Latest Thoughts
Explore My Reflections
Following the contemplative rhythm of Lectio Divina
Moving from Attentive Reading (Lectio)
To Reflection (Meditatio)
To Prayerful Response (Oratio)
And finally into Silent Resting in God (Contemplatio)
Grappling With Divinity invites a slow unfolding of Scripture, Spiritual Wisdom, and Lived Experience.
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Lectio: Love Your Enemies
A call from Jesus to radical love—Matthew 5:44 challenges us to love even our enemies and pray for those who harm us, reflecting the boundless mercy of God.
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Oratio: All Of You
A reflection on surrendering every part of life—fear, worry, joy, and hope—to God. Nothing is hidden from Him, yet He waits for us to freely give ourselves, so He may give Himself fully in return. ~Robert Van Valkenburgh
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Lectio: We Are Christ
A reflection from Carl McColman reminds us that our lives mirror Christ’s own mysteries: in suffering we share His crucifixion, in joy His transfiguration, and in new beginnings His resurrection.
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Oratio: To Love
A prayer for God’s light to break through the darkness of human violence and hatred, asking the Lord to teach and help us to love. ~Robert Van Valkenburgh
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Lectio: Eat This Scroll
A reminder from Ezekiel that God’s Word is not only to be heard but taken in deeply, nourishing us from within. Like honey, Scripture is sweet to the soul, filling us with life and truth when we receive it fully.
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Oratio: Love’s Way
A reflection on the power of love to guide, heal, and transform. Left to ourselves, we know only despair, but through love we are raised to new life and shown the way forward. ~Robert Van Valkenburgh
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Lectio: Crammed With Heaven
A reminder from Elizabeth Barrett Browning that God’s presence fills the world around us—every part of creation is alive with His glory, if only we have eyes to see it.
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Oratio: Draw Me Back
A reflection on the restless pull of fear, desire, and wandering thoughts, and the steadying power of grace that continually brings us back to center, offering rest and peace. ~Robert Van Valkenburgh
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Lectio: Dwelling In Us
A reflection on Ignatius of Antioch’s call to live every action as if Christ dwells within us, reminding us that we are God’s temples and bear His presence in all we do.
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Oratio: Shadows And Ash
A reflection on the emptiness of worldly desires, which promise fulfillment but leave only grief, despair, and bitterness. True satisfaction comes only from turning our hearts and desires toward the Lord. ~Robert Van Valkenburgh
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The Yoke We Were Not Meant To Carry: Brother Lawrence and the Grace That Meets Our Powerlessness (Lectio Divina)
What if the surrender you keep circling never comes by trying harder, but only by the trying finally giving out? Brother Lawrence asks for a total trust that sounds simple and costs everything, and this reflection sits with the exhaustion that finally lets God in.
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Owe Nothing But Love: Theodoret of Cyrus on Love as the Fulfilling of the Law (Lectio Divina)
What if the command to love was never a debt you could actually pay off? Theodoret of Cyrus reads Paul’s warning about owing nothing but love and finds something stranger than an obligation — a debt that grows the more it’s paid, rather than shrinking. This reflection sits with what it feels like to carry…
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No Longer Carved in Stone: Augustine of Hippo and Love as God’s One Law (Lectio Divina)
What if the law you can’t seem to keep was never meant to be kept from outside at all? Augustine insists something was written into you long before you ever tried, and failed, to obey a command pressed on you from without.
