room for waiting

 

“A waiting person is a patient person.

The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are

and live the situation out to the full in the belief

that something hidden there will manifest itself to us.”

― Henri J.M. Nouwen

this photo of a mural at a community health center waiting room from the west side of Chicago is from here.

 

“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.”

- Henri Nouwen

photo of Knowth Tumulus in Ireland

discipline

“In the spiritual life, the word 'discipline' means 'the effort

to create some space in which God can act'.

Discipline means to prevent everything in your life

from being filled up.

Discipline means that somewhere you're not occupied,

and certainly not preoccupied…

to create that space in which something can happen

that you hadn't planned or counted on.”

-Henri Nouwen

so discipline doesn’t have to be some harsh attempt

at getting it right?  good news!

photo taken in Kona – I loved the rock walls- so sacred

offer a space

"We cannot change the world by a new plan, project or idea.

We cannot even change other people

by our convictions, stories, advice & proposals,

but we can offer a space where people are encouraged to disarm themselves,

lay aside their occupations and preoccupations and listen with attention & care

to the voices speaking in their own center." - Henry Nouwen

This is an excellent definition of spiritual direction,

and it's true, we can all offer a space to listen to one another.

photo of the fountain in my backyard

Love vs. Death

"The resurrection doesn't answer any

of our curious questions about life after death,

Such as how will it be? How will it look?

But it does reveal to us that, indeed,

LOVE is stronger than DEATH.

After that revelation, we must remain silent,

leave the whys, where, hows, and whens behind,

and simply trust."

-Henri Nouwen, Our Greatest Gift

window art from  here

we are all ministers

"Ministry is entering with our Human Brokenness into communion with others

and spreading a word of HOPE. This hope is not based on any Power to Solve

the problems of those with whom we live, but on the LOVE of GOD,

which becomes VISIBLE when we let go of our FEARS of being out of Control

and enter into his PRESENCE in a shared Confession of Weakness.

This is a HARD VOCATION. It goes against the grain of our Need for

self-affirmation, self-fulfillment, and self-realization.

It is a call to true HUMILITY."

-Henri Nouwen

.and yes, this is what each & every one of us is called to

each & every day, with God's help.

artwork by Sieger Koder, found here

refine our sight

"In this crazy world,

there's an enormous distinction

between good times and bad,

between sorrow and joy.

But in the eyes of God, they're never separated.

Where there is pain, there is healing.

Where there is mourning there is dancing.

Where there is poverty, there is the kingdom."

-Henri Nouwen

Lord, refine our sight in these difficult days.

Show us where we can let go of fear.

Guide us into new ways of loving one another.



befriending sorrow

“One very important way to befriend our sorrow

is to take it out of its isolation,

and share it with someone who can receive it.”

Henri Nouwen (Here and Now, page 45)

this quote was snitched in broad daylight from the Henri Nouwen website

i wish i knew who took this photo so i could credit them. i love it.

Nouwen prayer

Teach Me to Pray

by Henri Nouwen

Every day I see again that only you can teach me to pray,

only you can set my heart at rest.

Only you can let me dwell in your presence.

No book, no concept or theory will ever bring me close to you

unless you yourself are the one who lets them become the doors to you.

But Lord, let me at least remain open to your initiative.

Let me wait patiently and attentively for the hour when you will come

and break through the walls I have erected.

Create new doors.

Teach me, O Lord, to pray.

The photo both intrigues and repels me.

If Jesus broke through a wall in this manner,

his first words, after picking me up from the floor,
would definitely have to be,

"Fear Not"

a new kind of thinking

"You don't think your way into a new kind of living.

You live your way into a new kind of thinking."

— Henri J.M. Nouwen

photo of labyrinth on Irish beach

failte = welcome

what we have in common

"Compassion - which means, literally, "to suffer with" - is the way to the truth

that we are most ourselves, not when we differ from others,

but when we are the same. Indeed, the main spiritual question is not,

"What difference do you make?" but

"What do you have in common?"

It is not "excelling" but "serving" that makes us most human.

It is not proving ourselves to be better than others

but confessing to be just like others

that is the way to healing and reconciliation.

Compassion, to be with others when and where they suffer

and to willingly enter into a fellowship of the weak,

is God's way to justice and peace among people.

Is this possible? Yes, it is,

but only when we dare to live the radical faith

that we do not have to compete for love,

but that love is freely given to us

by the One who calls us to compassion."

- Henri Nouwen

quoted in the wonderful book

'Befriending Death: Henri Nouwen and a Spirituality of Dying'

by Michelle O'Rourke

p. 112

Artwork from here:

Flow of Compassion

2006 Finalist

Jessica Escobedo, Age 13

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

grief/brokenness

Texas Rose Mosaic by Sarah Zirkel

"To grieve is to allow our losses to tear apart feelings
of security and safety

and lead us to the painful truth of our brokenness."

Henri Nouwen

breathtaking art from here

Hope by Henri Nouwen

Hope means to keep living

amid desperation

and to keep humming

in the darkness.

Hoping is knowing that there is love,

it is trust in tomorrow

it is falling asleep

and waking again

when the sun rises.

In the midst of a gale at sea,

it is to discover land.

In the eyes of another

It is to see that he understands you.

....

As long as there is still hope

There will also be prayer.

....

And God will be holding you

in his hands.

Henri Nouwen - With Open Hands

Advent Prayer by Henri Nouwen

Lord Jesus, master of both the light and the darkness,

send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.

We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.

We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us.

We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom.

We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence.

We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light.

To you we say, "Come Lord Jesus!"  Amen.

from the Catholic Family Prayer Book, published by Our Sunday Visitor, 2001.

living your wounds through

"You have been wounded
in many ways.
The more you open yourself
to being healed,
the more you will discover
how deep your wounds are...
The great challenge is
living your wounds through
instead of thinking them through...
Your heart is greater than
your wounds."

Henri Nouwen - "The Inner Voice of Love"

photo from here

prayer is living

"Prayer leads you to see new paths and to hear new melodies in the air. Prayer is the breath of your life which gives you freedom to go and stay where you wish and to find the many signs which point out the way to a new land. Praying is not simply some necessary compartment in the daily schedule of a Christian or a source of support in time of need, nor is it restricted to Sunday morning, or as a frame to surround mealtimes. Praying is living."

Henri Nouwen, "With Open Hands", p. 157

photo by my friend, Jane Manzer

Blue Forest

Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.

We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.

We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us.

We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom.

We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence.
We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light.

To you we say, “Come Lord Jesus!” - Henri Nouwen

Good News

"How can I announce the good news of reconciliation unless I am that?

Henri Nouwen
photo - Reconciliation Statue in the ruins at Coventry Gardens -
a copy of which can be found in the Peace Park at Hiroshima

Election Results

"Compassion
is daring to acknowledge
our mutual destiny
so that we might
move forward
all together
into the land which
God is showing us."

Henri Nouwen -
"With Open Hands" p.112

What makes us Somebodies?

When we enter into solitude to be alone with God,
we quickly discover how dependent we are.
Without the many distractions of our daily lives,
we feel anxious and tense.
When nobody speaks to us,
calls on us,
or needs our help,
we start feeling like nobodies.
Then we begin wondering whether we are
useful, valuable, or significant.
Our tendency is to leave this fearful solitude quickly
and get busy again to reassure ourselves that we are
'somebodies'.
But that is a temptation,
because what makes us somebodies
is not other people's responses to us
but God's eternal love for us."

To claim the truth of ourselves
we have to cling to our God in solitude
as to the One who makes us who we are.

Henri Nouwen