A Spirituality of Living: The Henri Nouwen Spirituality Series
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About this ebook
What's the secret to living a spiritual life? So much is happening in our world that we often get distracted and listen to voices other than the voice of God.
"If we want to be disciples of Jesus, we have to live a disciplined life," Nouwen asserts.
In the spiritual life, discipline requires conscious effort to keep every area in life from being filled up. It means creating space in our life for God to act and speak.
Nouwen identifies 3 essential disciplines for maintaining a life of discipleship: solitude, community, and ministry.
In solitude we learn to listen to God through prayer. We realize that we are beloved sons and daughters of God.
In community we learn to celebrate, as well as to practice vulnerability and forgiveness.
After we have experienced solitude and community, we feel God's call to minister to a hurting world. God empowers us to do amazing things.
This encouraging, insightful book will inspire you to practice solitude, community, and ministry. The result, Nouwen promises, is a fruitful, Spirit-filled life.
Henri J. M. Nouwen
Henri J. M. Nouwen (1932–1996) was the author of The Return of the Prodigal Son and many other bestsellers. He taught at Harvard, Yale, and Notre Dame universities before becoming the pastor of L’Arche Daybreak near Toronto, Canada, a community where people with and without intellectual disabilities assist each other and create a home together.
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Reviews for A Spirituality of Living
10 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A short devotional emphasizing discipline and discipleship within three aspects of spirituality: solitude, community, and ministry. Within solitude, communion and listening is explored; within community, the need for forgiveness and celebration; within ministry, gratitude and compassion. The author concludes with the story of the river and the need for surrendering to the greater power of God.The author provides many valuable insights. The suggestion that solitude--time alone in prayer, meditation, and study, time alone with God--must come before community and ministry is quite beneficial. The author's understanding of the need for community and to go out to minister while remaining part of said community is also profitable. A worthwhile and meaningful devotional resource.**--galley received as part of early review program.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Spirituality of Living by Henri J.M. NouwenBeautiful and encouraging are the best descriptors for this small but weighty volume. Using a couple Scripture passages, Henri Nouwen guides us peacefully to an understanding of how to live a fruitful life. He directs the reader to an understanding of where prayer and contemplation meet ministry. He helps the reader understand why "busy" and "success" leave a person empty and lonely. He explains our need to forgive and be forgiven for not being able to live up to expectations of love and friendship. He calls for a life/ministry of compassion and fruitfulness. This is a rich, densely packed, easily read gift from a very loving heart. Beyond recommendation, I encourage open, contemplative reading.
Book preview
A Spirituality of Living - Henri J. M. Nouwen
ABOUT THE HENRI NOUWEN SPIRITUALITY SERIES
H
enri Nouwen
sought the center of things. Never content to observe life from the sidelines, his approach to new experiences and relationships was full throttle. He looked at the world with the enthusiastic anticipation of a child, convinced that right in the midst of life he would find the God who loves us without conditions. Helping us recognize this God in the very fabric of our lives was the enduring passion of Henri’s life and ministry.
The Henri Nouwen Spirituality Series embodies Henri’s legacy of compassionate engagement with contemporary issues and concerns. Developed through a partnership between the Henri Nouwen Society and Upper Room Ministries, the Series offers fresh presentations of themes close to Henri’s heart. We hope each volume will help you discover that in your daily round God is closer than you think.
PREFACE
T
his book
is coherent, compelling, and contains one of the most important teachings that Henri Nouwen ever gave. It is the fruit of Henri Nouwen’s life as an academic, his deep engagement in the lives of countless people, his capacity for self-reflection, and his grounding in the life, spirit, and teaching of Jesus. It is not voluminous. While it probably did not take Henri a long time to write this text, it is the life wisdom of one of the spiritual masters of our time.
Each of us longs to live well, to experience love and belonging, to be connected to family and friends, and to make our unique contribution to others. But what path shall we take? What will lead us to the fulfillment of our deepest longings? In short, how shall we live? Henri offers us a spirituality that addresses these questions—a spirituality for living, a spirituality that has the potential to transform our lives.
I met Henri Nouwen in 1984 at Jean Vanier’s L’Arche community in Trosly-Breuil, France. Henri was on a sabbatical from Harvard University, living in L’Arche, and I was a worker-assistant in the same community. We began a friendship that deepened over the next decade as we both assumed leadership within L’Arche.
I knew, of course, that Henri was a teacher and a writer; he had degrees in psychology and theology and had positions at prestigious universities. But I discovered that he was also a lifelong student of himself and others. Our personal friendship and work in the context of L’Arche gave me an unexpected glimpse into Henri’s own exploration of life’s most important questions. And I was an eyewitness to his deep listening to others—people from all walks of life, of diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, both the weak and the strong.
Henri accompanied people who