The Spiritual Life Quotes

“Love is not based on the willingness to listen, to understand problems of others, or to tolerate their otherness. Love is based on the mutuality of the confession of our total self to each other.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“The more we come to depend on the images offered to us by those who try to distract us, entertain us, use us for their purposes, and make us conform to the demands of a consumer society, the easier it is for us to lose our identity.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“Being in the world without being of the world.” These words summarize well the way Jesus speaks of the spiritual life. It is a life in which we are totally transformed by the Spirit of love. Yet it is a life in which everything seems to remain the same. To live a spiritual life does not mean that we must leave our families, give up our jobs, or change our ways of working; it does not mean that we have to withdraw from social or political activities, or lose interest in literature and art; it does not require severe forms of asceticism or long hours of prayer. Changes such as these may in fact grow out of our spiritual life, and for some people radical decisions may be necessary. But the spiritual life can be lived in as many ways as there are people. What is new is that we have moved from the many things to the kingdom of God. What is new is that we are set free from the compulsions of our world and have set our hearts on the only necessary thing. What is new is that we no longer experience the many things, people, and events as endless causes for worry, but begin to experience them as the rich variety of ways in which God makes his presence known to us.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“Sometimes it seems as if our society has become dependent on the maintenance of these artificial worries. What would happen if we stopped worrying? If the urge to be entertained so much, to travel so much, to buy so much, and to arm ourselves so much no longer motivated our behavior, could our society as it is today still function? The tragedy is that we are indeed caught in a web of false expectations and contrived needs. Our occupations and preoccupations fill our external and internal lives to the brim. They prevent the Spirit of God from breathing freely in us and thus renewing our lives.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“More enslaving than our occupations, however, are our preoccupations. To be pre-occupied means to fill our time and place long before we are there. This is worrying in the more specific sense of the word. It is a mind filled with “ifs.” We say to ourselves, “What if I get the flu? What if I lose my job? What if my child is not home on time? What if there is not enough food tomorrow? What if I am attacked? What if a war starts? What if the world comes to an end? What if . . . ?”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“Our primary task in solitude, therefore, is not to pay undue attention to the many faces which assail us, but to keep the eyes of our mind and heart on him who is our divine savior.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“Boredom, resentment, and depression are all sentiments of disconnectedness. They present life to us as a broken connection. They give us a sense of not-belonging. In interpersonal relations, this disconnectedness is experienced as loneliness. When we are lonely we perceive ourselves as isolated individuals surrounded, perhaps, by many people, but not really part of any supporting or nurturing community.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“Jesus does not speak about a change of activities, a change in contacts, or even a change of pace. He speaks about a change of heart.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“All these “ifs” fill our minds with anxious thoughts and make us wonder constantly what to do and what to say in case something should happen in the future. Much, if not most, of our suffering is connected with these preoccupations. Possible career changes, possible family conflicts, possible illnesses, possible disasters, and a possible nuclear holocaust make us anxious, fearful, suspicious, greedy, nervous, and morose. They prevent us from feeling a real inner freedom. Since we are always preparing for eventualities, we seldom fully trust the moment. It is no exaggeration to say that much human energy is invested in these fearful preoccupations.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“To be pre-occupied means to fill our time and place long before we are there. This is worrying in the more specific sense of the word. It is a mind filled with “ifs.” We say to ourselves, “What if I get the flu? What if I lose my job? What if my child is not home on time? What if there is not enough food tomorrow? What if I am attacked? What if a war starts? What if the world comes to an end? What if . . . ?” All these “ifs” fill our minds with anxious thoughts and make us wonder constantly what to do and what to say in case something should happen in the future. Much, if not most, of our suffering is connected with these preoccupations”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“everyone shares the handicap of mortality. Our individual physical, emotional, and spiritual failures are but symptoms of this disease.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“It is the mystery that the heart, which is the center of our being, is transformed by God into his own heart, a heart large enough to embrace the entire universe. Through prayer we can carry in our heart all human pain and sorrow, all conflicts and agonies, all torture and war, all hunger, loneliness, and misery, not because of some great psychological or emotional capacity, but because God’s heart has become one with ours. Here we catch sight of the meaning of Jesus’ words, “Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light” (Matthew 11:29–30).”