For me the university has always been an ideal context for spiritual formation. I always felt that if you want to offer spiritual formation at the university, you can. Henri Nouwen More Quotes by Henri Nouwen More Quotes From Henri Nouwen This brief lifetime is my opportunity to receive love, deepen love, grow in love, and give love. Henri Nouwen deep-loveopportunitygiving Hope means to keep living amid desperation and to keep humming in the darkness. Henri Nouwen desperationdarknessmean Compassion requires us to be weak with the weak, vulnerable with the vulnerable, and powerless with the powerless. Compassion means full immersion in the condition of being human. Henri Nouwen vulnerablecompassionmean Life is precious. Not because it is unchangeable, like a diamond, but because it is vulnerable, like a little bird. To love life means to love its vulnerability, asking for care, attention, guidance, and support. Life and death are connected by vulnerability. The newborn child and the dying elder both remind us of the preciousness of our lives. Let's not forget the preciousness and vulnerability of life during the times we are powerful, successful, and popular. Henri Nouwen powerfulmeanchildren One of the tragedies of our life is that we keep forgetting who we are Henri Nouwen who-we-aretragedylife-is The art of living is to enjoy what we can see and not complain about what remains in the dark. When we are able to take the next step with trust that we will have enough light for the step that follows, we can walk through life with joy and be surprised at how far we go. Henri Nouwen lightdarkart Trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand. Henri Nouwen treasurelooks The joy that compassion brings is one of the best-kept secrets of humanity. It is a secret known only to a very few people, a secret that has to be rediscovered over and over again. Henri Nouwen best-kept-secretscompassionpeople Waiting time is not wasting time. Waiting patiently in expectation is the foundation of the spiritual life. Henri Nouwen spiritualexpectationswaiting 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 much advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand. Henri Nouwen painlovefriendship You have to dare to live through the pain and struggle. Acknowledge your anguish but do not let it pull you out of yourself. Hold on to your chosen direction, your discipline, your prayer, your work, your guides, and trust that one day love will have conquered enough of you that even the most fearful part will allow love to cast out all fear. Henri Nouwen painstruggleprayer Forgiveness is the name of love practiced among people who love poorly. The hard truth is that all people love poorly. We need to forgive and be forgiven every day, every hour increasingly. That is the great work of love among the fellowship of the weak that is the human family. Henri Nouwen forgivenessnamespeople Let’s not be afraid to look at everything that has brought us to where we are now and trust that we will soon see in it the guiding hand of a loving God. Henri Nouwen loving-godhandslooks Forgiveness changes the way we remember. Henri Nouwen rememberway When everything is dark, when we are surrounded by despairing voices, when we do not see any exits, then we can find salvation in a remembered love, a love which is not simply a recollection of a bygone past but a living force which sustains us in the present. Through memory, love transcends the limits of time and offers hope at any moment of our lives. Henri Nouwen darkgrievingmemories Gratitude as a discipline involves a conscious choice. I can choose to be grateful even when my emotions and feelings are still steeped in hurt and resentment. It is amazing how many occasions present themselves in which I can choose gratitude instead of a complaint. Henri Nouwen gratitudegratefulhurt Much violence is based on the illusion that life is a property to be defended and not to be shared. Henri Nouwen freedompeacelife I know that I have to move from speaking about Jesus to letting him speak within me, from thinking about Jesus to letting him think within me, from acting for and with Jesus to letting him act through me. I know the only way for me to see the world is to see it through his eyes. Henri Nouwen eyemovingjesus Why is it important that you are with God and God alone on the mountain top? It's important because it's the place in which you can listen to the voice of the One who calls you the beloved. To pray is to listen to the One who calls you 'my beloved daughter,' 'my beloved son,' 'my beloved child.' To pray is to let that voice speak to the center of your being, to your guts, and let that voice resound in your whole being. Henri Nouwen daughterprayerchildren If you feel loved, you can do a thousand things. If you feel rejected, everything becomes a problem. Henri Nouwen rejectedthousandproblem
