“ Jesus didn't say, 'Blessed are those who care for the poor.' He said, 'Blessed are we where we are poor, where we are broken.' It is there that God loves us deeply and pulls us into deeper communion w… Henri Nouwen
“ The church itself is a spiritual director. It tries to connect your story with God's story. Just to be a true part of this community means you are being directed, you are being guided, you are being a… Henri Nouwen
“ In our production-oriented society, being busy, having an occupation, has become one of the main ways, if not the main way, of identifying ourselves. Without an occupation, not just our economic secur… Henri Nouwen
“ In solitude we discover that community is not a common ideology, but a response to a common call. Henri Nouwen
“ You are my Beloved, on you my favor rests.' It certainly is not easy to hear that voice in a world filled with voices that shout: 'You are no good, you are ugly; you are worthless; you are despicable,… Henri Nouwen
“ When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain a… Henri Nouwen
“ Solitude is the place where we can connect with profound bonds that are deeper than the emergency bonds of fear and anger. Henri Nouwen
“ Ministry is the least important thing. You cannot not minister if you are in communion with God and live in community. Henri Nouwen
“ 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. Henri Nouwen
“ The fruits of your labors may be reaped two generations from now. Trust, even when you don't see the results. Henri Nouwen
“ Waiting is a period of learning. The longer we wait, the more we hear about him for whom we are waiting. Henri Nouwen
“ When we have nothing to cling to as our own and cease thinking of ourselves as people who must defend privileges, we can open ourselves freely to others with the faithful expectation that our strength… Henri Nouwen
“ Solitude is very different from a 'time-out' from our busy lives. Solitude is the very ground from which community grows. Whenever we pray alone, study, read, write, or simply spend quiet time away fr… Henri Nouwen
“ The journey from teaching about love to allowing myself to be loved proved much longer than I realised. Henri Nouwen
“ The Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self. God loves us, not because of what we do or… Henri Nouwen
“ To be a Christian who is willing to travel with Christ on his downward road requires being willing to detach oneself constantly from any need to be relevant, and to trust ever more deeply the Word of… Henri Nouwen
“ 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. Henri Nouwen
