With Burning Hearts: A Meditation on the Eucharistic Life

by Henri J.M. Nouwen, Duccio di Buoninsegna (Illustrator)

With Burning Hearts seeks a fuller understanding of the Eucharist through the story of the disciples on their way to Emmaus. Like these disciples we, too, come together in our brokenness before God, hear the Word and the profession of faith, and recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread. From mourning to discernment, from invitation to intimacy, and from community to the charge to go forth and witness: With Burning Hearts calls us to experience all of this journey, to know that what we celebrate and what we are called to live are one and the same.

Genres: Religion, Spirituality, Theology, Christian, Nonfiction, Catholic, Faith

100 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Henri Jozef Machiel Nouwen was a Dutch Catholic priest, theologian, psychologist, professor, and spiritual writer whose work profoundly shaped contemporary Christian spirituality. Born in Nijkerk, the Netherlands, in 1932, Nouwen pursued religious studies and was ordained a priest in 1957. His intellectual curiosity led him to study psychology at the Catholic University of Nijmegen and later at the Menninger Clinic in Kansas, where he explored the connection between faith and mental health. Throughout his life, Nouwen remained committed to integrating pastoral care, psychology, and spiritual theology in a way that addressed the emotional and existential needs of believers.
Nouwen held teaching positions at prestigious institutions including the University of Notre Dame, Yale Divinity School, and Harvard Divinity School. He authored over three dozen books and hundreds of articles, with notable works such as The Wounded Healer, The Return of the Prodigal Son, Life of the Beloved, and The Inner Voice of Love. His writing, often rooted in personal vulnerability and spiritual struggle, resonated with readers across denominations. Nouwen openly explored themes of loneliness, identity, intimacy, and the human desire for love and belonging, making his voice especially relatable and influential.
Though he was a gifted academic and popular speaker, Nouwen found his deepest calling later in life through his involvement with L’Arche, a network of communities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. After a transformative stay at the original L’Arche community in France, Nouwen accepted an invitation to become the pastor of L’Arche Daybreak in Richmond Hill, Ontario. There he developed a close bond with Adam Arnett, a core member with severe disabilities, which inspired the book Adam: God’s Beloved. At Daybreak, Nouwen discovered a deep spiritual home and a community that helped him embrace his humanity in profound ways.
Throughout his life, Nouwen wrestled with issues of identity, including his sexuality and his longing for connection, though he remained faithful to his vows. His openness about depression and inner conflict gave depth to his pastoral message, and his ability to turn personal struggle into shared spiritual insight made him one of the most beloved spiritual writers of the 20th century.
Henri Nouwen died in 1996 of a sudden heart attack, but his legacy endures through his writings, the Henri Nouwen Society, and the continued global reach of his message of belovedness, vulnerability, and compassionate community. His books remain bestsellers, widely read in seminaries, churches, and among individuals seeking a more intimate walk with God.

Reviews

[Loretta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book to read during lent. ☺️

[Jenna Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous reflections on living a Eucharistic life through the Road to Emmaus story, with art by Duccio. A book to re-read!

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking for other book recommendations about the Eucharistic Life! This book was like nothing else. It reminds me of taking small classes at the Catholic University I attended where a old and wise priest would simply talk to us about how much he loves the Eucharist and how it changes his life each day.

This will most likely be adapted into a Lent sermon series.

The message of Jesus transforming resentment into joy through being present in the Eucharist must be spread. The guest turns into the host and the meal! Once he is gone, you realize how your hearts had been burning the whole time that stranger spoke!

[Kayti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook. Will definitely revisit. As usual, Nouwen brings so much depth to the table.

[Donna Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henri Nouwen walks his readers through the story of the Road to Emmaus. With Burning Hearts is so profound and so beautifully written. Last time I took communion, my mind went back to his words about recognizing Christ in the burning of our hearts, and I cried for the stunning recognition and beauty of the moment.
My husband and I read and discussed this book together. We were both incredibly moved by it. It is a short book which packs in more meaning than I’ve experienced in many long books. A worthy read.

[Keri Zumbahlen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short book but well worth the read. I would recommend this to anyone seeking deeper intimacy with the Lord and new excitement for living in communion with Him and in community with believers.

