
A reflection on John 8:1-11 and 1 Corinthians 15:45-49
Fifth Sunday of Lent (Year C)
©️2022 by Gloria M. Chang
The new Moses wrote with the finger of God
A New Law in dust by the Spirit of God.… Read the rest
Journey to Wholeness
The new Moses wrote with the finger of God
A New Law in dust by the Spirit of God.… Read the rest
Fourth Week of Lent, Monday
John 4:43-54
Then he returned to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine.
John 4:46
The Gospel of John calls special attention to Cana, the location of the first and second “signs” (sémeion) revealing Jesus as the Messiah to Israel.… Read the rest
… Read the restThen Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The
… Read the rest“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him.
… Read the restBrothers and sisters:
When this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality, then the word that is written shall come about:Death is swallowed up in victory.
… Read the restJesus came into the district of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds gathered around him and, as was his custom, he again taught them. The
… Read the restBrothers and sisters:
It is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being,” the last Adam a life-giving spirit. But
… Read the restAgain he left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. And
… Read the restHe said, “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It
… Read the restIn days to come,
The mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest mountain
and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it.
… Read the restBut during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath of complete rest, a sabbath for the Lord, when you may neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. The aftergrowth of your harvest you shall not reap, nor shall you pick the grapes of your untrimmed vines.
… Read the restOn a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully.
… Read the restI have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!
“For God All Things Are Possible” (3 panels)
Mark 10:17-30 (and Matthew 19:16-30) “in a snailshell”
Sunday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
©️2021 by Gloria M. Chang
… Read the restAs he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Thursday of the Third Week of Easter
John 6:44-51
… Read the restThe Jews murmured about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” and they said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph?
Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Luke 9:22-25
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.
Genesis 2:15 (RSV)
Adam, priest and king of the Lord’s garden sanctuary, had the duty “to till it and keep it.” … Read the rest
Ash Wednesday
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
…then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Genesis 2:7
On Ash Wednesday, we remember our origins—that we are dust of the ground.… Read the rest
5th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday (Year I)
Genesis 3:1-8
“Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
Psalm 107:1
his mercy endures forever!”
… Read the restGod looked at everything he had made, and found it very good.
5th Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday (Year I)
Genesis 2:18-25; Psalm 128
The creation story of cosmic and human origins in Genesis is shrouded in mystery, enigma, and impenetrable conundrums. The first chapter poetically captures the goodness, beauty and delight taken by the Creator God in the heavens and the earth, culminating in his “rest” (shabath) on the seventh day as in a temple.… Read the rest
5th Week in Ordinary Time, Monday (Year I)
Genesis 1:1-19; Mark 6:53-56
In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth—and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters…
Genesis 1:1-2
… Read the restAbout the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea.
Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
Malachi 3:1-4; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40
Out of God’s furnace
Adam emerged,
Shining like silver and gold.
Light of the Godhead
Pure from his core
Robed him in Glory Threefold.… Read the rest
Why did the Son of God die on the Cross?
Many theories of atonement have been proposed since the early Church, but none of them are definitive. The Catechism of the Catholic Church simply states that the crucifixion is “part of the mystery of God’s plan” (599). … Read the rest
The Lord has sworn and will not waver:
Psalm 110:4
“You are a priest forever in the manner of Melchizedek.”
The dreamlike quality of the mysterious Melchizedek defies logical analysis and reasoning.… Read the rest
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent
1 Samuel 1:24-28; 2:1-8; Luke 1:46-56
… Read the restMy soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness;
behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.
25th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday (Year II)
Ecclesiastes 3:1-11; Psalm 144; Luke 9:18-22
There is an appointed time for everything,
and a time for every thing under the heavens.
A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.… Read the rest
Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13; Matthew 9:9-13
As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.… Read the rest
24th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday (Year II)
1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-49
The Word became flesh to make us “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).
”For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God.”… Read the rest
“Man is like a breath, his days are like a passing shadow” (Revised Standard Version).
“Adam is like hevel; his days are as a tzel that passeth away” (Orthodox Jewish Bible).… Read the rest
24th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday (Year II)
1 Corinthians 15:12-20, Luke 8:1-3
Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources.… Read the rest
Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Matthew 1:1-16; 18-23
Happy Birthday, Mother Mary!
Happy Birthday, Mother Earth!
… Read the restIn the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
Isaiah 55:10-11; Romans 8:18-23; Mattthew 13:1-23
Thus says the LORD: Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.… Read the rest
13th Week in Ordinary Time, Wednesday (Year II)
Amos 5:14-15, 21-24; Matthew 8:28-34
After Adam lost his one-pointedness, the single eye (Matthew 6:22) split in two and revolved in every direction like strobe lights in the theater of the world.… Read the rest
13th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday (Year II)
Matthew 8:23-27
“Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
The cry of the storm-tossed disciples was the cry of mortal Adam thrust into a broken world full of dangers and out-of-control tempests. Adam’s son Jesus, unbroken by sin, slept like a baby on a cushion in Edenic tranquility. … Read the rest
11th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday (Year II)
I Kings 21:17-29, Matthew 5:43-48
Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.… Read the rest