..a few years ago the Archbishop of Birmingham said “the Catholic Church is a Church for sinners, which is why you & I are so at home in it..” Amen to that.. & tonight of all nights let us rephrase it “Christmas night is a night for sinners, which is why you & I are so at home in this Church & at this our manger..” ..welcome home to each & all of you..a moment, a feast, for outsiders..shepherds angels kings even innkeepers, where the Christ child chose to be born welcomed & feel at home.. with the loyal practising devout Jews, thinking themselves Gods gift to mankind, conspicuously absent..self excluded.. ..so too those of us loyal practising dutiful Roman Catholics here tonight, & we are in a minority be sure, are grateful to the majority of you outsiders for bringing yourselves & thereby your Christ to be among us..sinners on tour & now at home..
..let us pause for a moment to welcome infant Jesus into our world our Church our manger & our hearts.. “ Silent night Holy night..” ; Lord have mercy “ shepherds quake at the sight..” ; Christ have mercy “ Son of God, loves pure light..” ; Lord have mercy May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins & bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
..17yrs ago when I was at Bamber Bridge as Parish Priest if I was out in Station Road on a Tues or Wed & I bumped into a parishioner I knew well enough I would say ”Mary tell me what do you remember of my homily from last Sunday?” the colour would drain from her & she’d say not a word..”a phrase from gospel?” clutching at straw from manger..& nothing..all good for my humility..on basis that here tonight of 150 of you at least 100 are outsiders, & of the rest, few of you will remember my homily of feast of Christ the King 5wks ago, I am going to weave it into our Christmas & our arrival at the manger..it was gospel of sheep & goats..chosen for Youth Sunday where Christ the King welcomes all- comers, sheep & goats, clean contrary to a Catholicism which tragically once welcomed sheep & excluded black sheep..even black sheep from Masham..”in the countryside were shepherds who lived in fields & took it in turns to watch their flocks by night..& the angel of the Lord appeared to them [ the dross ] to give them the news.. news to be shared by the whole people.. tonight a Saviour has been born to you..he is Christ the Lord”..as a Yorkshireman my preferred breed of sheep has to be the Swaledale, & yet my favourite by a short nose is Herdwick..breed of Lake District; they live high up on fells, exposed to elements, grazing on sparse ground & heather, fenceless & defenceless..they learn from early age skill of hefting..an awareness gained from parent & flock of how far to wander before realising experience becomes a few feet too far, & they turn back on familiar safe territory..they grow tough fleece almost like bristle of dormat, thick inpenetrable to unrelenting rains & winter snow, as they hunker down to see the blizzard through..they are survivors, quiet occupants of what some would label hostile land, which they feel, with their inbuilt instinct for home & their beloved flock, is home ground..they see feel think care love & pray differently from us Swaledales, & our safer softer grazing with the comfort warmth protection & shelter of this collection of buildings we call home..our young, & many of you here tonight, are our Herdwicks, our favourites..part of my retreat work with the young is to be available to meet with them individually on second night of 48hr retreat, when students have had some time to acclimatise & experience safety trust here..it starts at 830pm & can last to well after midnight..flocks & shepherds on watch by night..one such sheep we will call Catherine..Yr 12 tall charismatic outgoing, a born leader striving for 3 A*grades at A Level to get her into medical school..& finding safe space on our hillside, her façade melts & her experience of hefting in life so far emerges.. of her loving parents constantly bitterly rowing..an elder brother on drugs..one younger sister awaiting second major heart operation in 3yrs, other sister on verge of exclusion from school, her beloved grandfather struggling with cancer..& the tears flow not of self pity but of sacrificial love, she loves each of them so deeply & hopes prays she will be able to help each & all of them..5 days a week she puts on her school uniform her smile her dignity & generosity of spirit, of care for others, & immerses herself in the life & faith of her School where she finds respite & hope, as well as others in need of her..& after 30mins of sharing her story & her tears, & with few grains of yeast from me to take home to season into daily life, she leaves with a smile of relief & expectancy which would outsmile the man in the moon, leaving me to shed a tear of humility & profound joy to have met such an outstanding Herdwick..with the glow satisfaction & consolation of knowing Catherine, now our Catherine, is out there on the fells, a beloved servant disciple, well schooled & hefted by a family at home & a year group in school who’d never believe what they & their difficulties are helping her to become..& what is inspiring & encouraging for us to know is that there are flocks of Catherines out there, who never see the inside of our Church from one Christmas to the next, or for all sorts of reasons are not able to join us here regularly, who are not just surviving but living life & faith at depth & impressively..our young, & many of you Herdwicks in our flock, are our nourishment & our future, food for our journey, feeding us tonight with a presence love & warmth as life giving & nourishing as the milk the new born Christ is receiving from his mother..”listen I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people [ Herdwicks & Swaledales ] today in this remote corner of North Yorkshire, in this cosy neat stable of a Church, a saviour has been born to you..& me..he is Christ the Lord..& here is a sign for you; you will find him wrapped in swaddling clothes & lying in a manger..” you will find him..& who pray is the “you”?..shepherds innkeepers wise men or Swaledales?..notice the cast in order of appearance..shepherds, innkeepers with melted consciences, wise men & eventually the temple faithful when, at last if not last, the child Jesus is presented in the Temple “to do for him what the Law of the Lord requires “ 2 Feb six weeks time..six weeks for the Herdwicks to continue to do what they are best at..to be out there fencelss defenceless continuing to tell the story as it is..”for there is a child born for us, a son given to us”..& who pray is the “us?” no longer us & them, insider & outsider but “us” first Herdwick & through them Swaledale..a holy blessed night thanks be to God & thanks be to each & every one of you as you bring the infant Christ to life in life & in a faith which knows no end, fenceless & defenceless..Christmas, Christs-Mass, doesn’t come any better.. [ Midnight Mass Lk 2;1-14]