Henri Nouwen
Henri Nouwen
Henri Jozef Machiel Nouwen,was a Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer and theologian. His interests were rooted primarily in psychology, pastoral ministry, spirituality, social justice and community. Over the course of his life, Nouwen was heavily influenced by the work of Anton Boisen, Thomas Merton, Rembrandt, Vincent van Gogh and Jean Vanier...
NationalityDutch
ProfessionClergyman
Date of Birth24 January 1932
rebel hardship
To learn patience is not to rebel against every hardship.
prayer thinking involved
As we are involved in unceasing thinking, so we are called to unceasing prayer.
irrelevance leader world
The leaders of the future will be those who dare to claim their irrelevance in the contemporary world as a divine vocation...
prayer existence humans
Prayer is not a pious decoration of life but the breath of human existence.
prayer community clubs
Prayer is not one of the many things the community does. Rather, it is its very beingBut when prayer is no longer its primary concern, and when its many activities are no longer seen and experienced as part of prayer itself, the community quickly degenerates into a club with a common cause but no common vocation.
desire fists resistance
The resistance to praying is like the resistance of tightly clenched fists. This image shows a tension, a desire to cling tightly to yourself, a greediness which betrays fear.
distance horizon way
Intimacy is not a happy medium. It is a way of being in which the tension between distance and closeness is dissolved and a new horizon appears. Intimacy is beyond fear.
entertainment life-is distraction
Life is not entertainment. Life is not distraction.
fighting world university
The university has become a place that prepares you for the fights in the world.
hard-times time-keeping community
Solitude, community, and ministry are certainly not just for celibates! Celibates also have a hard time keeping up.
meals tables good-family
Good families always ritualize the table. You can say, "This is a Christmas meal; this is a birthday meal."