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.
HENRI NOUWENPrayer is not what is done by us, but rather what is done by the Holy Spirit in us.
More Henri Nouwen Quotes
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Be surprised by joy, be surprised by the little flower that shows its beauty in the midst of a barren desert, and be surprised by the immense healing power that keeps bursting forth like springs of fresh water from the depth of our pain.
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Trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand.
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This brief lifetime is my opportunity to receive love, deepen love, grow in love, and give love.
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Hope means to keep living amid desperation and to keep humming in the darkness.
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We are called to be fruitful – not successful, not productive, not accomplished. Success comes from strength, stress, and human effort. Fruitfulness comes from vulnerability and the admission of our own weakness.
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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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I often wonder if my knowledge about God has not become my greatest stumbling block to my knowledge of God.
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Forgiveness changes the way we remember.
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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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We cannot make it rain but we can see to it that the rain falls on prepared soil.
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Dear God, I am so afraid to open my clenched fists! Who will I be when I have nothing left to hold on to? Who will I be when I stand before you with empty hands? Please help me to gradually open my hands and to discover that I am not what I own, but what you want to give me.
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Listening is a form of spiritual hospitality by which you invite strangers to become friends, to get to know their inner selves more fully, and even to dare to be silent with you.
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I feel strongly that the God we meet in solitude is always the God who calls us to community.
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I am the prodigal son every time I search for unconditional love where it cannot be found.
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Much violence is based on the illusion that life is a property to be defended and not to be shared.
HENRI NOUWEN






