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FOREWORD BY RICHARD ROHR
At one of the lowest points in his life, Henri Nouwen gave a series of lectures on the importance of following Jesus in an age of anxiety. Drawing on those talks, this new book reveals the deep turmoil and sometimes chaotic inner life of a man who has become an icon of compassion and vulnerability – for Christians and non-Christians alike.
Nouwen writes eloquently about calling and purpose, fear and hope. He explains why, with so many choices available to twenty-first-century seekers, the greatest reward for those looking for spiritual direction is rediscovering Jesus’ teaching on love. Along the way, Nouwen offers warm, discerning, practicable habits to help readers navigate the narrow, sometimes arduous, but ultimately fulfilling road of conviction and faith.
‘Timeless wisdom for life from one of the great spiritual masters of our age.’
James Martin
‘Few writers have influenced me more than Henri Nouwen. These newly published lectures offer fresh and timely insights amid the familiar cadences of Nouwen’s prose, written from a place of deep anxiety but even deeper hope.’
John Inazu, Professor of Political Science, Washington University in St. Louis, author of Confident Pluralism
‘For Christians interested in Nouwen, this collection of his writings will serve as a fine introduction.’
Publishers Weekly
Audible Audio
First published September 17, 2019
When we say to somebody, “I love you,” that really means: “You are a window in which I can get a glimpse of the infinite window of God.” If we say, “I really love you,” it doesn’t mean that the person gives us all that we need. It means, “You bring me in touch with the God that I have already met in the depth of my heart. You are sounding through to me the love that I have in my heart. I am sounding through for you the love you already recognize in your heart.”
This is really what all intimate relationships are about. Love between a man and a woman, between a man and a man, between a woman and a woman, and between people in communities, is love among persons who are sounding through God’s infinite, unlimited, unconditional love. We broken, limited persons are windows of the unbroken, unlimited, unconditional, perfect love of God.
What we have to start sensing is that, in the spiritual life, joy is embracing sorrow and happiness, pain and pleasure. It is deeper, fuller. It is more. It is something that remains with us. It is something of God that is very profound. It is something we can experience even when we are in touch with very painful things in our lives. If there is anything the church wants to teach us, it is that the joy of God can be with us always—in moments of sickness and moments of health, in moments of success and moments of failure, in moments of birth, in moments of death. The joy of God is never going to leave us.
Lord Jesus: I come to you to enter into the mystery of your way—the way of discipleship, the way that leads from the cross to new life. It is not an easy way, but it is a way of peace and joy. Help me to be here with a heart open to suffering, a mind open to understanding and a will ready to follow. There are many struggles—and I will always have many struggles—but with you, O Lord, I am living in the light. With you, O Lord, I am moving more and more toward life. With you, O Lord, I know I am safe. Let me celebrate my life in a spirit of gratitude: Grateful that I am here, and grateful you are my God. Amen.