First, I’m kinda blown away by all of the parallels to my own life lately that are in this short book (different passages I’ve read recently, sermons, conversations, and other books I’m reading). Different things that I didn’t think went together beautifully aligned in one cohesive story. The Lord has definitely been preparing my heart in these ways and then somehow this is the book I picked up for $1 and then decided to read. God is cool. This is just another way the Lord makes His presence and intricacy in my life known and reveals to me more of Himself. (That’s not really related to the book but more so I can remember :))

Anyway, here are some of my takeaways from each chapter!
1. Our own brokenness leads us to God. A cry for mercy is acknowledging our role in our own sins. Only soft, broken soil bears fruit. Come with a heart broken open to receive the water of God’s grace. Allow him to cultivate and remove impurities because the soil is not good by its own power, only by the work of the Gardener.
2. God’s words quite literally create life. When He speaks, we should listen and not just hear. His words should transform us if we’re really listening. Made in the image of God, our words also have power. We should speak words of life and encouragement to build one another up.
3. We have to invite Jesus into a deeper relationship with us. As our most intimate friend. This is a two way relationship. “My deepest desire is to love and to be loved, and that is possible only if I am willing to know and to be known.”
4. Communion with Jesus means becoming like Him. We become one body with Him and with our brothers and sisters. Communion with Jesus creates community with believers. We discover each other as people who belong together because each of us now belongs to Him.
5. Community leads to life on mission. We should share the joy we experience and our own transformation and not keep it to ourselves. Find where Jesus went before you and transformed someone else’s life and then listen and encourage. Communion with God sends us to our brothers and sisters so that in community we can move in all directions and reach out to all people.

“The Eucharist prompts us to cry out to God for mercy, to listen to the words of Jesus, to incite Him into our home, to enter into communion with Him, and proclaim the good news to the world.”

This book gave me a new look at Luke 24:13-35 and used this passage to elaborate on how to life a Eucharistic life; a life in thanksgiving and communion with the Lord and with people. Highly recommend.

[Michelle Raybourn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another beautiful little Nouwen book!

I love how he looks at the practice of Eucharist through the lens of the story of the Emmaus road. I also appreciate how he describes living a Eucharistic life as one that is grateful.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised by how much I loved this book. My previous experiences with Nouwen were good but not amazing, and I expected a book about the Eucharist to be somewhat dry and theoretical. This, however, was straightforward, honest, relatable, and invigorating. Nouwen uses the story of the travelers on the road to Emmaus to walk through the parts of the Mass and how we are invited to participate at each stage.

One passage I particularly loved was when Nouwen talks about how we bring our resentments with us to church, and that this is inevitable; rather than trying to force ourselves not to resent wrongs done to us, we can use that feeling to drive our regret that our own sins have contributed to a general brokenness in the world. It's such a simple shift in mindset, but it's one that works with the realities of our lives rather than against them.

I'm very glad this book was recommended to me. I am looking forward to Sunday more than ever.

[Pjnugent · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a deeply moving meditation on the Eucharist, reflecting from the Bible story of the Road to Emmaus, by a spiritual master. I read it on my Nook and was so moved that I bought several paper copies to give to friends. A small book, that will enhance the experience of anyone who believes in the “Real Presence”. Gentle and powerful at the same time.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recently I heard a priest from Opus Dei state that Henri Nouwen’s books are not spiritual writing, that all of Nouwen’s books are about Nouwen. After finishing this volume I would have to disagree lately, but not completely, this book like many of Nouwen’s draws from Henri’s personal experience, but all writers write from the lense that filters all we see and do. How could our life experience not affect how we see the world.

Nouwen states in the introduction: “Every day I celebrate the Eucharist. Sometimes in my parish church with hundreds of people present, sometimes in the Daybreak chapel with members of my community, sometimes in my father’s living room with just him and me. Very few days pass without my saying, ‘Lord, have Mercy,’ without the daily readings and a few reflections.” p.9 The rest of the book is a series of reflections on the Christian life through the filter of the Eucharist and through the eyes of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. The five sections in the book are:
Mourning Our Losses: “Lord Have Mercy”
Discerning the Presence: “This is the Word of God”
Inviting the Stranger: “I Believe”
Entering into Communion: “Take and Eat”
Going on a Mission: “Go and Tell”
Each section draws us into a deeper understanding of our life, and our life as a people of the word and of the Eucharist.


