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Hier en nu
Succesvolle Henri Nouwen klassieker in de vernieuwde reeks In deze meditaties toont Henri Nouwen op een persoonlijke en indringende wijze aan dat God veel dichter bij ons is dan we doorgaans beseffen. Hij kijkt met een lach en een traan naar de dagelijkse gebeurtenissen van ons leven en ontdekt daar de God die bij ons wil wonen.
115 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1994
192 people are currently reading
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About the author
Henri J.M. Nouwen
453 books2,117 followersHenri 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 150 reviews
June 8, 2021
“The real enemies of our life are the “oughts” and the “ifs.” They pull us backward into the unalterable past and forward into the unpredictable future. But real life takes place in the here and the now. God is a God of the present.”
Easily one of my favorites by Nouwen - such beautiful wisdom on seeing and living out the heart of God in the ordinariness of life.
Easily one of my favorites by Nouwen - such beautiful wisdom on seeing and living out the heart of God in the ordinariness of life.
March 22, 2010
Here and Now was a recommendation by a dear Christian friend who knows how drawn I am to Buddhist teachings. Given that it was written by a Catholic priest, I cracked it open expecting to have (not entirely unpleasant) flashbacks to my Catholic upbringing. Instead, I found an incredibly open and nondenominational approach to living a moral and centred life which was not at all offensive to my slightly more secular approach to morality. The collection of musings by the author on various topics of everyday life, feels at times like an intimate conversation with an old friend. Nouwen is so gentle and kind in his approach to life that each turn of the page is comforting and uplifting without being sappy or overdone. This is a work of the heart, and it shows. I found the book's urgings to approach life in the present to be one worth repeating and I would recommend it to others.
April 7, 2025
This book had a lot of potential, but unfortunately I found it to be generously sprinkled with heresy. Top of the list: There are several quotes which are attributed to Jesus that are not found in Scripture and actually are contrary to Scripture! This would be extremely misleading to anyone who does not know their Bible well. Several verses are quoted in support of points that I believe are completely out of context, while people like the Dalai Lama are quoted and set forth as someone to learn from.
Other reviewers here are commenting on the author’s sincerity, and I certainly do not doubt that - he seems like a person that would be kind and gentle to converse with. He makes good points about humility and compassion. But all the sincerity in the world doesn’t make one *right.* The fundamental problems throughout the book make it one that I would never recommend or read again.
Other reviewers here are commenting on the author’s sincerity, and I certainly do not doubt that - he seems like a person that would be kind and gentle to converse with. He makes good points about humility and compassion. But all the sincerity in the world doesn’t make one *right.* The fundamental problems throughout the book make it one that I would never recommend or read again.
March 5, 2009
This is one of those books that I wish I liked better than I did.
"Here and Now" is a collection of short chapters on topics such as "Compassion," "Relationships" and "Suffering," each divided into very short meditations.
The author was a professor at Harvard, Yale and Notre Dame who spent the last 10 years of his life in a community with physically and mentally handicapped people. This is not a career move many people would choose to make. If I were a professor at Harvard, Yale or Notre Dame -- or even at the University of Minnesota Duluth -- I probably would think I was hot stuff. I probably would think it was below my dignity to leave that career to go live among people with profound physical and mental limitations. Even as it is, I fear that I think it would be below my dignity.
Nouwen knew better. And he was simply putting into practice the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. Nouwen writes with particular credibility on the subject of compassion. He doesn't write as if he thought he was a martyr who sacrificed himself; he writes about how blessed he was to embrace that lifestyle.
Throughout "Here and Now" Nouwen seems to be writing with a smile on his face.
But even though he writes on a diversity of topics, it all starts to seem the same. Reading the last chapter seems pretty much like the same thing as reading the first chapter.
"Here and Now" is a collection of short chapters on topics such as "Compassion," "Relationships" and "Suffering," each divided into very short meditations.
The author was a professor at Harvard, Yale and Notre Dame who spent the last 10 years of his life in a community with physically and mentally handicapped people. This is not a career move many people would choose to make. If I were a professor at Harvard, Yale or Notre Dame -- or even at the University of Minnesota Duluth -- I probably would think I was hot stuff. I probably would think it was below my dignity to leave that career to go live among people with profound physical and mental limitations. Even as it is, I fear that I think it would be below my dignity.
Nouwen knew better. And he was simply putting into practice the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. Nouwen writes with particular credibility on the subject of compassion. He doesn't write as if he thought he was a martyr who sacrificed himself; he writes about how blessed he was to embrace that lifestyle.
Throughout "Here and Now" Nouwen seems to be writing with a smile on his face.
But even though he writes on a diversity of topics, it all starts to seem the same. Reading the last chapter seems pretty much like the same thing as reading the first chapter.
April 30, 2024
A beautiful collection of meditations and reflections on the spiritual life.
September 17, 2022
A timely and simple spiritual read; Nouwen is some prophet. I enjoyed everything in here and led to many fruitful and prayerful reflections, especially around themes of connections/ types of relationships. My favorite section however was Nouwen's reflections on the purpose of spiritual reading, which he describes as an opportunity for us to be read by God. Love.
March 9, 2025
Prachtig! Een boek dat je elke dag even zou moeten openslaan. Henri Nouwen weet met een toegankelijk zachte schrijfwijze woorden te geven aan diep menselijke gevoelens. Een zeer prettig en overzichtelijk boek om te lezen. Ook voor de mensen met weinig tijd ;)
April 9, 2025
Recommend reading this alongside scripture reading each day! Beautiful, short meditations that I’ll be returning to often.
October 4, 2018
This is essential Nouwen ! Great essays on the meaning and purpose of life . I especially like "Birthdays" ; but my favorite Nouwen essay is "Downward Mobility" ; this is the message for our time !
