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...

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...

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...

Quotes from The Wounded Healer (Henry Nouwen)

The first and most basic task required of the minister of tomorrow therefore is to clarify the immense confusion which can arise when people enter this new internal world. It is a painful fact indeed to realize how poorly prepared most Christian leaders prove to be...