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.
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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Our life is a time in which sadness and joy kiss each other at every moment.
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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.
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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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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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Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the Beloved.
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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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Trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand.
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We are all healers who can reach out and offer health, and we are all patients in constant need of help.
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One of the tragedies of our life is that we keep forgetting who we are.
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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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This brief lifetime is my opportunity to receive love, deepen love, grow in love, and give love.
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Our greatest fulfillment lies in giving ourselves to others.
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Forgiveness changes the way we remember.
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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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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.
HENRI NOUWEN