" The society in which we live suggests in countless ways that the way to go is up. Making it to the top, entering the limelight, breaking the record – that’s what draws attention, gets us on the front page of the newspaper, and offers us the rewards of money and fame.
The way of Jesus is radically different. It is the way not of upward mobility but of downward mobility. It is going to the bottom, staying behind the sets, and choosing the last place! Why is the way of Jesus worth choosing? Because it is the way to the Kingdom, the way Jesus took, and the way that brings everlasting life."
" The society in which we live suggests in countless ways that the way to go is up. Making it to the top, entering the limelight, breaking the record – that’s what draws attention, gets us on the front page of the newspaper, and offers us the rewards of money and fame.
The way of Jesus is radically different. It is the way not of upward mobility but of downward mobility. It is going to the bottom, staying behind the sets, and choosing the last place! Why is the way of Jesus worth choosing? Because it is the way to the Kingdom, the way Jesus took, and the way that brings everlasting life."
March 5, 2019
Beautiful meditations on life, prayer, and what it means to pursue Christ daily. I loved Nouwen’s tender, practical approach to some of the persistent questions we face in our daily walks of faith. He has such a compassionate voice, and reading this was like sitting and listening to the advice and encouragement of an old friend. The following passage on prayer is something I will continually come back to:
“The daily contemplation of the Gospel and the attentive repetition of a prayer can both profoundly affect our inner life. Our inner life is like a holy space that needs to be kept in good order and well decorated. Prayer, in whatever form, is the way to make our inner room a place where we can welcome those people who search for God.” (Page 128)
“The daily contemplation of the Gospel and the attentive repetition of a prayer can both profoundly affect our inner life. Our inner life is like a holy space that needs to be kept in good order and well decorated. Prayer, in whatever form, is the way to make our inner room a place where we can welcome those people who search for God.” (Page 128)
July 20, 2015
Really great for personal spiritual reflection. You can take this book as slow or as fast as you want. As a whole it's an easy read, but each chapter breaks down to different topics and the chapters break down to different reflections on the topic. I enjoyed being able to take a slow pace and focus in on the truths at hand.
May 5, 2022
Dit is het eerste boek van Henri Nouwen dat ik lees en ik ben omvergeblazen door de wijsheid en diepgang en aanmoediging die ik er in vind.
Een aantal mooie en rake citaten:
Ik ben zo druk om mijn eigen leven in goed banen te leiden dat ik vergeet aandacht te schenken aan de zachte wenken van Gods Geest in mij, die me richtingen wijst die heel anders zijn dan de mijne. Het vraagt heel wat innerlijke stilte om mij van deze goddelijke ingevingen bewust te worden.
*
Het tegenovergestelde van fatalisme is geloof. Geloof is het vaste vertrouwen dat Gods liefde sterker is dan alle anonieme krachten in de wereld en ons kan omvormen van slachtoffers van de duisternis tot dienaren van het licht.
*
Hoop bevrijdt ons van de behoefte de toekomst te voorspellen en stelt ons in staat in het heden te leven. In het rotsvaste vertrouwen dat God ons nooit in de steek laat, maar de diepste verlangens van ons hart zal vervullen.
De zinnen zijn lang, het is een boek vol rijke tekst. Maar met zijn beeldende beschrijvingen weet Henri Nouwen in korte overdenkingen vol daadkracht me diep in m’n ziel te raken.
Compliment voor vertaalster Nelly Stienstra, die de diepte in de boodschap middels de vertaling weet te bewaren.
Verrassend actueel zijn ook allerlei thema’s rondom tijd, aandacht en leven in het hier en nu.
Een aantal mooie en rake citaten:
Ik ben zo druk om mijn eigen leven in goed banen te leiden dat ik vergeet aandacht te schenken aan de zachte wenken van Gods Geest in mij, die me richtingen wijst die heel anders zijn dan de mijne. Het vraagt heel wat innerlijke stilte om mij van deze goddelijke ingevingen bewust te worden.
*
Het tegenovergestelde van fatalisme is geloof. Geloof is het vaste vertrouwen dat Gods liefde sterker is dan alle anonieme krachten in de wereld en ons kan omvormen van slachtoffers van de duisternis tot dienaren van het licht.
*
Hoop bevrijdt ons van de behoefte de toekomst te voorspellen en stelt ons in staat in het heden te leven. In het rotsvaste vertrouwen dat God ons nooit in de steek laat, maar de diepste verlangens van ons hart zal vervullen.
De zinnen zijn lang, het is een boek vol rijke tekst. Maar met zijn beeldende beschrijvingen weet Henri Nouwen in korte overdenkingen vol daadkracht me diep in m’n ziel te raken.
Compliment voor vertaalster Nelly Stienstra, die de diepte in de boodschap middels de vertaling weet te bewaren.
Verrassend actueel zijn ook allerlei thema’s rondom tijd, aandacht en leven in het hier en nu.
May 17, 2025
Nouwen's words are always soothing and cause for reflection. This is an odd little book, 11 chapters on various life situations, each containing a series of meditative snippets pertaining to the chapter's title. Most chapters had six, seven or eight of these snippets.
Nouwen reflects at the end that these snippets became longer and in some cases full length books, and in that regard, this is quite a good short introduction to some of Nouwen's key messages. Overall, it keeps drawing us back to the books' title: Here and Now, discovering the importance of being present in the moment and connecting with God in that moment.
It definitely served as an inducement to read more of Nouwen's works and so I've taken up another Crossroad title: "The Only Necessary Thing: Living a prayerful Life" suggested in the back of this book.
Nouwen reflects at the end that these snippets became longer and in some cases full length books, and in that regard, this is quite a good short introduction to some of Nouwen's key messages. Overall, it keeps drawing us back to the books' title: Here and Now, discovering the importance of being present in the moment and connecting with God in that moment.
