The real enemies of our life are the ‘oughts’ and the ‘ifs.’ They pull us backward into the unalterable past and forward into the unpredictable future. But real life takes place in the here and now. Henri Nouwen Read Quote
Fear is the great enemy of intimacy. Fear makes us run away from each other or cling to each other but does not create true intimacy. Henri Nouwen Read Quote
Spiritual identity means we are not what we do or what people say about us. And we are not what we have. We are the beloved daughters and sons of God. Henri Nouwen Read Quote
Solitude is very different from a ‘time-out’ from our busy lives. Solitude is the very ground from which community grows. Whenever we pray alone, study, read, write, or simply spend quiet time away from the places where we interact with each other directly, we are potentially opened for a deeper intimacy with each other. Henri Nouwen Read Quote
Peacemaking is a full-time vocation that includes each member of God’s people. Henri Nouwen Read Quote
The journey from teaching about love to allowing myself to be loved proved much longer than I realised. Henri Nouwen Read Quote
The spiritual life is not a life before, after, or beyond our everyday existence. No, the spiritual life can only be real when it is lived in the midst of the pains and joys of the here and now. Henri Nouwen Read Quote
Intimacy is not a happy medium. It is a way of being in which the tension between distance and closeness is dissolved and a new horizon appears. Intimacy is beyond fear. Henri Nouwen Read Quote
Jesus didn’t say, ‘Blessed are those who care for the poor.’ He said, ‘Blessed are we where we are poor, where we are broken.’ It is there that God loves us deeply and pulls us into deeper communion with himself. Henri Nouwen Read Quote
