St Anthony of Padua Anerley

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Mass Readings: Pages 90 – 92
Order of Mass: Pages 7 – 47

As you read this, thank God for the wonder of his love. God so loved the world that is he loved his creation of the universe, of this world with all it contains. Today, he loves you with an everlasting love. Love when it is real it is very deep, and as St. Paul says ‘love never comes to and end’. Sometimes we are happy in being able to feel loved, enfolded by love—human and divine love. Sometimes we feel lonely and abandoned. Faith and trust and our love of God assures us you are not alone: you are loved. The more you love the more you will know deep down that you are loved: the more you will experience love.

  To love another person is to see the face of God. This is what we do when we share the love that we received from Christ. So make this a 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 yourself, tell someone. May you have a happy, peaceful, joyful and holy Christmas.

Sunday Teas:

As it is Christmas Eve, there will be no Sunday teas this Sunday.

Next Sunday teas may be served by volunteers if any are available over the Christmas season.

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

Last Week’s Collections:  The 1st collection was £479.29p + £362.10p in  Gift Aid Envelopes giving us a parish total of £ 841.39p. The 2nd collection for Altar Flowers at Christmas was £120.02p. Thank you for your generosity. Today’s retiring collection is again for the Altar Flowers at Christmas.

Christmas Day: The collections at all Christmas Day masses are your personal gift to the clergy.

Nativity Crib:  All donations will be given to the Catholic Children’s Society Crisis Fund (helping local children and families who are in dire need).

Safety Notice: Parents, please supervise your children at all times as there are a lot of lit candles around the church.

Advance Notice: Please note that the new lighting system will be installed soon. The work is scheduled to begin on Monday 15th January. There will be mass as usual, at 9.30am, during the week.

Will you be on your own over Christmas?  The Melvin Hall Community Group will be holding a Christmas Dinner on Boxing Day for people that will be on their own. Doors open at 11am and dinner will be served from 12noon. To reserve your place please call Kathy on 07943 062569 or Maureen on 07983 796089. Please see the poster on the notice board.

Southwark Directories: The directories are now available in the repository.

Eucharistic Ministers and Readers: Rotas are available in the sacristy.

Parish Calendars: Calendars depicting all the Parish Stations of the Cross are now available from the repository, priced at £5 each.

Catholic Youth Ministry – Faith in Action: Take up the Faith in Action challenge!  Come to register on Saturday 27th January 2018 at 10.30am at St Josephs Church, Plaistow Lane, Bromley.  Please see the poster on the notice board for more information or email Susan Longhurst, susan.longhurst@bromleydeanery.org.

Eucharistic Congress, Liverpool, 7-9 September 2018. Two members of the parish  have volunteered to attend the Eucharistic Congress next year. We need a small group of parishioners to work with our two delegates to prepare for the Congress and to spread the message which comes back from the Congress. If you would like to be part of this group, please contact the presbytery or speak to a member of the Parish pastoral council.

Catholic Schools: Do you support Catholic schools and the right of Catholics to send their children to them?  Then we need to make your voice heard.  The government is making a critical decision on whether to overturn the admissions cap which prevents Catholic schools from allowing all Catholic pupils to attend.  They have acknowledged that this policy discriminates against Catholics and promised to abandon it, now we need you to tell them not to U-turn on their promise to Catholics.  Visit http://catholicnews.org.uk/ or search for ‘Catholic Education’ in your search engine to write to the government and urge them to drop their policy which bans new Catholic schools.

Parish Diaries: Parish diaries are now available.  Donations will be very appreciated.

Please pray for the sick of the Parish: Bridget McLaughlin, 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.

Father Sunith and Father Stuart would like to wish you and your families a safe, happy and holy Christmas.

MASS TIMES AND INTENTIONS (24th Dec —31st Dec 2017) (Year: B)