Shabbat Shalom

Photo of snail and tulip speaking the couplet, "Shabbat Shalom."
โ€œShabbat Shalomโ€
A reflection on Mark 3:1-6
Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2022 Gloria M. Chang

Shabbat Shalom: Jesus heals a man with the withered hand, revealing the Sabbath as a day of wholeness and restoration.

Again he entered the synagogue.

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The Path to Peace

Photo of wild grass and an echinacea purpurea with text overlay of the Shalom Snail couplet, "The Path to Peace."

โ€œThe Path to Peaceโ€
A reflection on Luke 21:20-28
Thursday of the Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2025 Gloria M. Chang

The path to peace leads to final restoration (shalom)โ€”yet it is only reached through millennia of personal, communal, and cosmic growing pains in Godโ€™s unfolding creation.… Read the rest

Immortal Strands

Photo of autumn leaves with text overlay of the Shalom Snail couplet, "Immortal Strands."
โ€œImmortal Strandsโ€
A reflection on Luke 21:12-19
Wednesday of the Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2023 Gloria M. Chang

In the fiercest persecution, no power on earth can destroy our immortal strands.

Jesus said to the crowd: “They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name.

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Prayer for Jerusalem

Photo of snail and rose speaking the Shalom Snail couplet, "Prayer for Jerusalem."
โ€œPrayer for Jerusalemโ€
A reflection on Ezekiel 37:11-14 and Luke 19:41-44
Thursday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2023 Gloria M. Chang

In our collective journey to wholeness, may our Prayer for Jerusalem breathe life into dry bones and fulfill Godโ€™s promise of restoration.… Read the rest

Questions About the Kingdom of God

Photo of snail and pink asters with text overlay of the Shalom Snail couplet, "The kingdom of God is within you. Among you, Christ's love makes all things new."
โ€œQuestions About the Kingdom of Godโ€
A reflection on Luke 17:20-21
Thursday of the Thirty-Second Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2022 Gloria M. Chang

Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he said in reply, โ€œThe coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, โ€˜Look, here it is,โ€™ or, โ€˜There it is.โ€™ For

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A Samaritan’s Thank You

Photo of snail and pink turtleheads with text overlay of the Shalom Snail couplet, "A Samaritan's Thank You."
โ€œA Samaritanโ€™s Thank Youโ€ Luke 17:11-19 โ€œin a snailshellโ€ Wednesday of the Thirty-Second Week in Ordinary Time ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

How does a Samaritanโ€™s thank you reveal the power of gratitude in faith?

As he continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.

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Beyond Consanguinity

Photo of snail and rose with text overlay of the Shalom Snail couplet, "Beyond Consanguinity."
โ€œBeyond Consanguinityโ€
A reflection on Luke 14:25-26
Wednesday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

What does it mean to love beyond consanguinity and place Christ above all earthly ties?

Great crowds were traveling with him, and he turned and addressed them, โ€œIf any one comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

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