It definitely served as an inducement to read more of Nouwen's works and so I've taken up another Crossroad title: "The Only Necessary Thing: Living a prayerful Life" suggested in the back of this book.
May 9, 2023
“It is important to become aware that at every moment of our life we have an opportunity to choose joy. Life has many sides to it. There are always sorrowful and joyful sides to the reality we live. And so we always have a choice to live the moment as a cause for resentment or as a cause for joy. It is in the choice that our true freedom lies, and that freedom is, in the final analysis, the freedom to love.”
Many topics of thought covered in this little book. Great thoughts and an easy read to start each day with.
Many topics of thought covered in this little book. Great thoughts and an easy read to start each day with.
April 26, 2024
Nouwen has a way of drawing out the beauty of the human experience. His honesty with the reality of how life actually happens allows me to really see the love of Jesus in a more full and complete way. Oftentimes I see writers and even followers of Jesus avoid the raunchy, ugly, and hard. But, Nouwen would say it is through, and only through, those exact things that we grow into people of love and experience the depths of joy, peace, and freedom that is our very own inheritance from Christ. I admire him.
September 11, 2025
So much wisdom here, but stated simply, palatable for plenty, realistic. Good for grabbing one or two sections for some brief devotional time and thought. Left me with many memorable images - of a limping figure withholding gratitude for undesirable parts of the past, of a turning wheel with centeredness in God touching each spoke that is each area of life, of praying hands as the union of a husband and wife leaving loving space instead of interlocked hands.
January 18, 2019
This is like sitting in a room with Henri and just listening to him talk about everything he is thinking about! Certainly an beautifully a man who never had an unpublished thought! You can hear his experiences. You can hear his interpretation of this life through the lens of true experience and compassion.
January 10, 2024
At this point in my life, no spiritual author nourishes my soul more than Henri Nouwen. His thoughts about the spiritual life refresh me with assurances that God’s acceptance of me is not based on my success, popularity, performance, or possessions. It is a freeing experience to be able to embrace the truth that, even in my flawed humanity, God accepts me, and there is nothing I need to prove.
February 25, 2024
Henri Nouwen shares how he practices his gentle, loving style of spirituality marked by humility, compassion, and a deep yearning for the God who claims us as His beloved children. I truly enjoyed and appreciated his suggestions and shared experiences. This is a book I will return to again and again.
April 16, 2024
So good. Probably my favorite Nouwen book that I’ve read, or maybe just the best one for where I am right now and the things that I am currently wrestling with. So many things that are deserving of long walks, cups of coffs, reflection, and discussion.
January 19, 2021
Bite-sized meditations. Classic Henri. Profound yet simple. Insightful and humble. Perfect bedtime read!
December 20, 2021
"what do we really desire? As I try to listen to my own deepest yearning as well as the yearnings of others, the word that seems best to summarize the desire of the human heart is 'conmunion.' communion means 'union with.' God has given us a heart that will remain restless until it has found full communion."
May 5, 2023
I don’t have to prove that I am worthy love. I am the Beloved of God, the one on whom God’s favor rests. This is my true and only identity- praise God!
March 12, 2024
This is a book review of Here and Now: Living in the Spirit by Henri J.M. Nouwen. This 1997 edition of Here and Now: Living in the Spirit was released by The Crossroad Publishing Company. Through this reflective read, Henri J.M. Nouwen unpacks how the Spirit-filled life is not just an earthly journey to spend eternity with God, but rather it is about experiencing eternity, by the power of the Spirit, in the here and now, where ordinary moments become extraordinary vocations and experiences.
In his Here and Now: Living in the Spirit, Henri J.M. Nouwen challenges us towards a spiritual journey and way of living that doesn't define life by living in the worries about tomorrow, or dwelling in the anxieties of yesterday, but trusting the Spirit of God with our present reality and moments. It is in the experience of the present that we learn to experience and trust God's Spirit and discipline our life to see every moment as pregnant with possibility. Through eleven short, but packed and reflective chapters, Nouwen looks at what it means to live in the present, find joy in the present, experience conversion in the moment, live disciplined in the here and now, root our spiritual lives into now, slow life down with prayer, grow in compassion in the day to day, and also live out in the present the vocations of family, relationships, and our identity. Besides the 11 chapters, there is a small preface and afterward to the book.
Nouwen points out that “it is hard to live in the present,” because “the past and the future keep harassing us. The past with guilt, the future with worries.” However, it is
not just the past and future that keeps us from stepping out in bold faith and contentment, rather and perhaps even worse “than our guilt are our worries. Our worries fill our lives with “What ifs.” Yet, even more “the real enemies of our life are the “oughts” and the “ifs.” Nouwen points out that it is the oughts and ifs that “pull us backward into the unalterable past and forward into the unpredictable future.” Nouwen gives us disciplines, practices, and a challenge to experience God as Jesus did, “being where and when we are” in the throes of our lives. These disciplines, practices, and challenges help us to learn that “each day, each hour, yes, each minute as a new beginning, as a unique opportunity to make everything new. Imagine that we could live each moment as a moment pregnant with new life.”
Because our lives are so often “restless and so unable to find inner quietude… we can’t wait to get busy again, thus avoiding the confrontation with the chaotic state of our minds and hearts.” Nouwen challenges us to reorient ourselves into the present, confronting the chaotic state of our minds and hearts rather than the chaos. Prayer, he maintains, “is the discipline of the moment.” To pray is not only a confrontation with what is going on inside us but also “to listen attentively to the One who addresses us here and now.”
After explaining what it means to live in the present, in the remaining chapters, Nouwen unpacks the way to find joy in the present, experience conversion in the moment, live disciplined in the here and now, root our spiritual lives into now, slow life down with prayer, grow in compassion in the day to day, and also live out in the present the vocations of family, relationships, and our identity. I appreciated the thoughts and challenges found in each of these chapters. As a book, Here and Now has become a classic and must-read for many, and I would agree.