The first section focuses on loss, our loss of what we believe in, what we hope for and what we sometimes dream of. After loss the disciples questioned their following Jesus, and if we are honest sometimes we doubt as well. “We remember the time that Jesus was so real for us that we had no question about his presence in our lives. He was our most intimate friend our counselor and guide. He gave us comfort, courage, and confidence. We could feel him, yes, taste and touch him. And now? We no longer think of him very much, we no longer desire to spend long hours in his presence. We no longer have that special feeling about him.” p. 27,28. through the losses we have in our life we have come to have periods of doubt and struggle with our faith, we come bruised and broken by this world. “We come to the Eucharist with hearts broken by many losses, our own as well as those of the world.” p. 31 but Nouwen goes on to give us hope, our hearts are broken and we experience loss so that we can also be healed and restored, so that through the Eucharist we can receive the water of God’s grace.

After we have a renewed hope and have begun healing we must discern the presence of God in our lives. He declares “We cannot live without words that come from God, words to pull us out of our sadness and lift us up to a place from where we can discover what we are truly living.” p.51 In this section we are reminded that God’s words give life, we are nourished by them, challenged, encouraged and admonished. “Without the word, our life has little meaning.” p.60 As Catholics as Christians how could we not live immersed in the Word, in the guidebook God has given to us.

Inviting the Stranger, “Interesting, stimulating, and inspiring as all these strangers may be, when I do not invite them into my home, nothing truly happens.” p.69 Jesus stated that he stands at the door and knocks, the question is do we invite him in? Do we want him to permeate our whole life? Do we want to have Jesus be a part of our everyday life? This section asks many good questions that if we are honest will challenge us.

Communion is central to the Catholic faith. It is what unites Catholics around the world, we are a people who share a common table, and Nouwen focuses on what that means to us. “We can’t really live without bread that is taken, blessed and broken, and given. Without it there is no fellowship, no community, no bond of friendship, no peace, no love, no hope. Yet, with it, all can become new!” p.80,91 Later he states: “God desires communion; a unity that is vital and alive, an intimacy that comes from both sides, a bond that is truly mutual. Nothing forced or ‘willed,’ but a communion freely offered and received. God goes all the way to make communion possible.” p.87 Through the Eucharist we can have communion with God and through that communion with each other.

Finally our life as people of the word and of the table we are given a mission. Nouwen tells us “It is not just the Eucharist, but the Eucharistic life that makes the difference.” p.106 Through those two things we are prepared and called to mission, the mission to live as Catholics, as people who make a positive difference in the lives of those we impact and those who cross our path. “We have a mission to fulfill and it is good that we are excited about it, but first we have to listen to what others have to say. Then our stories can be told and bring joy.” p.109 Nouwen also sows us a vision of what that life would look like: “In the Eucharist we are asked to leave the table and go to our friends to discover with them that Jesus is truly alive and calls us together to become a new people – a people of the resurrection.” p.110

The meditations and reflections in this book, will draw you closer to the Lord’s supper, and through that to the people in your life. It is beautifully illustrated with artwork by Duccio Di Buoninsegna, the combination of words and pictures will feed your soul and challenge your mind.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always get excited about books like these and then I begin to read them and remember why I typically avoid Catholic Theology books written in the 90s. It was ~meh~.

[Xavi · Rating 5 out of 5]

De los mejores libros de espiritualidad cristiana que he leído.

Un libro que te acerca verdaderamente al corazón de Dios, de ese Dios que se hace presente entre los hombres para que le conozcan, pero también para conocerlos. Un Dios que se hace sencillo, que se hace el encontradizo en un camino, se pone a charlar, escucha nuestras tristezas y luego les da un nuevo sentido, para al final fingir que sigue el camino esperando que sean los hombres los que le inviten a su casa. Es un Dios que no impone, sino que revela su amor compartiendo lo más cotidiano, lo más banal, y por ello lo más íntimo, una cena, pan y vino, nada más; nada menos que todo un Dios partiendo y repartiendo la comida a sus amigos. Y en ese gesto se entrega, se une con la unión más profunda, se les revela como el amor hecho carne, como el matador de la muerte, como el Dios vivo, como el Dios sediento. Y entrando en comunión con cada uno, entran también ellos a conocerse de una forma nueva, entran a formar parte de una comunidad, y desde esa comunidad parten en misión. Parten para contar a todos sus amigos que un desconocido se les ha acercado, les ha escuchado y ha transformado sus penas en alegrías, y que al aceptar la invitación a su casa, en realidad, les ha hecho entrar en la de él, en aquella morada donde el amor reina y todos los hombres son bienvenidos. Parten a anunciar la vista a los ciegos y la liberación a los cautivos. Parten para ser testimonios de la luz, no son ellos la luz, sino que dan testimonio de la luz.

