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The Heart of Henri Nouwen: His Words of Blessing

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'The Heart of Henri Nouwen' is a wonderful little book. It's the kind of book that I keep with me every day. I read it as I would a meditation or a 'thoughts-in-solitude' type of text. For me, it is for reflection, soul-making, soul-mending, and very healing. It's 'spiritual' in the sense that it connects our normal living -- and its attendant emotions -- with purpose and with vision. It constantly reminds me, whatever my day is like, to look at the following question directly in the mirror: "What kind of a person do you want to be?" Tough question, but I cannot go through life without wanting integrity in my answer.

This slight book serves as an excellent introduction to the heart and mind of one of the greatest spiritual writers of the 20th century. Nouwen writes extensively of how fragile and frail human hearts can be prepared to share the immensity and power of the heart of God. This work cuts and pastes the densest, most potent passages from more than 40 works. While it is atavistically incorrect to ever read only bits and pieces of any writer's oeuvre, without proper contextuality, the quoted material here well serves its purpose to entice and provoke further reading explorations. Any human being trying to cope with the mundane, but evermore exacerbating realities of contemporary existence will find much comfort, solace, and wisdom here. Although never precisely considered part of the creation spirituality theological cadre, Nouwen's work fits nicely within those paradigms and even quietly rebukes traditional fall/redemption thinking. The best of beautiful writing from a beautiful mind and heart.