Henri Nouwen
Dutch Catholic priest, professor, psychologist, and spiritual writer whose books — including The Wounded Healer (1972), The Return of the Prodigal Son (1992), Life of the Beloved, In the Name of Jesus, Reaching Out, and Out of Solitude — have sold more than seven million copies and are taught widely across denominational lines as foundational texts of pastoral and contemplative Christianity. Born 1932 in Nijkerk, ordained in 1957, Nouwen taught at the Menninger Foundation, Notre Dame, Yale, and Harvard before leaving academia in 1986 to live as pastor in residence at L'Arche Daybreak — a community for adults with intellectual disabilities near Toronto — where he remained until his death in 1996. His writing turns repeatedly to a small set of themes: belovedness as the foundation of identity, brokenness as the doorway to communion, hospitality as the heart of Christian practice, and downward mobility as the shape of a Christ-following life.
115
quotes in library
Quotes by Henri Nouwen
115 quotes“Compassion requires us to be weak with the weak, vulnerable with the vulnerable, and powerless with the powerless.”
compassionCompassion
“Compassion means full immersion in the condition of being human.”
compassionCompassion
“Hospitality is the creation of a free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy.”
hospitalityReaching Out
“It is not just about hosting people. It is about creating spaciousness.”
hospitalityReaching Out
“Hospitality is the heart of Christian practice.”
hospitalityReaching Out
“Let me see your face, hear your voice, walk with you.”
faceOut of Solitude
“This is the simplest of prayers and the most needed.”
prayerOut of Solitude
“You are not what is wrong with you.”
identityThe Inner Voice of Love
“You are loved beyond what is wrong.”
loveThe Inner Voice of Love
“That love is the foundation of all healing.”
loveThe Inner Voice of Love
“Care is, in the first place, paying attention.”
careOut of Solitude
“To care for one another is to attend to one another.”
careOut of Solitude
“Most of what we call problems would dissolve if we attended to one another.”
problemsOut of Solitude
“My deepest vocation is to be a witness to the glimpses of God I have been allowed to catch.”
vocationShow Me the Way
“Each of us has glimpses.”
glimpsesShow Me the Way
“Each of us has been allowed to see something.”
seeingShow Me the Way
“Bear witness to what you have seen.”
witnessShow Me the Way
“That is your contribution to the human family.”
contributionShow Me the Way
“At L'Arche I learned more from the assistants and the core members than from any university I ever attended.”
larcheIn the Name of Jesus
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