Beyond Consanguinity

Photo of snail and rose with text overlay of the Shalom Snail couplet, "Beyond Consanguinity."
โ€œBeyond Consanguinityโ€
A reflection on Luke 14:25-26
Wednesday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ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, โ€œIf 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

The Parable of the Yeast

Photo of snail and hydrangea paniculata with text overlay of the reflection on Luke 13:20-21: "The kingdom, like yeast, rises and expands / In flour which a woman kneads with her hands."
โ€œThe Parable of the Yeastโ€
Luke 13:20-21 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

Gospel

Luke 13:20-21

Again he said, โ€œTo what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.โ€… Read the rest

Set Free on the Sabbath

Photo of snail and autumn crocuses speaking the Shalom Snail couplet, "Set Free on the Sabbath."
โ€œSet Free on the Sabbathโ€
Luke 13:10-17 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

How does Jesusโ€™ healing of the crippled woman reveal what it truly means to be set free on the Sabbath?… Read the rest

Faithful Stewards in the Vineyard of the Lord

Photo of snail and dahlias with text overlay of the Shalom Snail couplet, "Faithful Stewards in the Vineyard of the Lord."
โ€œFaithful Stewards in the Vineyard of the Lordโ€
A reflection on Luke 12:39-48
Wednesday of the Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

Are we faithful stewards, tending the Lordโ€™s vineyard with love?

Gospel

Luke 12:39-48

Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.… Read the rest

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

Treading on Serpents

Photo of snail and cardoon with text overlay of the Shalom Snail couplet, "Treading on Serpents."
โ€œTreading on Serpentsโ€
A reflection on Luke 10:17-20; Genesis 3:15; Romans 8:16-17
Saturday of the Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2022 Gloria M. Chang

Christ empowers his followers with divine authority, treading on serpents and overcoming evil, as heirs with him in the victory of the Cross.… Read the rest

What Word Is This?

Photo of snail and blue mistflower speaking the Shalom Snail couplet.
โ€œWhat Word is This?โ€
Luke 4:31-37 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
Tuesday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

Gospel

Luke 4:31-37

Jesus then went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee. He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority.… Read the rest

A Prophet for All Nations

Photo of snail and black-eyed susans speaking the reflection on Luke 4:16-30: "Israelโ€™s prophets blessed Sidon and Syria. /
Disturbing truth drove hearers to hysteria."
โ€œA Prophet for All Nationsโ€
Luke 4:16-30 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
Monday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

Gospel

Luke 4:16-30

He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day.… Read the rest

God’s Irrevocable Call

Photo of snail on a Persian shield with text overlay of the reflection on Romans 11 and Genesis 17: "God's promise to Abraham endures forever, / Through all generations to the last successor."
โ€œGodโ€™s Irrevocable Callโ€
A reflection on Romans 11:13-15, 29-32; Genesis 17:4-7
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
ยฉ๏ธ2023 Gloria M. Chang
Romans 11:13-15, 29-32

Brothers and sisters: I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I glory in my ministry in order to make my race jealous and thus save some of them.… Read the rest

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

A photo of a baby snail and African daisies with text overlay of the couplet reflecting on Matthew 13:31-32: "A mustard seed of mini size / The universe shall divinize!"
โ€œThe Parable of the Mustard Seedโ€
A reflection on Matthew 13:31-32
Monday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

Gospel

Matthew 13:31-32

He proposed another parable to them. โ€œThe kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field.… Read the rest