The Parable of the Yeast

Photo of snail and hydrangea paniculata with text overlay of the reflection on Luke 13:20-21: "The kingdom, like yeast, rises and expands / In flour which a woman kneads with her hands."
โ€œThe Parable of the Yeastโ€
Luke 13:20-21 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

Gospel

Luke 13:20-21

Again he said, โ€œTo what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.โ€… Read the rest

Solidarity

Photo of snail and rio speaking the Shalom Snail couplet, "Solidarity."
โ€œSolidarityโ€
A reflection on Luke 13:1-5
Friday of the Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

How does Jesusโ€™ call to be transformed in the face of tragedy challenge us to embrace solidarity with all of humanity?

Gospel

Luke 13:1-5

Some people told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.… Read the rest

True Blessedness

Photo of snail and autumn crocus with text overlay of the Shalom Snail couplet, "True Blessedness."
โ€œTrue Blessednessโ€
Luke 11:27-28 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
Saturday of the Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

True blessedness lies in hearing and keeping Godโ€™s word, as exemplified by the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Gospel

Luke 11:27-28 (RSVCE)

As he said this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, โ€œBlessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked!โ€ย … Read the rest

Contemplating the Face of Christ With Mary

Photo of snail and roses with text overlay of the Shalom Snail couplet, "Contemplating the Face of Christ with Mary."
โ€œContemplating the Face of Christ with Maryโ€
Our Lady of the Rosary
A reflection on Rosarium Virginis Mariae (1), Apostolic Letter of St. Pope John Paul II
ยฉ๏ธ2024 Gloria M. Chang

The Rosary: A Christocentric Prayer

The Rosary of the Virgin Mary, which gradually took form in the second millennium under the guidance of the Spirit of God, is a prayer loved by countless Saints and encouraged by the Magisterium.… Read the rest

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