St Anthony of Padua Anerley

Third Sunday of Advent

Mass Readings: Pages 88 – 90

Order of Mass: Pages 6 – 60

First Reading: God is hope of his people who are crushed by misfortune.

Second Reading: St. James urges us to be patient with one another and patient regarding the Lord’s final coming.

Gospel: We see Jesus at work, and hear his words of praise for his imprisoned cousin John.

Isaiah uses the image of the desert, made fertile by rain, to portray the confident hope that God would restore his people, crushed by misfortune. Their most crippling disabilities—blindness, deafness and lameness—will be relieved when God sends salvation to his  people.

John the Baptist’s image of the Messiah was that of a stern judge who would execute a fiery judgement. But Jesus did not fit this image. Hence, John’s doubts about him. Jesus dispelled John’s doubts by showing that he was doing precisely the kind of things that had been predicted for the messianic times (by the prophet Isaiah). Once again, Matthew sees Jesus as the one who fulfils the messianic prophecies.

James is talking about the Second Coming of  Jesus. He urges the kind of patience and hope farmers show in waiting for the harvest, and which the prophets of old showed as they waited for the promises to be fulfilled.

Sunday Teas:

This Sunday’s teas will be served by the UCM. Next Sunday’s mulled wine and mince pie teas will be served by the Knights of St Columba.

Thank you to all those who help out with the Sunday Teas.

Last Week’s Collections: The 1st collection was £555.23p + £293.05p in Gift Aid Envelopes giving us a parish total of £ 848.28p.   The 2nd    collection for Parish Funds was £ 103.22p. Thank you for your generosity.  The 2nd collection today is for the SVP.

Recently Deceased: Please remember the souls and families of Teresa Margaret Mary Osborne and Yvonne Evelyn Patrine Coonghe in your prayers. The funeral for Teresa Osborne will be on Monday 12th December at 12 noon followed by the cremation at Beckenham Crematorium at 1.30pm.  The funeral for Yvonne Coonghe will be on Thursday 15th December at 10.30am at Beckenham Crematorium.  May their souls rest in peace.

Christmas Carol Service: St Anthony’s School will have their Carol Service on Monday 19th December at 6.30pm.  Everyone is welcome to come along.

Crying Babies and Young Children: If your baby or young child is crying during the Mass please do use the confessional box instead of leaving the Church. We have now installed a monitor inside the confessional box which means parents and carers are able to watch the Mass from inside the confessional box.

Mass Bookings: Please book your masses at least two months in advance.

Christmas Social Evening: Any one who is involved in the parish ministry is  invited to a social evening in the Parish Centre on the 12th December at 7.30pm (Eucharistic  Ministers, Readers, Flower arrangers, Church cleaners are invited).

Parish Christmas Fair Winners: Entrance: Tub of Chocolates won by Hany Fadlalla; Treasure Hunt: DVD and Chocolates won by Jamie Yamaguchi; Guess the Weight of the Cake (1.43kg) won by Olivier; Guess the Name of the Doll (Hope) won by Susan Carroll; Guess the Bear’s Birthday (21st September) won by Noel Maloney; Knights of St Columba Main Hamper was won by A. Morrish and the smaller hamper was won by Stephen Gaved.  A big thank you to all those who helped with the fair and to all those who turned out to support it.  You all raised £1,614.17 for the parish which was a tremendous amount.  If you won a prize and have not yet collected it then please contact Eddie Green on 07753 814949.

 Knights of St Columba Food Bank Collection:  December’s collection weekend will be on the weekend of 17th/18th December just before the celebration of Christmas.  Many thanks to all those who donate to this worthy cause.

The Passage Carol Service: Please support a Carol Service in aid of The Passage, a charity working with homeless people, on Friday 16th December at 6.00 pm in St Margaret’s Church, Westminster, the parish church of the House of Commons. Readers include Nick Hancock, Lynda Baron, Kathryn Pogson and Cardinal Vincent Nichols. Admission by advanced ticket only from The Passage tel. 020 7592 1856  email tickets @passage.org.uk minimum recommended donation £25.

Job Vacancies: Bishop Challoner is seeking a School Chaplain.  Please see the website www.bishopchallonerschool.com or contact the school office on 020 8460 3546 for further details.

Hospital Admissions: If you are due to be admitted to hospital or if you know of a parishioner who has been admitted to hospital then please let one of the clergy know.  Thank you.

Cold Weather: Please do remember to close the doors behind you when you are entering or leaving the church so we can conserve the heat inside the Church. Thank you.

Christmas Gifts: Please do take a look at all the gifts on sale in the repository.

Please pray for the sick of the Parish: Bridget McLaughlin, Ellen Garvey, John Barry, Margaret Southwell,  Mercie Ihekweme-Hill, Kieran Quinn, Marie Harris and Michael Creech.

Notices for the newsletter need to be emailed/posted to the presbytery by 6pm on Thursdays.

MASS TIMES AND INTENTIONS (11th Dec—18th Dec 2016) (Year: A)