Our Lady and St. Benedict
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    • Rosa Ampleforth
“..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
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    • Sixth Sunday of Easter
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    • Newsletters Archived >
      • Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
      • Thirty third Sunday
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      • All Saints
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      • Twenty-ninth Sunday
      • Twenty-eighth Sunday
      • Twenty-seventh Sunday
      • Twenty-sixth Sunday
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      • St Peter & St Paul
      • The Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ
      • Trinity Sunday
      • Sixth Sunday of Easter
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      • The Presentation of the Lord
      • The Baptism of the Lord
      • The Epiphany of the Lord
      • Fourth Sunday of Advent
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      • Thirty-third Sunday
      • Thirty-first Sunday
      • Third Sunday of Ordinary Time
      • Twenty-fourth Sunday
      • Twentieth Sunday
      • Eighteenth Sunday
      • St John the Baptist
      • Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
  • Outreach
    • Ukrainian Help & Support
    • Justice & Peace
    • Lend With Care
    • Middlesbrough Food Bank
    • The Sick and the Unwell
    • The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP)
    • Zimbabwe missions appeal >
      • Mary Sturges history with Zimbabwe
      • Zimbabwe thank you notes
      • Mashambanzou Bulletin September 2020
    • Historic Outreach >
      • Climate Change Zoom event 24/04/21
      • ​Together Middlesbrough and Cleveland (TMC)
      • Fundraising event for Mary’s Meals 03/10/2021
  • Coronavirus
    • Caritas Middlesbrough helpline
    • Live streaming
  • Gallery
    • Parish BBQ 2021
    • Bernard's bench 2020
    • Cherry tree in blossom 2020
    • Church 2016
    • Rievaulx Pilgrimage 2014
    • Photos from early 1900's
  • Forms
  • Contact us
  • Church fees 2022
  • Parish Hall for hire
  • Cemetery Protocols
  • GDPR - Privacy Notice
  • Safeguarding
  • Useful Links
  • 100 Club Winners
  • Archive
    • Caristas Newsletter
    • Homilies >
      • Twenty-third Sunday
      • Twenty-second Sunday
      • Thirty-first Sunday
      • The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
      • Nineteenth Sunday
      • Eighteenth Sunday
      • Seventeenth Sunday
      • Sixteenth Sunday
      • Fifteenth Sunday Yr B
      • Fourteenth Sunday
      • St Peter & St Paul
      • Thirteenth Sunday
      • Twelfth Sunday
      • Eleventh Sunday of Ordinary Time
      • The Most Holy Trinity
      • Pentecost Sunday
      • Seventh Sunday of Easter
      • The Ascension of the Lord
      • Sixth Sunday of Easter
      • Fifth Sunday of Easter
      • Fourth Sunday of Easter
      • Third Sunday of Easter
      • Second Sunday of Easter
      • Homily; Maundy Thursday 2021
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      • Homily; Easter Vigil & Easter Day 2021
      • Palm Sunday
      • Fifth Sunday of Lent
      • Fourth Sunday of Lent
      • Third Sunday of Lent
      • Second Sunday of Lent
      • First Sunday of Lent
      • Ash Wednesday
      • Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time
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      • Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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      • 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
      • Twenty-eighth Sunday
      • Twenty seventh Sunday
      • Twenty-sixth Sunday
      • Twenty-fifth Sunday
      • Twenty Fourth Sunday
      • Nineteenth Sunday
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      • Trinity Sunday
      • Homily for Tuesday Wk 6 Easter
      • Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time
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      • Third Sunday of Ordinary Time
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      • Mary Mother of God
      • Second Sunday of Advent
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      • Remembrance Sunday
      • Twenty-fourth Sunday
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      • Eighteenth Sunday
      • Sixteenth Sunday
      • The Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ
      • Seventh Sunday of Easter
      • Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time
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      • Thirteenth Sunday
      • St John the Baptist
      • Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
      • Transfiguration of the Lord
      • Cemetery Mass
    • Knitting for Refugees
    • Rosa Ampleforth