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: Gifted A Glimpse
A bird’s songa whispering windthe sunrise over a lakea child’s laugha loving embracethe tears of joy or sorrowcaptured by the momentbrought to stillnesswe are gifted a glimpsethrough the veilinto eternityif only we have eyes to seeand ears to hear ~Robert Van Valkenburgh
-
Lectio: Before All Things
“Christ is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent.” ~Colossians 1:17-18
-
Oratio: I Am Named Beloved
God has called methrough my painwhispering to my heartthat this is notmy identityI am meant for morethan this lonlinessthis sorrow and griefmy guilt and shamedo not get to namewho I amI am named in graceI am named in mercyI am nameda beloved child of God ~Robert Van Valkenburgh
-
Lectio: Choose To Love
“I am challenged to choose to love and I think all of us are challenged to choose to love. Who is it, in your life today, that you are being challenged, by the Lord God, to choose to love. Most likely, they are closer than you think.” ~Father Mike Schmitz
-
Oratio: For His Own Sake
God lovinglyweens meoff of my relianceon the giftsof His gracethat I seek notHis giftsbut Himfor His own sake ~Robert Van Valkenburgh
-
Lectio: Happiness Shared
“A happiness that is sought for ourselves alone can never be found: for a happiness that is diminished by being shared is not big enough to make us happy.” ~Thomas Merton
-
Oratio: Shared Suffering
In Christour trials and tribulationsare given meaningour shared sufferingopens our hearts to lovefor all who grievefor all who mournfor all who are lostthrough Christour burdens are transformedwe are reborn of the Spiritthat binds uswith the yoke of loveto our fellows ~Robert Van Valkenburgh
-
Lectio: Into Holy Ground
“It only takes a moment to turn an everyday place into holy ground.” ~Tyler Staton
-
Oratio: Pulled Up By Grace
How can a sinnerlike mebe the recipientof such mercyas thisoh how far downI have goneinto the depths of selfishnessand despairI stood thereknocking at the gates of Sheoljust to be pulled up by graceinto the light of lovethe balm that heals all woundsboth caused and received ~Robert Van Valkenburgh
-
Lectio: Sacrifice And Joy
“It is the law of this life: sacrifice and joy go side by side.” ~St. Elizabeth of the Trinity
-
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…
