St Anthony of Padua Anerley

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord

Mass Readings: Pages 176 – 190

Order of Mass: Pages 6 – 60

 Palm Sunday This Weekend—Palm Sunday—we witness Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, with shouts of Hosanna and acclamation from the crowd.  In the minds and hearts of the crowd this was the beginning of restoring the worldly power of the kingdom of Israel, oppressed as the kingdom was by the occupying forces of Rome.  Jesus rejects this and goes off out of the city to stay with friends and then teaches daily in the Temple until the time of the Last Supper and his arrest comes.  In this world, the whole thrust and push and educational drive is supposed to be towards achievement and success.  As Christians there is a very real dilemma here—are we not meant to use our talents, to work for success, power?

By sharing the experience of hearing the triumphal entry and Christ’s rejection of that worldly conquest, our own worldly aims and ambitions are given a different colouring.  By sharing the reading of the Passion story, the awfulness, the horror of the cruelty of those created out of God’s love is highlighted.  We can ponder, also, the injustice so widely spread around the world at this time.

On Maundy Thursday, we enter into Christ’s loving service and self-giving both in the washing of the feet and in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.  Here we have Jesus’ two great acts of love; he washes the feet of his disciples in humility and service, urging them to follow his example, and then he anticipates his own death by giving bread and wine to his disciples saying ‘this is my body’ and ‘this is the cup of my blood’.

There is so much depth, beauty and love in this celebration, everyone should do their very best to join the community of love and receive his gift of himself in Holy Communion.  Please respond to his call.

Good Friday provides  the opportunity for us to centre on the Cross.  The solemnity and sadness should be as tangible to us as it is when we are bereaved—it should go really deep into our consciousness and our unconscious.  This should be truly a day of prayer, fasting, and giving alms in communion with the sorrowfully beautiful celebration.  There are many ways of meditating on the meaning of Good Friday for  us.  I want this time to meditate on the Cross, for it is the Cross which we acknowledge and venerate in a central way during the afternoon liturgy. On this day of all days and at this time, it takes little imagination to picture the sense of abandonment, horror, pain, fear and almost despair in the minds, hearts and whole being of Mary, John, Mary Magdalene and all those who witnessed Jesus’ death.  Although Jesus had told them what was going to happen, it did not seem to give them the consolation of being able to say to each other ‘Yes, but it is only to be three days and he will rise again.’  I expect each of us has experienced some kind of desolation in our lives when we say that the bottom has dropped out of our world. I believe, then, that it is really vital for us to experience desolation on Good Friday—feeling that emptiness of life without Jesus Christ.

On Holy Saturday we go into the darkness to emerge in the light of Christ in a most lovely and moving celebration. You must not miss this.  It is a wonderful occasion for our personal and collective renewal in Christ. On this night, also we shall have the joy of welcoming new members to our parish community.  I would like to highlight two parts of this wonderful liturgy, that of Baptism and the Eucharist.

Sunday Teas:

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

Next Sunday’s teas will be served by the French Speaking Prayer Group.

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

Last Week’s Collections: The 1st collection was £609.01p + £359.00p in Gift Aid Envelopes giving us a parish total of £968.01p.  The 2nd collection for Parish Funds was £111.39p. Thank you for your generosity. Today’s 2nd collection will again be for Easter Altar Flowers.

Stations of the Cross: The Stations of the Cross will be on Wednesdays after 9.30am Mass, Fridays at 7pm and Sundays at 4pm.

In Your Prayers: Please remember to pray for the Holy Communion Group (the names are on the notice board at the back of the Church).

Holy Thursday: The church will stay open after the Lord’s Supper until 8:00am on Good Friday morning.

Lenten Masses in the Hospital: There will be Mass in Croydon University Hospital Chapel on every Monday during Lent at 12noon.

St Joseph’s Youth Workshops and Mass: All the young people in Bromley Deanery between the ages of 10 – 18 years are invited to attend Mass on Saturday 22nd April at 6pm at St Joseph’s Church, Plaistow Lane, Bromley.  There will be an afternoon of workshops from 3.30 – 5.30pm in the Upper Room and the theme will be to explore ‘The Creed’.  We will need musicians, singers and artists as well as those good at drama to make this a success.  Please contact admin@stjosephsbromley.org (020 8402 0459) – poster on the notice board.

Celebrating your 1st/10th/25th/40th/50th/60th+ wedding anniversary?: If so, there will be a Mass in Celebration of the Sacrament of Marriage at St George’s Cathedral on Saturday 17th June.  If you would like to attend, please give Father Sunith your names (both), your address, telephone number and which year’s anniversary you are celebrating.

St Anthony’s Car Share?:  Due to costs, our minibus service taking older and less mobile parishioners to mass will in future only run once per month. On the positive side, this provides an opportunity for parishioners to help in a very practical way. Would anyone prepared to take a parishioner to mass?  Please contact a member of the parish council if you are interested.  It is unlikely that anyone could do this every week. Hence, a pool of car-share parishioners would be ideal. Depending on the response, the parish council will organise a rota including flexibility to allow for holiday, illness, or other commitments. Thank you.

Quiz Night:  The Knights of St Columba will be hosting the annual Parish quiz competition on Friday 28^th April at the Royston Club, Royston Road Penge SE20 7QW.Entrance fee is £2.50 per person or £12.00 for the maximum number of 6 in a team. Winning team receives a trophy . Individuals welcomed to come along to make up a team on the night. Entry time from 7.30pm onwards for a 8.00pm start. Proceeds will go to the Missio Charity.

Coloma School May Ball: In honour of Mrs Maureen Martin – after 22 years as head teacher of Coloma Convent School Mrs Maureen Martin OBE is retiring at the end of the academic year.  The Coloma Parents’ Association are holding a May Ball on 6th May in honour of Mrs Martin in recognition of her hard work, commitment to the school and the difference her leadership has made to our daughters’ lives. It would be lovely if as many past and present parents and friends of Coloma attended this event. To ensure that as many people have the opportunity to attend the May Ball it will be held at Hilton Hotel, 101 Waddon Way, Purley Way, Croydon, CR9 4HH.  Tickets are priced at £50 which includes a welcome drink, a 3 course meal, half a bottle of wine per person, live entertainment from Aloma Music.  The Ball commences at 7pm and ends at 1am. If you would like to attend the May Ball please send an email to coloma.pa@hotmail.co.uk confirming the number of tickets you require.

Penge Festival Poetry Competition 2017: Write poetry? Why not enter the Penge Festival Poetry Competition?  Entry fee only £3.00 for up to three poems. Prizes: £75, £50 and £25 with a Young Poet’s Prize of £50. In addition, all winners receive books of Walter de la Mare’s poetry. Closing date is 31st May. Entry Guideline flyers are on a table at the back of the church. Copies may also be picked up from Penge Library or download from the Facebook Penge Poets page:  https://www.facebook.com/pengepoets/   Good luck and inspired writing!

Job Vacancies: Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior School are seeking an Examination Invigilator.  Please see their website for further details and the application forms, www.virgofidelis.org.uk.  The closing date is 24th April 2017.  Bishop Challoner are seeking a KS1/KS2 teacher.  Please visit www.bishopchallerschool.com/266/teaching-vacancies or call Sue Long on 020 8460 3546.  Laleham Lea Catholic Independent School are seeking a Primary Teacher for September 2017.  Please contact Mrs Carly Edwards on 020 8660 3351 or email: secretary@lalehamlea.co.uk for further details.

 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.

Please remember to switch off your mobile phone when you enter the Church. 

MASS TIMES AND INTENTIONS (9th April—16th April 2017) (Year: A)