“Ite. Missa est.” Id. Esta es vuestra misión.

[Wilhelmina Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short, moving, beautifully illustrated book was suggested to me by someone who knew how much I love Nouwen's books. I began reading it during Lent, but I quickly realized that it is a perfect book for the 50-day Easter season. Nouwen uses the story in the Gospel of Luke about Jesus' post-resurrection encounter with two disciples on the road to Emmaus as they moved from despair to their reunion with Jesus to spreading the Good News. Nouwen shows how, through the Eucharist, we take a similar journey - coming to the Eucharist with brokenness and hopelessness, being renewed and united with God through the breaking of the bread, and then going out into the world, in the words of the service, to love and serve the Lord. Perfect to move from the joy of Easter into a life of mission "with burning hearts". A lovely book.

[Leonardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bueno, es un folletito muy lindo. Una meditación sobre la eucaristía en base a la palabra de los discípulos de Emaús. La Eucaristía (y nuestra vida) es acción de gracias, nuestra tarea es escuchar su Palabra, invitarlo a nuestra casa y así cambiar nuestra queja por alegría, y contagiar a otros. Para seguir trabajando y meditando, usándolo como material pastoral. 4.5 diría.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you really want to understand what the holy mass in the Catholic church is all about -- read this book with an open heart and a time of prayer before the Lord.

Peace!
Jules

[Dan Gobble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henri has been a favorite spiritual guide for me for many years. His kind, gentle approach, paired with his courage to reveal his vulnerabilities, has always been attractive to me. I've heard many words spoken in the name of God throughout my life, and many of those words pointed to judgment and fear with an aim to scare the "hell" out me and the other listeners. Everything I've read of Henri's focuses on God's love, grace, and mercy. Henri points us to God's house of love and invites us to be a part of God's family.

Another characteristic of Henri's spiritual writing is to stick with a text and let it speak contextually versus the bombardment of listeners with quote after quote from biblical texts, most of which are not heard contextually. Charles Stanley is a beloved pastor and a favorite of many, but he will quote verse after verse after verse of scripture from all over the Bible, in an effort to prove his point/theology. But a better exegetical practice is to hear each passage in its context. That means slowing down and hearing a story like the one Henri works with in this book. The passage/story Henri uses as his centerpiece for discussing the Eucharist is the story of the disciples walking the road to Emmaus after Jesus has been crucified. Henri follows these disciples through their fears/disillusionments, through their encounter with the stranger (Jesus) who meets them on the road, through their fellowship and communing with this stranger, through the moment they suddenly feel their hearts burning with a deeper spiritual recognition of Jesus in the breaking of bread, and through their journey back to Jerusalem to share the Good News.

