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The spiritual life is a life beyond moods. It is a life in which we choose joy and do not allow ourselves to become victims of passing feelings of happiness or depression.

Henri Nouwen

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Henri Nouwen
Age: 64 †
Born: 1932
Born: January 24
Died: 1996
Died: September 21
Catholic Priest
Presbyter
Priest
Psychologist
Theologian
University Teacher
Writer
Henri Jozef Machiel Nouwen
Beyond
Victims
Joy
Passings
Happiness
Depression
Spiritual
Mood
Feelings
Victim
Become
Passing
Life
Allow
Choose
Moods

More quotes by Henri Nouwen

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Often we come home from a sharing session with a feeling that something precious has been taken away from us or that holy ground has been trodden upon.
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One of the most beautiful ways for spiritual formation to take place is to let your insecurity lead you closer to the Lord. Natural hypersensitivity can become an asset it makes you aware of your need to be with people and it allows you to be more willing to look at their needs.
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Solitude is the place where we can connect with profound bonds that are deeper than the emergency bonds of fear and anger.
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In their poverty, the mentally handicapped reveal God to us and hold us close to the gospel.
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The spiritual life is a reaching out to our innermost self, to our fellow human and to our God.
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The art of living is to enjoy what we can see and not complain about what remains in the dark.
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I choose L'Arche L'Arche chooses me. I would be dead if I weren't here. I need people to love me and care for me.
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I've had a tremendous problem with depression in my life. I'd rather not talk about it, because it's over. But depression is real.
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To receive spiritual direction is to recognize that God does not solve our problems or answer all our questions, but leads us closer to the mystery of our existence where all questions cease.
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People who pray stand receptive before the world. They no longer grab but caress, they no longer bite but kiss, they no longer examine but admire.
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In solitude we become aware that our worth is not the same as our usefulness.
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You don't think your way into a new kind of living. You live your way into a new kind of thinking.
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A life without a lonely place, that is, without a quiet center, becomes destructive.
Henri Nouwen
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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
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Our lives are unique stones in the mosaic of human existence -- priceless and irreplaceable.
Henri Nouwen
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Life is not entertainment. Life is not distraction.
Henri Nouwen
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So I am praying while not knowing how to pray. I am resting while feeling restless, at peace while tempted, safe while still anxious, surrounded by a cloud of light while still in darkness, in love while still doubting.
Henri Nouwen
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Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the Beloved.
Henri Nouwen
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The people who most affected me were the ones who got right in there with me, who cried with me, but who also had a certain authority, who dared to say what needed saying.
Henri Nouwen
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I speak of God's love and grace and redemption and freedom, but when I say in the context of this community, it is heard differently. To be with people so obviously broken, so obviously handicapped, and here to discover real joy and peace - that makes the Word of God come alive.
Henri Nouwen