The main question is not, how can we hide our wounds but how can we put our woundedness in service to others.
HENRI NOUWENHospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place.
More Henri Nouwen Quotes
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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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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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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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Every time there are losses, there are choices to be made. You choose to live your losses as passages to anger, blame, hatred, depression and resentment, or you choose to let these losses be passages to something new, something wider, and deeper.
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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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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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Forgiveness changes the way we remember.
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One of the tragedies of our life is that we keep forgetting who we are.
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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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Spiritual maturity is not knowing what to do with your whole life, but just knowing what to do next.
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Compassion can never coexist with judgement because judgement creates the distance, the distinction, which prevents us from really being with the other.
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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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When we are crushed like grapes, we cannot think of the wine we will become.
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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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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