Henri shows how this story illustrates a pattern for what he calls a "Eucharistic Life". Henri sees five major movements in the story which make up the pattern for not just taking communion/celebrating the Eucharist, but for living it out on a daily basis:
1. First, there is the mourning of our losses: "Lord, Have mercy" - the disciples heading away from Jerusalem, after Jesus' crucifixion, were downcast in spirit. Jesus comes to them in their grief and losses and enters the journey with them.
2. Second, there is the discussion about the events that occurred and how God's Word sheds light on those events such that the disciples are brought into a greater discernment of the presence of God in the midst of what appeared to be a tragedy and a mistake.
3. Third, there is the crucial moment when the disciples invite the stranger into their home, which reveals that they are becoming convinced that somehow God is working through these events and through this mysterious stranger.
4. Fourth, there is the powerful moment in the story where the "stranger" who is a guest in the home of the disciples takes the position of the host during the meal as Jesus takes, blesses, breaks, and then gives the bread (the pattern for the Eucharist celebration): here they enter into a deeper communion with God as they "take and eat".
5. Fifth, finally there is the journey back to Jerusalem, as the disciples "Go and Tell!" - a life of mission/sharing this Good News being the natural outflow of a Eucharistic life. Henri makes a great observation that when the disciples return to Jerusalem and share their news with Jesus' core disciples there, they find out that others have also seen the risen Jesus! We go, we share, but we also listen! As Henri points out, "It is so easy to narrow Jesus down to our Jesus, to our experience of his love, to our way of knowing him. But Jesus left us so as to send his Spirit, and his Spirit blows where it wants. The community of faith is the place where many stories about the way of Jesus are being told. These stories can be very different from each other. They might even seem to conflict. But as we keep listening attentively to the Spirit manifesting itself through many people, in words as well as in silence, through confrontation as well as invitation, in gentleness as well as firmness, with tears as well as smiles - then we can gradually discern that we belong together, as one body knitted together by the Spirit of Jesus." (Henri J.M. Nouwen, With Burning Hearts: A Meditation on the Eucharistic Life, art by Duccio di Buoninsegna, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, originally published: 1985, this hardback special edition: 1994, p. 110).

Henri emphasizes that when we go to share God's love with others and offer them the Good News, that we also receive. We give, but we are being offered something back in return. "Here we come to realize that mission is not only to go and tell others, [whether its a neighbor, a relative, the sick, the dying, the poor, the person going through a crisis, etc..,] about the risen Lord, but also to receive that witness from those to whom we are sent. Often mission is thought of exclusively in terms of giving, but true mission is also receiving. If it is true that the Spirit of Jesus blows where it wants, there is no person who cannot give that Spirit. In the long run, mission is possible only when it is as much receiving as giving, as much being cared for as caring. We are sent to the sick, the dying, the handicapped, the prisoners, and the refugees to bring them the good news of the Lord's resurrection. But soon we will be burned out if we cannot receive the Spirit of the Lord from those to whom we are sent. That Spirit, the Spirit of love, is hidden in their poverty, brokenness, and grief. That is why Jesus said: "Blessed are the poor, the persecuted, and those who mourn." Each time we reach out to them they in turn - whether they are aware of it or not - will bless us with the Spirit of Jesus and so become our ministers. Without this mutuality of giving and receiving, mission and ministry easily become manipulative or violent. When only one gives and the other receives, the giver will soon become an oppressor and the receivers, victims. But when the giver receives and the receiver gives, the circle of love, begun in the community of the disciples, can grow as wide as the world. It belongs to the essence of the Eucharistic life to make this circle of love grow. Having entered into communion with Jesus and created community with those who know that he is alive, we now can go and join the many lonely travelers and help them discover that they too have the gift of love to share." (pp. 115-17)

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of questions on last chapter. I think there’s meat in here with the potatoes, but I personally read a condition on God’s great love for His creation. We pray for His mercy and approach our neighbors with love and compassion. I disagree that loving our neighbor is about telling them they are not grateful for everything, no matter what comes their way. Yep. Uncomfortable. Addressing ungratefulness with a person who suffers seems to also skip over a neighbors experience as if we somehow can know their experience. If a person is being beaten, I would not address their ungratefulness, but believe them and do what i can to protect them. There are actually victims. Christ knows there are victims. The last chapter does not address giving our neighbor the knowledge and truth of Christ’s care for us in the worst of our experiences. Ugh. The first chapters were certainly better. Christ is far better.

Ok fine. I’m probably reading chapter five wrong. The thankfulness talked about didn’t seem to be referring to thanksgiving for the mercies of Christ but more lives me a Hallmark kind of flavor. Ugh. I’ll reread it again.

[Arantxa Sánchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Graaan libro!

Se lo recomiendo a cualquiera que quiera reforzar su vida eucarística.

Muy atinado porque se basa en el pasaje de Emaús. Es R I C O. Creo que expresa muy bien en el título lo que nuestro corazón siente frente al gran misterio que es la Eucaristía.

El libro tiene 5 bases que parten de este pasaje. Hay MUCHO que gustar y llevar a la oración. Es un libro con lenguaje sencillo.

“Para Dios, hablar es crear. Cuando decimos que la Palabra de Dios es sagrada, queremos decir que está llena de su presencia.”

