Self Quotes by Henri Nouwen

Solitude is the furnace of transformation. Without solitude we remain victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions…

— Henri Nouwen

Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the Beloved.

— Henri Nouwen

The spiritual life is a reaching out to our innermost self, to our fellow human and to our God.

— Henri Nouwen

Hiddenness is the place of purification. In hiddenness we find our true selves.

— Henri Nouwen

Listening is a form of spiritual hospitality by which you invite strangers to become friends, to get to know their inner selves…

— Henri Nouwen

It is hard to bear with people who stand still along the way, lose heart, and seek their happiness in little pleasures…

— Henri Nouwen

Perhaps nothing helps us make the movement from our little selves to a larger world than remembering God in gratitude. Such a…

— Henri Nouwen

Simply being with someone is difficult because it asks of us that we share in the other's vulnerability, enter with him or…

— Henri Nouwen

Our inclination is to show our Lord only what we feel comfortable with. But the more we dare to reveal our whole…

— Henri Nouwen

The Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer…

— Henri Nouwen

Real greatness is often hidden, humble, simple, and unobtrusive. It is not easy to trust ourselves and our actions without public affirmation.…

— Henri Nouwen

Where is peace to be found? The answer is surprising but clear. In weakness. Why there? Because in our weakness, our familiar…

— Henri Nouwen

The mystery of the spiritual life is that Jesus desires to meet us in the seclusion of our own heart, to make…

— Henri Nouwen

Listening is much more than allowing another to talk while waiting for a chance to respond. Listening is paying full attention to…

— Henri Nouwen

Only in the context of the great encounter with Jesus can a real authentic struggle take place. The encounter with Christ does…

— Henri Nouwen

Of one thing I am sure. Complaining is self-perpetuating and counterproductive. Whenever I express my complaints in the hope of evoking pity…

— Henri Nouwen

A little criticism makes me angry, and a little rejection makes me depressed. A little praise raises my spirits, and a little…

— Henri Nouwen

Nuclear man is the man who realizes that his creative powers hold the potential for self-destruction. He sees that in this nuclear…

— Henri Nouwen

The truth, even though I cannot feel it right now, is that I am the chosen child of God, precious in God's…

— Henri Nouwen

I wrote to my bishop, the Archbishop of Utrecht, Holland, and explained that I wanted not just permission to stay longer, but…

— Henri Nouwen

A life without a lonely place, that is, a life without a quiet center, easily becomes destructive. When we cling to the…

— Henri Nouwen