Norfolk Norwood Raymondville Catholic Churches

06/18/2026

The Virgin in Prayer,
Painted by Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato (1609-1685),
Painted between 1640–1650,
Oil on canvas
© National Gallery, London, UK

Your Father knows what you need before you ask him

Matthew 6:7-15

Scroll down to read the Gospel & Art Reflection or click this link to read on the Christian.art website

🔗 https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-6-7-15-2026-2/

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples: ‘When you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then, like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

‘For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.’

Reflection on the painting

In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us that our heavenly Father already knows what we need before we even ask Him. Prayer, therefore, is not about informing God of something He doesn't know. We do not pray because God is unaware, distant or inattentive. But then, if he already knows everything, why bother praying at all. Well, firstly because prayer isn't just us sharing information with God. Rather, prayer changes us. In bringing our needs before God, our hearts are slowly reshaped. True prayer gently aligns us with God’s vision, with God’s desires for our lives. The more we pray, the more we begin to see as God sees. The more we pray, the closer we grow to God and can discern His will for us.

That is why, when Jesus teaches us how to pray in today's Gospel reading, He immediately directs us away from ourselves. Before speaking of our needs, we pray: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.” Prayer draws us out of the small world of “me” and “mine” into the much larger horizon of “we” and “us.” Even the simplest requests remind us of our dependence on God: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Every breath, every meal, every grace is ultimately gift. Prayer keeps us rooted in that humble truth: that we are not self-sufficient, but beloved children who live each day sustained by the Father’s care and each other's care.

The Virgin in Prayer by Sassoferrato is one of my all time favourite paintings, and certainly one of the most tender and intimate depictions of Mary ever painted. There is almost no narrative detail, no grand background, no dramatic action. We simply see the Virgin Mary in silence, her hands folded gently in prayer, her head bowed in stillness. The deep blue mantle and white head cloth frame her face beautifully, while the soft light creates an atmosphere of extraordinary peace. Sassoferrato had a remarkable gift for painting silence! Looking at this work, one almost feels drawn into prayer oneself.

The painting also needs to be understood in the context of the Catholic Church after the Reformation. Following the turbulence and divisions of the 16th century, the Church strongly encouraged a more personal, heartfelt and meditative life of prayer. Art was no longer simply to instruct the mind, but to move the heart. Paintings such as this invited the faithful not merely to admire Mary, but to imitate her... who better to teach us how to pray than the Virgin herself? Sassoferrato presents her here as the perfect model of interior prayer: quiet, attentive, receptive to God. In a noisy and distracted world, this painting remains profoundly modern, reminding us that prayer often begins not with many words, but with silence before God.

06/18/2026

Enjoying Morning Offering? Refer a friend and earn rewards! Join our referral program! https://bit.ly/47vB2lr


Sts. Mark & Marcellian
Saint of the Day
Patron Satin of: Prisoners, converts, and persecuted Christians
Feast Day: June 18

Sts. Mark and Marcellian (d. 286 A.D.) were twin brothers who were martyred for their faith in Rome under Emperor Diocletian. According to legend they were both deacons from a distinguished family who were thrown into prison for being Christians. Their mother and father, who were pagans, visited their sons in prison and pleaded with them to return to the worship of false gods so that they could be saved. At the same time, St. Sebastian also visited the brothers and encouraged them to stand strong in their faith. St. Sebastian’s exhortation was so persuasive that the parents of Marcellian and Mark were converted, along with several friends who were present, as well as the other prisoners. All of these new Christian converts were eventually martyred alongside Mark and Marcellian. The brothers had their feet nailed to a wood post, and later their bodies were pierced with lances. Their feast day is June 18th.

06/17/2026

Enjoying Morning Offering? Refer a friend and earn rewards! Join our referral program! https://bit.ly/47vB2lr


St. Emily de Vialar
Saint of the Day
Patron Satin of: Missionaries, nurses, educators, and the sick
Feast Day: June 17

St. Emily de Vialar (1797–1856) was born in Gaillac, France to an aristocratic family in the years following the French Revolution. Because the Catholic faith was under severe persecution, she was baptized in secret by her parents and her religious instruction was given at home. She was a devout child who displayed an aptitude for prayer, and she shunned the luxuries of her state in life. After the death of her mother, her father arranged to find her a suitable husband when she reached 15 years of age. Emily, who desired to lead the religious life in service to the poor, resisted her father’s attempts and endured his anger at her refusal. She desired also to repair the harm caused by the Revolution by catechizing the local children. Emily remained a virgin and privately consecrated herself to God while living in her father’s home. When she was 21 she met a priest who helped her set up an out-patient service for the sick in her own home, which heightened her tense relationship with her father. When her grandfather died, Emily inherited a large fortune which allowed her independence in the service of God. She bought a large home in her town and began a religious order in service to the sick and poor, and to the education of children, which quickly flourished. In 40 years her order, called the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition, established 40 houses throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia. St. Emily de Vialar’s feast day is June 17th.