In Here & Now, Henri presents that living in the here and now is about finding joy in the present, and perhaps “the great challenge of faith is to be surprised by joy.” Additionally, living in the present is about embracing reality. Though it is hard, it is important to “embrace our suffering, trusting that it will lead to a new life.” In life, we can choose to see each moment as an invitation to be further converted to the ways, words, and works of Jesus. Nouwen points out that when we become busy running our own lives, we become “oblivious to the gentle movements of the Spirit of God within [us].” Rather, we must get in tune with what God’s Spirit is doing in us, at the moment, but “it requires a lot of inner solitude and silence to become aware of these divine movements. God does not shout, scream, or push. The Spirit of God is soft and gentle like a small voice or a light breeze.” Knowing what God is saying to us in our present moment is perhaps one of the most important aspects of finding purpose, contentment, and joy.
In addition to listening to what God’s Spirit is saying, we need to live in very disciplined ways to maintain our obedience to what God is saying. Nouwen points out that without discipline, “without a clear goal, we will always be distracted and spend our energy on secondary things.” Only a clear goal will keep us focused on obediently living out what God wants from us. That disciplined life begins with a discipline of prayer, because “by the discipline of prayer; the disciple that helps us to bring God back again and again to the center of our life.” Disciplined living also keeps us centered on God in a world where daily “our society bombards us with a myriad of images and sounds…The words yell and scream at us: “Eat me, drink me, buy me, hire me, look at me, talk with me, sleep with me”! Through the disciplines of prayer and spiritual reading, we can stop our mind from becoming the “garbage can of the world…filled with things that confuse us, excite us, depress us, arouse us, repulse us, or attract us whether we think it is good for us or not.” Disciplined living doesn’t allow others to “decide what enters into our mind and determines our thoughts and feelings?” Disciplined living stays focused on what God is saying to us in the whispers of now.
The reason disciplined living is so hard is not only because of our worries and anxieties, and because of our busyness. It is not only hard because society is bombarding us with the false promises of a sensualized life, but it is also hard because of the pains we carry in life. Nouwen makes a case that “much of our pain comes from our experience of not having been loved well” by our friends and family in our early formation years. Though, he argues that we conquer this deficiency by learning to release our pain, offering forgiveness, but also by embracing “all of our past, the good as well as the bad events, the joyful as well as the sorrowful moments.” It is important to learn that even in the places where pain has happened, God can redeem those moments.
A disciplined life realizes that there is nothing in our own power that can fix our worries and situations, there is no way to “push away our worries with our minds.” Rather, only through prayer that we “will gradually discover that [our] worries become less obsessive and that [we] really start to enjoy praying.” Disciplined living also pursues living with compassion in a world where “competition continues to be the dominant mode of relating among people, be it in politics, sports, or economics,” however “all true believers” must learn to “proclaim compassion, not competition, as God's way.” Nouwen defines compassion in this way; “Compassion means to become close to the one who suffers. But we can come close to another person only when we are willing to become vulnerable ourselves.” Moments of compassion often “are moments without words: moments of deep silence.” This is an important learning journey both for us, and those we are embodying compassion towards, there is always a mutuality of giving and receiving. Everyone who has truly entered into the compassionate life will say: "I have received as much as I have given."”
The life that is disciplined in the Spirit also realizes the importance of vocation or calling in the areas of family, relationships, and personal identity. Those who experience marriage, Nouwen says, must understand that “marriage is foremost a vocation.” That call to marriage recognizes that “marriage is a spiritual reality… a man and a woman come together for life, not just because they experience deep love for each other, but because they believe that God loves each of them with an infinite love and has called them to each other to be living witnesses of that love.” Such is true of all relationships, Nouwen challenges, as he explains that “all human relationships…are meant to be signs of God’s love for humanity as a whole and each person in particular.” This is perhaps most seen in the lives of our children. Nouwen points out that as parents we must see how “children are a gift from God. They are given to us so that we can offer them a safe, loving place to grow to inner and outer freedom. They are like strangers who ask for hospitality, become good friends, and then leave again to continue their journey. They bring immense joy and immense sorrow precisely because they are gifts.”
The vocation of our identity is also essential to living a disciplined life to the Spirit in the here and now. In a world driven by competition, fame, and fortune - “Jesus came to announce to us that an identity based on success, popularity, and power is a false identity – an illusion! Loudly and clearly, he says: “You are not what the world makes you; but you are children of God.” Jesus modeled for us a life “a life of obedience, of attentive listening to the One who called him the Beloved,” and he desires the same for us. Part of living into our vocation well is considering our legacy, but also our death. Nouwen points out that in living in the present, we realize the longing we have for God’s greater restoration, and dying well is important because “we believe that death is not the total dissolution of our identity but the way to its fullest revelation.”
In the chaotic hustle and bustle of our daily lives, Henri J.M. Nouwen's Here and Now: Living in the Spirit serves as a timeless beacon of wisdom and guidance, inviting readers to embrace the transformative power of the present moment. As Nouwen eloquently articulates, the Spirit-filled life transcends mere existence; it is an ongoing journey of discovery and revelation, where every ordinary moment holds the potential for extraordinary encounters with God the Father through the Spirit of God. Through his poignant reflections and practical insights, Nouwen challenges us to relinquish the burdens of the past and future, and instead, to cultivate a deep sense of presence and attentiveness to the whispers of God's Spirit in our midst. In a world fraught with distractions and noise. This read offers a sanctuary of stillness and spiritual discipline, guiding us toward a life rooted in joy, compassion, and purpose. I will be reflecting on this read for years to come.
