Walking in Valleys of Darkness: A Benedictine Journey Through Troubled Times

by Albert Holtz

How do we deal with and attempt to understand God's presence and overarching love for us when life goes wrong, when we encounter difficulties and tragedies? This noted Benedictine monk and priest shares his personal journeys through troubled times, using the discipline of meditating on single words of Scripture from the New Testament. He skillfully translates from Greek to English to reveal these "buried treasures" with multiple nuances of meaning that give light along difficult paths in life. Meditations are followed by questions for reflection, further examples from Scripture, and a quote from the Rule of Saint Benedict to aid the reader. Table of Contents Introduction I My World Falls The Closing of Saint Benedict's Prep II Learning to Let Knee Surgery III Getting Hollowed The Death of My Brother Bob IV My Turn with The Cancer Surgery V Welcoming Our Community Grows Smaller VI The Key to Troubled the Paschal Mystery Epilogue

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2011

Reviews

[Rev. M. M. Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe it's something to do with monastic life or maybe it's an inherent and cultivated talent, but Albert Holtz, OSB has a gift for taking the ordinary realities of life and teasing deeper meanings from them. In this book, he takes three major events (the closing/reopening of the school where he taught; his brother's death; his own brush with cancer) and helps the reader to see beyond his own experience through the Scriptures to an understanding of the Paschal Mystery. After each reflection, he gives a few biblical references, some questions for personal meditation and a quotation from St. Benedict's Rule.
This is a book that will remain on my bookshelf for future use. Troubled times are times that occur in each of our lives with some frequency. The coronavirus pandemic of the present will pass but something else will come along. At times like this, we need to make sense of our struggle and keep things in perspective, always remembering that the Lord has conquered sin and death and shares with us his life.

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the sequel to the Downtown Monks book that I've also reviewed. This is a couple decades later and focuses on the issue of suffering. It too is a book of reflections which remain recognizably in Holtz's reflective style. In addition, Holtz adds reflections on individual New Testament Greek words which can be helpful, but sometimes can be a bit distracting because the connections felt forced sometimes. However, the same gentleness and realism remain in this set of reflections and I found it helpful in a rather stressful winter/early spring.