Friday, September 30, 2022

Thank You for Your Support!

Dear Friends,

Henri Nouwen has the extraordinary ability to speak to anxious and aching hearts. 

Of course, you already know this about Henri from personal experience. Whether from reading one of Henri’s timeless classics such as “A Wounded Healer” or “Life of the Beloved”, or a simple insight gleaned from one of his Daily Meditations, you remember feeling how Henri’s words had been written specifically for you in the midst of whatever trial or difficulty you may have been facing at the time.

This is the impact of Henri Nouwen. His wisdom and spiritual insights offer us meaning and hope as we navigate the challenges of daily living. 
More than a quarter of a century after his death, the Henri Nouwen Society continues to introduce Henri to a new and growing global audience. Our recent free video series From Fear to Love: Spiritual Grounding in Anxious Times attracted nearly 7,000 registrants from 86 different countries! Our social media outreach has seen record growth over this past year, and our weekly podcasts have garnered more than 360,000 “listens” over the first six months of 2022. 

Clearly, so many people are thirsting for their hearts to be nurtured and encouraged. Through our ongoing efforts and outreaches, we are helping to meet this need. It is because of your support that all of this is possible. Thank you!

I recognize that in the midst of the economic challenges and stresses we are currently facing, not everyone is in a position to give. But if you are, your one-time gift or monthly donation will go a long way to ensure that our work will continue to impact lives and transform hearts. 

For those who already support us through our monthly donor program, thank you. I am immeasurably grateful.

Faithfully,
Karen Pascal
Executive Director | Henri Nouwen Society
Henri Nouwen Society | www.henrinouwen.org | 866-226-2158

Nouwen Meditation: A Prayer

Now & Then Podcast
Pastor and best-selling author Max Lucado joins us this week to launch our fall podcast series - Henri Nouwen, Now & Then. In this episode, Max shares his thoughts on dealing with life’s challenges, and encourages us that no matter what we face, Help is Here!

DAILY MEDITATION | SEPTEMBER 30, 2022
A Prayer
O Lord,

Life passes by swiftly. Events that a few years ago kept me totally preoccupied have now become vague memories; conflicts that a few months ago seemed so crucial in my life now seem futile and hardly worth the energy; inner turmoil that robbed me of my sleep only a few weeks ago has now become a strange emotion of the past; books that filled me with amazement a few days ago now do not seem as important; thoughts that kept my mind captive only a few hours ago have now lost their power and have been replaced by others. . . . Why am I continuously trapped in this sense of urgency and emergency? Why do I not see that you are eternal, that your kingdom lasts forever, and that for you a thousand years are like one day? O Lord, let me enter into your presence and there taste the eternal, timeless, everlasting love with which you invite me to let go of my time-bound anxieties, fears, preoccupations, and worries. . . . Lord, teach me your ways and give me the courage to follow them.

Amen.
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

PSALM 139:7 (NIV)
Consider our monthly giving program to sustain the ability to extend Henri's legacy and make his work available to those who seek spiritual formation and nourishment. Click here to sign up today.

Thursday, September 29, 2022

Nouwen Meditation: The In-Dwelling of God Here and Now

Now & Then Podcast
Pastor and best-selling author Max Lucado joins us this week to launch our fall podcast series - Henri Nouwen, Now & Then. In this episode, Max shares his thoughts on dealing with life’s challenges, and encourages us that no matter what we face, Help is Here!

DAILY MEDITATION | SEPTEMBER 29, 2022
The In-Dwelling of God Here and Now
Eternal life. Where is it? When is it? For a long time I have thought about eternal life as a life after all my birthdays have run out. For most of my years I have spoken about the eternal life as the “afterlife,” as “life after death.” But the older I become, the less interest my “afterlife” holds for me. Worrying not only about tomorrow, next year, and the next decade, but even about the next life, seems a false preoccupation. Wondering how things will be for me after I die seems, for the most part, a distraction. When my clear goal is the eternal life, that life must be reachable right now, where I am, because eternal life is life in and with God, and God is where I am here and now.

The great mystery of the spiritual life—the life in God—is that we don’t have to wait for it as something that will happen later. Jesus says: “Dwell in me as I dwell in you.” It is this divine in-dwelling that is eternal life. It is the active presence of God at the center of my living—the movement of God’s Spirit within us—that gives us the eternal life.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

JOHN 15:5 (NIV)
Consider our monthly giving program to sustain the ability to extend Henri's legacy and make his work available to those who seek spiritual formation and nourishment. Click here to sign up today.