In his Here and Now: Living in the Spirit, Henri J.M. Nouwen challenges us towards a spiritual journey and way of living that doesn't define life by living in the worries about tomorrow, or dwelling in the anxieties of yesterday, but trusting the Spirit of God with our present reality and moments. It is in the experience of the present that we learn to experience and trust God's Spirit and discipline our life to see every moment as pregnant with possibility. Through eleven short, but packed and reflective chapters, Nouwen looks at what it means to live in the present, find joy in the present, experience conversion in the moment, live disciplined in the here and now, root our spiritual lives into now, slow life down with prayer, grow in compassion in the day to day, and also live out in the present the vocations of family, relationships, and our identity. Besides the 11 chapters, there is a small preface and afterward to the book.
Nouwen points out that “it is hard to live in the present,” because “the past and the future keep harassing us. The past with guilt, the future with worries.” However, it is
not just the past and future that keeps us from stepping out in bold faith and contentment, rather and perhaps even worse “than our guilt are our worries. Our worries fill our lives with “What ifs.” Yet, even more “the real enemies of our life are the “oughts” and the “ifs.” Nouwen points out that it is the oughts and ifs that “pull us backward into the unalterable past and forward into the unpredictable future.” Nouwen gives us disciplines, practices, and a challenge to experience God as Jesus did, “being where and when we are” in the throes of our lives. These disciplines, practices, and challenges help us to learn that “each day, each hour, yes, each minute as a new beginning, as a unique opportunity to make everything new. Imagine that we could live each moment as a moment pregnant with new life.”
Because our lives are so often “restless and so unable to find inner quietude… we can’t wait to get busy again, thus avoiding the confrontation with the chaotic state of our minds and hearts.” Nouwen challenges us to reorient ourselves into the present, confronting the chaotic state of our minds and hearts rather than the chaos. Prayer, he maintains, “is the discipline of the moment.” To pray is not only a confrontation with what is going on inside us but also “to listen attentively to the One who addresses us here and now.”
After explaining what it means to live in the present, in the remaining chapters, Nouwen unpacks the way to find joy in the present, experience conversion in the moment, live disciplined in the here and now, root our spiritual lives into now, slow life down with prayer, grow in compassion in the day to day, and also live out in the present the vocations of family, relationships, and our identity. I appreciated the thoughts and challenges found in each of these chapters. As a book, Here and Now has become a classic and must-read for many, and I would agree.
In Here & Now, Henri presents that living in the here and now is about finding joy in the present, and perhaps “the great challenge of faith is to be surprised by joy.” Additionally, living in the present is about embracing reality. Though it is hard, it is important to “embrace our suffering, trusting that it will lead to a new life.” In life, we can choose to see each moment as an invitation to be further converted to the ways, words, and works of Jesus. Nouwen points out that when we become busy running our own lives, we become “oblivious to the gentle movements of the Spirit of God within [us].” Rather, we must get in tune with what God’s Spirit is doing in us, at the moment, but “it requires a lot of inner solitude and silence to become aware of these divine movements. God does not shout, scream, or push. The Spirit of God is soft and gentle like a small voice or a light breeze.” Knowing what God is saying to us in our present moment is perhaps one of the most important aspects of finding purpose, contentment, and joy.
In addition to listening to what God’s Spirit is saying, we need to live in very disciplined ways to maintain our obedience to what God is saying. Nouwen points out that without discipline, “without a clear goal, we will always be distracted and spend our energy on secondary things.” Only a clear goal will keep us focused on obediently living out what God wants from us. That disciplined life begins with a discipline of prayer, because “by the discipline of prayer; the disciple that helps us to bring God back again and again to the center of our life.” Disciplined living also keeps us centered on God in a world where daily “our society bombards us with a myriad of images and sounds…The words yell and scream at us: “Eat me, drink me, buy me, hire me, look at me, talk with me, sleep with me”! Through the disciplines of prayer and spiritual reading, we can stop our mind from becoming the “garbage can of the world…filled with things that confuse us, excite us, depress us, arouse us, repulse us, or attract us whether we think it is good for us or not.” Disciplined living doesn’t allow others to “decide what enters into our mind and determines our thoughts and feelings?” Disciplined living stays focused on what God is saying to us in the whispers of now.
The reason disciplined living is so hard is not only because of our worries and anxieties, and because of our busyness. It is not only hard because society is bombarding us with the false promises of a sensualized life, but it is also hard because of the pains we carry in life. Nouwen makes a case that “much of our pain comes from our experience of not having been loved well” by our friends and family in our early formation years. Though, he argues that we conquer this deficiency by learning to release our pain, offering forgiveness, but also by embracing “all of our past, the good as well as the bad events, the joyful as well as the sorrowful moments.” It is important to learn that even in the places where pain has happened, God can redeem those moments.
A disciplined life realizes that there is nothing in our own power that can fix our worries and situations, there is no way to “push away our worries with our minds.” Rather, only through prayer that we “will gradually discover that [our] worries become less obsessive and that [we] really start to enjoy praying.” Disciplined living also pursues living with compassion in a world where “competition continues to be the dominant mode of relating among people, be it in politics, sports, or economics,” however “all true believers” must learn to “proclaim compassion, not competition, as God's way.” Nouwen defines compassion in this way; “Compassion means to become close to the one who suffers. But we can come close to another person only when we are willing to become vulnerable ourselves.” Moments of compassion often “are moments without words: moments of deep silence.” This is an important learning journey both for us, and those we are embodying compassion towards, there is always a mutuality of giving and receiving. Everyone who has truly entered into the compassionate life will say: "I have received as much as I have given."”
