Quotes from Henri Nouwen
I often wonder if my knowledge about God has not become my greatest stumbling block to my knowledge of God.
- Henri Nouwen
Community is first of all a quality of the heart. It grows from the spiritual knowledge that we are alive not for ourselves but for one another.
- Henri Nouwen
Learning to weep, learning to keep vigil, learning to wait for the dawn. Perhaps this is what it means to be human.
- Henri Nouwen
The Lord is coming, always coming. When you have ears to hear and eyes to see, you will recognize him at any moment of your life. Life is Advent; life is recognizing the coming of the Lord
- Henri Nouwen
Too many of us are lonely ministers practicing a lonely ministry.
- Henri Nouwen
The journey from teaching about love to allowing myself to be loved proved much longer than I realised.
- Henri Nouwen
Solitude is the furnace of transformation. Without solitude we remain victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self.
- Henri Nouwen
Our life is...a time in which sadness and joy kiss each other at every moment.
- Henri Nouwen
In our own woundedness, we can become sources of life for others.
- Henri Nouwen
If I were to let my life be taken over by what is urgent, I might very well never get around to what is essential.
- Henri Nouwen
We just have to recognize life for what it is: a gift to be grateful for, not a property to cling to, hoard, or defend.
- Henri Nouwen
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 Nouwen