Beyond Consanguinity

Photo of snail and rose with text overlay of the Shalom Snail couplet, "Beyond Consanguinity."
“Beyond Consanguinity”
A reflection on Luke 14:25-26
Wednesday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time
©️2021 Gloria M. Chang

What does it mean to love beyond consanguinity and place Christ above all earthly ties?

Gospel

Luke 14:25-26

Great crowds were traveling with him, and he turned and addressed them, “If any one comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.… Read the rest

Israel’s Universal Banquet

Photo of snail and wild flowers with text overlay of the reflection on Luke 14:15-24: "Welcoming strangers from streets and alleys, / God feeds the world from Israel’s valleys."
“Israel’s Universal Banquet”
A reflection on Luke 14:15-24
Tuesday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time
©️2024 Gloria M. Chang

How does Israel’s universal banquet invite everyone to God’s table of grace?

Gospel

Luke 14:15-24

One of those at table with Jesus said to him, “Blessed is the one who will dine in the kingdom of God.”… Read the rest

Stars and Saints

Photo of Hubble Ultra Deep Field
Hubble Ultra Deep Field
Fra Angelico, The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs
Fra Angelico, The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs

From eternity the Lord God designed humanity and the cosmos in his image, envisioning the constellation of saints bursting with Christic Light in the heavens. Formed from the dust of the earth, Adam evolves through the eons to completion in Jesus Christ, his descendant and Lord—the Potter’s masterpiece (Isaiah 64:8). … Read the rest

Signs of the Times

Photo of snail and dahlia speaking the Shalom Snail couplet, "Signs of the Times."
“Signs of the Times”
A reflection on Luke 12:54-56
Friday of the Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
©️2021 Gloria M. Chang

How can we discern the true signs of the times when spiritual blindness obscures the divine wonders unfolding before us?… Read the rest

Baptism of Fire

Photo of snail and begonia speaking the Shalom Snail couplet, "Baptism of Fire."
“Baptism of Fire”
Luke 12:49-50 “in a snailshell”
Thursday of the Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
©️2021 Gloria M. Chang

What does Jesus mean by the baptism of fire, and why does it spark division among families and nations?

Gospel

Luke 12:49-53

I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!… Read the rest

The Cross and the Copper Serpent

Photo of snail and pink turtlehead speaking the Shalom Snail poem, "The Cross and the Copper Serpent."
“The Cross and the Copper Serpent”
A reflection on Numbers 21:4-9 and John 3:13-17
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
©️2022 Gloria M. Chang

First Reading

Numbers 21:4-9

From Mount Hor they set out by way of the Red Sea, to bypass the land of Edom, but the people’s patience was worn out by the journey; so the people complained against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness, where there is no food or water?… Read the rest