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 NOUWENGod, help me to see others not as enemies or as ungodly but rather as thirsty people. And give me the courage and compassion to offer your Living Water, which alone quenches deep thirst.
More Henri Nouwen Quotes
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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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Every time I take a step in the direction of generosity, I know I am moving from fear to love.
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If you feel loved, you can do a thousand things. If you feel rejected, everything becomes a problem.
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Joy is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved.
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The church is not an institution forcing us to follow rules but a community inviting us to still our hunger and thirst at its table.
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We need to be angels for each other, to give each other strength and consolation. Because only when we fully realize that the cup of life is not only a cup of sorrow but also a cup of joy will we be able to drink it.
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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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You have to listen to the one who calls you beloved. That has to be affirmed over and over again. That is prayer – listening to the voice of the one who calls you “the beloved.”
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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.
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The only feelings that do not heal are the ones you hide.
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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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I feel strongly that the God we meet in solitude is always the God who calls us to community.
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Our greatest fulfillment lies in giving ourselves to others.
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Keep a space where God can let something totally new take place.
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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.
HENRI NOUWEN