Here & Now: Living in the Spirit [Hardcover]

Henri J. Nouwen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1994

The spiritual life is not a life then and there, but a life here and now. It is a life in which the spirit of God is revealed in the ordinary encounters of everyday. In this book of meditations, Henri Nouwen shows in a personal and insightful way that God is much closer to us than we ordinarily realize.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Nouwen, author of more than 30 books and pastor of L'Arche Daybreak Community Center in Toronto, here shares his spiritual journey. In simple meditations he gently and quietly presents small packets of wisdom, most of them already known to Nouwen readers. Among the less familiar, some insights inevitably are more illuminating than others. For instance, Nouwen reports asking Mother Theresa's advice concerning his many and complex problems. Her answer-"Well, when you spend one hour a day adoring your Lord and never do anything which is wrong... you will be fine"-completely cuts through his pretentious self-absorption and points directly to what is holy. While the present volume is hardly Nouwen at his best, it still has some fine moments and is a rewarding read.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Most touching is Nouwen's account of his near-fatal accident when hit by a car while walking over ice to help a handicapped boy. Nouwen goes through many emotions: real anger when gas station attendants refuse to drive him to the boy, a realization that the accident has given him a new pespective on his life, peace in the face of death but also the realization that "it was not love that kept me clinging to life but unresolved anger." When he does survive, he asks, "Why was I asked to return to a place where love is so ambiguous?" Brief but profound are his responses to the experience as he realizes God's call to deeper trust in God and to radical freedom. Nouwen's personal narrative is an important book for many people pondering the mystery of life and death, regardless of their religious commitments.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Crossroad; 1ST edition (August 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824514092
• ISBN-13: 978-0824514099
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #496,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Henri Nouwen was born in Holland in 1932 and ordained a Catholic priest in 1957. He obtained his doctorandus in psychology from Nijmegen University in the Netherlands and taught at Notre Dame, Yale, and Harvard. He experienced the monastic life with Trappist monks at the Abbey of the Genesee, lived among the poor in Latin America with the Maryknoll missioners, and was interested and active in numerous causes related to social justice. After a lifetime of seeking, Henri Nouwen finally found his home in Canada, as pastor of L'Arche Daybreak - where people with intellectual disabilities and their caregivers live together in community.

Henri Nouwen wrote over 40 books on spirituality and the spiritual life that have sold millions of copies and been translated into dozens of languages. His vision of spirituality was broad and inclusive, and his compassion embraced all of humankind.

He died in 1996. His work and his spirit live on.

Henri Nouwen pronounced his name "Henry Now-en." For more information on his life and work, please visit www.henrinouwen.org .

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Non-denominational gem of spirituality, faith and attitude., November 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Here & Now: Living in the Spirit (Hardcover)

Nouwen always grips the reader, but in HERE AND NOW, he compels you to visit the book again and again. The reader is challenged to periods of silent compassion, bringing to mind the friends who sat quietly with Job in his grief. (They were more helpful that way!) If you freqent airplanes, be sure to carry this book along and read the sections on worry, death and life-in-the-now; you will know incredible peace! Discover new meaning for the word "family," new attitudes about what you think you possess and what's really important, sources to guide you in spiritual maturity, and so much more! "We cannot live a spiritual life alone," to quote Nouwen, and we need books like this one to get us thinking and moving and better relating to each other. "Claim your belovedness" with help from this book!

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars God is much closer than we usually realize, look & see., April 11, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Here & Now: Living in the Spirit (Hardcover)

HERE AND NOW teaches us how to be more AWARE of the spiritual world we live in, yes, LIVE IN, today. Through small examples and insight, Nouwen gives instructions on how he is attuned to the world on a spiritual level. With practice, this is something we can all be aware of after seing how it is brought to our attention. Recommended for this book is a highlighter or marker, so when you encounter the numerous phrases that can be applied to your life, you can mark them for later reference and review. You will find yourself drawn to return to Nouwen books, because you will remember having felt so much affirmation for who you are while reading them. It is precisely this assurance that we seek in the spiritual life and Nouwen can describe it with such honest truthfulness it is almost uncomfortable at times. I rated this book a seven because I read it as a follow up to THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON by Henri Nouwen. If you have not read any Nouwen, this book is a good start, but if you want his masterpiece THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON is simply outstanding. Nouwen writes in such a simple approach, the voice is so approachable and easily connects with the reader from page one. It is important to notice the table of contents and to continue referencing yourself to it throughout the book. He states an organizational pattern to the overall structure of spiritual topics, broken down by subject. Which, by definition makes sense, however, given the subject matter of spiritual issues, emotional items and our own personal involvement with reading, thinking, and absorbing the information, we have a tendency to get lost in the material. The table of contents is a great reference to go back to as you are reading the book, it will aid in keeping yourself focused. It is guaranteed to touch your life in more ways than you may think. Nouwen has this way of making you feel as if he has been watching you, along with God, and knows all of your dark secrets, inner anxieties, fears, sufferings, dreams and ambitions

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Presents the tools for spirituality, September 18, 2000

By 

"fbruno777" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Here & Now: Living in the Spirit (Hardcover)

As a seminarian you are always searching for new and exciting ways to attain a deeper and more enriching level of spirituality. However, Henri Nouwen presents in this little book the basis for all spirituality. More than anything, he emphasizes that spirituality is what works for you. Furthermore, he reminds us that spirituality is not some far fetched ideal but brings us back to basics by making us realize that spirituality is found in our everyday realities. The tools for spirituality are not only theoretical, but also practical and need to be utilized in our lives as much as possible. Although a Catholic priest, as I hope to be some day, he presents a very objectified view of his experience.