A Blooming Arrow

Photo of snail, anemone, and dahlia with text overlay of the Shalom Snail couplet, "A Blooming Arrow."
โ€œA Blooming Arrowโ€
A reflection on Ephesians 2:1-10
Monday of the Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time (Year II)
ยฉ๏ธ2022 Gloria M. Chang

Gospel

Ephesians 2:1-3

You were dead in your transgressions and sinsย in which you once lived following the age of this world,ย following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient.ย … Read the rest

Whom Should You Fear?

A photo of a snail snail and verbena flowers with text overlay of the reflection on Luke 12:4-5: "When a garden of paradise blooms within, / Little flowโ€™rs fear not the Gehenna of sin."
โ€œWhom Should You Fear?โ€
A reflection on Luke 12:4-5
Friday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

Who truly holds power over your soulโ€”earthly threats or the One who judges for eternity?

Gospel

Luke 12:4-5

I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more.… 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

Prayer to My Guardian Angel

Photo of snail and verbena speaking the Shalom Snail couplet, "Prayer to My Guardian Angel."
โ€œPrayer to My Guardian Angelโ€ (abridged)
Matthew 18:1-5, 10
Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

In the Prayer to My Guardian Angel, we seek divine guidance and protection, reflecting the childlike humility and faith Jesus teaches in Matthew 18.… Read the rest

Holy Women Who Followed Jesus

โ€œHoly Women Who Followed Jesusโ€
A reflection on Luke 8:1-3 and Luke 7:31-35
Friday of the Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

Gospel

Luke 8:1-3

Afterward he journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.… 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

The Passion of Saint John the Baptist

Photo of snail and begonias speaking the Shalom Snail couplet.
โ€œThe Passion of Saint John the Baptistโ€
A reflection on Mark 6:17-29
Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist
ยฉ๏ธ2022 Gloria M. Chang

Gospel

Mark 6:17-29

Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.ย … Read the rest