Lent, Day 4

“Lent, Day 4”
Matthew 6:19
Liturgy of the Hours, Benedictus Antiphon
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
©️2021 by Gloria M. Chang

Do not toil to acquire wealth;
be discerning enough to desist.
When your eyes light on it, it is gone,
for suddenly it sprouts wings,
flying like an eagle toward heaven.

Read the rest

Two Miles With Christ

“Two Miles With Christ”
A reflection on Matthew 5:41; 27:32; Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
©2023 by Gloria M. Chang

“Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles.”

Matthew 5:41

Two Miles

Jesus, who came to set people free, seemed to preach the opposite.… Read the rest

Salt and Light

“Salt and Light”
A reflection on Matthew 5:13-16
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
©2023 by Gloria M. Chang

Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?

Read the rest

Isaiah 61, Day 2

“Isaiah 61, Day 2”
Isaiah 61:3b
©️2020 by Gloria M. Chang

To 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.

Read the rest

Isaiah 35, Day 4

“Isaiah 35, Day 4”
Isaiah 35:2c
©️2020 by Gloria M. Chang

They will see the glory of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.

Isaiah 35:2c

First Witnesses of the Glory of the Lord

About seven hundred years after the prophecy of Isaiah, the Blessed Virgin Mary gave birth to the promised Messiah in Bethlehem under the protection of St.… Read the rest

Questions About the Kingdom of God

“Questions About the Kingdom of God”
A reflection on Luke 17:20-21
Thursday of the Thirty-Second Week in Ordinary Time
©️2022 by Gloria M. Chang

Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he said in reply, “The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For

Read the rest

Learn From the Wild Flowers

“Learn from the way the wild flowers grow”
Matthew 6:25-34 “in a snailshell”
Saturday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
©️2021 by Gloria M. Chang

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear.

Read the rest

Christ, the Living Stone

Ten Commandments, licensed by Oren neu dag under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Third Week of Lent, Wednesday

Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9; Matthew 5:17-19

Now therefore, Israel, hear the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to observe, that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.

Read the rest

The Cross and the Beatitudes

10th Week in Ordinary Time, Monday (Year I)

2 Corinthians 1:1-7; Matthew 5:1-12

A single teardrop from God could wash away the sins of the world, but the Father gave his only-begotten Son to the last drop of blood.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God.

Read the rest

Living Tabernacles

Russian icon of the Crucifixion by Dionysius, ca. 1500, Tretiakov Gallery, Moscow

Why did the Son of God die on the Cross?

Many theories of atonement have been proposed since the early Church, but none of them are definitive. The Catechism of the Catholic Church simply states that the crucifixion is “part of the mystery of God’s plan” (599). … Read the rest