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Overview
Nouwen invites readers to join him on a 40-day Lenten path as fellow pilgrims, from the solemn beginning of Ash Wednesday to the joyous climax of Easter. This inspirational "search for the way" speaks directly to the heart during this time of reflection and prayer.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780824522254 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | PublishDrive |
| Publication date: | 06/30/2016 |
| Sold by: | PUBLISHDRIVE KFT |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 192 |
| File size: | 580 KB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Show Me the Way
By Henri J.M. Nouwen
The Crossroad Publishing Company
Copyright © 1992 Henri J. M. NouwenAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8245-2225-4
CHAPTER 1
Repent and Live
ASH WEDNESDAY
"I shall judge each of you by what that person does — declares the Lord Yahweh. Repent, renounce all your crimes, avoid all occasions for guilt. Shake off all the crimes you have committed., and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why die, House of Israel? I take no pleasure in the death of anyone — declares the Lord Yahweh — so repent and live!"
— Ezek. 18:30-32
* * *
The Lenten season begins. It is a time to be with you, Lord, in a special way, a time to pray, to fast, and thus to follow you on your way to Jerusalem, to Golgotha, and to the final victory over death.
I am still so divided. I truly want to follow you, but I also want to follow my own desires and lend an ear to the voices that speak about prestige, success, human respect, pleasure, power, and influence. Help me to become deaf to these voices and more attentive to your voice, which calls me to choose the narrow road to life.
I know that Lent is going to be a very hard time for me. The choice for your way has to be made every moment of my life. I have to choose thoughts that are your thoughts, words that are your words, and actions that are your actions. There are no times or places without choices. And I know how deeply I resist choosing you.
Please, Lord, be with me at every moment and in every place. Give me the strength and the courage to live this season faithfully, so that, when Easter comes, I will be able to taste with joy the new life that you have prepared for me. Amen.
* * *
God's mercy is greater than our sins. There is an awareness of sin that does not lead to God but rather to self-preoccupation. Our temptation is to be so impressed by our sins and failings and so overwhelmed by our lack of generosity that we get stuck in a paralyzing guilt. It is the guilt that says: "I am too sinful to deserve God's mercy." It is the guilt that leads to introspection instead of directing our eyes to God. It is the guilt that has become an idol and therefore a form of pride. Lent is the time to break down this idol and to direct our attention to our loving Lord. The question is: "Are we like Judas, who was so overcome by his sin that he could not believe in God's mercy any longer and hanged himself, or are we like Peter who returned to his Lord with repentance and cried bitterly for his sins?" The season of Lent, during which winter and spring struggle with each other for dominance, helps us in a special way to cry out for God's mercy.
* * *
Our Prayer
Faithful God, trusting in you, we begin
the forty days of conversion and penance.
Give us the strength for Christian discipline,
that we may renounce evil and be decisive in doing good.
We ask this through Jesus Christ.
Choose Life
THURSDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY
Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live, in the love of Yahweh your God, obeying his voice, holding fast to him; for in this your life consists.
— Deut. 30:19-20
* * *
A life of faith is a life of gratitude — it means a life in which I am willing to experience my complete dependence upon God and to praise and thank him unceasingly for the gift of being. A truly eucharistic life means always saying thanks to God, always praising God, and always being more surprised by the abundance of God's goodness and love. How can such a life not also be a joyful life? It is the truly converted life in which God has become the center of all. There gratitude is joy and joy is gratitude and everything becomes a surprising sign of God's presence.
* * *
Whenever Jesus says to the people he has healed: "Your faith has saved you," he is saying that they have found new life because they have surrendered in complete trust to the love of God revealed in him. Trusting in the un-conditional love of God: that is the way to which Jesus calls us. The more firmly we grasp this, the more readily will we be able to perceive why there is so much suspicion, jealousy, bitterness, vindictiveness, hatred, violence, and discord in our world. Jesus himself interprets this by comparing God's love to the light. He says:
... though the light has come into the world people have preferred darkness to light because their deeds were evil.
And indeed, everybody who does wrong
hates the light and avoids it,
to prevent his actions from being shown up;
but whoever does the truth
comes out into the light,
so that what he is doing may plainly appear as done in God.
Jesus sees the evil in this world as a lack of trust in God's love. He makes us see that we persistently fall back on ourselves, rely more on ourselves than on God, and are inclined more to love of self than to love of God. So we remain in the darkness. If we walk in the light, then we are enabled to acknowledge in joy and gratitude that everything good, beautiful, and true comes from God and is offered to us in love.
* * *
Our Prayer
O God, you are not far from any of us, since it is in you that we live, and move, and exist.
