In our Gospel reading at this Sunday’s Mass we hear the story of the Cleansing of the Temple. Jesus visits the Temple and finds it a corrupt and chaotic place full of merchants selling animals to be slaughtered and money changers sitting at their counters.
He drives them all out and tells them not to make his Father’s house into a market place.
This violent, impatient image of Christ contrasts with how we so often conceive of Jesus. The injustice of the sight before him prompts him to take immediate action.
And yet, this is not just a question about how the Jerusalem Temple should be organised. Within this story we see a deeper truth that applies to us about how Jesus’ presence overturns our lazy assumptions about faith, access to God, and the need to be just and focussed on what’s genuinely important in life.
Let us ask Jesus to cleanse and clear from out lives all that prevents us from loving God and neighbour as we should.
Fr Peter Anthony
St Benet’s remains open for public worship during the present lockdown. Our Sunday morning 11.00 am Mass continues to take place, with weekday Masses at the following times:
Sunday 7th March 2021
3rd Sunday of Lent
11.00 am Sung Mass
Tuesday 9th March 2021
Lent feria
11.00 am Mass
Wednesday 10th March 2021
Lenten feria
7.30 pm Mass
Thursday 11th March 2021
Lenten feria
7.30 pm Mass
Friday 12th March 2021
Lenten feria
11.00 am Mass
Sunday 14th March 2021
4th Sunday of Lent
11.00 am Sung Mass
Plans for Lent 2021
We have decided this Lent to focus on the basics during the present lockdown and on keeping the daily Mass going as our principal devotional focus. We realise many people are choosing to stay at home during the lockdown, and we don’t know when exactly restrictions will be lifted.
We usually have an extra Mass with Stations of the Cross on Fridays and Evening Prayer and Benediction on Sunday evenings in Lent. We have decided NOT to have these extra liturgies this year because of the complexities of social distancing, uncertainty about what will be possible, and the low numbers of people coming to Mass at the moment.
We certainly hope it will be possible to celebrate the whole of the Triduum publicly, though this may need to be done with slightly less liturgical solemnity than would be our custom in other years.
Sunday School will resume once we come out of lockdown and it is permitted by government regulation. This may not be possible for quite some weeks, yet, though. It will also not be possible to have our usual day of children’s activities for Good Friday this year.
Easter Day will be my final Sunday with you all as your vicar. It now looks pretty certain that COVID regulations will prevent us from having any sort of farewell celebration, so I hope the Sung Mass on that day itself will be my principal opportunity for saying goodbye and giving thanks to God for the wonderful eight years I have had the privilege of serving as your vicar.
Fr Peter Anthony
PCC Meetings
A PCC meeting with take place on Tuesday 16th March at 6.30 pm. This will then be followed at 7.30 pm (without Fr Peter present) by our Section 11 vacancy meeting. Both these meetings will take place by Zoom.
Annual Parochial Church Meeting
St Benet’s APCM will take place on Sunday 21st March at 12.00 noon in person in St Benet’s Church after the Parish Mass. We will be careful to ensure this is a COVID secure meeting with an emphasis on keeping proceedings as short a possible.
Food Bank – a huge thank you to all who contributed!
A huge thank you to all who contributed to our parish food bank. We have had a wonderful response to last week’s appeal, but now have a superfluity of provisions and can’t take any more! We will let you know when we need more donations again in the future.
COVID and worship at St Benet’s
St Benet’s is open for public worship this Sunday with our Parish Mass at 11.00 am. In order to allow people the maximum possible space for social distancing, the daily Mass will continue to take place each day at the high altar until further notice, with the congregation sitting in the chancel.
There will be no Saturday night Vigil Mass and Sunday evening Mass until further notice in order to reduce the number of services where people meet, and we will concentrate on one Sunday morning Mass at 11.00 am. Numbers of people have been very reduced at the 11.00 am Mass (frequently no more than 10-15 people) so far this year under the lock down, so it strikes me as eminently safe to gather in our large building with those sorts of numbers. The situation will be kept under constant review.
During the current lockdown, public worship remains permitted as long as we follow strict COVID measures. Nobody should feel under any pressure to come to church if you have health concerns or are worried about COVID infection rates, but if you do decide to attend the Mass, you can be assured that every possible precaution has been taken to ensure our worship is COVID secure.
We have all got used to worshipping with social distancing, a mask, and without congregational singing. It is important that we redouble our efforts to implement these measures scrupulously. I am very grateful to you all for so patiently ensuring our church remains a safe place to worship.
Please note that under the present lockdown measures, there can be no Sunday School for the next few weeks. Until now we have had outdoor activities for our children during the Mass, but even that has to stop now that the virus is spreading more quickly than before.
If you have children, they will have to remain with you during the 11.00 am service, and it is crucial that they do not run around the building, and that you keep them physically close to you at all times.