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“Compassion is the fruit of solitude and the basis of all ministry.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“Community as discipline is the effort to create a free and empty space among people where together we can practice true obedience.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“The core of all prayer is indeed listening, obediently standing in the presence of God.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“Truth does not mean an idea, concept, or doctrine, but the true relationship.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“Compassion can never coexist with judgment because judgment creates the distance, the distinction, which prevents us from really being with the other.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“Indeed, living a spiritual life requires a change of heart, a conversion. Such a conversion may be marked by a sudden inner change, or it can take place through a long, quiet process of transformation. But it always involves an inner experience of oneness. We realize that we are in the center, and that from there all that is and all that takes place can be seen and understood as part of the mystery of God’s life with us. Our conflicts and pains, our tasks and promises, our families and friends, our activities and projects, our hopes and aspirations, no longer appear to us as a fatiguing variety of things which we can barely keep together, but rather as affirmations and revelations of the new life of the Spirit in us. “All these other things,” which so occupied and preoccupied us, now come as gifts or challenges that strengthen and deepen the new life which we have discovered. This does not mean that the spiritual life makes things easier or takes our struggles and pains away.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“Unfulfilled BENEATH OUR WORRYING lives, however, something else is going on. While our minds and hearts are filled with many things, and we wonder how we can live up to the expectations imposed upon us by ourselves and others, we have a deep sense of unfulfillment. While busy with and worried about many things, we seldom feel truly satisfied, at peace, or at home. A gnawing sense of being unfulfilled underlies our filled lives. Reflecting a little more on this experience of unfulfillment, I can discern different sentiments. The most significant are boredom, resentment, and depression.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“Solitude is the furnace of transformation.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“When we worry, we have our hearts in the wrong place. Jesus asks us to move our hearts to the center, where all other things fall into place.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“Solitude is the place of the great struggle and the great encounter — the struggle against the compulsions of the false self, and the encounter with the loving God who offers himself as the substance of the new self.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“While busy with and worried about many things, we seldom feel truly satisfied, at peace, or at home.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“the important thing is that the place of solitude remain a simple, uncluttered place. There we dwell in the presence of the Lord. Our temptation is to do something useful: to read something stimulating, to think about something interesting, or to experience something unusual. But our moment of solitude is precisely a moment in which we want to be in the presence of our Lord with empty hands, naked, vulnerable, useless, without much to show, prove, or defend. That is how we slowly learn to listen to God’s small voice.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“It is important for us to realize that Jesus in no way wants us to leave our many-faceted world. Rather, he wants us to live in it, but firmly rooted in the center of all things. Jesus does not speak about a change of activities, a change in contacts, or even a change of pace. He speaks about a change of heart.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“Our occupations and preoccupations fill our external and internal lives to the brim. They prevent the Spirit of God from breathing freely in us and thus renewing our lives.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“Solitude is the furnace of transformation. Without solitude we remain victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self. Jesus himself entered into this furnace. There he was tempted with the three compulsions of the world: to be relevant (“turn stones into loaves”), to be spectacular (“throw yourself down”), and to be powerful (“I will give you all these kingdoms”). There he affirmed God as the only source of his identity (“You must worship the Lord your God and serve him alone”). Solitude is the place of the great struggle and the great encounter — the struggle against the compulsions of the false self, and the encounter with the loving God who offers himself as the substance of the new self.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“the spiritual life can only be real when it is lived in the midst of the pains and joys of the here and now.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“It seems indeed that the Church today is one of the few institutions in the world willing to defend human rights regardless of who the oppressor is.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen

“To love and work for the glory of God cannot remain an idea about which we think once in a while. It must become an interior, unceasing doxology.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen