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
mean waiting want
Active waiting means present fully to the moment, in the conviction that something is happening where you are and that you want to be present to it.
stories world want
...we all want to hear stories, from the moment we are born to the moment we die. Stories connect our little lives with the world around us and help us discover who we are.
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.
spiritual want offers
For me the university has always been an ideal context for spiritual formation. I always felt that if you want to offer spiritual formation at the university, you can.
want god-is-there
Where true inner freedom is, there is God. And where God is, there we want to be.
may want stories
We have to trust that our stories deserve to be told. We may discover that the better we tell our stories the better we will want to live them.
want live-for-others wells
God wants you to live for others and to live that presence well.
true-identity insecurity want
It is very hard to stay in touch with our true identity because those who want our money, our time, and our energy profit more from our insecurity and fears than from our inner freedom.
community want sides
If you want to know anything about community, you have to realize that the contemplative side is essential. Community without retreating and quiet time never survives.
people attention want
Pay attention to the people God puts in your path if you want to discern what God is up to in your life.
choice choices choose deeper depression losses passages time
.....every time there are losses there are choices to be made. You choose to live your losses as passages to anger, blame, hatred, depression and resentment, or you choose to let these losses be passages to something new, something wider, and deeper
ask chosen gentle giving honestly instead lives means ourselves pain rather share tender touch wounds
When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advise, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender han
beyond body bringing deeper desires genuine held home moving needs none searching time touched toward
Your body needs to be held and to hold, to be touched and to touch. None of these needs is to be despised, denied, or repressed. But you have to keep searching for your body's deeper need, the need for genuine love. Every time you are able to go beyond the body's superficial desires for love, you are bringing your body home and moving toward integration and unity.
order community solitude
If you start with community and want to be faithful to community, you have to realize that what binds you together is not mutual compatibility or common tasks, but God. In order to stay in touch with that call to community, we always have to return to solitude.