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Instrument of Peace: The World Does Not Change Simply Because We Do (Lectio Divina)
What do we really believe the spiritual life promises us? In this Lectio Divina reflection, Robert Van Valkenburgh traces an insight that arose during a contemplative group gathering in which the so-called Prayer of St. Francis — beautifully attributed but almost certainly written by an anonymous French author in 1912 — became the occasion…
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Not the Final Word: On Suffering, Brokenness, and Grace (Lectio Divina)
Some days — some weeks, months, and years — we are going to be beaten down by the world’s brokenness. Suffering is real, brokenness is real, and the pain we carry can feel like our ultimate reality. And yet, in silence and stillness, something more real than our suffering is revealed. Drawing on St.…
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Letting Go of Worry: Throwing Ourselves into the Ocean of God’s Goodness (Lectio Divina)
Drawing on St. Paul of the Cross’s invitation to throw ourselves into the ocean of God’s goodness, this Lectio Divina explores Jesus’s call to release anxiety and trust in grace — one step at a time — into the boundless light of love that was always waiting for us.
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Oratio Divina: Pay Attention
This Oratio Divina reflects on the fleeting nature of childhood and the sacred responsibility of presence in parenting. Through the imagery of changing seasons, it invites readers to recognize how quickly time passes and how easily the gift of our children’s early years can slip by unnoticed. The prayer calls parents and caregivers to…
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Oratio Divina: Love His Broken Children
This Oratio Divina reflects on the most demanding commandment of the Gospel: loving those whose hearts have been hardened by trauma, fear, pride, or resentment. It reminds us that authentic love of God is inseparable from loving His broken children, especially when love feels undeserved or costly. By recalling how God loved us in…
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Oratio Divina: Through The Cracks
This Oratio Divina reflects on the truth that no one approaches God in perfect wholeness, but in humility and need. It proclaims that God calls us precisely in our brokenness, where sin and wounds become the place of divine healing. In Christ, human weakness is transformed into God’s strength, and through the cracks of…
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Oratio Divina: Yours Is The Treasure
This Oratio Divina is a heartfelt prayer of healing and surrender, asking Jesus to free the soul from worldly attachments to money, honor, and power that distract from true love. It expresses a longing to be drawn into Christ’s embrace and to seek the lasting treasure of God’s Kingdom rather than fleeting earthly glory.…
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Oratio Divina: How Long Lord
This Oratio Divina reflects on God’s patient, enduring love in the face of human resistance and self-will. It traces the journey from ignoring God’s call to returning home humbled by pain, only to discover a Father who welcomes the repentant heart with joy, mercy, and celebration. The meditation echoes the Gospel truth that God…
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Oratio Divina: Christ On The Cross
This Oratio Divina reflects on Christ on the cross as a call not to passivity, violence, or escape, but to courageous, self-giving love. In the face of suffering, betrayal, and injustice, Christ invites us to forgive, to pray for mercy, and to stand firmly for love—even when it costs us everything. The cross becomes…
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Oratio Divina: Dust And Ether
This Oratio Divina is a tender prayer of grief and longing, expressing the ache of spiritual intimacy shared with a dear friend who has passed away. In the silence left by death, the writer turns toward God, yearning to be understood and accompanied in the mysterious work the Lord continues to do within the…