Theotokos Prayer Group - 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Sunday of the Word of God) 25 January 2026

 

Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom
and healed every affliction among the people.
Alleluia.

Gospel:    Matthew 4:12-23

‘Jesus went to Capernaum so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled.’
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: ‘The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles — the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.’ From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
  While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
  And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.

All-powerful, ever-living God, direct our steps in the way of your love, so that our whole life may be fragrant with all we do in the name of Jesus, your beloved Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

Notes from meeting on 20 January 2026:

Picture of complete darkness, we the praying people can’t see in front of us but in Faith we keep praying.
Out of the dark gloom a woman walks she is covered in black robes and praying and looks sad. Her face lights up and she prays with us.
There are many people wandering around in great sorrow and have no idea how to get out of this dark morass.
Blessed Mother lifts Her Mantle and a quiet blue light appears all around Her, the praying people lift up their hearts to God even more and the light gets brighter and becomes a golden hue. The praying people redouble their efforts and those who are lost come to the praying people who reach out to them and lead them to Blessed Mother they walk hand in hand under Her Mantle and behind Her is a path full of light leading to Her Son’s Sacred Heart.

My Dear Little Ones
Do Not Fear The Dark but Only Pray, I’m With You Always, Although at Times it May Not Seem So.
Did I Not Promise You That Together We Will Bring Souls From Darkness To the Light, That Same Light That as A Gift I Have Brought You From My Son?
Come Do I Not Always Lead You To Him Who is All Love And All Light? Yes.
Pray Make Sacrifice, I Will Lead You and Together We Will Bring Souls To My Son Who  is Suffering for Love of Them.
In Faith Believe Your Mother is With You Always and I Will Lead You and The Lost Under My Motherly Mantle to Jesus.
Heaven Will then Rejoice, for what was Lost Is Found.
Mary

Titus 3 v 4 - 8

4 But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour for humanity were revealed,
5 it was not because of any upright actions we had done ourselves; it was for no reason except his own faithful love that he saved us, by means of the cleansing water of rebirth and renewal in the Holy Spirit
6 which he has so generously poured over us through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
7 so that, justified by his grace, we should become heirs in hope of eternal life.
8 This is doctrine that you can rely on.

From teaching of St Maximillian Kolbe:

This eternal "Immaculate Conception' (which is the Holy Spirit) produces in an immaculate manner divine life itself in the womb (or depths) of Mary's soul, making her the Immaculate Conception, the human Immaculate Conception. And the virginal womb of Mary's body is kept sacred for him; there he conceives in time -- because everything that is mate- rial occurs in time - the human life of the Man-God If among human beings the wife takes the name of her husband because she belongs to him, is one with him, becomes equal to him and is, with him, the source of new life, with how much greater reason should the name of the Holy Spirit, who is the divine Immaculate Conception, be used as the name of her in whom he lives as uncreated Love, the principle of life in the whole supernatural order of grace.
 

Intercessions

I am the salvation of the people, says the Lord. Should they cry to me in any distress, I will hear them, and I will be their Lord for ever...

We ask the Lord's Blessing on us at the start of a New Year.

We pray in reparation for all offences against the life and dignity of the human person from conception until natural death. Lord have mercy on us!

Pray for our new Pope, Leo XIV, that he may shepherd the Church and proclaim Christ to the World.

Pope’s Prayer Intention – January 2026
For prayer with the Word of God 
Let us pray that praying with the Word of God be nourishment for our lives and a source of
hope in our communities, helping us to build a more fraternal and missionary Church.

Lord give us a spirit of Hope in this Holy Year of Hope.

Sacred Heart of Jesus have Mercy on us.
Immaculate Heart of Mary pray for us.

We pray for all who are ill in mind body or spirit and all those in any need or difficulty.

(as we begin the new year, If you have any specific prayer intentions please let me know)

Pray for Christine awaiting CT scan results for suspected pancreatic cancer.

Pray for upbuilding of Marriage and Family.

Pray for peace in our Country and our communities.

Pray for our young people that they may be protected from the evil one, that they may find a home in the loving Heart of Jesus.

Pray for all in our Parishes who are ill in body, mind or spirit.

Pray for Disha that he may find employment.

Pray for all those we have been asked and have promised to pray for.

Pray for all who are grieving give them strength, consolation and healing.

Pray for our Priests and for vocations to the Priesthood.

Pray for lost souls.

Pray for the conversion of the World.

Lord we continue to pray for Peace in Ukraine and in Israel and Gaza and throughout the World.

Lord we pray for persecuted Christians throughout the World.

Lord we pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all peoples and nations.

Pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory may they be granted eternal rest.

Mary, Mother of God, Theotokos, pray for us.
Mary Queen of Peace, pray for us.
Mary, Bride of the Spirit, pray for us.

If anyone has any prophecy, prayers, readings or intercessions I encourage you to please send them to
me. Let us share with one another the gifts and inspirations of the Spirit!
Also if there any changes necessary to the intercessions - please let me know

Resources
1.Theotokos Prayer Group:
https://www.facebook.com/Theotokos-Prayer-Group-142398089120415
/http://theotokosprayergroup.blogspot.co.uk/
2. Daily Mass readings can be found at:
https://universalis.com/mass.htm
3. Bishops Conference of England and Wales Website -
https://www.cbcew.org.uk
4. Diocese of Hexham & Newcastle Website:
Home - Diocese of Hexham & Newcastle (diocesehn.org.uk)
5. Catholic Charismatic Renewal International
https://www.charis.international/en/home/
6. Celebrate Conference website
https://www.celebratetrust.org/
7. CHARIS in England and Wales
https://www.charisuk.com/
8.CaFE - Catholic Faith Exploration (faithcafe.org)

9. The Holy See

https://www.vatican.va/content/vatican/en.html

Events

Our next meeting is on 27 January 2026 at 7.30pm in The Creche in St Patricks Church, Glenfield Road, Fairfield, Stockton TS19 7PL. All welcome. 

