What is important is how well we love. God will make our Henri Nouwen More Quotes by Henri Nouwen More Quotes From Henri Nouwen We must ask ourselves how many times others would benefit more from our silence than from our words. Henri Nouwen our-wordsbenefitssilence No one person can fulfill all your needs. But the community can truly hold you. The community can let you experience the fact that, beyond your anguish, there are human hands that hold you and show you God's faithful love. Henri Nouwen faithfulcommunityhands Living in a community with very wounded people, I came to see that I had lived most of my life as a tightrope artist trying to walk on a high, thin cable from one tower to the other, always waiting for the applause when I had not fallen off and broken my leg. Henri Nouwen brokenartistpeople 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. Henri Nouwen resistancefistsdesire 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 new-horizonsdistanceway Just as people can watch spellbound a circus artist tumbling through the air in a phosphorized costume, so they can listen to a preacher who uses the Word of God to draw attention to himself. But a sensational preacher stimulates the senses and leaves the spirit untouched. Instead of being the way to God, his 'being different' gets in the way. Henri Nouwen artistairpeople People who pray stand receptive before the world. They no longer grab but caress, they no longer bite but kiss, they no longer examine but admire. Henri Nouwen kissingpeopleworld I am deeply convince that the necessity of prayer, and to pray unceasingly, is not as much based on our desire for God as on God's desire for us. It is God's passionate pursuit of us that calls us to prayer. Henri Nouwen passionateprayerdesire By giving words to these intimate experiences I can make my life available to others. Henri Nouwen availableintimategiving The beginning and the end of all Christian leadership is to give your life for others. Henri Nouwen endschristiangiving The Church is the body of Christ fashioned by baptism & the Eucharist. Henri Nouwen baptismchurchbody If fear is the great enemy of intimacy, love is its true friend. Henri Nouwen true-friendlove-isenemy 'How much longer will I live?'... Only one thing seems clear to me. Every day should be well-lived. What a simple truth! Still, it is worthy of my attention. Henri Nouwen simpleshouldattention Our inclination is to show our Lord only what we feel comfortable with. But the more we dare to reveal our whole trembling self to him, the more we will be able to sense that his love, which is perfect love, casts out all our fears. Henri Nouwen his-loveselfperfect ...we all want to hear stories, from the moment we are born to the moment we die. Stories connect our little lives with the world around us and help us discover who we are. Henri Nouwen storieswantworld Let's dare to enter into an intimate relationship with God without fear, trusting that we will receive love and always more love. Henri Nouwen intimate-relationship-with-goddareintimate-relationships Peacemaking is a full-time vocation that includes each member of God's people. Henri Nouwen vocationmemberspeople The central question is, Are the leaders of the future truly men and women of God, people with an ardent desire to dwell in God's presence, to listen to God's voice, to look at God's beauty, to touch God's incarnate Word and to taste fully God's infinite goodness. Henri Nouwen voicemenpeople 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. Henri Nouwen communityprayerdoe Our tendency is to run from the painful realities or try to change them as soon as possible. But cure without care makes us into rulers, controllers, manipulators. Henri Nouwen runningtryingreality
