Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord.
If anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever.
Alleluia.
Gospel: Luke 9:11b-17
All ate and were satisfied.
At that time: Jesus spoke to the crowd of the kingdom of God and cured those who needed healing. Now the day began to wear away, and the Twelve came and said to him, ‘Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.’ But he said to them, ‘You give them something to eat.’ They said, ‘We have no more than five loaves and two fish — unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.’ For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, ‘Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.’ And they did so, and made them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
Lord Jesus Christ, you gave your Church an admirable sacrament as the abiding memorial of your passion.
Teach us so to worship the sacred mystery of your Body and Blood that its redeeming power may sanctify us always.
Who live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Notes from meeting on 17 June 2025:
Picture
Picture of a large golden heart, it has a door which is wide open. This heart resembles a Tabernacle,
a gentle breeze emanates from within which perfumes the air.
This breeze is looking for recipients to receive!
"My dear people are your hearts ready to receive Me?
I await patiently for you to be ready and receive Me and all that which I want to give to you.
I speak directly to You My Child, for I Am burning up with Love and need to find a receptacle to infuse My Love and thus relieve this Poor Heart of Mine.
My People look not to left or right but to Me Your Saviour, alleviate My plight and partake of My burning Love, be open to Me and together we will become one, then nothing of the world will seem as important as this current of Divine Love!
If you are filled with My Holy Love, you will draw on Me and nothing shall seem as important as living in Me and I in you.
My Mother and Your Mother is your pattern, she who is filled with My Spirit and all graciousness, she whose Heart is filled with humility and the wish to do only the will of the Father, My Mother is like a road map to My Heart and all it contains.
I carry each of you My beloved in the crook of My arm.
Your Jesus"
Colossians 3 v 12-17
12 As the chosen of God, then, the holy people whom he loves, you are to be clothed in heartfelt compassion, in generosity and humility, gentleness and patience.
13 Bear with one another; forgive each other if one of you has a complaint against another. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same.
14 Over all these clothes, put on love, the perfect bond.
15 And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that you were called together in one body. Always be thankful.
16 Let the Word of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you. Teach each other, and advise each other, in all wisdom. With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs to God;
17 and whatever you say or do, let it be in the name of the Lord Jesus, in thanksgiving to God the Father through him.
Intercessions
Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus, we praise You!
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.
Pray for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis
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.
Pray for Win, Terry, John Morgan, Lisa, Frances, Rosie, Adam Grey with cancer, Charlotte, Susan, Kyle, Catherine and Peter, Anne Shepherd, Felicity, Jessica, Marie Bedingfield, Milo, John Joynes, Vanessa, Cathy, Matthew, Gina Hardy, Owen McEneaney, Reese, Tony, Joan, Jackie, Nathan, David, Derek, Malcolm, Hollie, and Harlan Moon.
Pray for healing for Lynn and Anne both with chronic illness.
Pray for Gina (aged 31) who has had a pancreas and kidney transplant recently but has had to go back to surgery because the pancreas is not working properly.
Pray for Alan Guile may the Lord strengthen him and his ministry.
Pray for Grace who is dying - Lord be with her
Pray for the sanctity of life from conception to natural death.
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 in England:
http://www.ccr.org.uk/
6. Catholic Charismatic Renewal International
https://www.charis.international/en/home/
7. Celebrate Conference website
https://www.celebratetrust.org/
8. CHARIS in England and Wales
www.charisuk.com
9.CaFE - Catholic Faith Exploration (faithcafe.org)
Events
Next meeting will be on 24 June 2025 at 7.30pm in The Creche in St Patricks Church, Glenfield Road, Fairfield, Stockton TS19 7PL. All welcome.
Jubilee 2025 - Pilgrims of Hope
The 2025 Jubilee officially opened on December 24, 2024 with the rite of Opening of the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of St. Peter by the Holy Father.
Link to Jubilee website: Jubilee 2025 https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en.html
LEO XIV
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Saint Peter's Square
Wednesday, 18 June 2025
___________________________________
General Audience of 18 June 2025 - Cycle of Catechesis – Jubilee 2025. Jesus Christ our Hope. II. The life of Jesus. The Healings. 10. The healing of the paralytic. "When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be well?”"
Dear brothers and sisters,
Let us continue to contemplate Jesus who heals. In a particular way, I would like to invite you to think about the situations in which we feel “blocked” and stuck in a dead end. At times, in fact, it seems to be pointless to continue to hope; we become resigned and no longer have the desire to fight. This situation is described in the Gospels with the image of paralysis. This is why today I would like to dwell on the healing of a paralytic, narrated in the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Saint John (5:1-9).
Jesus goes to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. He does not immediately go to the Temple; instead, he stops at a door, where the sheep were probably washed before being offered as a sacrifice. Near this door there were also many sick people who, unlike the sheep, were excluded from the Temple because they were considered unclean! And so it is Jesus himself who reaches out to them in their suffering. These people hoped for a miracle that might change their fate; indeed, next to the door there was a pool, whose waters were considered thaumaturgical, that is, capable of healing: at certain moments the water would stir and, according to the belief of the time, whoever immersed themselves first would be healed.
