Penniless Preachers

Photo of snail and cherry blossoms speaking the Shalom Snail couplet, "Penniless Preachers."
โ€œPenniless Preachersโ€
A reflection on Luke 9:1-6
Wednesday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

The Penniless Preachers, empowered by Jesus, spread the Gospel with nothing but faith, under the divine patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary.… Read the rest

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Photo of snail and dahlia speaking the reflection on Song of Song 6:10: "O Mary fair as the moon and pure as the sun, / 
Fearsome as bannered troopsโ€”the victory is won."
โ€œThe Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Maryโ€
A reflection on Song of Songs 6:10
Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Midmorning Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

Bannered Troops

Who is this that comes forth like the dawn,
as beautiful as the moon, as resplendent as the sun,
as awe-inspiring as bannered troops?

… Read the rest

Hail, Holy Queen

Photo of snail and marigolds with text overlay of the reflection on the Queenship of Mary: "Queen Mother, seated at your Son's right hand, / We praise you, from here to the Promised Land."
โ€œHail, Holy Queenโ€
A reflection on 1 Kings 2:19-20 and Luke 1:26-38
Memorial of the Queenship of Mary
ยฉ๏ธ2023 Gloria M. Chang
1 Kings 2:19-20 (ESV)

So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. And the king rose to meet her and bowed down to her.… Read the rest

The Woman and the Dragon

Photo of snail on a dahlia with text overlay of the poetic reflection on the Assumption from the First Reading at Mass: "O Woman clothed with the sun and crowned with twelve stars, / Eclipse the red dragon and prevail in our wars."
โ€œThe Woman and the Dragonโ€
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

First Reading

Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab

Godโ€™s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.ย … Read the rest

One, Two, Three… Return to Trinity!

Photo of snail on a zinnia under a cloudy sky with text overlay of the reflection on Matthew 19:3-12: "In the beginning when all was one, / Adam was breathed through the Word, God's Son."
โ€œOne, two, threeโ€ฆ Return to Trinity!โ€
A reflection on Matthew 19:3-12
Friday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

Gospel

Matthew 19:3-12

Some Pharisees approached him, and tested him, saying, โ€œIs it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?โ€… Read the rest

We’re All Family in Christ

Photo of snail and echinacea purpurea with text overlay of the couplet reflecting on Matthew 12:46-50: "God became flesh to bond in charity, / Heirs of the Father in one family."
โ€œWeโ€™re All Family in Christโ€
A reflection on Matthew 12:46-50
Tuesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2024 Gloria M. Chang

Gospel

Matthew 12:46-50

While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him.… Read the rest

The Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Photo of snail and white bleeding hearts with text overlay of the couplet, "Finding Jesus in the Father's heart, Mary kept him in her mother's heart."
โ€œAnd his mother kept all these things in her heartโ€
A reflection on Luke 2:49-51
Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

Gospel

Luke 2:41-51

Each year Jesusโ€™ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom.… Read the rest

Christ Fulfills the Law

Photo of snail and tulip speaking the couplet, "Christ fulfills the Law, / Whole and without flaw."
โ€œChrist Fulfills the Lawโ€
Matthew 5:17-18 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
Wednesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

Gospel

Matthew 5:17-18

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.… Read the rest