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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Oratio: Loved By You
Godhelp me to knowthat I am lovedto accept that loveand to be a conduitof that loveunto othersto love themas you love mefor they are also lovedas I am lovedby you ~Robert Van Valkenburgh
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Lectio: Power In Gentleness
“God’s power manifests itself in His gentleness.” ~Father Michael-Joseph of St. Thérèse
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Scriptio: I Assume It Was Grace
Thirty days before my nineteenth birthday, I entered rehab. Looking back, I still don’t know how I found the courage to go. At first, I was willing because I had nowhere else to turn. I had no home to speak of. I was barely getting by, working at McDonald’s, making enough money to eat…
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Oratio: He Provides
He guides methrough my troublesHe leads mewith wisdom and lovewhatever I requireHe provideswhen I wander offHe calls me back to Himwhen I a grow wearyHe gives me restHe makes my burden lightand frees me from sin ~Robert Van Valkenburgh
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Lectio: Children Of Your Heavenly Father
“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” ~Matthew 5:44-45
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Scriptio: Far From Innocence
When my wife and I were dating, we would talk on the phone for hours every night about everything and nothing. She would whisper from beneath the blankets in her makeshift room in the basement of her cousin’s home, trying to be quiet so that she didn’t wake up her niece and aunt with…
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Oratio: Toil With Love
My labors arefor youLordthe work my handsparticipatingin yourcreationfor your gloryin your nameand imageI toilwith and forlove ~Robert Van Valkenburgh
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Lectio: Authentic Work
“When we do authentic work, of whatever kind, we participate in God’s ongoing creation and providence.” ~Bishop Robert Barron
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Scriptio: Terrified of My Creative Voice
I am terrified of my creative voice. It frightens me because it sounds a lot like my pain. I am hesitant to enter that place inside of me because I am afraid of what I will find, I am afraid of what will come out, and I am afraid that I will not be…
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Oratio: The Bed Of Peace
You are the bed of peaceupon which I lay my headthe bringer of comfortin my time of sufferingthe light of clarityin my time of confusionI give my burdensto you Lordand you provide mewith what I needyou are ever presentforever faithfulI am nothing without you ~Robert Van Valkenburgh
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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…
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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…
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Before We Cry Out: Julian of Norwich and the Prayer God Prays in Us (Lectio Divina)
What if the prayer you’ve been struggling to find words for was already being prayed before you knew how to ask? Julian of Norwich names a goodness that does not wait for the right words, the right posture, or even the right understanding of what is happening — it comes down to meet us in…
