Lifesigns: Intimacy, Fecundity, and Ecstasy in Christian Perspective [Paperback]

Henri Nouwen (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 23, 1989

"You cannot read Lifesigns and not be moved... This book will undoubtedly find its place among the classics of twentieth-century literature."
--Grand Rapids Press

The inspirational writings of Henri Nouwen have touched millions of readers all over the world. Much beloved as a lecturer, spiritual guide, and especially as an author, he communicated a profound message of hope that finds great resonance in today's world.

In his now classic work Lifesigns, he explores what he saw as three of the most vital aspects of his ministry. The first of these is the Gospel invitation to intimacy, which Nouwen describes as communion with God and relationship with others. The second is the call to fecundity, exhorting us to be open to a fruitful life of change and growth. And the third, the experience of ecstasy, extends the Gospel promise "that your joy may be full." Inspired by L'Arche, the worldwide network of communities where handicapped people and their assistants try to live together in the spirit of the Scriptures, Nouwen shows how these three elements offer the essential key to a life free from the domination of fear and filled instead with hope and love.

Editorial Reviews

Review

You cannot read Lifesigns and not be moved . . . This book will undoubtedly find its place among the classics of twentieth-century literature.” —Grand Rapids Press

From the Publisher

Best-selling author Henri Nouwen shows how three of the most vital elements of human life offer Christians the essential key to a life filled with hope and love.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Image; First Image Edition edition (January 23, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038523628X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385236287
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.5 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #224,706 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 .

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#60 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

#60 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A solid, inspiring book May 12, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Henri Nouwen has never written a bad book. If you're a fan of Fr. Nouwen, you'll again be touched by this simple, practical and penetrating book.

I especially liked the chapter on fecundity, a word not much used these days. He focuses on the difference between being fecund or "fruitful" vs. productive. In our post modern culture, we have the daily, desperate experience of living without bearing fruit. We are busy producing but little is life giving or fruitful. He has some good thoughts and practical solutions. He is so very warm and enjoyable to read.

I'm looking forward to reading this book again.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a very good lesson that repeats on me March 3, 2006

By James Moore

Format:Hardcover

I go back to this book from time to time. I believe that I first saw the citation for it in Sandra Wilson's book "Into Abba's Arms". I read it first as I was separated from my wife. It was a painful time. Jesus used to the book to lift my spirits, and change my outlook. The book also showed me some reasons why intimacy was hard to achieve (because I wasn't trusting in God's love), and why I would get trapped in striving (to please, to be noticed, to get attaboys) because I wasn't really fruitful (because I wasn't trusting in the Father's love), and why I thought that as a good Christian that enjoying God's blessings in a hooting and hollering way was, well just not proper (because I didn't know how much an Abba delights to see the grin on his son's and daughter's faces). A part of the real good news of Jesus Christ is both the abundant life (more to be intimate with, more fruitfulness, more ecstacy, and sometimes more suffering -- but in love) and the fact that God's love when it runs its course, drives out the fear. Though not addressed much in the book, I also covered fear with anger which made me feel powerful, but sometimes hurt others. Far better to let God's love replace the fear. I almost didn't buy the book because I didn't know what fecundity meant, and I feared the book would not be understandable. I found it very approachable, and easy to understand. I am glad the Lord kept after me to buy the book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent but somewhat unremarkable... July 21, 2009

By Chad Oberholtzer

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have taken a seminary course about the life and writings of Henri Nouwen, and I'll be forthright in acknowledging that I'm a huge fan of Henri Nouwen, the man, and rather unenthusiastic about Henri Nouwen, the author. I found his "Reaching Out" and "The Wounded Healer" to be laborious and unhelpful to read. So, if you're a full-fledged Nouwen disciple, this review will probably seem absurd to you.

However, despite my general disappointment with Nouwen's writing, I will concede that reading "Lifesigns" was much more helpful than his other books. The book is framed around the assumption that humans are basically driven by fear. Using John 15 as the starting point for his conclusions, Nouwen suggests that intimacy (love), fecundity (fruitfulness), and ecstasy (joy) are the solutions that God offers us for our fear-filled lives.

Though some of the book did not connect with me, due to the nature of Nouwen's writing style and his starting assumptions that don't really apply to me, there were two major points that resonated well with me. First, I especially appreciated the way that he described the difference between productivity and fruitfulness in the section about fecundity. Though this general idea was not brand-new, he painted a compelling vision for why our purpose in life is not simple productivity (despite American cultural expectations) but rather a fruitfulness that is much fuller and more meaningful. The distinction between the two may seem somewhat illusive, but Nouwen explains it well.

The other high point of the book for me was Nouwen's rather dramatic critique of the American foreign policy which orients around the premise that security and maintaining power are the most important functions of the government. Nouwen's case is very strong that Jesus expects more from a nation as wealthy and powerful as ours, that we ought to shift our focus away from our own self-preservation towards the sort of others-centered service that Jesus modeled. It's a message that many nationalistic Christians don't want to hear, but it's a prophetic word that is especially timely in a post-9/11 world.

I still struggle to connect with Nouwen's writing style. Nonetheless, he was an amazing man of God whose life was an open-book from which we can all learn. Some helpful parts of that Christ-centered life leak onto the pages of "Lifesigns," making it at least somewhat worthwhile for me to read. And for those who appreciate Nouwen's books, I suspect that this lesser-known work will be especially helpful.