Parish News

JULY 2025 5/6: 5pm Jim; 9am John; 11am Gabrielle, Paul, Lizzie(H) 12/13: 5pm Giannina; 9am Lesley; 11am Linda, Lorenza, Patricia(H) 19/20: 5pm Regina; 9am Patrick; 11am Maggie, Ross, David(H) 26/27: 5pm Marian; 9am Angela; 11am Phil, Margaret, Simone(H) Thank you to our wonderful Ministers of the Eucharist who have accepted the Lord’s invitation to this awesome, sacred ministry, by their willingness to give up their own plans and convenience in order to do God’s will rather than their own. Let us pray for them because they too fight the same personal weaknesses we all have to fight against and they too have to fight the same temptations we all have to fight. God be with them.

"WHO HAVE YOU BROUGHT WITH YOU?" These are the words of the Lord Jesus to each one of us, every time we come to holy Mass. Please don't be content to come alone or just to come with someone who already comes every week, to holy Mass. Invite and encourage others in your family, those living next door to you, those living down your street, your friends. Do that and the Lord will work through you, probably slowly and bit by bit. Do that, and one day you will hear him say to you, "Well done, good and faithful child of mine. Enter into the joys prepared for you, for all eternity. Thank you to the wonderful people who have the privilege of being Eucharistic Ministers and Lectors and thank you to the wonderful people who act as Hosts and Bakers for our Evangelisation project, 'The Olde Forge Cafe.  We live in a time/space world in which none of us can be in two places at once! We provide rotas to make our commitments as feasible as possible. Often, there are conflicting calls on our time and energy. All we can do in deciding which call to follow, is to listen to the Lord speaking to us and then follow the voice of God in our consciences. Trying to arrange the rotas according to what is convenient for everyone is extremely difficult and results in some people doing a great deal and others doing very little! Instead, we will just publish general rotas and simply ask everyone to please just try to do what the Lord asks of you. So, please, if you don't mind, do not send me or Jim or Kim and Manuel who manage the Cafe, dates and times you are unavailable. If we are unable to bring the Lord in Holy Communion to the Sick and Housebound members of our parish every week, but as often as we can, then that is all we can do. If sometimes we are unable to open our Evangelisation Cafe, but we open it as often as we can, then that is all we can do. We trust in the Lord to send his Holy Spirit into the hearts of us all and we pray that the hearts of us all are open to his call. We go forward doing all we can to build his Kingdom in this world and to bringing his love and truth to others as the Lord's missionary disciples. Thank you to all the very dear friends of the Lord Jesus who so often put his plans before their own - your reward will be great in Heaven.

It is wise to write a Will so that the resources you have when the time comes for you to leave this world, goes to the people and organisations you wish. May I suggest that you might consider leaving a Bequest in your will to our parish or to our diocese or to our priest as well as to other causes. A gift in your will can enable us to continue to help people to know the Lord Jesus and his saving love. What a wonderful legacy you would be leaving behind.

To keep our church clean and tidy on the inside is a prayer in itself, a prayer of praise and thanksgiving to God. Please feel free to offer your time and skills to pray in this way. Cleaning and tidying of the church can be done at almost any time, on almost any day, just let me know if you need access to the sacristy. The same applies to the grounds surrounding our church and buildings. The Lord can work through our gardening efforts, to create a place of beauty, peace and calmness. We need more people to help with the gardening. You need know nothing about gardening. A willingness to help is all that is needed. Please let me know if you can help or simply come along on Tuesday mornings when our Gardening Group will be there and will be delighted to welcome you.

5/6: 5pm Marian; 9am Mike Guckian; 11am Lisa, Claire 12/13: 5pm Mutsa; 9am Maggie; 11am Lizzie, Paul D 19/20: 5pm Patricia; 9am Gerry; 11am Chinwe, Phil 26/27: 5pm Giannina; 9am Richard; 11am Jim, Lorenza

Every week, a group of international Catholic young people, aged 20 years and older, gather at a central London Catholic Church, St Charles Borromeo, in Ogle Street, for prayer, reflection and social time. They are called ‘Soul Food’. I have had the pleasure of joining them for prayer and reflection, in the past. Next week I hope to join them again. How inspiring it is to glimpse a growing number of young Catholics deeply and joyfully living their Faith, just like St Carlo Acutis.

Thank you to the wonderful people who have the privilege of being Eucharistic Ministers and Lectors and thank you to the wonderful people who act as Hosts and Bakers for our Evangelisation project, ‘The Olde Forge Cafe.’  We live in a time/space world in which none of us can be in two places at once! We provide rotas to make our commitments as feasible as possible. Often, there are conflicting calls on our time and energy. All we can do in deciding which call to follow, is to listen to the Lord speaking to us and then follow the voice of God in our consciences. Trying to arrange the rotas according to what is convenient for everyone is extremely difficult and results in some people doing a great deal and others doing very little! Instead, we will just publish general rotas and simply ask everyone to please just try to do what the Lord asks of you. So, please, if you don’t mind, do not send me or Jim or Kim and Manuel who manage the Cafe, dates and times you are unavailable. If we are unable to bring the Lord in Holy Communion to the Sick and Housebound members of our parish every week, but as often as we can, then that is all we can do. If sometimes we are unable to open our Evangelisation Cafe, but we open it as often as we can, then that is all we can do. We trust in the Lord to send his Holy Spirit into the hearts of us all and we pray that the hearts of us all are open to his call. We go forward doing all we can to build his Kingdom in this world and to bringing his love and truth to others as the Lord’s missionary disciples. Thank you to all the very dear friends of the Lord Jesus who so often put his plans before their own - your reward will be great in Heaven.

By reason of the bond of unity and charity, every diocese in the world supports, through this fund, Pope Leo and the Apostolic See in exercising works of charity and mercy throughout the world.

On the 7th of June, we celebrated our Archdiocesan Jubilee Celebration Day. As part of the day, Monsignor Malachy and several chaplains hosted a stall for those interested in learning more about prison chaplaincy. Wherever you live in the County of Kent or South London, you are never far from a prison. Across our part of the Archdiocese, many thousands of young people, women, and men are currently held in prison – including around 1,200 of our fellow Catholic Christians, our sisters and brothers in faith. It was a special day of outreach, awareness, and fellowship. Prisons in the Archdiocese of Southwark Twelve prisons are located within the geographic area of the Archdiocese of Southwark: HMP Brixton HMP Wandsworth HMP Belmarsh HMP Isis HMP Thameside HMP Rochester HMP East Sutton Park HMP Maidstone HMP Cookham Wood HMP Swaleside HMP Elmley HMP Standford Hill How Can You Help? Would you consider helping people held in our prisons to change? Will you help them when they leave prison? Would you consider helping anyone who is a victim of crime or affected by crime? Will you help the children and families of those held in our prisons? Would you like to know more about our Criminal Justice system? If your answer to any of these questions is yes or perhaps, please contact: Monsignor Malachy Keegan Episcopal Vicar for Prisons Holy Family Parish, Sanderstead, CR2 9LF 📞 020 8657 1728 | 📱 07801 701763 📧 Malachykeegan@rcaos.org.uk