The wound of our loneliness is indeed deep. Maybe we had forgotten it, since there were so many distractions. But our failure to change the world with our good intentions and sincere actions and our undesired displacement to the edges of life have made us aware that the wound is still there.
Quotes
Quotes on Loneliness from The Wounded Healer (Henry Nouwen)
The Christian way of life does not take away our loneliness; it protects and cherishes it as a precious gift. Sometimes it seems as if we do everything possible to avoid the painful confrontation with our basic human loneliness, and allow ourselves to be trapped by false gods promising immediate satisfaction and quick relief… The […]
Quotes from The Wounded Healer (Henry Nouwen)
Many will put their trust in him who went all the way, out of concern for just one of them. The remark, “He really cares for us” is often illustrated by stories which show that forgetting the many for the one is a sign of true leadership… Few listen to a sermon which is intended […]
Quotes from The Wounded Healer (Henry Nouwen)
If there is any posture that disturbs a suffering man or woman, it is aloofness. The tragedy of Christian life is that many who are in great need, many who seek an attentive ear, a word of support, a forgiving embrace, a firm hand, a tender smile, or even a stuttering confession of inability to […]
Quotes from The Wounded Healer (Henry Nouwen)
It is not the task of the Christian leader to go around nervously trying to redeem people, to save them at the last minute, to put them on the right track. For we are redeemed once and for all. The Christian leader is called to help others affirm this great news, and to make visible […]
Quotes from The Wounded Healer (Henry Nouwen)
In this context preaching means more than handing over a tradition; it is rather the careful and sensitive articulation of what is happening in the community so that those who listen can say: “You say what I suspected, you express what I vaguely felt, you bring to the fore what I fearfully kept in the […]