Norfolk Norwood Raymondville Catholic Churches

09/07/2026

Rose Coloured Glasses,
Painting by Jackie Von Tobel,
Painted in 2018,
Oil on canvas
© Jackie Von Tobel, all rights reserved

The Pharisees watched him, to find a reason to accuse him

Luke 6:6-11

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/luke-6-6-11-2026/

On a Sabbath, Jesus entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Come and stand here.’ And he rose and stood there. And Jesus said to them, ‘I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?’ And after looking around at them all he said to him, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And he did so, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Reflection on the painting

In today’s Gospel, the religious leaders are watching Jesus closely, not because they want to learn from him, but because they want to catch him out. They see all the good he is doing, yet their attention is fixed on finding fault. They have already made up their minds about him, and so even when God’s goodness is unfolding before their eyes, they struggle to recognise it.

Jesus looks at people very differently. Where others see only failure, he sees possibility. Where others see a sinner, he sees someone who can still become a saint. The crowds saw Zacchaeus as a dishonest tax collector; Jesus saw a man whose heart could change. Peter saw himself as a sinful man, unworthy even to be near Jesus; Jesus saw the rock on which he would build his Church. Jesus never pretends that our faults do not exist, but neither does he allow our faults to become the whole story of who we are.

Perhaps that is something we need to learn too. It is very easy to spot what is wrong with another person: their weaknesses, irritating habits, mistakes and shortcomings. It takes greater generosity to look beyond those things and notice the goodness that is there as well. To see with the eyes of Christ is not to wear rose-tinted glasses or pretend that everything is perfect. It is to recognise that no human being can be reduced to their worst qualities or their worst moments.

Our painting today, Rose Coloured Glasses, is by contemporary American artist Jackie Von Tobel, whose work often takes classical and historic imagery and gives it a playful, colourful contemporary twist. Here she presents an elegant young aristocrat, beautifully dressed in satin, but we can barely see her face: her eyes are completely obscured by an extravagant explosion of pink roses. She is seeing the world care-free through roses. It is a witty image. We speak of seeing the world through ‘rose-tinted glasses’ when we choose to see only what is pleasant and ignore what is difficult. Christian love is not about putting on rose-tinted glasses, and having a naive approach to the world. It is about learning to see the whole person: their faults, yes, but also their goodness, their possibilities, and the grace of God quietly at work within them.

09/06/2026

Saint Teresa of Calcutta: Pray for us! https://hubs.la/Q04wPn9x0

09/06/2026

Siewca (Anioł Pański, Przed siewem),
Painting by Marian Zarembski (1860–1918),
Painted in 1888,
Oil on canvas
© Dom Aukcyjny Polswiss Auctions, Warsaw

Where two are gathered in my name, there am I among them

Matthew 18:15-20

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-18-15-20-2026-2/

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.’

Reflection on the painting

Most of us can probably think of someone who has been important on our journey of faith. Perhaps it was a parent or grandparent who first taught us to pray, a priest whose words stayed with us, a teacher, a friend, or simply someone whose quiet example showed us what it meant to live as a Christian. Sometimes these people encouraged us; sometimes they challenged us. Very often, they may not even have realised the influence they were having. Yet, looking back, we can see that God used them to bring us closer to himself. And perhaps (and hopefully!) there are people who could say the same about us.

That is at the heart of today’s readings: we have a responsibility for one another. We are called not only to come closer to God ourselves, but to help others come closer to him too. Jesus makes this very practical in today’s Gospel. When someone has done wrong or begins to lose their way, Jesus does not tell his disciples simply to condemn them or abandon them. He tells them to go after them, and try to bring them back to God.

None of us makes the journey to God alone. Christianity is a faith of companionship. Sometimes I may help carry you; sometimes I will need you to carry me. Sometimes my words may point you towards Christ; sometimes your example may point me back towards him. Parents have this responsibility towards their children, priests towards their people, friends towards one another, but in some sense every Christian has it towards every other Christian. We are fellow pilgrims, helping one another towards the same destination.

Our beautiful painting by the Polish artist Marian Zarembski (1860–1918), painted in 1888, is known as The Sower, but also as The Angelus or Before Sowing. It shows a very ordinary moment in rural life transformed into something deeply sacred: a father transferring the faith to his daughter. He has stopped his work in the fields and kneels with his little daughter to pray. Behind them we see the freshly ploughed earth, the oxen and plough waiting in the distance, while beside them lies the sack of seed that will soon be scattered across the land.

But perhaps the most touching detail is in the father’s hands: the rosary. He holds his daughter close to him as they pray together. Her little hands are joined while his arm gently surrounds her. He is therefore doing two kinds of sowing! Soon he will rise and sow seed into the earth, hoping that in time it will grow and bear fruit. But at this very moment he is sowing another kind of seed: the seed of faith in the heart of his daughter. He is teaching her to pray, not through a lesson or a book, but simply by praying with her.

It beautifully illustrates today’s Gospel. We sometimes imagine that bringing people to God requires great words or dramatic acts. More often, faith is passed on through small gestures such as this: a parent teaching a child to pray, a grandparent making the Sign of the Cross with a grandchild before a meal, a friend inviting another friend to Mass, or someone quietly saying, ‘I will pray for you.’ We are all sowers. Someone once planted the seed of faith in us, and now we are entrusted with planting that same seed in others.

09/05/2026

Which Catholic chaplain inspired “Saving Private Ryan”?
The “Paratrooper Padre” was a legend among legends.
When a couple of German soldiers raised their rifles to shoot American Army chaplain Fr. Francis Sampson, he was trying to say the Act of Contrition. But the only words he could manage to say were:

“Bless us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts…”

These words would not be his last. They were interrupted, perhaps, by a stern “Halt! Schiess nicht!”

