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The Futility of Self-Justification: Grace Is Already Yours (A Lectio Divina)
We want to justify ourselves — to be on the right side, blameless before God. But this desire is itself the oldest deception. Drawing on Thomas Oden and the Pauline theology of justification, this piece traces the transactional heart’s inability to receive what God freely offers, and the slow, humbling work of grace that…
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Oratio: With All In All
In this poignant oratio divina, Robert Van Valkenburgh expresses the innate human desire for unity and peace reminiscent of Eden before the Fall. Amidst the conflicts and discord of a fractured world, this reflection is a heartfelt prayer for divine assistance, seeking God’s guidance to return to a state of harmony and spiritual union.…