06/17/2026

Beggars in India, Gujarat, Baroda (Vadodara),
Photo by Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004),
Photographed in 1948,
© Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum Photos

Beware of practising your righteousness before other people

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Scroll down to read the Gospel & Art Reflection or click this link to read on the Christian.art website

🔗 https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-6-1-6-16-18-2026-2/

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Beware of practising your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

‘Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

‘And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

‘And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.’

Reflection on the photograph

Photography has its roots in the early nineteenth century and has since grown into one of the major branches of contemporary art, standing alongside painting, sculpture, and printmaking. It is perhaps the most immediate of all art forms. A photograph can capture an ordinary moment with a truthfulness and directness that few other media can equal. This image, taken just five seconds earlier or later, would have been entirely different. Photography has the power to preserve a fleeting instant that otherwise would have vanished forever.

This photograph was taken in 1948, at a time when cameras were still relatively rare and precious objects. Today, almost everyone carries a camera in their pocket through their mobile phone, and in that sense photography has become democratised. Yet in 1948, taking a photograph still required patience, technical skill, attentiveness, and often considerable expense. It is important therefore to view this image within its own historical moment.

Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French camera artist. I use that term deliberately, rather than simply “photographer”, because many practitioners in the 1940s described themselves in this way. It reflects the seriousness and artistry of their craft. Cartier-Bresson is widely regarded as the father of modern photojournalism, one of the most compelling forms of fine art photography. Through his street photography across the world, he produced images that are visually balanced and aesthetically beautiful, yet at the same time deeply human and often profoundly moving. More than anyone else, he mastered what he famously called “the decisive moment”: that brief instant when all the moving elements within a scene suddenly fall into perfect harmony.

Today’s Gospel tells us: “Beware of practising your righteousness before other people.” In this photograph, we see someone distributing food or alms, yet his face is absent from the frame. We do not know who he is. The photographer thus does not focus on the benefactor, but entirely on those receiving the charitable gesture. The attention is not on the one giving, but on the dignity and humanity of those in need.

Pope Francis once told a group of Franciscans: “When you do some activity for the ‘little ones’, the excluded and the least, never do it from a pedestal of superiority. Think rather that all that you do for them is a way of returning what you have received for free.” How true that is. Perhaps that is why this photograph remains so powerful. True charity does not draw attention to itself. It does not seek applause or recognition. It simply serves quietly, and then steps out of the frame.

06/16/2026

Nero’s Torches,
Painted by Henryk Hektor Siemiradzki (1843-1902),
Painted in 1878,
oil on canvas
© National Museum, Krakow

Pray for those who persecute you

Matthew 5:43-48

Scroll down to read the Gospel & Art Reflection or click this link to read on the Christian.art website

🔗 https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-5-43-48-2026-2/

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.’

Reflection on the painting

The call of the Gospel can be very challenging. Today's reading is arguably one of the most demanding passages in all of the gospels. Jesus calls on his disciples not only to love our neighbour, a command that is found in the Old Testament, but he also calls on them, and on us, to love our enemy, which goes beyond anything found in the Old Testament.

Many of us might struggle to think of someone we would describe as our 'enemy'. Yet, we might be able to recall people who we don't particularly like or people who have hurt us or caused us harm in some way. We are unlikely to have warm feelings toward such individuals. But when Jesus calls his disciples to love their enemies, he is not speaking primarily about emotions or feelings. He is speaking about an act of the will. Christian love is not sentimental. It means choosing not to hate, refusing to seek revenge, resisting bitterness, and continuing to recognise the dignity of the other person, even when relationships are wounded. To love an enemy does not mean approving of what they have done; it means refusing to allow darkness to have the final word in our own hearts.

"Nero’s Torches," also known as "Candlesticks of Christianity," is a painting created by the Polish artist Henryk Hektor Siemiradzki in 1876. It is a monumental dramatically depicting the horrors of the early Christian persecutions during the reign of Emperor Nero (AD 54-68). After the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64, Nero blamed the Christians for the disaster. He subjected them to horrific punishments, including being used as human torches to light his gardens. The painting captures in meticulous detail the chilling moment when Christians are tied to stakes and set on fire to illuminate a decadent garden party for Nero and his guests. The scene is set in an opulent garden, emphasising the stark contrast between the cruelty of the act and the grandeur of the surroundings.

