579 Quotes by Henri J.M. Nouwen

To care for others requires an ever-increasing acceptance.

Learning to weep, learning to keep vigil, learning to wait for the dawn. Perhaps this is what it means to be human.

The story of the prodigal son is the story of a God who goes searching for me and who doesn’t rest until he has found me.

In true love the smallest distance is too great, and the greatest distance can be bridged.

The spiritual life is not a life before, after, or beyond our everyday existence. No, the spiritual life can only be real when it is lived in the midst of the pains and joys of the here and now.

In solitude we become aware that our worth is not the same as our usefulness.

The resistance to praying is like the resistance of tightly clenched fists. This image shows a tension, a desire to cling tightly to yourself, a greediness which betrays fear.

I’ve had a tremendous problem with depression in my life. I’d rather not talk about it, because it’s over. But depression is real.

Your true identity is as a child of God. This is the identity you have to accept. Once you have claimed it and settled in it, you can live in a world that gives you much joy as well as pain. You can receive the praise as well as the blame that comes to you as an opportunity for strengthening your basic identity, because the identity that makes you free is anchored beyond all human praise and blame. You belong to God, and it is as a child of God that you are sent into the world.