Jesus Touches a Leper

Photo of snail and rosehip speaking the Shalom Snail couplet, "Jesus Touches a Leper."
โ€œJesus Touches a Leperโ€
A reflection on Mark 1:40-45
Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2022 Gloria M. Chang

A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said, โ€œIf you wish, you can make me clean.โ€ Moved

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Christ Draws the City

Photo of snail and pieris japonica speaking the Shalom Snail couplet about Christ's healing power.
โ€œChrist Draws the Cityโ€
Mark 1:32-34 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2022 Gloria M. Chang

The whole city gathered at Peter’s door, drawn by Christ’s healing power that silences demons and restores shalom.

On leaving the synagogue he entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Simonโ€™s

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A Mustard Seed of Faith

โ€œA Mustard Seed of Faithโ€
Matthew 17:14-20 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
Saturday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

When they came to the crowd a man approached, knelt down before him, and said, โ€œLord, have pity on my son, for he is a lunatic and suffers severely; often he falls into fire, and often into water.

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Blind Bartimaeus


โ€œBlind Bartimaeusโ€
Mark 10:46-52 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
Thursday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

They came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging.

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Fingerprint of God

Christina DeMichele, Christ Enthroned in His Creation (Used with permission)

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 earthโ€”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

About the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea.

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A Bruised Reed He Will Not Break

Byzantine icon, The Good Shepherd

15th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday (Year II)

Matthew 12:14-21

The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. 

What a rabble-rouser, this Jesus! Picking grain on the sabbath, and then healing a man with a withered handโ€”in the synagogue, of all places!… Read the rest

I Will Allure Her

Resurrection of Jairusโ€™ Daughter (Unknown author – Codex Egberti, Fol 25)

14th Week in Ordinary Time, Monday (Year II)

Hosea 2:16, 17b-18, 21-22; Matthew 9:18-26

Hosea, a prophetic instrument of God, had the unusual vocation of illustrating with his own life Godโ€™s undying love for his people.… Read the rest

Signs of the Kingdom

Icon of Jesus and the Centurion

12th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday (Year II)

Matthew 8:5-17

Jesusโ€™ fame as a healer spread far and wide in Palestine, attracting not only lepers but foreigners like the Roman centurion. Jews did not associate with either group; one was โ€œunclean,โ€ the other was โ€œGentile.โ€… Read the rest