Solitude is the furnace of transformation. Without solitude we remain victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self.
HENRI NOUWENCompassion 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.
More Henri Nouwen Quotes
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For Jesus, there are no countries to be conquered, no ideologies to be imposed, no people to be dominated. There are only children, women and men to be loved.
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The spiritual life is a life beyond moods. It is a life in which we choose joy and do not allow ourselves to become victims of passing feelings of happiness or depression.
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Community means that people come together around the table, not just to feed their bodies, but to feed their minds and their relationships.
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Forgiveness changes the way we remember.
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Learning to weep, learning to keep vigil, learning to wait for the dawn. Perhaps this is what it means to be human.
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The main question is not, how can we hide our wounds but how can we put our woundedness in service to others.
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Much violence is based on the illusion that life is a property to be defended and not to be shared.
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Once we deeply trust that we ourselves are precious in God’s eyes, we are able to recognize the preciousness of others and their unique places in God’s heart.
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The fruits of your labors may be reaped two generations from now. Trust, even when you don’t see the results.
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Our humanity comes to its fullest bloom in giving. We become beautiful people when we give whatever we can give: a smile, a handshake, a kiss, an embrace, a word of love, a present, a part of our life…all of our life.
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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.
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You don’t think your way into a new kind of living. You live your way into a new kind of thinking.
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Somewhere we know that without silence words lose their meaning, that without listening speaking no longer heals, that without distance closeness cannot cure.
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Waiting time is not wasting time. Waiting patiently in expectation is the foundation of the spiritual life.
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Spiritual maturity is not knowing what to do with your whole life, but just knowing what to do next.
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Without solitude it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life. We do not take the spiritual life seriously if we do not set aside some time to be with God and listen to him.
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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.
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Prayer is first of all listening to God. It’s openness. God is always speaking; he’s always doing something.
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When we are crushed like grapes, we cannot think of the wine we will become.
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I trust in you, Lord, but keep helping me in my moments of distrust and doubt.
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Dare to love and to be a real friend. The love you give and receive is a reality that will lead you closer and closer to God as well as those whom God has given you to love.
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Keep a space where God can let something totally new take place.
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We cannot make it rain but we can see to it that the rain falls on prepared soil.
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Community is first of all a quality of the heart. It grows from the spiritual knowledge that we are alive not for ourselves but for one another.
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One of the tragedies of our life is that we keep forgetting who we are.
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It is in solitude that we discover that being is more important than having and that we are worth more than the results of our efforts. In solitude we discover that our life is not a possession to be defended but a gift to be shared.
HENRI NOUWEN