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

Seventy-Seven Times Forgive

Photo of snail on a goldenrain tree. speaking the Shalom Snail couplet.
โ€œSeventy-Seven Times Forgiveโ€
Matthew 18:21-35 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

Gospel

Matthew 18:21-35

Then Peter approaching asked him, โ€œLord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him?… Read the rest

In His Father’s Glory

โ€œIn His Fatherโ€™s Gloryโ€
A reflection on Matthew 16:27
Friday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2022 Gloria M. Chang

Gospel

Matthew 16:24-28

Jesus said to his disciples, โ€œWhoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.… Read the rest

We’re All Family in Christ

Photo of snail and echinacea purpurea with text overlay of the couplet reflecting on Matthew 12:46-50: "God became flesh to bond in charity, / Heirs of the Father in one family."
โ€œWeโ€™re All Family in Christโ€
A reflection on Matthew 12:46-50
Tuesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2024 Gloria M. Chang

Gospel

Matthew 12:46-50

While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him.… Read the rest

Mystery of Mysteries

Photo of snail and black-eyed susans speaking the couplet reflecting on Matthew 11:27: "Who knows the Father and the Son? Unless God reveals himself, none!"
โ€œUltimate Reality 3.0โ€
A reflection on Matthew 11:27
Sunday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Year A)
ยฉ๏ธ2023 Gloria M. Chang

Gospel

Matthew 11:27

All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.… Read the rest

The Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Photo of snail and white bleeding hearts with text overlay of the couplet, "Finding Jesus in the Father's heart, Mary kept him in her mother's heart."
โ€œAnd his mother kept all these things in her heartโ€
A reflection on Luke 2:49-51
Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

Gospel

Luke 2:41-51

Each year Jesusโ€™ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom.… Read the rest

Our Father Makes Us One

A snail and a variety of tulips reflect on the Holy Trinity: "Our Father begets the Son, / Sends the Spirit and makes us one."
โ€œOur Father Makes Us Oneโ€
A reflection on Catechism of the Catholic Church 2789
Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
ยฉ๏ธ2025 Gloria M. Chang

Our Father unites us as one in the eternal communion of the Trinity.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 2789

When we pray to “our” Father, we personally address the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.… Read the rest

Glory and Love in Trinity

A snail and three tulips reflect on John 17:20-26: "Abba in me and I in thee: Glory and Love in Trinity!"
โ€œGlory and Love in Trinityโ€
John 17:20-26 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

Gospel

John 17:20-26

โ€œI pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,ย so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.ย … Read the rest