A Catholic German non-commissioned officer stopped the ex*****on, recognizing Fr. Sampson as a priest. This German officer showed the priest a Catholic medal he wore and pictures of his infant child. Fr. Sampson would later recall that moment, noting the momentary brotherhood he had with an “enemy” who shared his faith.

Fr. Sampson was able to return to the wounded he had been tending: soldiers who had taken bullets when fighting their way up the beaches of Normandy. Fr. Sampson had jumped in with the 101st Airborne, and—after determinedly recovering his Mass kit which had fallen into a stream—had set about caring for the suffering soldiers.

The courageous Padre stayed with the wounded, even when the rest of the force had to pull out. After they were all evacuated to a division hospital, he continued his tireless care for them. He received the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism on those days.
Which Catholic chaplain inspired “Saving Private Ryan”?
Fr. Francis Sampson

The inspiration for the film “Saving Private Ryan”—a 1998 film that portrays the search for a lone private whose three brothers had been killed in combat—came from an incident around this time.

Chaplain Sampson was approached by another paratrooper, Fritz Niland, who learned that his brother, Robert, had been killed on D-Day and buried nearby. Another brother, Edward, had been shot down over Burma a few weeks prior, presumed dead.

The compassionate chaplain drove Niland around nearby cemeteries in order to locate Robert’s grave. But they made a terrible discovery during their search. They found the grave not of Robert at first, but of Preston—another brother whose death Fritz hadn’t heard about. One can only imagine the young paratrooper’s distress. Thankfully, he had Fr. Sampson with him.

The Chaplain knew that this soldier had seen enough, and that his family deserved to have at least one of their four sons back. So he began the paperwork to have Fritz sent home (which Fritz strongly objected to—to no avail).

The 1998 film takes its inspiration from this incident, but the connection is otherwise loose. Fritz wasn’t lost (he did have to jump early from his plane and ended up behind enemy lines for nine days, but he made it back).

And as God’s good providence would have it, he wasn’t the only Niland brother to come home. Edward also survived, freed after a year’s internment in a Japanese POW camp.

Fritz’s service was over, but Fr. Sampson’s was not. He later jumped into Holland and was captured trying to rescue trapped American troops during the Battle of the Bulge.

Over the following four months, Fr. Sampson continued his lifesaving work, caring for the imprisoned soldiers physically and spiritually. He chose to stay in the enlisted men’s barracks instead of the officers’ quarters. On Easter, he celebrated Mass alongside Dutch, Polish, and French Catholic chaplains for thousands of prisoners.

When the camp was liberated and the war ended, he still wasn’t done. He went on to serve in Korea, and, after being appointed Chief of Chaplains of the Army, spent Christmases visiting troops in Vietnam.

The Cherokee, Iowa native—who had spent nearly his whole priestly career as a chaplain—died on January 28, 1996. He wrote about his incredible experiences in “Look Out Below!” and “Paratrooper Padre” which chronicled his experiences as a chaplain in jump boots.

09/05/2026

09/05/2026

09/05/2026

Mother Teresa,
Painting by John Alan Warford,
Painted in 2017
Watercolour on paper
© John Alan Warford, all rights reserved

Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa)

Luke 6:1-5

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/luke-6-1-5-2026/

On a Sabbath, while Jesus was going through the cornfields, his disciples plucked and ate some ears of corn, rubbing them in their hands. But some of the Pharisees said, ‘Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?’ And Jesus answered them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?’ And he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.’

Reflection on the watercolour

Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Teresa of Calcutta, better known to the world as Mother Teresa. Born in 1910 in Skopje (present-day North Macedonia), she entered the Loreto Sisters in Ireland as a young woman and soon moved to India, where she taught at a girls’ school in Calcutta. In 1946, during a train journey, she experienced what she later described as a “call within a call”: the deep conviction that Jesus was asking her to leave the security of her convent and dedicate herself to serving the poorest of the poor. With nothing but a simple white sari and a heart full of faith, she began walking the streets of Calcutta, tending to the sick, abandoned, and dying.

In time, others joined her, and the Missionaries of Charity were founded, growing into a worldwide order dedicated to serving the poor, sick and vulnerable. Mother Teresa became a global symbol of compassion, not because of great speeches or grand buildings, but because of her radical closeness to those whom society had cast aside. She tended wounds, lifted dying bodies off the streets, and reminded the forgotten that they were beloved children of God. For her, each suffering person was “Jesus in a distressing disguise” as she referred to. Her life was a living testimony that holiness is not found in doing extraordinary things, but in doing ordinary things with extraordinary love to ordinary people!

Our watercolour by American artist John Alan Warford is beautiful in its simplicity: a tender, intimate scene of Mother Teresa gently tending to the wounds of a sick person. Preparing today's Christian Art entry, I had a look at the website of Mother Teresa's order, and it is a lovely website with some great quotes by the saint: https://missionariesofcharity.org/

We pray for all the beautiful work they do.

Saint Teresa, pray for us.

09/04/2026

Friends, in today’s Gospel (Luke 5:33–39), people ask Jesus why he doesn’t encourage fasting among his followers. Jesus’s answer is wonderful: “Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?” (That’s a typically Jewish style, by the way, answering a question with another question.)

This great image of the wedding feast comes up frequently in the New Testament, most obviously in the wedding feast at Cana narrative. And it is echoed in the tradition. Jesus is the wedding of heaven and earth, the marriage of divinity and humanity; he is the bridegroom and the Church is the bride. In him, the most intimate union is achieved between God and the world.

Could you imagine people fasting at a wedding banquet? Could you imagine going into an elegant room with your fellow guests and being served bread and water? It would be ridiculous! The mark of the Christian dispensation is joy. Exuberance. Delight. God and the world have come together. What could be better news?