The life that is disciplined in the Spirit also realizes the importance of vocation or calling in the areas of family, relationships, and personal identity. Those who experience marriage, Nouwen says, must understand that “marriage is foremost a vocation.” That call to marriage recognizes that “marriage is a spiritual reality… a man and a woman come together for life, not just because they experience deep love for each other, but because they believe that God loves each of them with an infinite love and has called them to each other to be living witnesses of that love.” Such is true of all relationships, Nouwen challenges, as he explains that “all human relationships…are meant to be signs of God’s love for humanity as a whole and each person in particular.” This is perhaps most seen in the lives of our children. Nouwen points out that as parents we must see how “children are a gift from God. They are given to us so that we can offer them a safe, loving place to grow to inner and outer freedom. They are like strangers who ask for hospitality, become good friends, and then leave again to continue their journey. They bring immense joy and immense sorrow precisely because they are gifts.”
The vocation of our identity is also essential to living a disciplined life to the Spirit in the here and now. In a world driven by competition, fame, and fortune - “Jesus came to announce to us that an identity based on success, popularity, and power is a false identity – an illusion! Loudly and clearly, he says: “You are not what the world makes you; but you are children of God.” Jesus modeled for us a life “a life of obedience, of attentive listening to the One who called him the Beloved,” and he desires the same for us. Part of living into our vocation well is considering our legacy, but also our death. Nouwen points out that in living in the present, we realize the longing we have for God’s greater restoration, and dying well is important because “we believe that death is not the total dissolution of our identity but the way to its fullest revelation.”
In the chaotic hustle and bustle of our daily lives, Henri J.M. Nouwen's Here and Now: Living in the Spirit serves as a timeless beacon of wisdom and guidance, inviting readers to embrace the transformative power of the present moment. As Nouwen eloquently articulates, the Spirit-filled life transcends mere existence; it is an ongoing journey of discovery and revelation, where every ordinary moment holds the potential for extraordinary encounters with God the Father through the Spirit of God. Through his poignant reflections and practical insights, Nouwen challenges us to relinquish the burdens of the past and future, and instead, to cultivate a deep sense of presence and attentiveness to the whispers of God's Spirit in our midst. In a world fraught with distractions and noise. This read offers a sanctuary of stillness and spiritual discipline, guiding us toward a life rooted in joy, compassion, and purpose. I will be reflecting on this read for years to come.
January 4, 2024
Helpful. Nowen is much better than I remember from reading him 10 years ago. Glad to return.
January 19, 2020
Such a pleasant and smooth read. Henri Nouwen is one of those people with wisdom as well as writing skills that makes you want to just sit with and listen to him talking for hours, if it were in real life.
October 14, 2024
A book I will likely re-read over and over again!! And read to my children someday! Could be an all time favorite. I would passionately recommend this book to any and all believers—in any stage of life !!! ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Here are two of my favorite quotes from this book that now live on sticky notes around my house:
“The real enemies of our life are the 'oughts' and the 'ifs'. They pull us backward into the unalterable past and forward into the unpredictable future. But real life takes place in the here and now. God is a God of the present.”
“While optimism makes us live as if someday soon things will soon go better for us, hope frees us from the need to predict the future and allows us to live in the present, with the deep trust that God will never leave us alone but will fulfill the deepest desires of our heart... Joy in this perspective is the fruit of hope.”
Here are two of my favorite quotes from this book that now live on sticky notes around my house:
“The real enemies of our life are the 'oughts' and the 'ifs'. They pull us backward into the unalterable past and forward into the unpredictable future. But real life takes place in the here and now. God is a God of the present.”
“While optimism makes us live as if someday soon things will soon go better for us, hope frees us from the need to predict the future and allows us to live in the present, with the deep trust that God will never leave us alone but will fulfill the deepest desires of our heart... Joy in this perspective is the fruit of hope.”
September 14, 2011
A pretty book with a pretty cover and some pretty prose. It felt so fluffy and lacking. I don't know exactly what I didn't like, probably nothing. It would be correct to say there was not enough to like, nothing particularly practical. Fluffy pretty words. Perhaps this is just not the right time for me to read this book. I shall read it again later when I grow up.
9-14-11 so i returned to this book after reading about St therese and somehow everything has changed, it seems like a new book. Perhaps i am a new person? You know how they say you can't step into the same river twice? Sometimes books are like that too. Jasper Fforde says alot in his Thursday Next novels about the reading experience and how a part of that is what each reader brings to the book as he reads, his own life experiences, opnions, emotions even. That is never more true than with spiritual books. We are always learning, growing and sometimes simply a changed attitude will effect the way we look at and feel about the whole big world, even little books. This time, just a few days after writing that this book was "fluffy" i find so much to help me, educate me, comfort me. Here's a bit about worry. If you worry, you know how NOT helpful it is to be told to just stop it. How nothing seems to help. I turned to the Buddhist technique of breathing thru it but it always came back. Just now I found this in this book and it does not at all seem fluffy once I slow down and quit judging it before i even finish reading.
One of the least helpful ways to stop worrying is to try hard not to think about the things we are worrying about. ..jesus' advice is ...if you worry, worry about that which is worthnthe effort. Worry about larger things than your family, friends, ...worry about the things of God: truth, life, light.
As soon as we set our hearts on those things our mind stops spinning because we enter into communion with the one who is present to us here now and is there to give us what we most need.
And so worrying becomes prayer, and our feelings of powerlessness are transformed into a consciousness of being empowered by God's spirit.
WELL! I only disagree on on one point. We should begin praying our way free of worrying with exactly what we are worrying about. If I am worrying about my Asperger son (boy if I had a dime for every minute of those worries) then I should begin with praying about that. Then My burden is shared with God who is more capable than I of thinking clearly and dealing with things in the best way. I also surrender control. That's hard to do for the likes of me. It begins in prayer I think. Then I can move on to "worrying" about the rest of the planet. And I do, God help me since I was 9 years old I do. Mother Theresa said all charity, love and the like should begin AT HOME.
