The Narrow Door

Photo of snail and fern speaking the Shalom Snail couplet, "The Narrow Door."
โ€œThe Narrow Doorโ€
Luke 13:22-30 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

What is the narrow door that leads to eternal flourishing?

He passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.

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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

Whom Should You Fear?

A photo of a snail snail and verbena flowers with text overlay of the Shalom Snail couplet, "Whom Should You Fear?"
โ€œWhom Should You Fear?โ€
A reflection on Luke 12:4-5
Friday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

Who truly holds power over your soulโ€”earthly threats or the One who judges for eternity?

I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more.

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A Cup of Herbal Tea

Photo of a snail and a Japanese holly speaking the Shalom Snail couplet, "A Cup of Herbal Tea."
โ€œA Cup of Herbal Teaโ€
Luke 11:42 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
Wednesday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

Whatโ€™s the recipe for heavenly herbal tea?

โ€œWoe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God.

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Tears of Love and Sorrow

Photo of a snail and dew drenched rose speaking the Shalom Snail couplet, "Tears of Love and Sorrow."
โ€œTears of Love and Sorrowโ€
Luke 7:36-50 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
Thursday of the Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

A Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him, and he entered the Phariseeโ€™s house and reclined at table. Now there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee.

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The Parable of the Weeds

Photo of snail, calla lilies, and wild weeds with the Shalom Snail couplet printed beneath.
โ€œThe Parable of the Weedsโ€
Matthew 13:24-30 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
Saturday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

He proposed another parable to them. โ€œThe kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

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Before the Foundation of the World

A snail and three tulips reflect on John 17:20-26 and Ephesians 1:3-6: "Love has no beginning but made all things to be. Abba, before all worlds, called us to unity."
โ€œBefore the Foundation of the Worldโ€
A reflection on John 17:20-26 and Ephesians 1:3-6
Seventh Sunday of Easter (Year C)
ยฉ๏ธ2022 Gloria M. Chang

โ€œI pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 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. And

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From Aleph to Tav

โ€œFrom Aleph to Tavโ€
Mark 12:28-34 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

Readings:

Deuteronomy 6:2-6 
Hebrews 7:23-28
Mark 12:28-34

Blueprint for Freedom

After the exodus from Egypt and its polytheistic culture, Moses leads the Israelites into the wilderness to begin a long journey of divine pedagogy and discipline.… Read the rest

A Blooming Arrow

Photo of snail, anemone, and dahlia with text overlay of the Shalom Snail couplet, "A Blooming Arrow."
โ€œA Blooming Arrowโ€
A reflection on Ephesians 2:1-10
Monday of the Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time (Year II)
ยฉ๏ธ2022 Gloria M. Chang

How does Godโ€™s love draw us toward him as his blooming arrow for eternity?

You were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you once lived following the age of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient. All

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Triumph of the Cross

โ€œTriumph of the Crossโ€
A reflection on Philippians 2:5-11
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
ยฉ๏ธ2024 Gloria M. Chang

Brothers and sisters:
Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,
Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. 

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