With Open Hands [Paperback]

Henri J. M. Nouwen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1995

Henri Nouwen invites us to embark on a prayerful journey, to release our tightly clenched fists and open our hands to God. He leads us to confront our fear of silence, to let go of our false securities, and to ener into the stillness of God's presence.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Dutch (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

From one of the world's most beloved authors, a series of reflections on life to help your prayers become a joy -- a spontaneous reaction to the world and the people around you. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Ave Maria Pr (January 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877935459
• ISBN-13: 978-0877935452
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 7.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #792,665 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

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Help In Opening Ourselves To God, January 18, 2004

By 

Timothy Kearney (Haverhill, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: With Open Hands (Mass Market Paperback)

Henri Nouwen had a great ability to take something rather simple and ordinary, and use it a as way to help people understand and experience God. Nouwen's now classic book WITH OPEN HANDS is an excellent example of using a simple image to invite a person to prayer and a deeper experience of God. Clenched fists demonstrate being closed to God, and through reflections on prayer: silence, acceptance, hope, compassion, and prophetic criticism, Nouwen invites us to open our hands and thus, be open to God. This work is excellent for people who are new to prayer or are trying to discover new prayer techniques, but it is profound enough to help all people experience God.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life explained, June 14, 2001

By 

Jordon Cooper "Coop" (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: With Open Hands (Paperback)

Nouwen's book not only opens the hands but the mind and the heart as well.

This is a book that does not define or explain prayer or give you a formula for better prayer, it is book that opens your hands and leads you to an experience with God. It is a book that one does not read but rather live. A book that leaves you slightly exhausted at the end but better for having read it.

34 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars revolutionary stillness in upheaval, December 14, 2000

By 

NotATameLion (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: With Open Hands (Mass Market Paperback)

I must admit that I bought this book because it didn't cost much. As is usual with me, I was short on funds one day when I stopped by the local bookstore to get some coffee. I decided to get lunch and something to read to go with my coffee. I can be picky; and on this particular day I felt no desire to wade through the usual rhetoric of one of the national newspapers...So I went in search of a cheap paperback...and it was then that I stumbled across "With Open Hands" by Henri Nouwen.

I had read some of Nouwen's stuff before. I'd really liked some of it (the excellent "The Road to Daybreak"). Some of it had left me less than impressed (the mind-numbingly academic "Wounded Healer"). "With Open Hands" is neither excellent or poor--its actually pretty mediocre; but towards the good end of the mediocre spectrum (if there is such a thing).

"With Open Hands" bears the marks of being quite well thought out. One can tell that this book was labored over by people who cared. In fact, it is the result of Nouwen discussing the subject of prayer with a group of twenty-five theology students.

Hand imagery (clenched vs. open) dominates the book; but other undercurrents are palpably felt. Some of these noticeable undercurrents are: liberation theology, the writings of St. John of the Cross, and the idea of stillness or solitude. Nouwen, and the students he discussed prayer with, were clearly steeped in the classic literature on prayer.

The book is laid out in series of brief reflections. These are no doubt meant to be reflected upon at length. These reflections also progressively lead the reader into the next subject matter to be discussed.

"With Open Hands" is ultimately unsatisfying (as so many books on prayer are) because it spends most of its time dancing around the subject it describes. In so doing, it gives only a limited perspective on the topic. One is left feeling that some sort of suggested practical exercise or other way of letting the reader experience the subject being discussed would have strengthened the book. However, it is not without its high points or worth. Therefore, I give "With Open Hands" a heartfelt, if not ringing recommendation.

Other books on the subject of prayer that I would recommend are: Emilie Griffin's "Clinging: The Experience of Prayer"; Madame Guyon's "Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ"; Richard Foster's "Prayer"; and C.S. Lewis' "Letters to Malcolm, Chiefly on Prayer."