9-14-11 so i returned to this book after reading about St therese and somehow everything has changed, it seems like a new book. Perhaps i am a new person? You know how they say you can't step into the same river twice? Sometimes books are like that too. Jasper Fforde says alot in his Thursday Next novels about the reading experience and how a part of that is what each reader brings to the book as he reads, his own life experiences, opnions, emotions even. That is never more true than with spiritual books. We are always learning, growing and sometimes simply a changed attitude will effect the way we look at and feel about the whole big world, even little books. This time, just a few days after writing that this book was "fluffy" i find so much to help me, educate me, comfort me. Here's a bit about worry. If you worry, you know how NOT helpful it is to be told to just stop it. How nothing seems to help. I turned to the Buddhist technique of breathing thru it but it always came back. Just now I found this in this book and it does not at all seem fluffy once I slow down and quit judging it before i even finish reading.
One of the least helpful ways to stop worrying is to try hard not to think about the things we are worrying about. ..jesus' advice is ...if you worry, worry about that which is worthnthe effort. Worry about larger things than your family, friends, ...worry about the things of God: truth, life, light.
As soon as we set our hearts on those things our mind stops spinning because we enter into communion with the one who is present to us here now and is there to give us what we most need.
And so worrying becomes prayer, and our feelings of powerlessness are transformed into a consciousness of being empowered by God's spirit.
WELL! I only disagree on on one point. We should begin praying our way free of worrying with exactly what we are worrying about. If I am worrying about my Asperger son (boy if I had a dime for every minute of those worries) then I should begin with praying about that. Then My burden is shared with God who is more capable than I of thinking clearly and dealing with things in the best way. I also surrender control. That's hard to do for the likes of me. It begins in prayer I think. Then I can move on to "worrying" about the rest of the planet. And I do, God help me since I was 9 years old I do. Mother Theresa said all charity, love and the like should begin AT HOME.
January 9, 2025
“It is hard to live in the present. The past and the future keep harassing us. The past with guilt [i.e., ‘You ought to have…’], the future with worries [i.e., ‘What if…’]…The real enemies of our life are the ‘oughts’ and the ‘ifs’. They pull us backward into the unalterable past and forward into the unpredictable future. But real life takes place in the here and now. God is a God of the present. God is always in the moment, be that moment hard or easy, joyful or painful” (18-9).
“Prayer is the discipline of the moment. When we pray, we enter into the presence of God whose name is God-with-us. To pray is to listen attentively to the One who addresses us here and now. When we dare to trust that we are never alone but that God is always with us, always cares for us, and always speaks to us, then we can gradually detach ourselves from the voices that make us guilty or anxious and thus allow ourselves to dwell in the present moment” (22).
“Often we are so restless and so unable to find inner quietude that we can’t wait to get busy again, thus avoiding the confrontation with the chaotic state of our minds and hearts” (24).
“The great paradox of the spiritual life is, indeed, that the most personal is most universal, that the most intimate is most communal, and that the most contemplative is most active” (28).
“Whatever we may think or say about God, when we are not joyful, our thoughts and words cannot bear fruit…Joy is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing— sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death— can take that love away” (30).
“While optimism makes us live as if someday soon things will go better for us, hope frees us from the need to predict the future and allows us to live in the present, with the deep trust that God will never leave us alone but will fulfill the deepest desires of our heart…When I trust deeply that today God is truly with me and holds me safe in a divine embrace, guiding every one of my steps, I can let go of my anxious need to know how tomorrow will look, or what will happen next month or next year. I can be fully where I am and pay attention to the many signs of God‘s love within and around me…When we trust profoundly that today is the day of the Lord and that tomorrow is safely hidden in God‘s love, our faces can relax, and we can smile back at the one who smiles at us” (41-2).
“While being so busy running my own life, I become oblivious to the gentle movements of the Spirit of God within me, pointing me in directions quite different from my own” (66).
“We spend countless hours making up our minds about others. An unceasing exchange of opinions about people close by or far away keeps us distracted and allows us to ignore the truth that we ourselves are the first ones who need a change of heart and probably the only ones whose heart we indeed can change” (78).
“To the degree that we embrace the truth that our identity is not rooted in our success, power, or popularity, but in God’s infinite love, to that degree can we let go of our need to judge” (81).
“The great mystery of the spiritual life—the life in God—is that we don’t have to wait for it as something that will happen later…It is the active presence of God at the center of my living—the movement of God’s Spirit within us— that gives us the eternal life” (91-2).
“do we really want our mind to become the garbage can of the world? Do we want our mind to be filled with things that confuse us, excited us, depress us, arouse us, repulse us, or attract us whether we think it is good for us or not? Do we want to let others decide what enters our mind and determines our thoughts and feelings?
“Clearly we do not, but it requires real discipline to let God and not the world be the Lord of our mind [and thus have our mind transformed from the garbage can of the world into a vase filled with good thoughts]” (93-4).
“Fatalism is the attitude that makes us live as passive victims of exterior circumstances beyond our control.
“The opposite of fatalism is faith. Faith is the deep trust that God‘s love is stronger than all the anonymous powers of the world and can transform us from victims of darkness into servants of light” (105).
“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 my whole attention” (127).
“Compassion, as a downward movement toward solidarity instead of an upward movement toward popularity, does not require heroic gestures or a sensational turnaround. In fact, the compassionate life is mostly hidden in the ordinariness of everyday living…The question that truly counts is not whether we imitate Mother Teresa, but whether we are open to the many little sufferings of those with whom we share our life” (142-3).
"To leave 'home,' whether it was a good home or a bad home, is one of the greatest spiritual challenges of our life" (158).
"Only God is the father and mother who can love us as we need and want to be loved. This belief, when strongly held, can free us, not only to forgive our parents, but also to let our children forgive us" (165).
