People have filled an enormously important role in my life - more than books! For me, it's not the formal advising or… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
Our life is...a time in which sadness and joy kiss each other at every moment. — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
The spiritual life is a reaching out to our innermost self, to our fellow human and to our God. — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
People who read your ideas tend to think that your writings reflect your life. — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
My whole life I have been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted, until I discovered that my interruptions were my work. — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
Life is precious. Not because it is unchangeable, like a diamond, but because it is vulnerable, like a little bird. To love… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
Our spiritual life is a life in which we wait, actively present to the moment, expecting that new things will happen to… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
A prayerful life is not a life in which we say many prayers, but a life in which nothing, absolutely nothing, is… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
Prayer is not a pious decoration of life but the breath of human existence. — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
I was forced to enter the basement of my soul and look directly at what was hidden there, and to choose, in… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
When everything is dark, when we are surrounded by despairing voices, when we do not see any exits, then we can find… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
In solitude we become aware that we were together before we came together and that life is not a creation of our… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
Aging does not need to be hidden or denied, but can be understood, affirmed and experienced as a process of growth by… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
As peacemakers, we must resist all the powers of war and destruction and proclaim that peace is the divine gift offered to… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
Let's start with Jesus' answer: "Look for the kingdom first and all else will come together." Life is fragmenting, fragmented. I have… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
To live a spiritual life we must first find the courage to enter into the desert of loneliness and to change it… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
Prayer is the breath of your life which gives you the freedom to go and stay where you wish and to find… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
Based or our baptism, all are called to a mystical life, to communion with God. We need to claim that, to taste… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
The man who can articulate the movements of his inner life need no longer be a victim of himself, but is able… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
Living in a community with very wounded people, I came to see that I had lived most of my life as a… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
Teaching, therefore, asks first of all the creation of a space where students and teachers can enter into a fearless communication with… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
In a strange way the spiritual life isn't "useful" or "successful." But it is meant to be fruitful. And fruitfulness comes out… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
Jesus does not respond to our worry-filled way of living by saying that we should not be so busy with worldly affairs.… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
We are not the healers, we are not the reconcilers, we are not the givers of life. We are sinful, broken, vulnerable people who… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
The more we touch the intimate love of God which creates, sustains, and guides us, the more we recognize the multitude of fruits that… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
Feelings of guilt dominate our work as peacemakers we cannot last long. But when we have opened each other's eyes to the great human… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
...we all want to hear stories, from the moment we are born to the moment we die. Stories connect our little lives with the… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
I have found it very important...to let go of my wishes and start hoping. — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
Simply being with someone is difficult because it asks of us that we share in the other's vulnerability, enter with him or her into… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
Jesus says, "Keep your heart on the kingdom first. Keep your heart on God's love. Keep focused on the fact that you are God's… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
This sounds very simple and maybe even trite, but very few people know that they are loved without condition or limits. — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
“The more preoccupied we are with security the more visible the force of death becomes, whether in the form of a pistol beside our… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
If you feel a great loneliness and a deep longing for human contact, you have to be extremely discerning...and ask yourself whether this situation… — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
I choose L'Arche; L'Arche chooses me. I would be dead if I weren't here. I need people to love me and care for me. — Henri Nouwen Copy Share Image
