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Sacred Intentions: Brother Lawrence on the Sanctification of Every Moment (Lectio Divina)
Most of us divide our lives into two categories: the sacred and the ordinary. We show up for worship, prayer, and praise — and then we return to everything else. But what if that division is exactly what Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection spent his life quietly dismantling? Drawing on his simple and searching…
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The Examined Life: A Christian Reflection on a Life Worth Living (Lectio Divina)
Socrates said the unexamined life is not worth living. But what happens when you take that invitation seriously — and discover that the Christian life asks something far more demanding than mere self-reflection? This Lectio Divina reflection, drawn from the Preface of The Cloud of Unknowing, traces the arc from philosophical self-examination to Christian…
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The Soul’s Sole Longing: On Surrender, Resistance, and Returning to Love (Lectio Divina)
What happens when a soul that has turned toward God tries to turn away? Teresa of Ávila’s words open this reflection: the struggle is fierce, and in the end, struggle is of little avail against the Lord’s desire. Drawing on the Rahnerian insight that grace and freedom are equally gifts of God, and on…
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The Darkness That Leads To Light: On Sabbath And Trust (Lectio Divina)
Sabbath is not just a day. It is a practice — and at the heart of that practice is something most of us quietly resist: trust. Evelyn Underhill’s words cut to the center of it: the voice of God is very gentle, and we cannot hear it if we let other voices compete. But…
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Love Much: Teresa of Ávila on the Soul’s Deepest Longing (Lectio Divina)
Teresa of Ávila warns that progress in the spiritual life depends not on how much we think, but on how much we love. But what does it mean to follow love when your appetites are shouting, your desires are divided, and the whisper of Love is barely audible beneath the noise? This reflection begins…
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Stillness Recollecting Stillness: The Longing Beneath Our Longing (Lectio Divina)
Stillness cannot be forced, willed, or manufactured. It preexists everything we think, say, and do — and it remains long after all of it fades into memory. But this post doesn’t stop at stillness as ground. It asks something stranger and more beautiful: what if stillness is not waiting to be found, but waiting…
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Turnkey to the Deeper Life: Sabbath, Stillness, and The Better Part (Lectio Divina)
What does God actually ask of us — and what does Sabbath have to do with it? Drawing on Steve Macchia’s image of Sabbath as the turnkey to the deeper life, this Lectio Divina reflection traces the movement from busyness to faithfulness, from striving to stillness. Along the way it follows Peter out onto…
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The Ceiling Was a Floor: From Zen to Christ Through the Cloud of Unknowing (Lectio Divina)
What happens when the tradition you love most can no longer hold you? In this deeply personal Lectio Divina, Robert Van Valkenburgh traces his spiritual journey from the Zen Buddhist tradition — which spoke to him before he had words for what it was pointing toward — through an existential crisis and dark night…
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Not a Stranger on the Road: Julian of Norwich and the Love That Raises Us (Lectio Divina)
Have you ever been called toward something — only to be redirected, then found again exactly where you least expected? In this Lectio Divina reflection, Robert Van Valkenburgh follows one such movement of grace: drawn to Julian of Norwich, detoured through St. Francis de Sales, and then surprised by Julian’s words arriving through a…
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The Wellspring of Joy: God, Love, and the Light That Darkness Cannot Overcome (Lectio Divina)
What does it mean to say that God is the source of all joy — and that the Evil One is defined by sorrow? Drawing on St. Francis de Sales’s portrait of the Evil One as a being of pure sadness who would draw all others into his misery, this Lectio Divina reflection traces…