You, who have overlooked the times of ignorance, let everyone everywhere be told that they must now repent.
— After Acts 17:27-28, 30
CHAPTER 3The Descending Way
FRIDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY
For I am certain of this: neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nothing already in existence and nothing still to come, nor any power, nor the heights nor the depths, nor any created thing whatever, will be able to come between us and the love of God, known to us in Christ Jesus our Lord.
— Rom. 8:38-39
* * *
The love of God has become visible in Jesus. How is that love made visible through Jesus? It is made visible in the descending way. That is the great mystery of the Incarnation. God has descended to us human beings to become a human being with us; and once among us, descended to the total dereliction of one condemned to death. It isn't easy really to feel and understand from the inside this descending way of Jesus. Every fiber of our being rebels against it. We don't mind paying attention to poor people from time to time; but descending to a state of poverty and becoming poor with the poor, that we don't want to do. And yet that is the way Jesus chose as the way to know God —
God's way can be grasped only in prayer. The more you listen to God speaking within you, the sooner you will hear that voice inviting you to follow the way of Jesus. For Jesus' way is God's way and God's way is not for Jesus only but for everyone who is truly seeking God. Here we come up against the hard truth that the descending way of Jesus is also the way for us to find God. Jesus doesn't hesitate for a moment to make that clear.
* * *
The mystery of God's presence can be touched only by a deep awareness of his absence. It is in the center of our longing for the absent God that we discover his footprints and realize that our desire to love God is born out of the love with which he has touched us. In the patient waiting for the loved one, we discover how much he has filled our lives already. Just as the love of a mother for her son can grow deeper when he is far away, just as children can learn to appreciate their parents more when they have left the home, just as lovers can rediscover each other during long periods of absence, so our intimate relationship with God can become deeper and more mature by the purifying experience of his absence. By listening to our longings, we hear God as their creator. By touching the center of our solitude, we sense that we have been touched by loving hands. By watching carefully our endless desire to love, we come to the growing awareness that we can love only because we have been loved first and that we can offer intimacy only because we are born out of the inner intimacy of God himself.
In our violent times, in which destruction of life is so rampant and the raw wounds of humanity so visible, it is very hard to tolerate the experience of God as a purifying absence and to keep our hearts open to patiently and reverently prepare his way. We are tempted to grasp rapid solutions instead of inquiring about the validity of the questions. Our inclination to put faith in any suggestion that promises quick healing is so great that it is not surprising that spiritual experiences are mushrooming all over the place and have become highly sought after commercial items. Many people flock to places and persons who promise intensive experiences of togetherness, cathartic emotions of exhilaration and sweetness, and liberating sensations of rapture and ecstasy. In our desperate need for fulfillment and our restless search for the experience of divine intimacy, we are all too prone to construct our own spiritual events. In our impatient culture, it has indeed become extremely difficult to see much salvation in waiting.
But still ... the God who saves is not made by human hands. He transcends our psychological distinctions between "already" and "not yet," absence and presence, leaving and returning. Only in a patient waiting in expectation can we slowly break away from our illusions and pray as the psalmist prayed.
* * *
Our Prayer
God, you are my God, I am seeking you,
my soul is thirsting for you,
my flesh is longing for you,
a land parched, weary and waterless.
I long to gaze on you in the Sanctuary,
and to see your power and glory.
Your love is better than life itself,
my lips will recite your praise;
all my life I will bless you,
in your name lift up my hands;
my soul will feast most richly,
on my lips a song of joy and, in my mouth, praise.
On my bed I think of you,
I meditate on you all night long,
for you have always helped me.
I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings;
my soul clings close to you,
your right hand supports me.
— Ps. 63:1-8
CHAPTER 4The Only Necessary Thing
SATURDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY
When he went out after this, he noticed a tax collector, Levi by name, sitting at the tax office, and said to him, "Follow me." And leaving everything Levi got up and followed him.
— Luke 5:27-28
* * *
Our lives are destined to become like the life of Jesus. The whole purpose of Jesus' ministry is to bring us to the house of his Father. Not only did Jesus come to free us from the bonds of sin and death, he also came to lead us into the intimacy of his divine life. It is difficult for us to imagine what this means. We tend to emphasize the distance between Jesus and ourselves. We see Jesus as the all-knowing and all-powerful Son of God who is unreachable for us sinful, broken human beings. But in thinking this way, we forget that Jesus came to give us his own life. He came to lift us up into loving community with the Father. Only when we recognize the radical purpose of Jesus' ministry will we be able to understand the meaning of the spiritual life. Everything that belongs to Jesus is given for us to receive.
* * *
"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.
Our Prayer
Lord, whoever serves you, must follow you,
and your servant will be with you wherever you are.