“La belleza y el valor inmenso de la vida están íntimamente relacionados con su fragilidad y su caducidad.”

“El agradecimiento necesita ser descubierto y vivido con gran finura interior.”

[Sophie Jessup · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I have just finished this book within the most beautiful setting. Here at the abbey with the nuns concluding my first holy communion with them. It was so special and having been made even more special by the fact that I had first read this book and devoured its meaning to the Eucharist.
This book is so well written that I feel it transports you into the bible itself, it's focus on one scripture only, in every chapter truly helps to bring it to life.
Pages 88-89 really stood out for me and I cried when I read the words "...and then we see the bread in our hands and bring it to our mouths to eat it, yes, then our eyes are opened and we recognise him."

Suddenly my eyes were opened and finally it made sense.

From a grateful heart, thank you 🙏

[JJessica KennedyDAWS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henri Nouwen explains not only the deeper meaning of the Eucharist but what it means to live Eucharistcally. The joy and love bestowed from feeding others by us on its most basic level is the joy and love shown and experienced by Christ. He nourishes our spirit. When we celebrate and join into community with one another Jesus isn’t feeding our body but feeding us all He was, is and always will be. This little book filled me with a burning heart to know Christ more fully, to understand Him and a greater desire to serve Him while becoming closer to His community of believers. This book is a must-have because it will be a staple for any study of the Eucharist and its full meaning.

[Lilly Pittman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nouwen does a beautiful job describing how Christians can regularly give thanks through the Eucharist while living in a world of pain, and loss, anger and grief.

The ideas Nouwen presents are really powerful. However, they need to be recapitulated in light of COVID-19, which has caused a lot of grief and made a shared table nearly impossible for many. The person who translates Nouwen's theology of the Eucharist for a post-covid world would have a sacramental theology best seller in my opinion.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great devotional book based on the Emmaus Road encounter found in Luke 24:13-35. I don't know if the breaking of bread scene is a direct link to Communion, but Nouwen, a Catholic, bases the whole book on that interpretation (and the Catholic interpretation of the meaning of Communion). His first section on mourning our losses is gold. I love the cadence in the book from communion with Christ to community in Christ to ministry for Christ. The Eucharistic interpretation is different than my leanings, but I love Nouwen's heart expressed in his writings. I learn a lot from him!

[Laura McAninch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've yet to read anything by Henri Nouwen that didn't deeply move me. This might be my favorite by him. Communion to community to ministry - Nouwen dives into The Road to Emmaus.

I tried to read this a few years ago. I'm glad I tried again. I understood and felt the words 'with burning hearts' much better now.

This will have a permanent home on my bookshelves.

[Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly sentimental look at the Sacrament, but all the same a drink of cool water. This is a helpful devotional book and the timing was right for picking it up, as a reminder to not let bitterness and ungratefulness take over, but to recognize the ongoing presence of the Word of God which is continually renewing and reviving cold hearts.

[Squire Whitney: Hufflepuff Book Reviwer · Rating 4 out of 5]

In With Burning Hearts: A Meditation on the Eucharistic Life, Henri J.M. Nouwen offers insightful and beautiful commentary about the Eucharist’s role in our daily lives. His claim that life can sometimes feel like an unending series of losses is not wrong. Yet we can look to the Eucharist—which symbolizes the body of the crucified but now risen in Christ—and we can allow this imagery to remind us that loss does not mark the end of the story. We can still orient ourselves toward gratitude.

[Kara Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

“We can choose to let the stranger continue his journey and so remain a stranger. But we can also invite him into our in our lives, let him touch every part of our being and then transform our resentments into gratitude.”

[diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It is the loneliness of the spiritual life, the loneliness of knowing that he is closer to us than we ever can be to ourselves. It's the loneliness of faith.”

Eucharistic meditation on the road to emmaus and how we can love our gratitude in our lives.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read a few Nouwen books. This one is basically a long sermon based on the text on Jesus encounter with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Although very short, it took me a long time to get through this book. Some good insights but not as powerful as some of his other works.

[Caroline Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books about the Eucharist that I have read. It is simple enough to understand yet so profound. I loved how the author incorporated the story of the road to Emmaus with The Eucharist! This book is such a gift, definitely one I will buy to add to my library collection.

[E.M. Welcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henri invites us to Eucharistic Life.