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A review by plan2read
Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life by Henri J.M. Nouwen
4.0
From loneliness to solitude: "Friendship and love cannot develop in the form of an anxious clinging to each other. They ask for gentle fearless space in which we can move to and from each other. . . . When we live with a solitude of heart, we can listen with attention to the words and the worlds of others, but when we are driven by loneliness, we tend to select just those remarks and events that bring immediate satisfaction to our own craving needs."
From hostility to hospitality: "When hostility is converted into hospitality then fearful strangers can become guests revealing to their hosts the promise they are carrying with them. . . . Hospitality, therefore, means primarily the creation of a free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy. Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place."
From illusion to prayer: "So, the paradox of prayer is that it asks for a serious effort while it can only be received as a gift. . . . This paradox of prayer forces us to look beyond the limits of our mortal existence. . . . The movement from illusion to prayer is hard to make since it leads us from false certainties to true uncertainties, from an easy support system to a risky surrender, and from the many 'safe' gods to the God whose love has no limits."
From hostility to hospitality: "When hostility is converted into hospitality then fearful strangers can become guests revealing to their hosts the promise they are carrying with them. . . . Hospitality, therefore, means primarily the creation of a free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy. Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place."
From illusion to prayer: "So, the paradox of prayer is that it asks for a serious effort while it can only be received as a gift. . . . This paradox of prayer forces us to look beyond the limits of our mortal existence. . . . The movement from illusion to prayer is hard to make since it leads us from false certainties to true uncertainties, from an easy support system to a risky surrender, and from the many 'safe' gods to the God whose love has no limits."