“Spiritual reading, therefore, is slow, deliberate, meditative reading in which we allow the words to penetrate our heart and question our spirit.” — Henri J.M. Nouwen Copy Share Image
“It is tragic to see how the religious sentiment of the West has become so individualized that concepts such as "a contrite heart," have come to refer only to the personal experiences of guilt and willingness to do penance for it. The awareness of our impurity in thoughts, words and deeds can indeed put us in a remorseful mood and… — Henri J.M. Nouwen Copy Share
“The inward man is faced with a new and often dramatic task: He must come to terms with the inner tremendum. Since the God 'out there' or 'up there' is more or less dissolved in the many secular structures, the God within asks attention as never before. And just as the God outside could be experienced not only as a… — Henri J.M. Nouwen Copy Share
“There is a dreadful emptiness in the spiritual fatherhood. No power, no success, no popularity, no easy satisfaction. But that same dreadful emptiness is also the place of true freedom. It is the place where there is “nothing left to lose.” There I am free to receive the burdens of others without any need to evaluate, categorize, or analyze. There,… — Henri J.M. Nouwen Copy Share
“At issue here is the question: "To whom do I belong? God or to the world?" Many of my daily preoccupations suggest… — Henri J.M. Nouwen Copy Share Image
“Drinking the cup that Jesus drank is living a life in and with the spirit of Jesus, which is the spirit of… — Henri J.M. Nouwen Copy Share Image
“Spiritual greatness has nothing to do with being greater than others. It has everything to do with being as great as each… — Henri J.M. Nouwen Copy Share Image
“Spiritual reading, therefore, is slow, deliberate, meditative reading in which we allow the words to penetrate our heart and question our spirit.” — Henri J.M. Nouwen Copy Share Image
“The mystery of ministry is that we have been chosen to make our own limited and very conditional love the gateway for the unlimited… — Henri J.M. Nouwen Copy Share Image
“Jesus changes our history from a random series of sad incidents and accidents into a constant opportunity for a change of heart.” — Henri J.M. Nouwen Copy Share Image
“Why should a man marry and have children, study and build a career; why should he invent new techniques, build new institutions, and develop new ideas--when he doubts if there will be a tomorrow which can guarantee the value of human effort? Crucial here for nuclear man is the lack of a sense of continuity, which is so vital for… — Henri J.M. Nouwen Copy Share
“It wasn't that the Gospel proved useful for my many worries but that the Gospel proved the uselessness of my worries and so refocused… — Henri J.M. Nouwen Copy Share Image
“But mortification - literally, "making death" - is what life is all about, a slow discovery of the mortality of all that is created so that we can appreciate its beauty without clinging to it as if it were a lasting possession. Our lives can indeed be seen as a process of becoming familiar with death, as a school in… — Henri J.M. Nouwen Copy Share
“Christians should put survival of the planet ahead of national security...Here is the mystery of our global responsibility: that we are in communion with Christ- and we are in communion with all people...The fact that the people of Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Russia, Afghanistan, and Ethiopia are our brothers and sisters is not obvious. People kill each other by the… — Henri J.M. Nouwen Copy Share
“We want to live as people chosen, blessed, and broken, and thus become food for the world.” — Henri J.M. Nouwen Copy Share Image
“Those who really can receive bread from a stranger and smile in gratitude, can feed many without even realizing it. Those who can sit in silence with their fellow man not knowing what to say but knowing that they should be there, can bring new life in a dying heart. Those who are not afraid to hold a hand in… — Henri J.M. Nouwen Copy Share
“Whereas discipline without discipleship leads to rigid formalism, discipleship without discipline ends in sentimental romanticism.” — Henri J.M. Nouwen Copy Share Image
“When God makes a covenant with us, God says: 'I will love you with an everlasting love. I will be faithful to you, even when you run away from me, reject me, or betray me.' In our society we don’t speak much about covenants; we speak about contracts. When we make a contract with a person, we say: 'I will… — Henri J.M. Nouwen Copy Share
“Am I afraid to die? I am every time I let myself be seduced by the noisy voices of my world telling me that my "little life" is all I have and advising me to cling to it with all my might. But when I let these voices move to the background of my life and listen to that small… — Henri J.M. Nouwen Copy Share
