“And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance...” Romans 5:3

Paul makes a claim in Romans 5 that sounds almost reckless: boast in your sufferings. Not deny them. Not explain them away. Boast in them, because of what they can produce.

This Lectio Divina sits with Romans 5:1-5 for Week 10 of Held, Steadfastness in Trial. A guided reading, meditation, prayer, and contemplation, paced by you, not the clock.

This isn't about pretending the trial is good. It's about trusting there's something being formed in you that the trial alone couldn't produce.

Held is a 52-week Catholic devotional journey through fear, trust, and the nearness of God. Learn more: XavierPublishing.com

Long before "spiritual warfare" became a buzzword, the Church had a prayer for it. The Chaplet of St. Michael, revealed to a Portuguese nun in 1751, calls on the nine choirs of angels to guard, strengthen, and defend us against evil. In this episode, we walk through the history behind the chaplet, why it's tied to the feast of St. Michael, and how to pray it yourself, whether you're facing a specific struggle or just want a stronger shield in daily life.

What do we do when the trial we are praying will end… doesn't? Week 10 of Held is about steadfastness in trial -- not pretending that hardship is easy, but learning to notice the ways God sustains us while we are still in it.

James reminds us that trials can produce endurance, but that does not mean we have to enjoy the suffering. It means we can trust that God is doing something even when we cannot yet see what it is.

Today, we slow down and ask a simple question: Lord, how are You sustaining me right now?

"Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers ... will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39) Paul writes a list. He keeps going because he does not want to leave anything out.

In this episode Steve Corbin guides you through a Lectio Divina on Romans 8:35-39 with two slow readings, guided meditation and prayer, and silent contemplation with original instrumental music.

This is the close of Volume I, Week 9: God's Love Casts Out Fear. New episodes every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

"As far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion for his children, so the LORD has compassion for those who fear him." (Psalm 103:12-13)

When we are anxious, we keep a ledger God does not keep. The Psalmist describes a God who does the opposite.

In this episode Steve Corbin guides you through a Lectio Divina on Psalm 103:8-13 with two slow readings, guided meditation and prayer, and silent contemplation with original instrumental music.

Part of the Held Catholic Devotional series, Volume I, Week 9: God's Love Casts Out Fear. New episodes every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

"But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) Paul does not say God proved His love after we got it together. He says while. One small word that carries the whole weight.

In this episode Steve Corbin guides you through a Lectio Divina on Romans 5:8 with two slow readings, guided meditation and prayer, and silent contemplation with original instrumental music. Give yourself 12 to 14 minutes of quiet. Part of the Held Catholic Devotional series, Volume I, Week 9: God's Love Casts Out Fear. New episodes every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Fear has a specific lie it tells about love: yes, God loves people, but not you, not as you are right now. In this episode, Steve Corbin opens Week 9 of Held with the answer John gives: perfect love casts out fear, and since God is love, that means God Himself is the cure. Drawing from 1 John 4:18, Romans 5:8, Psalm 103, and Romans 8, this week explores what it means to stop arguing with God's love and simply receive it, especially in the places fear has taken up space. The weekly practice is one sentence: Lord, let Your love reach the places fear has claimed. New episodes every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

"Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest." God did not need rest, he chose it, modeling a rhythm for his people to follow.

This closing episode of Week 8 offers two slow readings of Hebrews 4:9-11, guided meditation and prayer, and silent contemplation with original instrumental music.

Give yourself 12 to 14 minutes of quiet.

Part of the Held Catholic Devotional series, Volume I, Week 8: Finding Rest in God's Care.

New episodes every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

"I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother." Psalm 131 offers one of Scripture's gentlest pictures of rest, a soul no longer reaching for what it cannot control, simply present with the One who loves it.

This episode offers two slow readings of Psalm 131:1-2, guided meditation and prayer, and silent contemplation with original instrumental music.

Give yourself 12 to 14 minutes of quiet.

Part of the Held Catholic Devotional series, Volume I, Week 8: Finding Rest in God's Care.

New episodes every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

"I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety." David wrote this Psalm surrounded by real danger, and still found rest, not because the danger disappeared but because of where he placed his trust. This episode offers two slow readings of Psalm 4:8, guided meditation and prayer, and silent contemplation with original instrumental music. Give yourself 12 to 14 minutes of quiet. Part of the Held Catholic Devotional series, Volume I, Week 8: Finding Rest in God's Care. New episodes every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.