Israel’s Universal Banquet

Photo of snail and wild flowers with text overlay of the Shalom Snail couplet, "Israel's Universal Banquet."
โ€œIsraelโ€™s Universal Banquetโ€
A reflection on Luke 14:15-24
Tuesday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2024 Gloria M. Chang

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

One of those at table with Jesus said to him, โ€œBlessed is the one who will dine in the kingdom of God.โ€

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Paul’s Swan Song

Photo of snail and dahlia with text overlay of the Shalom Snail couplet, "Paul's Swan Song."
โ€œPaulโ€™s Swan Songโ€
2 Timothy 4:6 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
ยฉ๏ธ2022 Gloria M. Chang

How does Paulโ€™s Swan Song reveal the heart of a disciple ready to meet his Lord face to face?

For I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. 

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Signs of the Times

Photo of snail and dahlia speaking the Shalom Snail couplet, "Signs of the Times."
โ€œSigns of the Timesโ€
A reflection on Luke 12:54-56
Friday of the Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ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."
โ€œBaptism of Fireโ€
Luke 12:49-50 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
Thursday of the Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

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

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

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From Abel to Zechariah

Photo of a snail and purple coneflowers with text overlay of the Shalom Snail couplet, "From Abel to Zechariah."
โ€œFrom Abel to Zechariahโ€
Luke 11:47-54 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
Thursday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

How does the blood of Abel to Zechariah lead us back to God to accept the redemption offered by Christ?… Read the rest

Get Behind Me, Satan!

A photo of a snail on a hibiscus reflecting on the couplet, "Get behind me, Satan!"
โ€œGet behind me, Satan!โ€
Matthew 16:21-23 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
Thursday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, โ€œWho do people say that the Son of Man is?โ€

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From Affliction to Glory: Christโ€™s Redemptive Tapestry

Photo of snail on a rose speaking the Shalom Snail couplet.
โ€œSuffering With Christโ€
A reflection on Colossians 1:24-28
Sunday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Year C)
ยฉ๏ธ2022 Gloria M. Chang

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church, of which I am a minister in accordance with Godโ€™s stewardship given to me to bring to completion for you the word of God, the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past.

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The New Jerusalem

A snail and a tulip reflect on Revelation 21:23: "No sun or moon will shine in the new Yerushalaim / For the Lamb will be our lamp beyond transient time."
โ€œThe New Jerusalemโ€
A reflection on Revelation 21:23
Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year C)
ยฉ๏ธ2022 Gloria M. Chang

Yerushalaim is the transliteration of Jerusalem. Click phonetics for the pronunciation of Yerushalaim.


He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It

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