Sleepless Sentinels

Photo of snail and weeping Japanese pagoda with text overlay of the Shalom Snail couplet, "Sleepless Sentinels."
โ€œSleepless Sentinelsโ€
Luke 12:35-38 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
Tuesday of the Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

Are you ready to stand as sleepless sentinels, vigilant for the Master’s return?

Gospel

Luke 12:35-38

โ€œGird your loins and light your lampsand be like servants who await their masterโ€™s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.… 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

Gospel

Ephesians 2:1-3

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

Whose Inscription?

Photo of a snail on a pineapple sage. They speak the reflection on Matthew 22:15-21: "Caesarโ€™s inscription seals his property; / Godโ€™s inscription seals his progeny."
โ€œWhose Inscription?โ€
A reflection on Matthew 22:15-21, Luke 3:38, Acts 17:29
Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
ยฉ๏ธ2023 Gloria M. Chang

Gospel

Matthew 22:15-21

The Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech. They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.… Read the rest

Whom Should You Fear?

A photo of a snail snail and verbena flowers with text overlay of the reflection on Luke 12:4-5: "When a garden of paradise blooms within, / Little flowโ€™rs fear not the Gehenna of sin."
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?

Gospel

Luke 12:4-5

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

Christ Sets Hearts Loose

Photo of a snail on a purple coneflower with curled petals. The snail and coneflower speak the poetic reflection on Luke 11:45-46: "With legal knots, lawyers bind the noose. / With his humble yoke, 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

Gospel

Luke 11:45-46

Then one of the scholars of the lawย said to him in reply, โ€œTeacher, by saying this you are insulting us too.โ€… Read the rest

Hey, Wazzup?

Photo of snail and Japanese holly speaking the Shalom Snail couplet about purity of heart, "Hey, Wazzup?" "A clean cup!"
Purity is within.
โ€œHey, Wazzup?โ€
Luke 11:37-41 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
Tuesday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

Purity of heart involves cleansing the inner self through heartfelt almsgiving, not just performing superficial rituals.

Gospel

Luke 11:37-41 (ESV)

While Jesusย was speaking,ย a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table.… Read the rest

True Blessedness

Photo of snail and autumn crocus with text overlay of the Shalom Snail couplet, "True Blessedness."
โ€œTrue Blessednessโ€
Luke 11:27-28 โ€œin a snailshellโ€
Saturday of the Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

True blessedness lies in hearing and keeping Godโ€™s word, as exemplified by the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Gospel

Luke 11:27-28 (RSVCE)

As he said this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, โ€œBlessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked!โ€ย … Read the rest

Beelzebul: A Pejorative Pun?

โ€œBeelzebul: A Pejorative Pun?โ€
A reflection on Matthew 12:22-29, Mark 3:22-27, Luke 11:14-23
ยฉ๏ธ2024 Gloria M. Chang

Gospel

Matthew 12:26-28

And if Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself; how, then, will his kingdom stand?ย And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own peopleย drive them out?… Read the rest