St Anthony of Padua Anerley

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Mass Readings: Pages 90 – 93

Order of Mass: Pages 6 – 60

Mary becomes, in a way that not even the prophets could have fully suspected, the House of God. In faithfulness to his promises, God not only draws near to his people, he identifies himself with them, the Good News is given to us to be shared with everyone through our lives example.

As you read this, thank God for the wonder of his love. God so loved the world that he loved his creation of the universe, of this world with all it contains. He loved our ancestors down the ages. Today, he loves with everlasting love. This love as the love of our own fathers and mothers does not always seem very visible. We say ‘if you love me, why do that to me? Why let this happen?’ and so on. Love when it is real is very deep, and as St. Paul says ‘love never comes to an end’. Sometimes we are happy in being able to feel loved, enfolded by love human and divine. Sometimes we feel lonely and abandoned. Faith and trust and our love of God assures us you are not alone:  you are loved. Here is lesson the more you love, the more  difficult and painful things may be! Christ’s love led him to his suffering and death on the cross! But the more you love the more you will know deep down that you are loved:

To love another person is to see the face of God.

This what we do when we share the love that we have received from Christ. So make this feast of love by coming to Mass and Holy Communion, with your family and friends and neighbours. If you know anyone lonely or seemingly unloved, can you love them a little? If you cannot manage this yourself, tell someone.

Sunday Teas:

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

There will be no Sunday teas for the next two Sundays as it is Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

The next Sunday teas will be on the 8th January and will be served by the UCM.

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

Last Week’s Collections: The 1st collection was £559.97p + £492.20p in Gift Aid Envelopes giving us a parish total of £ 1052.17p. The 2nd collection for the SVP was £316.00p. Thank you for your generosity.  The 2nd collection today is for Christmas Flowers. (Reminder: The collections at all masses next Sunday <Christmas Day>  are your personal gift to the clergy).  

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.

Baptism Preparation:  The classes for Baptism preparation be on Mondays, the 16th, 23rd and 30th January at 7.30pm in the Parish Centre. Please remember it is important to attend all three classes.

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.

Southwark Catholic Directories are now available in the repository.

Knights of St Columba Food Bank Collection:  The Knights are collecting this weekend (17th/18th December). Many thanks to all those who donate to this worthy cause.

Are you a young person aged between 9-18yrs?  Read on to find out how you can take up the ‘Faith in Action’ challenge today! 

‘Faith in Action’ is a new, national, catholic award scheme from CYMFED which challenges young people of faith to make a difference in the world.  There are four levels of the award – Pin, Bronze, Silver, Gold and each one recognises the good work young people already do in the Church, whilst encouraging them to become involved in a wide range of activities and projects which positively contribute to their parish, school or community.  The Faith in Action award scheme will run each year, from January to November, finishing with an awards ceremony to celebrate the work of those who complete each stage.  There will be frequent opportunities for young people to spiritually reflect on their chosen activity in the light of the Gospel message, to seek meaningful ways to develop their own unique gifts and talents and to embrace the challenge to become disciples of the modern world.  All young people in Bromley Deanery aged 9-18 years are invited to take part in the Faith in Action Award Scheme, which will be launched at the end of January 2017.  We are inviting all parents and young people of St Anthony of Padua who are interested in taking part in the Faith in Action award to a meeting at the parish on Friday 6^th January 2017 at 6.30pm – so, if you are a young person who already reads at Mass, sings or plays an instrument in the choir, altar serves, helps or volunteers in your school or community in any way, then come along to the meeting to learn more about the range of exciting opportunities open to you.  We look forward to seeing you then!

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.

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

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.

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 (18th Dec—25th Dec 2016) (Year: A)