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

Loaves of the Trinity

Photo of snail and roses speaking the Shalom Snail couplet.
โ€œLoaves of the Trinityโ€
A reflection on Luke 11:5-8
Sunday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time (Year C)
ยฉ๏ธ2022 Gloria M. Chang

And he said to them, โ€œSuppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, โ€˜Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,โ€™ and he says in reply from within, โ€˜Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed.

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Christ Sets Hearts Loose

โ€œChrist Sets Hearts Looseโ€
Luke 11:45-46 and Matthew 11:28-30 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
ยฉ๏ธ2024 Gloria M. Chang

Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply, โ€œTeacher, by saying this you are insulting us too.โ€ And he said, โ€œWoe also to you scholars of the law!

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Cups and Almsgiving

Icon of the Eucharist

28th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday (Year II)

Psalm 119:41-48; Luke 11:37-41

After Jesus had spoken, a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home. He entered and reclined at table to eat. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal.Read the rest

Something Greater than Solomon and Jonah

King Solomon, Russian icon from the first quarter of the 18th century. (Iconostasis of Kizhi Monastery, Russia)

28th Week in Ordinary Time, Monday (Year II)

Luke 11:29-32 

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, โ€œThis generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.Read the rest

Blessed Mother, Blessed Children

Our Lady of Vladimir

27th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday (Year II)

Luke 11:27-28

โ€œMy mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on itโ€ (Luke 8:21).

While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, โ€œBlessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.โ€Read the rest

The Finger of God

Parts of P.Oxy. LII 3679, 3rd century, containing fragments of Plato’s Republic.

27th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday (Year II)

Luke 11:15-26

Suppose there was a perfectly just man. Would he be loved, ignored, or hated?

Plato proposed a thought experiment around 360 B.C.… Read the rest