Our Lady and St. Benedict
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“..for the hand of the Lord rests on this holy mountain..”
..in OT, with the chosen people nomadic, only fixed point to establish a meeting place with God was a mountain; high, close to heaven, majestic & dependable..steep climb to get to top, & eventually view of a lifetime, taking your breath away & there, to be given in return, His breath His life, His perspective on things..
..this Church has inherited the title..sacred space, a meeting place with God..not only in this building for all its beauty, nor in tabernacle, nor in bread & wine..the fullness of His real presence is in you..did you hear that from behind your mask?
your hands are His hands, washed clean with santiser & now with His divine grace, as He cleanses us from our selfishness, our addiction to control people, & even control Covid..
 
“..he will remove the mourning veil covering all people.. ..& me..       ; Lord have mercy
“..he will wipe away the tears from every cheek..”       ..my tears..      ; Christ have mercy
“..he will take away his people’s shame..”                    ..my shame..     ; Lord have mercy
May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins & bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
 
 
 
 
“..tell those who were invited that I have the banquet all prepared..all prepared for Mass, the Church clean & warm, the readings, the flowers, the bread & wine, the hand sanitiser & the seating socially distant..”come to the wedding”..come to Mass..”but they were not interested”..one went off to play golf, another had to taxi a son to football or a daughter to band practice, another working from home had a meeting on zoom, another was afraid of seating arrangements or whether everyone else here would be wearing face masks; many more had settled very well “thank you Lord” to a lived streamed Mass from Walsingham, Rome, or from the Abbey a mile away..or show a blue badge of disability, or the ultimate passport to staying at home, to profess underlying health problems..”but they were not interested”..“go to the crossroads in the village & invite everyone you can find, bad & good alike”..with the loss of Rev Catherine Reid, how many of you, especially those of you who profess be ecumenically minded, have sent an email or text to a parishioner of St Hilda’s or Holy Cross & invited them to this our wedding feast?..” & the Church “was filled with guests” ..guests or parishioners?..visitors or full shareholders?..from outside the fence, beyond our boundaries & battles, where, as we discovered last weekend, the tastiest blackberries are not those grown in our tidy allotment of a parish but those seen valued & tasted outside the fence, in overgrowth or undergrowth..wild & sweet..& those who make the best of wedding guests & come to Mass prepared, tidy presentable & punctual, because it is embarrassing in the extreme to arrive at Church behind the bride, or after the priest has begun the wedding feast/Mass..last Saturday, my sister made her Christmas puddings; traditionally she asks my nephew, currently working in China, & me here, to give the mix a virtual stir about 11am..a fine way of including us from a distance; like coming to Mass, to sit by your fireside & watch it virtually, misses out on the real presence, where those who risk being fully present give our bread & wine the taste of a lifetime every time we meet to greet, to stir, to break & to eat..home baked here daily..
..& your sympathy for the man who wasn’t wearing a wedding garment?..poor lad, found a place in a quiet corner, not wanting any fuss; however, the king understandably noticed him..he stood out..the only people who were authorised to stand out were the real proper guests who stood out in their finery; new suit or specially designed dress, a beauty parade of the great & the good, literally a guest appearance to compete against..& woe betide the  lady if that dress was remembered from great aunt Jemima’s golden wedding 3yrs ago..the smiles behind your face masks betray a truth..a tragic truth of lip gloss & tinsel..
..& so, to prevent wedding feast being hijacked by a fashion show, a brilliant short liturgy took place to bring parity of esteem & equality of appearance..as you entered hall for wedding feast, you would find racks of white overgarments, impeccably clean & laundered, all in sections on rack to suit guests height..simply each guest took a garment & put it on over one’s best bib & tucker, & then entered hall for meal, parity of esteem & appearance..& poor lad who you thought deserved sympathy, warranted red card for two tackles, each worthy of a yellow card..first he ignored racks of wedding garments..not a free spirit but a sour disciple of non-compliance..& then his second yellow?..the king’s gentle compassionate enquiry “how did you get in here, my friend [my friend] without a wedding garment?” was met with silence..a cold dismissive refusal to dialogue on equal terms with a king..our king..we call it prayer, as you dialogue with your faithful friend..it would be like you turning up here without having booked..& then, when we gave you the benefit of the doubt & let you in to this meal of a lifetime, risking our own health in the face of your virus, you wouldn’t wear a face mask & self-sanitise..”many are called, few are chosen”..a wake up call to us..few of us here & now will be a recipient of the real presence of the Good Shepherd himself, whose track & trace is a work of love & mercy of a lifetime..we self-disqualify, not on a technicality but because he finds us comfortably self-isolating..in our Sunday-best & virtually distant..              [ 28thSun YrA Mt22;1-14 ]

