Catholic Identity

God of hope,

Our hearts overflow with gratitude for your abiding presence during these exceedingly difficult and troubled times.

May the flames of hope remain aglow among individuals, families, communities and nations during the pandemic.

May our trust in you be affirmed, especially as we continue to navigate each day the challenges that have confronted us.

Let all that we are wait quietly before you, O God, knowing that our hope is in you. By your Spirit, may we be grounded in the hope that is proclaimed in your word: you are our rock and salvation, our fortress where we will not be shaken. We pray in the name of One who, by his resurrection, has given us the hope of life eternal, Jesus the Christ,

Amen.

Dear Families of Sacred Heart,

We ended Term two with a wonderful celebration of the Sacrament of First Reconciliation.

Thank you to Father John Paul, Father Joe Taylor and Father Vijay for being our celebrants for this Liturgy.

It was a beautiful liturgy and we are thankful that after many times being rescheduled, parents and family members were able to attend.

Congratulations to all of our children who made their Sacrament, and their families for their support and guidance in the Steps in Faith program.

We look forward to the Sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist in late October.

Miss Simpson

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN

ORDINARY TIME

“Jesus gave the people all the food they wanted."

Year B | Sunday 25 July | Green

The Gospel Story

The people travelled the countryside to see and hear Jesus. They were so eager to be near Jesus that they forgot to bring food. When they became hungry, Jesus turned 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish into enough food to feed thousands of people – and there were 12 baskets left over!

The Gospel

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John 6:5-15

Jesus gave the people all the food they wanted.

Jesus crossed Lake Galilee, which was also known as Lake Tiberias.

A large crowd had seen him work miracles to heal the sick, and those people went with him.

It was almost time for the Jewish festival of Passover, and Jesus went up on a mountain with his disciples and sat down.

When Jesus saw the large crowd coming toward him, he asked Philip,

"Where will we get enough food to feed all these people?"

He said this to test Philip, since he already knew what he was going to do.

Philip answered, "Don't you know that it would take almost a year's wages just to buy only a little bread for each of these people?"

Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the disciples.

He spoke up and said, "There is a boy here who has five small loaves of barley bread

and two fish. But what good is that with all these people?"

The ground was covered with grass, and Jesus told his disciples to have everyone sit down.

About five thousand men were in the crowd. Jesus took the bread in his hands and gave thanks to God. Then he passed the bread to the people, and he did the same with the fish,

until everyone had plenty to eat. The people ate all they wanted, and Jesus told his disciples to gather up the leftovers, so that nothing would be wasted.

The disciples gathered them up and filled twelve large baskets

with what was left over from the five barley loaves.

After the people had seen Jesus work this miracle, they began saying,

"This must be the Prophet who is to come into the world!"

Jesus realised that they would try to force him to be their king.

So he went up on a mountain, where he could be alone.

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflecting on the Gospel - discussion

To be 'hungry' is to be in need. In a simple way, children name some things people need to keep them alive, healthy and happy. Some people might be hungry for love, or warmth or friendship.

Invite children to name things they can do to help others and so 'feed' them. Leaders may choose to have a large drawing of a loaf of bread on which they record the children's suggestions. This could be placed in the prayer space and become a focus of children's prayer for the hungry people in the world.