Breanne Valerie
Breanne is a member of St.Peter’s Fireside Church. She spends her days in Social Work and is passionate about social justice in our city and world. She relishes wandering outdoors, thinks the world is a happy place if there are ice cream and good thrift stores, and she enjoys a good dance party.
Bio last updated October 30th, 2019.
Articles by Breanne Valerie
The Jesus Heart of Joker
By Breanne Valerie
October 30, 2019
Watching director Todd Phillips’s cinematic take on what seems just another DC comic book tale, Breanne Valerie sees the face of Christ calling us to the reality of human suffering.
When we remain silent in the face of mental illness and the injustices that exist in society, we contribute to the making of humans who must destroy to feel a sense of control they have never had Joaquin Phoenix plays Arthur Fleck, the human behind the face of the Joker Because in a world that seeks to destroy the soul, seeking out the image of God in every human being is an act against everything that made the Arthur Fleck into the Joker I wanted to stand up with my tear-stained face and shout, “STOP LAUGHING AT THE JOKER – YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM; WE ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM!” For the sake of the movie and the rest of the audience, I sat silent
-
Spacious Graciousness
Breanne Valerie
July 18, 2019
Is it possible to find peace and calm in a world of chaos and confusion? The idea of being a peacemaker is difficult, but also a relief.
I mean what is peace when you are trying to convince others they should become vegan (yes, I have unfortunately in previous years been that person at the dinner table at family thanksgiving)? Or, how useful is peacemaking when you are trying to convince people of your political opinion, wherever one...
-
Wisdom of the Saints
Breanne Valerie
July 11, 2018
While exciting new books with perfectly chosen typography are easy to grab in hopes that they will invigorate our faith, there is better literature that often goes overlooked, writes Convivium contributor Breanne Valerie. The Saints, in their quiet wisdom, illuminate a quieter and simpler way to Christ.
Teresa of Avila in her incredible wisdom provides seven brilliant dwelling places in which to grow and learn about oneself in effort to draw nearer to the true light already sitting within One, the beauty of God’s love and grace reflected in each room, drawing one closer and closer to the centre of ...
-
Holy Days of Humility
Breanne Valerie
May 18, 2018
In the last of her series exploring her efforts to live out a different Benedictine rule every month, Convivium contributor Breanne Valerie finds the great saint’s directive for attaining true humility centre simply, but never easily, on how we see ourselves in relation to God.
While pondering Benedict’s Rule for Humility over the past month I have come to realize that without his steps to Humility - focusing first and foremost on God - everything else is done in vain He also understands that to truly embody humility, one must look up and out first to allow the beauty and ...
-
Minimalist of All Minimalists
Breanne Valerie
April 10, 2018
Since December, Convivium contributor Breanne Valerie has been adopting one of St. Benedict’s principles each month and reporting on its impact on her personal life. This month she goes back to the roots of minimalism as a spiritual tool, guiding us beyond this principle’s Instagrammable possibilities, and revealing the heart of the practice – to lead us back to God.
Benedict includes in his Rule that monastics should not own anything and should abide by certain rules concerning clothing because he knew that things can and do build walls When we see the Glory of God more clearly, when we make the effort to strip the things of the world away, others end up seeing...
-
A 21 Psalm Salute
Breanne Valerie
March 13, 2018
When Breanne Valerie first agreed to experience what it might mean to live according to the Rule of St. Benedict in the twenty-first century, she didn't anticipate that she might be faced with the daunting task of reading approximately 21 Psalms a day. Discover how her encounter with the Psalms became a treasured practice.
In the same way, when we read his charge that anything less than 21 Psalms a day is extreme indolence and lack of devotion, we are to adapt the practice in our context, just as Benedict did to his Benedict urges the monastics to live a life of complete devotion to God in a way that changes the way t...
-
Lent All Year Long
Breanne Valerie
February 12, 2018
In the third of her series exploring the Rule of St. Benedict. Breanne Valerie discovers the founder of the Benedictine order saw Lenten practice as an every day event.
Lent is to act as a launching pad for the rest of the year, it is the time to think about what in our lives has clouded the presence of God The Observance of Lent is indeed a time to take stock of what in our lives is distracting us from communing with the God of the universe Lent then became more a...
-
The Wash Of Silence
Breanne Valerie
January 8, 2018
In her continuing series for Convivium seeking to put into daily life the lessons of the Rule of Saint Benedict, writer Breanne Valerie learns from stillness why God is a Person of few words
Benedict urges “even good words are to be left unsaid out of esteem for silence,” and if the silence is where we find the Gospel, the Word, we must enter in to this practice more in the name of finding the presence of God within ourselves and in the image of God in the other’s words We no longer nee...
-
The Benedict Adventure
Breanne Valerie
December 18, 2017
One of the most controversial books of 2017 was Rod Dreher’s The Benedict Option, which was criticized by many as advocating Christian retreat from the secular world. Convivium has asked writer Breanne Valerie to live out the monastic Rule of St. Benedict in her daily life as a busy social worker and Vancouverite.
Although Benedict upholds the importance of immediacy when it comes to obedience, to even get to the place where we can hear the voice of God in others and then implement the suggestions and commands in a timely manner, we must till the soil of our souls so that it might be soft enough to receive th...