Journey to Wholeness
Sorrow is not the end; through Christ, anguish gives way to unshakable joy that no one can take away.
Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. … Read the rest
Kinship with Christ transcends blood: whoever does God’s will becomes his mother, brother, sister.
… Read the restThe mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house.
A reflection on 1 John 5:5-13 for Friday after Epiphany: John proclaims three enduring witnesses—the Spirit, the water, and the blood—that testify to Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the source of victory over the world and eternal life.… Read the rest
“In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.”
St. John of the Cross
God is love,
and whoever remains in love
remains in God and God in him.
… Read the restThere was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.
… Read the restWhen the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,” and to offer the sacrifice of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.
… Read the restStephen, filled with grace and power, was working great wonders and signs among the people. Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen, Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and people from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and debated with Stephen, but they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.
In Joseph’s Dream, divine mercy transformed a righteous man’s sorrow into joyful guardianship of the Savior.
… Read the restThis is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
From ashes to a diadem: God crowns mourning with the oil of gladness, clothing sorrow in a mantle of everlasting praise.
… Read the restTo comfort all who mourn;
to place on those who mourn in Zion
a diadem instead of ashes,
To give them oil of gladness instead of mourning,
a glorious mantle instead of a faint spirit.
“Isaiah 61, Day 1” (2 panels)
Isaiah 61:1
©️2020 Gloria M. Chang
Jesus proclaims the ultimate Jubilee: true freedom from sin’s chains, ushering in everlasting favor and beatitude.
… Read the restThe spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
release to the prisoners,
To announce a year of favor from the Lord
and a day of vindication by our God.