POPE LEO XIV

GENERAL AUDIENCE
Audience Hall
Wednesday, 21 January 2026
___________________________________

Catechesis. The Documents of Vatican Council II. I. Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum. 2. Jesus Christ reveals the Father".

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!

We will continue the catecheses on the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum, of Vatican Council II, on divine Revelation. We have seen that God reveals himself in a dialogue of covenant, in which he addresses us as friends. It is therefore a relational knowledge, which not only communicates ideas, but shares a history and calls for communion in reciprocity. The fulfilment of this revelation takes place in a historical and personal encounter in which God himself gives himself to us, making himself present, and we discover that we are known in our deepest truth. It is what happens in Jesus Christ. The Document states that the deepest truth about God and the salvation of man shines out for our sake in Christ, who is both the mediator and the fullness of all revelation (cf. DV, 2).

Jesus reveals the Father to us by involving us in his own relationship with Him. In the Son sent by God the Father “man might in the Holy Spirit have access to the Father and come to share in the divine nature” (ibid.). We therefore reach full knowledge of God by entering into the Son’s relationship with his Father, by virtue of the action of the Spirit. This is attested to, for example, by the Evangelist Luke when he recounts the Lord’s prayer of jubilation: “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Lk 10:21-22).

Thanks to Jesus we know God as we are known by Him (cf. Gal 4:9); 1 Cor 13:13). Indeed, in Christ, God has communicated himself to us and, at the same time, he has manifested to us our true identity as his children, created in the image of the Word. This “eternal Word … enlightens all men” (DV 4), revealing their truth in the eyes of the Father: “Your Father, who sees in secret will reward you” (Mt 6:5; 6:8), says Jesus, and he adds that “your Father knows that you need all these things” (cf. Mt 6:32). Jesus Christ is the place where we recognize the truth of God the Father, while we discover ourselves known by Him as sons in the Son, called to the same destiny of full life. Saint Paul writes: “When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son … so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba!’, Father!” (Gal 4:4-6).

Finally, Jesus Christ reveals the Father with his own humanity. Precisely because he is the Word incarnate that dwells among men, Jesus reveals God to us with his own true and integral humanity: “To see Jesus is to see His Father (Jn 14:9). For this reason, Jesus perfected revelation, fulfilling it through his whole work of making Himself present and manifesting Himself through His words and deeds, His signs and wonders, but especially through His death and glorious resurrection from the dead and final sending of the Spirit of truth” (DV, 4). In order to know God in Christ, we must welcome his integral humanity: God’s truth is not fully revealed where it takes something away from the human, just as the integrity of Jesus’ humanity does not diminish the fullness of the divine gift. It is the integral humanity of Jesus that tells us the truth of the Father (cf. Jn 1:18).

It is not only the death and resurrection of Jesus that saves us and calls us together, but his very person: the Lord who becomes incarnate, is born, heals, teaches, suffers, dies, rises again and remains among us. Therefore, to honour the greatness of the Incarnation, it is not enough to consider Jesus as the channel of transmission of intellectual truths. If Jesus has a real body, the communication of the truth of God is realized in that body, with its own way of perceiving and feeling reality, with its own way of inhabiting and passing through the world. Jesus himself invites us to share his perception of reality: “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Mt 6:26).

Brothers and sisters, by following the path of Jesus to the very end, we reach the certainty that nothing can separate us from God’s love. “If God is for us, who is against us?”, writes Saint Paul again. “He who did not withhold his own Son but gave him up for all of us, how will he not with him also give us everything else?” (Rom 8:31-32). Thanks to Jesus, Christians know God the Father and entrust themselves to Him with confidence.

____________________________________________________

Special greetings:

I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly the groups from Great Britain, the Netherlands, and the United States of America. As we continue to pray for the unity of Christians, I greet the Ecumenical Delegation of the Catholic Association for Ecumenism and the Council of Churches of the Netherlands. Upon all of you and your families, I invoke the joy and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you all!

_____________________________

Summary of the Holy Father's words:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today we continue our Catechesis on the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum of the Second Vatican Council by considering the role of the Son of God in Divine Revelation. God’s revelation of himself to his people through words and deeds over the centuries reached its fulfilment in the incarnation of the Word, when God became man. Indeed, “the most intimate truth revealed about God and human salvation shines forth in Christ, who is himself both the mediator and the fulfilment of revelation” (Dei Verbum, 2). The Son, through his incarnation, life, death and resurrection, not only allows us to see the Father in him, but also invites us to enter into his very own relationship with the Father, by virtue of the action of the Spirit. By accepting this invitation, we become sons and daughters through the Son and participants in God’s nature. Let us be filled with gratitude as we ponder our sublime vocation as God’s beloved children, entrusting ourselves to the Father with boundless confidence.

Pope Leo XIV proclaims Franciscan Jubilee Year for the 800th anniversary of the transit of St. Francis of Assisi

Saint Francis, our brother, you who eight hundred years ago went to meet Sister Death as a man at peace,
intercede for us before the Lord.
You recognized true peace in the Crucifix of San Damiano, teach us to seek in Him the source of all reconciliation that breaks down every wall.
You who, unarmed, crossed the lines of war
and misunderstanding, give us the courage to build bridges where the world raises up boundaries.
In this time afflicted by conflict and division, intercede for us so that we may become peacemakers:
unarmed and disarming witnesses of the peace that comes from Christ.

Amen
LEO PP. XIV