I feel the problems I have are meant to purify me. Henri Nouwen More Quotes by Henri Nouwen More Quotes From Henri Nouwen Ministry is a very confronting service. It does not allow people to live with illusions of immortality and wholeness. It keeps reminding others that they are mortal and broken, but also that with the recognition of this condition, liberation starts. Henri Nouwen brokendoepeople In 1970 I felt so lonely that I could not give; now I feel so joyful that giving seems easy. I hope that the day will come when the memory of my present joy will give me the strength to keep giving even when loneliness gnaws at my heart. Henri Nouwen lonelyhappinessmemories Precisely where I feel my poverty is where I discover God's blessing. Henri Nouwen povertyblessingfeels Although many, we might even say most, strangers in this world become easily the victim of a fearful hostility, it is possible for men and women and obligatory for Christians to offer an open and hospitable space where strangers can cast off their strangeness and become our fellow human beings. Henri Nouwen spacechristianmen The Christian leaders of the future have to be theologians, persons who know the heart of God and are trained - through prayer, study, and careful analysis - to manifest the divine event of God's saving work in the midst of the many seemingly random events of their time. Henri Nouwen prayerchristianheart Lord Jesus, master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas. We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence. We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light. To you we say, 'Come Lord Jesus!' Henri Nouwen lightheartjesus It is not easy to enter into the silence and reach beyond the many boisterous and demanding voices of our world and to discover there the small intimate voice saying: 'You are my Belived Child, on you my favor rests.' Henri Nouwen our-worldvoicechildren It is precisely in times of spiritual dryness that we must hold on to our spiritual discipline so that we can grow into new intimacy with God. Henri Nouwen intimacydisciplinespiritual Discipline in the spiritual life is the concentrated effort to create the space and time where God can become our master and where we can respond freely to God's guidance. Henri Nouwen disciplinespacespiritual The mystery of the spiritual life is that Jesus desires to meet us in the seclusion of our own heart, to make his love known to us there, to free us from our fears, and to make our own deepest self known to us Each time you let the love of God penetrate deeper into your heart it leads to a love of ourselves that enables us to give whole-hearted love to our fellow human beings. In the seclusion of our hearts we learn to know the hidden presence of God; and with that spiritual knowledge we can lead a loving life. Henri Nouwen spiritualheartjesus I have an increasing sense that the most important crisis of our time is spiritual and that we need places where people can grow stronger in the spirit and be able to integrate the emotional struggles in their spiritual journeys. Henri Nouwen journeystrugglespiritual The spiritual life is a reaching out to our innermost self, to our fellow human and to our God. Henri Nouwen selfspirituallife-is A prayerful life is not a life in which we say many prayers, but a life in which nothing, absolutely nothing, is done, said, or understood independently of him who is the origin and purpose of our existence. Henri Nouwen donepurposeprayer All the great spiritual leaders in history were people of hope. Abraham, Moses, Ruth, Mary, Jesus, Rumi, Gandhi, and Dorothy Day all lived with a promise in their hearts that guided them toward the future without the need to know exactly what it would look like. Let's live with hope. Henri Nouwen spiritualheartjesus The world is evil only when you become its slave. Henri Nouwen slaveevilworld O Lord, make this Lenten season different from the other ones. Henri Nouwen amendifferentlord We can be unhappy about many things, but jy can still be there... It is important to become aware that at every moment of our life we have an opportunity to choose joy... It is in the choice that our true freedom lies, and that freedom is, in the final analysis, the freedom to love. Henri Nouwen upliftingopportunitylying That is our vocation: to convert the enemy into a guest and to create the free and fearless space where brotherhood and sisterhood can be formed and fully experienced. Henri Nouwen sisterhoodfearlessspace We have to trust that our stories deserve to be told. We may discover that the better we tell our stories the better we will want to live them. Henri Nouwen storieswantmay Jesus says, "Keep your heart on the kingdom first. Keep your heart on God's love. Keep focused on the fact that you are God's beloved daughter or son. That's the truth of who you are. Henri Nouwen daughterheartjesus
