The Alchemy of Grace

Devotional Sonnets after Vittoria Colonna

by Ravenna Cole

The devotional poems in The Alchemy of Grace don’t preach or tell you how to live—instead they offer humble words that can be spoken with the poet, prayers that acknowledge the struggles of the journey of faith even as they celebrate the glory of the Christian promise. There are poems imploring help, asking forgiveness, admitting weakness and failure, and honestly facing the desire to give up, to stop trying, and to take the easy road. But shining through it all is the sun, the moon, the saints, and the sea, which each in their own way speak the majesty of God and the transformative power of life in Christ.

The book is inspired by the ground-breaking devotional poetry of Vittoria Colonna, the Renaissance poet who grew famous writing secular love sonnets before turning her back on worldly expectations and transforming the sonnet form into a vessel for devotional searching. These poems reimagine each of her 103 Sonnets for Michelangelo in fresh, contemporary language perfect for daily devotional reading, for prayer, for contemplation, and to turn to when you're struggling.

Scheduled for release in Fall 2025