 

                                                                    

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  • Home
    • Church History
  • Mass Times
  • Homilies
    • Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
    • Baptism of Our Lord
    • Epiphany of the Lord
    • Homily; 1 Jan 2021; Mary Mother of God
    • Christmas Midnight Mass
    • Fourth Sunday of Advent
    • Third Sunday of Advent
    • Homily 2nd Sunday of Advent
    • Homily; 1st Sunday of Advent
    • Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
    • Thirty-third Sunday
    • Thirty-second Sunday
    • All Souls
    • All Saints
    • Thirtieth Sunday
    • Twenty-ninth Sunday
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    • Twenty-fourth Sunday
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    • Sixteenth Sunday
    • The Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ
    • The Most Holy Trinity
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    • Thirteenth Sunday
    • St John the Baptist
    • Eleventh Sunday of Ordinary Time
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    • Ash Wednesday
    • Transfiguration of the Lord
    • Cemetery Mass
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    • Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
    • The Baptism of the Lord
    • Second Sunday after the Nativity
    • The Holy Family
    • Fourth Sunday of Advent
    • Third Sunday of Advent
    • 2nd Sunday of Advent
    • 1st Sunday of Advent
    • Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
    • Thirty third Sunday
    • Thirty second Sunday
    • All Saints
    • Thirtieth Sunday
    • Twenty-ninth Sunday
    • Twenty-eighth Sunday
    • Twenty-seventh Sunday
    • Twenty-sixth Sunday
    • Twenty-fifth Sunday
    • Twenty Fourth Sunday
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    • Twenty-first Sunday
    • The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
    • Nineteenth Sunday
    • Eighteenth Sunday
    • Seventeenth Sunday
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    • Fourteenth Sunday
    • St Peter & St Paul
    • Twelfth Sunday
    • The Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ
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    • Thirty-first Sunday
    • Third Sunday of Ordinary Time
    • Twenty-fourth Sunday
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    • Twentieth Sunday
    • Eighteenth Sunday
    • Sixteenth Sunday
    • The Most Holy Trinity
    • Sixth Sunday of Easter
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    • Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time
    • Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time
    • St John the Baptist
    • Eleventh Sunday of Ordinary Time
    • Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
  • Coronavirus
    • Caritas Middlesbrough helpline
    • Live streaming
    • Home Prayers
    • Our Advent Journey to Christmas sheet
    • Blessing of Advent Wreath
    • O Antiphon thought for each day
    • The Tablet
    • Seized by the Holy Spirit by Abbot General
    • Letter to Daniel
    • Joyce Rupp reflection
    • The Rev Julie Nicholson
    • Noah's Ark story part 3
    • Wind beneath my wings; Bette Midler
    • Lockdown poem
    • Our Lady and the child Jesus
    • Noah's Ark story part 4
    • Pope Francis Rosary
    • Seven gifts sheet
    • Women & the post-covid church
    • Jesus images
    • Noah's Ark story part 2
    • Ark
    • Why I'm not opening church's yet
    • Abbot primates five blessings
    • Holy Spirit
    • Angelus & Come down O Love divine hymn
    • Simon & Garfunkel song
    • Noah's Ark story part 1
    • Trasna Poem
    • The seven I am titles of Jesus
    • Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat by Simon de Myle
    • Angels Unaware
    • Be still and know that I am God
    • Extraordinary moment of prayer
    • Halik
    • Don't be fooled
    • Home picture
    • The Last Supper
    • Iona Gate
    • Caravaggio 1
    • Caravaggio 2
    • Poems 1
    • Poems 2
    • School
    • Leeds
    • 5th Station, Simon of Cyrene carries the Cross
  • Hospitality & Outreach
    • Middlesbrough Food Bank
    • The Sick and the Unwell
    • The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP)
    • ​Together Middlesbrough and Cleveland (TMC)
    • Zimbabwe missions appeal >
      • Mashambanzou Bulletin September 2020
  • Gallery
    • Bernard's bench 2020
    • Cherry tree in blossom 2020
    • 2016 in our Church
    • Church Photos
    • Historical Photos
  • Contact us
  • 100 Club Winners
  • GDPR - Privacy Notice
  • Justice & Peace
  • Knitting for Refugees
  • Parish Hall for hire
  • Rosa Ampleforth
  • Safeguarding
  • Useful Links