Quote

It is hard to bear with people who stand still along the way, lose heart, and seek their happiness in little pleasures which they cling to...You feel sad about all that self-indulgence and self-satisfaction, for you know with an indestructible certainty that something greater is coming.

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
Feels
Happiness
Bears
Indestructible
Heart
Stills
Along
Cling
Something
Still
Coming
Indulgence
Way
Littles
Lose
Pleasures
People
Little
Loses
Certainty
Self
Stand
Satisfaction
Hard
Pleasure
Bear
Feel
Greater
Seek

More quotes by Henri Nouwen

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The church is not an institution forcing us to follow rules but a community inviting us to still our hunger and thirst at its table.
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[...]when two people have become present to each other, the waiting of one must be able to cross the narrow line between the living or dying of the other.
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Our glory is hidden in our pain, if we allow God to bring the gift of himself in our experience of it.
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Do not tell everyone your story. You will only end up feeling more rejected. People cannot give you what you long for in your heart. The more you expect from people's response to your experience of abandonment, the more you will feel exposed to ridicule.
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People with handicaps teach me that being is more important than doing, the heart is more important than the mind, and caring together is better than caring alone.
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If you meet God in solitude, you discover the God you meet is the God who embraces all people.
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Forgiveness means that I continually am willing to forgive the other person for not being God — for not fulfilling all my needs. I, too, must ask forgiveness for not being able to fulfill other people's needs. … The interesting thing is that when you can forgive people for not being God, then you can celebrate that they are a reflection of God.
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Reading with children is an enormous gift to them. It's a great honor to invite children to read with adults.
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Asking people for money is giving them the opportunity to put their resources at the disposal of the Kingdom.
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Is my growing old making me any closer to Christ? Am I only getting older or am I getting more godly?
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When I could no longer cling to my normal supports I discovered that true support and real safety lie far beyond the structures of our world.
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The journey from teaching about love to allowing myself to be loved proved much longer than I realised.
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To give someone a blessing is the most significant affirmation we can offer.
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Resentment and gratitude cannot coexist, since resentment blocks the perception and experience of life as a gift. My resentment tells me that I don't receive what I deserve. It always manifests itself in envy.
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In our own woundedness, we can become sources of life for others.
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When we keep claiming the light, we will find ourselves becoming more and more radiant.
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Which questions guide our lives? Which questions do we make our own? Which questions deserve our undivided and full personal commitment? Finding the right questions is crucial to finding the answers.
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To be a Christian who is willing to travel with Christ on his downward road requires being willing to detach oneself constantly from any need to be relevant, and to trust ever more deeply the Word of God.
Henri Nouwen
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The evangelical movement has become just a bit victimized by a success-oriented culture, wanting the church - like the corporation - to be successful.
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A sense of solitude is one of the most beautiful things that parents can give a child. It doesn't mean leaving the child alone, but it does mean creating safe spaces where the child can be with other people. It does mean directing their attention to God.
Henri Nouwen