Heaven’s Nest

Photo of snail among autumn leaves with text overlay of the Shalom Snail couplet, "Heaven's Nest."
โ€œHeavenโ€™s Nestโ€
A reflection on Luke 16:1-8
Friday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2023 Gloria M. Chang

How can we build a true heaven’s nest by sharing our wealth with those in need?

Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property.

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Spiritual Dropsy

Photo of snail and celosia argentea speaking the Shalom Snail couplet, "Spiritual Dropsy."
โ€œSpiritual Dropsyโ€
A reflection on Luke 14:1-6
Friday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2023 Gloria M. Chang

How does the healing of spiritual dropsy reveal the tension between divine mercy and human pride in Jesusโ€™ encounter with the Pharisees?… Read the rest

The Heart of the Sabbath

Photo of a snail amid phlox with the Shalom Snail couplet printed beneath.
โ€œThe Heart of the Sabbathโ€
A reflection on Luke 6:1-5 and Matthew 9:36
Saturday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time
ยฉ๏ธ2021 Gloria M. Chang

While he was going through a field of grain on a sabbath, his disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.

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Rejoice!

31st Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday

Luke 15:1-10

โ€œRejoice with me because I have found my lost sheepโ€ (Luke 15:6).

โ€œRejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lostโ€ (Luke 15:9).

โ€œBut now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been foundโ€ (Luke 15:32).… Read the rest

Our Eternal Origin

Christ Pantocrator, 12th cent.

Thursday After Epiphany

1 John 4:19โ€”5:4; Luke 4:14-22a

โ€œโ€ฆwhoever is begotten by God conquers the world.โ€

1 John 5:4

The origin of the Son and all persons begotten by the Father in the Son transcends the world, time, history, politics, sociology, psychology, beginnings and ends.… 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