The painting elicits a strong emotional response, highlighting the innocence and suffering of the martyrs while condemning the barbarity of their persecutors. The juxtaposition of human cruelty against a backdrop of opulence and beauty makes for a very engaging painting. The painting serves as a poignant reminder of the early Christian martyrs' sacrifices... all Christians who put the call of today's Gospel reading into practise.

06/15/2026

The False Mirror,
Painting by René Magritte (1898-1967),
Painted in 1929,
Oil on canvas
© Museum of Modern Art, New York

An eye for an eye

Matthew 5:38-42

Scroll down to read the Gospel & Art Reflection or click this link to read on the Christian.art website

🔗 https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-5-38-42-2026/

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, ‘You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you: Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.’

Reflection on the painting

We do not need to look far to be reminded that there is real evil in the world. Watching the evening news is enough. A gunman walks into an ordinary place ,a market, a school, a place of worship, where people are going about their ordinary lives, and in a moment everything is shattered. Lives ended. Others impacted beyond recognition. Or look at all the wars raging in the world, based on greed and pride. Jesus knew this darkness intimately. In today's Gospel he names it plainly: the violent man, the greedy man who drags his neighbour to court over a coat. But his concern is not simply to acknowledge that evil exists. His concern is how we respond to evil when we are confronted by it.

And his answer, as Saint Paul distils it so perfectly, is this: do not overcome evil by doing evil, but overcome evil with good. Jesus does not ask us to be passive or naive. He asks us to be radically different! He asks us to meet injustice not with retaliation but with a generosity that the world finds incomprehensible. If a Roman soldier commands you to carry his pack for one mile, carry it for two miles. It makes no worldly sense. It was never meant to. It is simply the way of Christ: a way that runs entirely against the grain of the secular world, which is precisely why we cannot walk it alone. We need the Holy Spirit.

The phrase Jesus is pushing back against in today's Gospel is one of the oldest legal principles in human history: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. It appears first in the Code of Hammurabi, the Babylonian law code of the eighteenth century before Christ, and is also found in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. In its original context it was not a licence for cruelty; it was actually a restraint on vengeance, a way of ensuring that punishment matched the offence and went no further. But Jesus looks at it and says: not enough. Not nearly enough. The logic of equal retaliation, however carefully calibrated, still keeps us trapped in the same cycle.

And so today we find ourselves looking simply at an eye. René Magritte painted The False Mirror in 1929. It is a large, close-up human eye, but where the iris should be, Magritte has placed a vast open sky: blue, luminous, scattered with soft white clouds. Is the eye looking outward at the world, or is the world somehow contained within it? Magritte offers no answer. He called it a false mirror, because an eye, unlike a mirror, does not simply reflect what is in front of it. It perceives. It interprets. It chooses what to see. That is precisely Magritte's unsettling point, and it is the Gospel's point too. Two people can look at the same act of injustice and see entirely different things. One sees an offence that demands retaliation. The other, the one formed by Christ, sees a human being in need of something more than they deserve. The eye that has been touched by grace sees differently. It sees the way God sees. And that changes everything.

06/15/2026

Enjoying Morning Offering? Refer a friend and earn rewards! Join our referral program! https://bit.ly/47vB2lr


St. Germaine Cousin
Saint of the Day
Patron Satin of: Shepherds, people with disabilities, and abuse victims
Feast Day: June 15

St. Germaine Cousin (1579–1601) was born in a remote French village to a peasant farmer. She was born with a deformed right arm and a disease that causes abscesses in her neck. Her mother died when she was an infant, and her father remarried. Due to Germaine’s deformities, her stepmother was thoroughly disgusted with her. She severely neglected and physically abused the child, and taught others to do the same. Starving, sick, and dressed in rags with no shoes, Germaine was forced to sleep in the barn. Her stepmother once attempted to kill her off by sending her to tend sheep near a wolf-infested forest. St. Germaine was a simple and pious child, and through her extreme hardships she developed a deep interior life. She prayed the rosary and went to Mass daily, leaving her sheep to the care of her guardian angel. Even though she was emaciated, she shared the little food she had with beggars. Her piety was admired by the village children, and adults gradually became aware of her holiness, especially when news of her miracles began to circulate. St. Germaine died at the age of twenty-two, succumbing to her poor living conditions. Many years later her body was found incorrupt. Villagers began praying for her intercession and receiving miraculous cures, resulting in her canonization in 1867. St. Germaine is the patron saint of unattractive people, peasant girls, abuse victims, handicapped people, and abandoned people. Her feast day is June 15th.

