St Anthony of Padua Anerley

Seventh Sunday of Easter

Mass Readings: 273 – 275

Order of Mass: Pages 7 – 47

 The days between Ascension and Pentecost are the original days of prayer ordered by Jesus Christ himself before he left his followers to take back to his Father in heaven his total sacrifice made for us, to save us from sin and renew our relationship with God, the creator of life. He told his friends to wait for his sending of the Holy Spirit. In the life of the Church there are novenas. These are sets of nine days dedicated to special prayers, and were originally those between the Ascension and Pentecost. The passage in the acts of the Apostles reads: Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, no farther than a Sabbath day’s journey. Entering the city they went to the room upstairs where they were lodging: Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, Judas son of James. All these were constantly at prayer together, and with them a group of women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Let each of us, then, try to take a little more time to be peaceful, quiet and prayerful and let us really ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit next Sunday and into the future. We should be like the Apostles and Mary and shut out the world and let the Spirit come into our lives. We should look forward to being able to re-dedicate ourselves and being empowered with the gifts of the Spirit. Our prayer must be: Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful.

Sunday Teas:

This Sunday’s teas will be served by  UCM.

Next Sunday’s teas will be served by Volunteers.

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

Last Sunday’s Collections: The 1st collection was £504.85p + £325.00p in Gift Aid Envelopes giving us a parish total of £829.85p. The 2nd collection for our Church Repair Fund 2018 was £185.45p. Thank you for your generosity. Today’s retiring collection is in support of the Catholic Communications Network , <the media office of the Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales>.

Recently Deceased: Please pray for the soul and family of James Eugene Markham. The funeral for James Eugene Markham will be at Beckenham Crematorium on Tuesday 29th May at 12:30pm. May his soul rest in peace.

Baptism Preparation: The next preparation classes are on Thursday the 10th and Monday the 14th May at 7.30pm in the Parish Centre (no. 4 Genoa Road). It is important to attend both sessions.

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.

The Bethlehem Nativity Group: A missionary from Bethlehem, The Holy Land who visited us just over 3 years ago will visit us again on weekend of 19th-20th May to briefly talk about the Holy Land and sell religious articles made out of olive wood from the Holy Land to help and support the poor Christian families. Any help you could give to them would be highly appreciated.

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. This listing will be closed next Sunday 29th May so that the Tour Company can work out possible dates and cost. 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.

Service at St James the Great, Petts Wood  to mark Dementia Awareness Week: On Sunday 20th May at 3pm you are warmly invited to a Service at St James the Great, Petts Wood to mark the start of Dementia Awareness Week which is from Monday 21st May to Sunday 27th May. The service will be led by Fr David Camilleri and will take place in the Church. It will be a time of singing, poetry and prayer followed by refreshments in the Community Centre. We do hope you can join us. For more information please telephone the Parish Office on: 01689 827100 or email: parish.office@stjamespettswood.org

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 Tuesdays 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

Job Vacancies: Bishop Challoner School are seeking a Chemistry Teacher. For an application pack please download the documents from www.bishopchallonerschool.com or contact the school office on 020 8460 3546, email sue@bishopchallonerschool.com CVs unaccompanied by a completed application form will not be accepted. Closing Date: Thursday 10th May 2018 by 1pm.

Laleham Lea School in Purley are seeking a Deputy Head Teacher and a Head Teacher. For an application pack, please contact Mrs Amanda Strachan at SBM@lalehamlea.co.uk. The closing date is noon Monday 14 May 2018.

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

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

Please remember to turn off your mobile phone when you enter the church.

MASS TIMES AND INTENTIONS (13th May—20th May 2018) (Year: B)