Every time I take a step in the direction of generosity, I know I am moving from fear to love.
HENRI NOUWENIt 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.
More Henri Nouwen Quotes
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Life is just a little opportunity for you during a few years to say, “I love you, too.”
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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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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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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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Your life is not going to be easy, and it should not be easy. It ought to be hard. It ought to be radical; it ought to be restless; it ought to lead you to places you’d rather not go.
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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 only feelings that do not heal are the ones you hide.
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Those who keep speaking about the sun while walking under a cloudy sky are messengers of hope, the true saints of our day.
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Our greatest fulfillment lies in giving ourselves to others.
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In a world so torn apart by rivalry, anger, and hatred, we have the privileged vocation to be living signs of a love that can bridge all divisions and heal all wounds.
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Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place.
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Joy is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved.
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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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Our life is a time in which sadness and joy kiss each other at every moment.
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My whole life I have been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted, until I discovered that my interruptions were my work.
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The great illusion of leadership is to think that man can be led out of the desert by someone who has never been there.
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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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Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.
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The greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity or power, but self-rejection.
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I often wonder if my knowledge about God has not become my greatest stumbling block to my knowledge of God.
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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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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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Prayer is first of all listening to God. It’s openness. God is always speaking; he’s always doing something.
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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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Forgiveness changes the way we remember.
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The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing that is a friend who cares.
HENRI NOUWEN