In this way a sort of “war among the poor” came to be created: we can imagine the sorry scene of these sick people who wearily dragged themselves to enter the pool. That pool was called Betzatà, which means “house of mercy”: it could be an image of the Church, where the sick and the poor gather and where the Lord comes to heal and give hope.
Jesus specifically addresses a man who has been paralyzed for some thirty-eight years. By now he is resigned, because he never manages to immerse himself in the pool when the water stirs (cf. v. 7). In effect, what paralyzes us, very often, is disappointment. We feel discouraged and risk falling into apathy.
Jesus asks the paralytic a question that may seem superfluous: “Do you want to be well?” (v. 6). Instead, it is a necessary question, because when one is stuck for so many years, even the will to heal may fade. Sometimes we prefer to remain in the condition of sickness, forcing others to take care of us. It is sometimes also an excuse for not deciding what to do with our lives. Jesus instead takes this man back to his truest and deepest desire.
Indeed, this man replies in a more articulate way to Jesus’ question, revealing his true vision of life. He says first of all that he has no-one to immerse him in the pool: so he is not to blame, but the others who do not take care of him. This attitude becomes the pretext for avoiding responsibility. But is it really true that he had no-one to help him? Here is Saint Augustine’s enlightening answer: “Truly he had need of a ‘man’ to his healing, but that ‘man’ one who is also God. … He came, then, the Man who was needed: why should the healing be delayed?”. [1]
The paralytic then adds that when he tries to immerse himself in the pool, there is always someone who arrives before him. This man is expressing a fatalistic view of life. We think that things happen to us because we are not fortunate, because destiny is against us. This man is discouraged. He feels defeated in the struggle of life.
Instead, Jesus helps him to discover that his life is also in his hands. He invites him to get up, to raise himself up from his chronic situation, and to take his stretcher (cf. v. 8). That mat is not to be left or thrown away: it represents his past of sickness, his history. Until that moment, the past had blocked him; it had forced him to lie like a dead man. Now it is he who can take that mat and carry it wherever he wishes: he can decide what to make of his history! It is a matter of walking, taking responsibility for choosing what road to take. And this is thanks to Jesus!
Dear brothers and sisters, let us ask the Lord for the gift of understanding where our life is stuck. Let us try to give voice to our desire to be healed. And let us pray for all those who feel paralyzed, who do not see a way out. Let us ask to return to dwell in the Heart of Christ, which is the true house of mercy!
______________________
[1] Tractate 17, 7.
***
APPEAL
Dear brothers and sisters,
The Church is brokenhearted at the cry of pain rising from places devastated by war, especially Ukraine, Iran, Israel and Gaza. We must never get used to war! Indeed, the temptation to have recourse to powerful and sophisticated weapons needs to be rejected. Today, when “every kind of weapon produced by modern science is used in war, the savagery of war threatens to lead the combatants to barbarities far surpassing those of former ages” (SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 79). For this reason, in the name of human dignity and international law, I reiterate to those in positions of responsibility the frequent warning of Pope Francis: War is always a defeat! And that of Pope Pius XII: “Nothing is lost with peace. Everything may be lost with war.”
____________________________________________________
Greeting:
I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly the groups from England, Northern Ireland, Norway, Cameroon, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Canada and the United States of America. My special greeting goes to the members of the “HOPE80” international delegation at the start of the “Flame of Hope” pilgrimage as they seek to promote reconciliation and peace in this year marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
May the light of divine love and fraternity always burn brightly in the hearts of the men and women of our one human family.
Upon all of you, and upon your families, I invoke the Lord’s gifts of wisdom, strength and joy. God bless you.
_____________________________
Summary of the Holy Father's words:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In our continuing catechesis on the Jubilee theme of “Jesus Christ our Hope”, we now consider Jesus’ miraculous cure of the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda. Many physically disabled people came to bathe there in hope of a cure, yet Jesus chose that man, who had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years and was unable to enter the pool by himself. Jesus’ question to him – “Do you want to be healed?” – was penetrating. It challenged the paralytic’s sense of helplessness and resignation, and invited him to hope that his life could be changed. Jesus tells him to stand, take up his mat and walk. The mat was in fact the symbol of the man’s past paralysis, physical and spiritual, which he can now accept and leave behind as he begins his new life. In this Jubilee of hope, may we remember in our prayers all those who suffer and feel tempted to discouragement. Whatever problems or setbacks we may face in life, let us turn to Jesus, acknowledge our desire for healing, and accept his promise of freedom and newness of life.
The Jubilee Prayer
Father in heaven,
may the faith you have given us
in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,
and the flame of charity enkindled
in or hearts by the Holy Spirit,
reawaken in us the blessed hope
for the coming of your Kingdom.
May your grace transform us
into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.
May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos
in the sure expectation
of a new heaven and a new earth,
when, with the powers of Evil vanquished,
your glory will shine eternally.
May the grace of the Jubilee
reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope,
a yearning for the treasures of heaven.
May that same grace spread
the joy and peace of our Redeemer
throughout the earth.
To you our God, eternally blessed,
be glory and praise for ever.
Amen
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