Sunday 27th February 2022 : 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Published by AFAN in News · 25 February 2022

HOLY CROSS CATHOLIC CHURCH

208 Sangley Road, Catford, London SE6 2JS

Fr Antony Megalan Sellam [Parish Priest] – 02086983672

Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Website: www.holycross-catford.org.uk

Parish Contacts

Parish Office is Open

(Tuesday and Thursday)

10am - 3pm

020 8698 3672

Josepha Flahive

[email protected]

Lisa O’Hara

[email protected]

Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate

Holy Cross Bookshop, 020 3441 8240

Holy Cross School

[020 8698 2675]

Miss Mary Collins

www.holycross.lewisham.sch.uk

Repository:

CLOSED

St Vincent De Paul [SVP] 07835 188411

Safeguarding Line 07598 524024

Pat Barber and Kate Cleevely - [email protected]

Third Thursday Time TTT

Email: [email protected]

Hartley Hall [Tony Early]

Culverley Road, SE6 2LD

Email:[email protected]

Newsletter matters to be sent to [email protected] by Wednesday

Sunday 27th February 2022 : 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time

You can find the Readings from here

The Season of Lent:

We are going to begin the Lenten Season by receiving ashes on this Wednesday: “You are dust, and to dust you shall return (cf. Gen 3:19). The dust reminds us that we are dust and to dust we shall return. We are weak, frail and mortal. Centuries and millennia pass and we come and go; before the immensity of galaxies and space, we are nothing. We are dust in the universe. Yet we are dust loved by God. It pleased the Lord to gather that dust in his hands and to breathe into it the breath of life (cf. Gen 2:7). We are thus a dust that is precious, destined for eternal life. We are the dust of the earth, upon which God has poured out his heaven, the dust that contains his dreams. We are God’s hope, his treasure and his glory.

May this Lent be a time of grace, a time for letting God gaze upon us with love and in this way change our lives. We were put in this world to go from dust to life. So let us not turn our hopes and God’s dream for us into powder and ashes. Let us allow ourselves to be loved, so that we can give love in return. Let us allow ourselves to stand up and walk towards Easter. Then we will experience the joy of discovering how God raises us up from our ashes.

Lent is a transition time: a time to look honestly at our journey of faith as we walk with Jesus to the cross.

Jesus’s wilderness experience was a pivotal moment in his journey and his extended period of temptation was a profound time, which would determine how he would move forward. Jesus faced himself, and his willingness to stay true to God’s path.

How can we allow this Lent period to be a time of looking honestly at our journey of faith and our willingness to say YES to God. Does your heart belong to God, or are you easily led by other distractions? In what ways is Jesus your bread of life?

Fasting is a form of Penance. Catholics between 18 and 60 are obliged to Fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Catholics who have reached the age of 14 are obliged to abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent.

Fr Antony

Mass offering [loose collection]: £399

Manna Mission: £70;

Charity: £100 (Bruno Perez, Vanessa Borsatto and João Pedro Borsatto)

Server Albs: Melanie Thomas £40, Total so far £945

Thank you all for your kindness and generosity.

CONGRATULATION DEAR FR ANTONY

Fr Antony received a letter from the Archbishop informing that he has been appointed Dean of Lewisham Deanery. Congratulations.

Our Newsletter is available by visiting our webpage with updates on how and when to register for the sacraments of Baptism, Holy Communion, Confirmation and RCIA

Please take a copy of the Newsletter home with you - please do not leave it in the church. Thank you.

Clergy Support Fund Second Collection

The Clergy Support Fund of the Archdiocese of Southwark provides care and support for priests in their old age and retirement. A gift to this worthy fund will ensure a dignified retirement for our priests, after they have dedicated a lifetime of service to Jesus Christ, His Church and His People
Envelopes were made available last Sunday and will be handed out if required at this Sundays’ Masses. Please be generous with your gift to the Clergy Support Fund and continue to keep our priests in your prayers.
As well as the 2nd collections you can donate online, details below, please note if you are a tax payer you can give by Gift Aid to increase the value of your gift.
Donate Online: rcaos.org.uk/donate/uk
Telephone: 020 7960 2504

LENT IN HOLY CROSS

Ash Wednesday: 02 March - Masses at 9.15am and 7pm

Stations of the Cross: Every Friday after the 7pm Mass

Divine Mercy Chaplet: Every Wednesday after the 9.15am

Mass Palm Sunday: 10 April—Mass times as Sundays

Maundy Thursday: 14 April—Mass begins at 7pm

Good Friday: 15 April—service begins at 3pm Easter:

Easter Vigil at 9pm. Sunday 9am and 11.30pm

PARISH DIARY

26 FEB (10:00am) Baptism Preparation Course

(10:00am) First Holy Communion Parents Meeting

02 MAR Ash Wednesday Mass Times 9:15 am , 7:00pm

04 MAR Stations of the Cross every Friday in Lent

05 MAR (10:00am ) Baptism Preparation Course RCIA Rite of Election

06 MAR First Sunday of Lent Group 1 Manna Mission

12 MAR (10:00am) First Holy Communion Class

(4:30pm) Confirmation Session 9

15 MAR (11:00am) Mini Vinni's Commissioning Mass

20 MAR Group 2 Manna Mission

OUR PARISH RESPONSE TO COVID 19 PANDEMIC - Updates

URGENT: COVID-19 Update-> Holy Cross Church is Open

COVID SECURITY GUIDELINES : Following the recent changes(Friday 10 dec) in the regulations from the Government, the parish has issued updated guidelines for continued safe and covid-secure worship in the church.The latest document is Guidances for Churches December 2021

Please note that the Mass times have been reviewed : See below (Mass Times and Intentions)

All the Masses will be live-streamed: https://holy-cross-stream.click2stream.com

With respect to the current situation with the omicron variant it is important to ensure the following points are followed in our churches:

That people displaying any symptoms of covid-19 should stay at home and not travel to church or participate in person.

That hand sanitiser is used by everyone attending the Church.

Concerning face masks, some form of face covering will be required in most public indoor venues, including places of worship. However, exemptions exist for various reasons: legitimate health reasons, as has always been the case.

That there is good ventilation and air throughput in the building; in this case, because of climatic conditions, please do wrap up warmly when coming to the church as we may need to leave doors open.

That people who are engaged in a form of pastoral ministry which involves ministry to the housebound, sick, and vulnerable, should take regular lateral flow tests to ensure they are safe to do so. These are free from the NHS.

The Holy Mass is offered everyday via Livestream

Diamond Club Magazine is available here