"The stronger our expectation that another human being will fulfill our deepest desires, the greater the pain is when we are confronted with the limitations of human relationships. And our need for intimacy easily turns into a demand" (173-4).
"a man and a woman come together for life, not just because they experience deep love for each other, but because they believe that God loves each of them with an infinite love and has called them to each other to be living witnesses of that love" (176).
"Loving one another is not clinging to one another so as to be safe in a hostile world, but living together in such a way that everyone will recognize us as people who make God's love visible to the world" (178).
"One of the tragedies of our life is that we keep forgetting who we are and waste a lot of time and energy to prove what doesn't need to be proved. We are God's beloved daughters and sons, not because we have proven ourselves worthy of God's love, but because God freely chose us. 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" (191-2).
"Without prayer, we become deaf to the voice of love and become confused by the many competing voices asking for our attention" (192-3).
"Our life is a short opportunity to say 'yes' to God's love. Our death is a full coming home to that love" (198).
“Prayer is the discipline of the moment. When we pray, we enter into the presence of God whose name is God-with-us. To pray is to listen attentively to the One who addresses us here and now. When we dare to trust that we are never alone but that God is always with us, always cares for us, and always speaks to us, then we can gradually detach ourselves from the voices that make us guilty or anxious and thus allow ourselves to dwell in the present moment” (22).
“Often we are so restless and so unable to find inner quietude that we can’t wait to get busy again, thus avoiding the confrontation with the chaotic state of our minds and hearts” (24).
“The great paradox of the spiritual life is, indeed, that the most personal is most universal, that the most intimate is most communal, and that the most contemplative is most active” (28).
“Whatever we may think or say about God, when we are not joyful, our thoughts and words cannot bear fruit…Joy is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing— sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death— can take that love away” (30).
“While optimism makes us live as if someday soon things will go better for us, hope frees us from the need to predict the future and allows us to live in the present, with the deep trust that God will never leave us alone but will fulfill the deepest desires of our heart…When I trust deeply that today God is truly with me and holds me safe in a divine embrace, guiding every one of my steps, I can let go of my anxious need to know how tomorrow will look, or what will happen next month or next year. I can be fully where I am and pay attention to the many signs of God‘s love within and around me…When we trust profoundly that today is the day of the Lord and that tomorrow is safely hidden in God‘s love, our faces can relax, and we can smile back at the one who smiles at us” (41-2).
“While being so busy running my own life, I become oblivious to the gentle movements of the Spirit of God within me, pointing me in directions quite different from my own” (66).
“We spend countless hours making up our minds about others. An unceasing exchange of opinions about people close by or far away keeps us distracted and allows us to ignore the truth that we ourselves are the first ones who need a change of heart and probably the only ones whose heart we indeed can change” (78).
“To the degree that we embrace the truth that our identity is not rooted in our success, power, or popularity, but in God’s infinite love, to that degree can we let go of our need to judge” (81).
“The great mystery of the spiritual life—the life in God—is that we don’t have to wait for it as something that will happen later…It is the active presence of God at the center of my living—the movement of God’s Spirit within us— that gives us the eternal life” (91-2).
“do we really want our mind to become the garbage can of the world? Do we want our mind to be filled with things that confuse us, excited us, depress us, arouse us, repulse us, or attract us whether we think it is good for us or not? Do we want to let others decide what enters our mind and determines our thoughts and feelings?
“Clearly we do not, but it requires real discipline to let God and not the world be the Lord of our mind [and thus have our mind transformed from the garbage can of the world into a vase filled with good thoughts]” (93-4).
“Fatalism is the attitude that makes us live as passive victims of exterior circumstances beyond our control.
“The opposite of fatalism is faith. Faith is the deep trust that God‘s love is stronger than all the anonymous powers of the world and can transform us from victims of darkness into servants of light” (105).
“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 my whole attention” (127).
“Compassion, as a downward movement toward solidarity instead of an upward movement toward popularity, does not require heroic gestures or a sensational turnaround. In fact, the compassionate life is mostly hidden in the ordinariness of everyday living…The question that truly counts is not whether we imitate Mother Teresa, but whether we are open to the many little sufferings of those with whom we share our life” (142-3).
"To leave 'home,' whether it was a good home or a bad home, is one of the greatest spiritual challenges of our life" (158).
"Only God is the father and mother who can love us as we need and want to be loved. This belief, when strongly held, can free us, not only to forgive our parents, but also to let our children forgive us" (165).
"The stronger our expectation that another human being will fulfill our deepest desires, the greater the pain is when we are confronted with the limitations of human relationships. And our need for intimacy easily turns into a demand" (173-4).
"a man and a woman come together for life, not just because they experience deep love for each other, but because they believe that God loves each of them with an infinite love and has called them to each other to be living witnesses of that love" (176).
"Loving one another is not clinging to one another so as to be safe in a hostile world, but living together in such a way that everyone will recognize us as people who make God's love visible to the world" (178).
"One of the tragedies of our life is that we keep forgetting who we are and waste a lot of time and energy to prove what doesn't need to be proved. We are God's beloved daughters and sons, not because we have proven ourselves worthy of God's love, but because God freely chose us. 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" (191-2).
"Without prayer, we become deaf to the voice of love and become confused by the many competing voices asking for our attention" (192-3).
"Our life is a short opportunity to say 'yes' to God's love. Our death is a full coming home to that love" (198).
May 22, 2017
Father Nouwen is wise and gentle with his Godly musings. The chapter on compassion was original in thought to me. I will need to go back over that again and ponder. Some of the book felt a little disjointed.
He emphasizes something that I know to be true: our God is a personal God who knows us intimately and wants to be our lover and friend.
He emphasizes something that I know to be true: our God is a personal God who knows us intimately and wants to be our lover and friend.
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