Henri Nouwen
Henri Nouwen
Henri Jozef Machiel Nouwen,was a Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer and theologian. His interests were rooted primarily in psychology, pastoral ministry, spirituality, social justice and community. Over the course of his life, Nouwen was heavily influenced by the work of Anton Boisen, Thomas Merton, Rembrandt, Vincent van Gogh and Jean Vanier...
NationalityDutch
ProfessionClergyman
Date of Birth24 January 1932
lonely ministry ministers
Too many of us are lonely ministers practicing a lonely ministry.
self perfect his-love
Our inclination is to show our Lord only what we feel comfortable with. But the more we dare to reveal our whole trembling self to him, the more we will be able to sense that his love, which is perfect love, casts out all our fears.
poverty handicapped mentally-handicapped
In their poverty, the mentally handicapped reveal God to us and hold us close to the gospel.
christian long world
You are a Christian only so long as you constantly pose critical questions to the society you live in, so long as you stay unsatisfied with the status quo, and keep saying that a new world is yet to come.
prayer listening firsts
Prayer is first of all listening to God. It's openness. God is always speaking; he's always doing something.
jesus blessing giving
The Church will always be renewed when our attention shifts from ourselves to those who need our care. The blessing of Jesus always comes to us through the poor. The most remarkable experience of those who work with the poor is that, in the end, the poor give more than they receive. They give food to us.
letting-go judging identity
To the degree that we embrace the truth that our identity is not rooted in our success, power, or popularity, but in God's infinite love, to that degree can we let go of our need to judge.
prayer passionate pursuit
It is God’s passionate pursuit of us that calls us to prayer.
christian prayer here-and-now
Prayer is the center of the Christian life. It is the only necessary thing. It is living with God in the here and now.
beautiful son compassion
The immense joy in welcoming back the lost son hides in the immense sorrow that has gone before....our brokenness may appear beautiful, but our brokenness has no other beauty but the beauty that comes from the compassion that surrounds it.
letting-go wish important
I have found it very important...to let go of my wishes and start hoping.
prayer community wells
By prayer, community is created as well as expressed.
spiritual believe useless
The great spiritual task facing me is to so fully trust that I belong to God that I can be free in the world--free to speak even when my words are not received; free to act even when my actions are criticized, ridiculed, or considered useless.... I am convinced that I will truly be able to love the world when I fully believe that I am loved far beyond its boundaries.
suffering tragedy want
The tragedy of our lives is that, while we suffer from the wounds afflicted on us by those who love us, we cannot avoid wounding those we want to love.