Spiritual Friends - Henri Nouwen

I thought I might write a short series of posts about Spiritual Friends - those writers and people who have influenced my spiritual growth and contributed to my search for God.

Henri Nouwen, the Dutch Catholic  priest,  was the first writer who really captured my imagination about what it meant to be a spiritual being and take the search for God seriously. 

I can see my life in both before and after discovering Nouwen stages!

My dad suggested I read "Genesee Diary: Report from a Trappist Monastery" with the words. "I think you'll like this. If you do you won't be able to put it down and then you'll want to read all his books!". He was right. I counsumed the book in about two days and then began buying/borrowing/scrounging for more!

Loads has been written about Nouwen, and you can get lots of information from the society website. His personal influence in my life really falls into three  - disciplines, community, and freedom. 

Disciplines: Henri was big on pray and the disciplines which lead you to that place where you can pray. The Eucharist as celebration, The liturgy of the hours. Silence. Solitude. Spiritual Direction. Taize chants and music in general (Nouwen was an excellent pianist). For me, these foundations have continued to be corner stones to live by, come back to, read about and continually grow into.

Community: Wherever he went, Henri seemed to form community around himself. Whether at universities or at L'Arche, or at Genesee, he both needed and encouraged community around him. I recognize this need at a deep level in myself too.  A place to feel safe. A place to feel love. A place to explore without fear. I am lucky to have the Tranfiguration family to travel with me in this way.

Freedom:  Henri was always searching for freedom, challenging the status quo, looking for more authentic ways to live out the truth he found in Jesus. Stepping down from the prestige of being a professor to work with those with disabilities. Spending a year not working to be available others and to pray.  Learning spanish to serve the poor in South America. This was not "I've found it!" freedom, but a day to day relinquishing to God and discerning the still small voice of guidance.

And you? Have you read Nouwen? Does he matter to you at all?