing to bring about peace and to alleviate hunger and
suffering in the world.
Let us continue to pray that through the power of the Holy
Spirit, a brighter light will shine on the Gospel in which
Jesus, to encourage His disciples said: I have told you
these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this
world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have
overcome the world.” John 16:33
Wishing all who are Christians a Happy Birthday on this
feast of Pentecost. Today starts the beginning of our
8.30am Mass as an extra Mass to see how it works out in
the coming months.
God Bless
Canon Bill

https://newsletters.st-josephs-epsom.org.uk/Vol66.25_24.05.26.pdf

21/05/2026

Foodbank update from Rachel;
you for your continued support and generosity. Your donations keep flowing in and so too do our clients that need them. In April, we supported 470 people, 189 were children. Unfortunately, our stocks are still low so every donation really does make a difference. Please do continue to give what you can. Thanks so much in advance.

This week we need the following:
Milk UHT - Urgent
Instant Coffee - Urgent
Tinned Potatoes - Urgent
Custard - Urgent
Long Life Juice - Urgent
Sugar - Urgent - we have none
Sponge Puddings - Urgent - we have none
Chocolate - Urgent - we have none
Non-Dairy Milk - Urgent - we have none

16/05/2026

Weekly reflection
‘Anointed to be the Anointed One’

In the Church’s liturgical year, we are now in a place of waiting and eager expectation. The Son has ascended to the Father and we await with joy the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. In the life of our parish, we have already seen an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all those young people who received the Sacrament of Confirmation (who we all continue to pray for). By the grace of the Sacrament, they were anointed to be the Anointed One (Christ) in the world, being a ‘place’ (by virtue of being Temples of the Holy Spirit) and person of encounter with the Living God. This is true for us all who have received this Sacrament.

We can see the Holy Spirit at work in the children of our parish who will receive the Holy Eucharist for the first time this weekend. They are responding to the call of God in their hearts through Baptism to approach the altar and receive the Eucharistic Lord. They will receive the Saviour of the world, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, into their very being. The sacramental grace of the Eucharist will draw them ever closer into his love, not just today but every time they approach the Eucharistic Lord at the altar in faith.

These celebrations for the children, however, are not an end but a beginning of the next stage of their pilgrimage of holiness. The formal classes and preparation may have ended but they will be called to love as Jesus loved in their own situations. Don’t stop praying for them or for their families. They are being drawn ever closer into the Lord’s love, let us be drawn in with them in prayer, love and thanksgiving.


Christ has risen, he has risen indeed! Alleluia!


Father Gary

https://newsletters.st-josephs-epsom.org.uk/Vol66.24_17.05.26.pdf

10/05/2026

Weekly reflection

The Month of Mary

The month of May, dedicated to Our Lady, is a season of fruitfulness. Seeds sown in the winter months now produce their fruit – in fact Pentecost which we celebrate in a couple of weeks had been for the Jewish people a celebration of spring harvest and for us now it is the fullness of the Holy Spirit being sent upon the Church. We see that fruitfulness around us in many ways: 25 years of our ‘New’ Church; the parish retreat day at Worth Abbey; children making their 1st Holy Communion over the coming weeks and this weekend our candidates receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Our gratitude for all that has been and pray for all that is to come – especially our candidates, families and catechists who have been preparing for the Sacraments.


Our Lady herself is the most fruitful of all. As we stay close to Her the Holy Spirit will come more abundantly into our lives, fashioning us, with the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit to be the disciples of Jesus needed for today. We are in a watershed time in the Church and world and it is for us to re-dedicate ourselves to the work of God. The simplest, easiest way to do that is to go to Jesus through the heart and hands of Mother Mary. “He who wishes to have the fruit of life, Jesus Christ, must have the tree of life, which is Mary”. (St Louis de Montfort)
Please, please, seize the moment to take up once again the prayerful, calm, praying of the Most Holy Rosary and to join with us in the 24 Hour of Adoration – we still need parishioners to commit 1 hr – especially to keep watch in the early hours. The more of us who are able to sign up the more confident we can be in going ahead

With all our prayers for the Confirmation candidates this weekend and every blessing upon us all.

Fr Simon

https://newsletters.st-josephs-epsom.org.uk/Vol66.23_10.05.26.pdf

05/05/2026

25th Anniversary display at the back of the Church, do have a look if you were unable to join last weekend.
A few pics here 🙏

02/05/2026

Canon Bill:
25th ANNIVERSARY OF THE CHURCH 1st MAY 2026.

Our church is twenty-five years old, not so much a milestone in the history of the parish, but more like a Pebble. St Joseph’s has a great history of pastoral and spiritual care in this community of Epsom dating back to 1865. The parish and indeed Epsom, has grown exponentially since that time and with God’s help we will continue to blossom well into the future embracing the changes and challenges as they come our way.



It was Bishop Cormac’s vision that the five principal parishes of the Surrey half of the diocese should have a substantial church. To this end, the work to relocate St Joseph’s from Heathcote Road to this site close to our school started in the early 1990’s. Those of us who were involved in this endeavour know only too well the journey we had to undertake, culminating with the opening of our new Church on the 1st May 2001 by the then Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster and our former Bishop, Cormac.



As Parish Priest for all these years, it has been my privilege to serve and to continue service at St Joseph’s. The building of this new church has been a tremendous achievement for our community, and we are well placed to assume a lead role in taking the church in this area forward into the future.


It is with great gratitude to all those who gave generously of their time, talent and money that has enabled us to achieve this beautiful church and amenities serving both parish and wider community of Epsom. Archbishop Richard Moth had hoped to be with us for this jubilee celebration has kindly sent us a message, as given below.


Thank you for being with us today and for been part of this fantastic celebration of our 25th anniversary. May God bless you and keep in His love.

Canon Bill, Father Simon, Father Gary

https://newsletters.st-josephs-epsom.org.uk/Vol66.22_03.05.26.pdf

24/04/2026

25 years: these trees on the drive up to the church have certainly grown stronger just as our amazing parish has.....we give thanks to God for all He has done in the life of our parish.

Weekly reflection

‘Celebrate with Prayer and Joy’

We are in the midst of a great number of celebrations within our parish community. Still full of Paschal joy, we celebrate our patronal feast of St Joseph the Worker with our school this weekend ahead of the solemnity itself on Friday 1st. We will also celebrate the twenty fifth anniversary of this Church and give thanks to God for all He has done in the life of this parish.


This Sunday is also ‘Good Shepherd Sunday’ where the Church prays particularly for vocations to the Priesthood. Whilst the celebrations occur here in Epsom, I am in County Monaghan at the priestly ordination of a dear friend from my seminary days in Valladolid. We are blessed at this moment that so many young men have responded to God’s call that the seminaries are rather full at this moment. Please do keep our three seminarians and the two preparing to begin in September in your prayers.


All of us, of course, are called to follow the Lord in our own vocations so let us make this prayer of St Anselm’s our own.

I pray, O God, let me know you and love you so that I may rejoice in you. And if I cannot do so fully in this life, may I progress every day until all comes to fulness; let the knowledge of you grow in me here in this life, and there in heaven let it be complete; let your love grow in me here and reach fulness there, so that my joy may be great in hope, and there be complete in reality.

Christ has risen, he has risen indeed! Alleluia!


With every blessings,

Father Gary

https://newsletters.st-josephs-epsom.org.uk/Vol66.21_26.04.26.pdf