30
Nov 2024
The Reverse Advent Calendar is our way to give to those in need in our local community, by donating food and goods. We hope that, at this busy time of year, it will prompt us to reflect on the real meaning of the season by considering the needs of others. Please pick up an information leaflet and calendar as you leave church today. Click here for the St Antony’s Reverse Advent Calendar 2024 Click here for the Explanation of the Reverse Advent Calendar...
15
Mar 2025
Click here for our latest newsletter Today Christ invites all of us to go up a Lenten mountain with him, to take a journey away from the noise of the world below, and to rise above our normal lives. What does the Lenten Mountain Ascent mean for us? Metaphorically, it means four things: If we willingly journey with Christ in Lent, we will be different come Easter. Make sure that after these forty days, you have embraced God’s grace in your life and made some changes or taken some steps forward in......
08
Mar 2025
Click here for our latest newsletter In each of the three Synoptic Gospels, after his baptism, Jesus is reported to have spent forty days in the desert, fasting and praying. In Luke and in Matthew, the devil presents three temptations to Jesus. The devil tempts Jesus to use his power to appease his hunger, he offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus will worship him, and he tempts Jesus to put God’s promise of protection to the test. In each case, Jesus resists, citing words from Scripture to rebuke......
01
Mar 2025
Click here for our latest newsletter Jesus teaches us that as his disciples, we do good deeds and help others. In order to do good deeds and be of service to others, we must have integrity and a good heart. We are the “blind leading the blind” if we try to help or influence others when we don’t understand Jesus’ teachings or when we aren’t willing to examine our conscience and change our own behaviour. For example, if you notice your group of friends gossips a lot, you should first reflect on......
22
Feb 2025
Click here for our latest newsletter Having grown up in the modern world, we may not realise how shocking Jesus’s preaching of mercy and compassion was to his original audience. Yes, of course ‘love your enemies’ and ‘turn the other cheek’ still sound radical today. But reading further on, we might skip over the instruction ‘Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful’. Mercy, or compassion, may seem obvious to us: difficult in practice but unquestionably necessary. For most of the ancient Greeks and Romans, however, mercy was seen as a weakness,......
15
Feb 2025
Click here for our latest newsletter After creating man and woman, God’s first words to them were: ‘Blessed are you’. Jesus reminds us that God’s call upon us is a call to blessing, whatever our status or vocation. The parents who raise their children with immense love are blessed; women and men who work hard, labouring with integrity and skill in the service of their brothers and sisters, are blessed; spouses who love and care for their partners are blessed; the sick who suffer patiently are blessed; the homeless who bravely bear......
12
Feb 2025
If you are interested in joining other women in the parish for a Lenten journey of prayer, sacrifice, and sisterhood, come to our initial meeting on Friday 28th February at 7pm in St. Francis Hall. We will meet weekly during Lent (day to be agreed by the group) and have a group pilgrimage. For more information, speak to Sr Emalda (07435976315) or Catherine (07807348223)....
12
Feb 2025
08
Feb 2025
Click here for our latest newsletter “Depart from me for I am a sinful man, O Lord Do not be afraid, from now on you will be catching men” Lk 5 Realising the greatness of Jesus, Peter is impressed and feels unworthy to be in his presence and to receive Jesus’ gift. Jesus’ response makes us realise that he comes to meet us even as we are sinners, to set us free and to call us to participate in his own mission. What an honour and a joy for Peter, what a......
01
Feb 2025
Click here for our latest newsletter “My eyes have seen the salvationwhich you have prepared for all the nations to see,a light to enlighten the pagansand the glory of your people Israel.” Lc 2 Candles are used at the Feast of the Presentation, also known as Candlemas, because they symbolize Jesus Christ as the “Light of the World,” signifying that He brings light into the darkness of the world,just as a candle illuminates a room; this is particularly relevant to the biblical story of Simeon’s prophecy in the Temple where he recognizes......
26
Jan 2025
On 24 December 2024, Pope Francis inaugurated the Holy Year of Hope when he opened the door of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. On Sunday 29 December, Bishop Alan inaugurated the Holy Year in the diocese during the 11.30am Mass at the Cathedral. He also issued a pastoral letter (see here). Catholics can receive the special grace known as a plenary indulgence during the Jubilee Year 2025 is by making a pilgrimage to one of the four major papal basilicas: St. Peter’s, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major or St.......