St Anthony of Padua Anerley

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Mass Readings: 264 – 266,

Order of Mass: Pages 7 – 47

About hundred years ago, Sister Therese, who was then a Carmelite nun at Lisieux, wrote about her desires. She wanted to be a priest, a missionary, a martyr. Then she came across St. Paul’s statement that there faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love (1Corintians13:13). At once she cried out in joy that she finally found her vocation– to be love in the Church. St. Therese highlights for each of us that whatever other calling or vocation we may have, at the heart of any Christian living there must be love. This really is for each of us! But love is not just a nice word, a word to be used in song or greeting cards or by young lovers. Earlier in the same chapter. St. Paul talks of love as patient, kind, does not take offence or store up grievances ‘Love never comes to an end’(1Corintians 13:5). So we must realise and live out that everlasting love, because Jesus tells us to love one another as he loves us (John15:12) this beautiful, joyful and fulfilling way of life. It is also a tough one to live, because it involves patience, and suffering. Often we are not very good at giving ourselves in love. Bringing ourselves back to Christ’s life, we have to realise that we are not given the example of mere ideas or emotions in Jesus. At his own profound level he gives himself in love. Christ’s love was and is for us and for all spirit and life.

Sunday Teas:

This Sunday’s teas will be served by the volunteers.

Next Sunday’s teas will be served by the Knights of St Columba.

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

Last Sunday’s Collections: The 1st collection was £579.98p + £274.25p in Gift Aid Envelopes giving us a parish total of £854.23p. The 2nd collection for the Ecclesiastical Education was £127.28p. Thank you for your generosity.

Today’s retiring collection is for the upkeep of St George’s (our) Cathedral.

Recently Deceased: Please pray for the souls and families of Jane O’Connor and Delorraine Perera.

The funeral for Jane O’Connor will be on Tuesday 8th May at 2pm and then 3.30pm at Beckenham Crematorium.

The funeral for Delorraine Perera will be on Thursday 10th May at 10.30am followed by the burial at 12 noon at Beckenham Cemetery.

May their souls rest in peace.

Note for Gift-Aiders: To be a scheme member you must be paying UK Income Tax. If your circumstances have changed and/or you no longer wish to be in the scheme, please let us know. Thank you. Noel Maloney (Scheme Organiser)

1st Friday Silent Adoration: On the first Friday of every month there will be Silent Adoration in the Church from 7 – 8pm.  This will begin on Friday 4th May.

The Road to Emmaus and Beyond: Denis McBride will be at St Anthony’s Church on Thursday 17th May at 7.30pm to talk about his new book ’The Road to Emmaus and Beyond’. Please put the date in your diary and come along to hear him speak about it.

Adoremus Extra: This book, a Redemptorist publication, a lasting resource for cherishing the Eucharist is now available in the repository, priced at £4.95p.

Knights of St Columba Food Bank Collection: The Knights are collecting for the Penge Food Bank this weekend (28th/29th April). Thank you for your continued support.

Parish Pilgrimage to Lourdes: Fr Stuart is proposing to lead a Parish Pilgrimage to Lourdes in May 2019. The pilgrimage will be for four nights and will cost approximately £600, plus a surcharge for those requiring single rooms. The cost will include flights from Stansted airport and full board at a four star hotel 15 minutes from the Grotto. To ascertain numbers and whether there is enough interest, please print your name clearly on the sheet on the notice board at the back of the church if you are interested in going. Please note that this pilgrimage is for St Anthony’s parishioners only.

Church Repairs: As you heard from Father Sunith last week, our church is in need of some TLC and needs to be made weatherproof. Priority is being given to the leaking windows. Here is the quotation from a reputable conservation company: (1) Window cleaning, inside and outside £12,600; (2) Sealing the lead of the windows £6,400; (3) Repointing defective mortar joints £4,200; (4) Painting the external iron on the windows £3,400. Totalling £26,600. Until further notice, on Sundays where there is no diocesan collection, all our retiring collections will go towards our church restoration fund. In addition, one of the wall boxes (near to the water font at the side door) has been re-allocated to this fund. Any donations will be much appreciated. If you are a registered gift-aider, please put donations in an envelope with your name or unique gift aid number on it, and we will be able to reclaim the tax that you have already paid to HMRC on them.

Post-Easter Talks at the Amigo Hall: Each year the Centre for Catholic Formation hold a series of talks at the Amigo Hall, SE1 7HY, in the weeks of Eastertide. This year, the series’ theme is Eucharist in anticipation of the upcoming National Eucharistic Congress. Entry is free, donations welcome. Doors open at 7pm for 7.30pm start. Eucharist and Prayer (3 May) and Eucharist in Scripture (10 May). The talks will also be filmed and will be viewable on the CCF YouTube channel. For more information: www.ccftootingbec.org.uk/sharinginhislife

London Evenings of Faith- Summer 2018: All are welcome to a series of talks on ‘Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, talks on his teaching’ which will take place at 7:00pm on alternate Tuesdays from 8 May 2018 (subsequent talks are 22 May, 5 June, & 19 June). Talks are held in the Challoner Room, 24 Golden Square, London, W1F 9JR. Full dates and details are available at www.faith.org.uk/events/evenings-of-faith.

The Archdiocese Annual Pilgrimage to Lourdes with Clifton, East Anglia and Northampton Diocese is being led this year by Archbishop Peter Smith. 24^th -31^st August 2018 – Flights from Stansted. Visit: www.catholicassociation.co.uk  or: www.tangney-tours.com/CA or call : 01732 886 666 or 0800 917 357

Catholic School Vacancies: The Federation of St Joseph’s Junior, Infant and Nursery Schools currently have spaces remaining in Reception for September 2018 and also have a few spaces in other year groups. St Joseph’s Junior School was awarded Croydon Primary School of the Year 2017 and is in the top 2% nationally for progress between Key Stage 1 and 2. Please contact the Infant School office on 020 8670 2385 to arrange an appointment to visit the Nursery or Infant School.

To visit the Junior School please call: 020 8653 7195.  School website: http://www.stjosephsfederation.co.uk

Please pray for the sick of the Parish: John Barry, Mercie Ihekweme-Hill, Kieran Quinn and Michael Creech.

MASS TIMES AND INTENTIONS (29th April—6th May 2018) (Year: B)