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.
-
Oratio: Don’t Forget
Don’t forget the Lordwho saved youfrom bondagewho led youthrough the desertwho brought youout of exiledon’t forget the Lordwho never brokeHis promisewho called you infrom the wildernesswho died for your sinsthat you may know Himdon’t forget the Lord ~Robert Van Valkenburgh
-
Lectio: Offensive Posture
“There’s this defensive promise that God is with us, God is for us, that He loves us, cares for us, but also there’s this offensive posture that we have, which is, where does His light need to be shone? Where does His grace need to be revealed? Where does His hope need to be…
-
Lectio: Room For Others
“The heaven to which Jesus points is the spaciousness within ourselves—one that makes room for those who threaten us, for those who are different, even for those who have betrayed us.” ~Mirabai Starr
-
Oratio: Arms Of Eternity
My spirit longsto be freefrom these chainsof fleshbound to this worldbut it is not my homeopen to receive mearms of eternitywhen my time has comemay I rest and rejoicewith the Lordforever ~Robert Van Valkenburgh
-
Lectio: A New Creation
“So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.” ~2 Corinthians 5:17
-
Oratio: Not Alone
God reveals Himselfin everyday momentsa cool breezethe setting suna flower’s scenta warm embraceHe peaks throughthe ordinaryto give us a winkor a smileto tell uswe are not alone ~Robert Van Valkenburgh
-
Lectio: Spiritual Practice
“[Spiritual] practices help us to bring the reality of what we seek into the physicality and earthiness of our lives.” ~Christine Valters Paintner
-
Oratio: Besides Love
God calls meinto the depthswhere I have no footholdno point of referencenothing to cling tobesides Himbesides lovein this darknessI flailI weepI mournthe letting go of mein Himin love ~Robert Van Valkenburgh
-
Lectio: Showing Up
“And then as I prayed about it, I realized that I need to show up for each person in the way that I show up for prayer.” ~Adam Bucko
-
Oratio: All Things Are Possible
Remain opento all possibilitiesfor all things are possibleto the open-heartedto the childliketo those with faith in the Lordallow His Spiritto guide youyou needn’t worrynor to make great plansHe will take care of youHe who knowsyour every need and desire ~Robert Van Valkenburgh
-
Even a Pin Picked Up in Love: Thérèse of Lisieux and the Little Way of Sabbath (Lectio Divina)
What if the smallest thing you do today — a pin lifted from the floor, a quiet hour handed over — carries more weight than the great things you keep waiting to do? Thérèse of Lisieux hints at a strange arithmetic of love, and this reflection sits with the Sabbath we keep so imperfectly, and…
-
The Calm We Cannot Make: St. John Chrysostom on Tears, Confession, and Peace (Lectio Divina)
What if the peace you keep trying to manufacture was never yours to make? St. John Chrysostom describes the calm that follows tears the way a violent storm gives way to stillness, and this reflection sits with the ache of falling short of the peace Christ asks us to carry — and the distance between…
-
Whitewashed and Withholding: Origen on the Mercy We Refuse to Give (Lectio Divina)
What if the reconciliation you keep postponing is the very thing standing between you and the God you’re trying to reach? Origen names a righteousness that’s dead on arrival — polished outside, hollow within — and this reflection sits with the mercy we’d rather hoard than pass on, and the depths waiting for those who…