06/14/2026

Enjoying Morning Offering? Refer a friend and earn rewards! Join our referral program! https://bit.ly/47vB2lr


Patron Satin of: Church musicians, choir members, and hymn writers
Feast Day: June 14

St. Joseph the Hymnographer (816-883 A.D.) was born in Sicily to a pious Christian family. When Muslims invaded the island, his family moved to Greece to escape persecution. At the age of fifteen he entered a monastery and grew in holiness and virtue. St. Gregory the Dekapolite took Joseph with him to Constantinople to defend the traditional reverence of icons in opposition to the iconoclast heresy. Joseph was then chosen by the local clergy to be a messenger to Pope Leo III to obtain the Holy Father’s assistance in battling the iconoclast heretics, who were gaining power and influence. On his way to Rome, Joseph was captured by Muslims who delivered him into the hands of the iconoclast heretics. While held a prisoner, St. Nicholas appeared to Joseph and asked him to sing in the name of God. After six years Joseph was freed from prison and returned to Constantinople, where he founded a monastery dedicated to his friend St. Gregory. He also dedicated a church in the name of St. Bartholomew, to whom he had a devotion. St. Bartholomew then appeared to Joseph in a dream and encouraged him to write hymns for the Church. After writing his first hymn in honor of St. Bartholomew, Joseph dedicated other hymns to St. Nicholas, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and other saints. During his life he composed nearly 1,000 hymns. When another wave of iconoclasm arose, he again stood steadfast against it and was exiled for eleven years as a result; he was later exiled a second time for defending orthodox Christian doctrine. He finally died full of years in Constantinople. His feast day is June 14.

06/14/2026

Italian Prisoners of War Working on the Land,
Painting by Michael Ford (1920–2005),
Painted in 1942,
Oil on canvas
© Imperial War Museum, London

The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few

Matthew 9:36-10:8

Scroll down to read the Gospel & Art Reflection or click this link to read on the Christian.art website

🔗 https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-9-36-10-8-2026/

At that time: When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’

And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. The names of the twelve Apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.’

Reflection on the painting

In today's Gospel, Jesus sends his disciples out to the lost sheep of Israel. He does not send them empty-handed. He gives them authority, power, and a mission. But notice what he asks of them first: pray. He asks them to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send labourers. It is a striking request. Jesus himself is at work, yet he tells his disciples that the harvest is too vast for him alone, that he needs co-workers, and that they must ask God to send more. That call has often been interpreted too narrowly, as a prayer for priests and religious. But the Gospel is wider than that. Every baptised person is needed! Every one of us has a part to play. Every one of us has a spade to pick up, a field to tend, a corner of the harvest that only we can reach. The grain will not gather itself. And if we leave our row unworked, it goes unworked, because no one else is standing exactly where we are.

And yet, Jesus knew from the beginning how fragile his co-workers could be. From the wider group of disciples he chose twelve, a number rich with meaning, symbolically linked to the twelve tribes of Israel. He formed the apostles carefully, travelled with them, taught them, let them witness miracle after miracle. And still, when the cross came into view, they scattered. Every one of them. Peter denied him. Judas betrayed him. The rest fled into the night. This is not a detail the Gospel glosses over. It sits at the very heart of the story. Jesus calls, he teaches, he forms,... but, ... He does not force. He never has. The same is true today. He calls each of us by name, but the response is always ours to give.

Our painting shows us exactly what God does not do. He does not force us. He does not march us into his fields under guard. No, He simply invites, and leaves the response entirely to us. A yes, a no, or even a tentative let me try and see. The choice is always ours. The men bending over the onion rows in this quiet Hampshire field had no such choice. Michael Ford painted them in 1942, in the middle of the war, in a field near his home village of Overton. They are Italian prisoners of war, most of them captured during the North Africa campaign, where Mussolini's army had faced the British Army across the desert. Many had been transferred to Britain, in the Hampshire countryside, billeted at camps in nearby Whitchurch and Popham. You can identify them by their uniforms: the distinctive brown with large orange patches, sewn on precisely so they could not disappear unnoticed into the English landscape.

Ford, who studied at Goldsmiths and went on to do war artist work held by the Imperial War Museum, records the scene with a quiet, documentary tenderness. There is no drama here, no war propaganda. Just men, working a field, far from home. Britain in 1942 faced an acute labour shortage; with its own men at the front, it needed hands for the harvest, and the prisoners had to help. And that is precisely the contrast the Gospel invites us to feel. These men laboured because they were compelled to. But God asks us to labour because we are loved. God's harvest is just as urgent, just as real, but he will not force a single one of us into his fields.

06/13/2026