St Anthony of Padua Anerley

Our Lord Jesus Christ,

King of the Universe

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           Today we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. When we think of a king we think of someone who is very remote from his people and lords it over them. But Christ is not like that. He lives among us, and came not to rule but to serve. The best way to show our loyalty to him is by serving one another.

In Matthew’s scene of the last judgement, Christ is portrayed as stern King and judge. But this image shouldn’t be over-emphasised. Ezekiel (First Reading) has a gentler image—that of a good shepherd who, while caring for all the sheep in his flock, shows particular care for the weak and wounded ones. This was the image Christ himself used to describe his person and mission. And his followers show that they truly belong to his kingdom by their service of the little ones

Paul says that at the end time Christ will triumph over evil, the last evil being death.

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Sunday Teas:

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

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

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Last Week’s collections: The 1st collection was £1120.88p including Gift Aided £634.52p. The 2nd collection for Parish Funds was £96.08p. Thank you for your generosity. The 2nd collection today is for Catholic Youth Services.

Recently Deceased: Please remember Rosanna Graydon, Antonia Barrio and Mary Phelan and their families in your prayers.
Antonia Barrio’s funeral will be at Beckenham Crematorium on 1st December at 2.15pm. (Please note the change of funeral venue from last week’s newsletter.)

Christmas Hamper: The Knights of St Columba are sponsoring a raffle for a well stocked Christmas Hamper in aid of Church Funds. Tickets will be available at the end of each mass at the back of the church. The draw will be held at St Anthony’s Christmas Fair on the 6th December.

Baptism Preparation: The final Baptism Preparation class in this series will be on Monday 24th November in the Parish Centre at 7.30pm.

Eucharistic Ministers: The next Eucharistic Ministers meeting will be held on Monday, the 8th December at 8pm in the Parish Centre. We would like to see as many ministers as possible. We have several new ministers and it would be great for everyone to meet each other at the Ministers’ Social on the 8th December.

Mass Intentions: If you would like to book a mass for a particular date next year then please book it now to avoid disappointment. Thank you.

Mass intentions – for information: Often Fr. Sunith and Fr. Stuart concelebrate at mass. We have some masses that are not yet said. You may see from time to time two intentions will appear in the newsletter. We will say mass for these two intentions individually.

Knights of St Columba Food Bank Collection: The Knights are collecting for the Penge Food Bank. They will collect regularly on the last weekend of each month. The next collection will be next weekend.

Congratulations: Congratulations to Maureen Lambert and David Ryall who were married this weekend (Saturday the 22nd November).
May they have a happy life together.

Inspired by St Francis of Assisi? You are invited to the Fraternity monthly meeting of the Secular Franciscan Order on Sunday 23rd from 2.30pm until 5.30pm, in St Mary’s Small Hall, Wellesley Road, Croydon. Everybody’s welcome—just come! (Entrance down the ramp at the side of the church).

Parish Christmas Fair: The Parish Christmas Fair will be on Saturday 6th December from 11am until 2pm. Please put this date in your diary. We are now collecting items for the Christmas Fair. If you can bring drinks for the Bottle Stall and good quality items for the Tombola and Lucky Dip that would be appreciated. For a successful fair, we need appealing items which will attract buyers and help raise funds for the Church. Please leave items in the box in the narthex. If anyone needs their donated items to be collected then please call Ben on 020 8778 8259 or 07534 920314.

Southwark Spirituality Commission: On 6th December, the Southwark Spirituality Commission will play host to an event at St George’s Cathedral which aims to encourage participants to explore and experience the spiritual riches to be found within our own diocese. Representatives from various religious traditions (Benedictine, Carmelite, Domincan, Franciscan and   Ignatian) will provide opportunities to reflect and to pray in a number   of afternoon sessions and the day as a whole will be facilitated by Dr Gemma Simmonds CJ, lecturer at Heythorp College.
This event will start at 10am with registration while the first talk will be at 10.30am. It is anticipated that the event will conclude at 4pm. There will be a suggested donation of £5 per person to cover costs. You can visit http://rcsouthwarkspirituality.wordpress.com/ for more information.

Cold Weather: Please do remember to close the doors behind you when you are entering or leaving the church. The weather is very cold and we want to conserve the heat inside the church. Thank you.

Repository: Please remember to take a look at the variety of Christmas items on sale in the Repository.

If you would like to see a priest then please phone and make an appointment.

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MASS TIMES AND INTENTIONS (23—30 Nov 2014) (Year A)