If anyone serves you, your Father will honor him.
— After John 12:26
Only in God
FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT
The Lord your God is the one to whom you must do homage, him alone you must serve.
— Matt. 4:10
* * *
Jesus' primary concern was to be obedient to his Father, to live constantly in his presence. Only then did it become clear to him what his task was in his relationships with people. This also is the way he proposes for his apostles: "It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit and then you will be my disciples" (John 15:8). Perhaps we must continually remind ourselves that the first commandment requiring us to love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind is indeed the first. I wonder if we really believe this. It seems that in fact we live as if we should give as much of our heart, soul, and mind as possible to our fellow human beings, while trying hard not to forget God. At least we feel that our attention should be divided evenly between God and our neighbor. But Jesus' claim is much more radical. He asks for a single-minded commitment to God and God alone. God wants all of our heart, all of our mind, and all of our soul. It is this unconditional and unreserved love for God that leads to the care for our neighbor, not as an activity that distracts us from God or competes with our attention to God, but as an expression of our love for God who reveals himself to us as the God of all people. It is in God that we find our neighbors and discover our responsibility to them. We might even say that only in God does our neighbor become a neighbor rather than an infringement upon our autonomy, and that only in and through God does service become possible.
* * *
I know that true joy comes from letting God love me the way God wants, whether it is through illness or health, failure or success, poverty or wealth, rejection or praise. It is hard for me to say, "I shall gratefully accept everything, Lord, that pleases you. Let your will be done." But I know that when I truly believe my Father is pure love, it will become increasingly possible to say these words from the heart.
Charles de Foucauld once wrote a prayer of abandonment that expresses beautifully the spiritual attitude I wish I had It seems good to pray this prayer often.
These are the words of a holy man, and they show the way I must go. I realize that I can never make this prayer come true by my own efforts. But the spirit of Jesus given to me can help me pray it and grow to its fulfillment. I know that my inner peace depends on my willingness to make this prayer my own.
* * *
Our Prayer
Father,
I abandon myself into your hands;
do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you;
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me,
and in all your creatures.
I wish no more than this,
O Lord.
Into your hands I commend my soul;
I offer it to you with all the love
f my heart,
for I love you, Lord,
and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands,
without reserve
and with boundless confidence.
For you are my Father.
— Charles de Foucauld
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Show Me the Way by Henri J.M. Nouwen. Copyright © 1992 Henri J. M. Nouwen. Excerpted by permission of The Crossroad Publishing Company.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Foreword,Repent and Live / ASH WEDNESDAY,
Choose Life / THURSDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY,
The Descending Way / FRIDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY,
The Only Necessary Thing / SATURDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY,
Only in God / FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT,
Hospitality / MONDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK IN LENT,
Prayer / TUESDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK IN LENT,
God Exists / WEDNESDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK IN LENT,
Only the Father / THURSDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK IN LENT,
Forgiveness / FRIDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT,
Love Your Enemies / SATURDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK IN LENT,
Blessed and Broken / SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT,
Compassion / MONDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK IN LENT,
The Way of Humility / TUESDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK IN LENT,
A Servant God / WEDNESDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK IN LENT,
Measuring Our Worth / THURSDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK IN LENT,
A New Creation / FRIDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK IN LENT,
Returning / SATURDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK IN LENT,
Eat and Drink / THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT,
A Hidden God / MONDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK IN LENT,
God-with-Us / TUESDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK IN LENT,
Life-Giving Memory / WEDNESDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK IN LENT,
Spiritual Discipline / THURSDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK IN LENT,
An Oratory of the Heart / FRIDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK IN LENT,
Conversion / SATURDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK IN LENT,
The Seclusion of Our Heart / FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT,
Faith in God's Love / MONDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK IN LENT,
A Clean Heart / TUESDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK IN LENT,
Father, Son, Spirit / WEDNESDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK IN LENT,
Glory / THURSDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK IN LENT,
Obedient Listening / FRIDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK IN LENT,
Like Nicodemus / SATURDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK IN LENT,
The Sign of Jonah / PASSION SUNDAY,
Immanuel / MONDAY IN PASSION WEEK,
Listening to God / TUESDAY IN PASSION WEEK,
Sent into the World / WEDNESDAY IN PASSION WEEK,
Listen to the Church / THURSDAY IN PASSION WEEK,
Divine Humanity / FRIDAY IN PASSION WEEK,
Where He Wills / SATURDAY IN PASSION WEEK,
Christ on a Donkey / PALM SUNDAY,
The Little Way / MONDAY IN HOLY WEEK,
Handed Over / TUESDAY IN HOLY WEEK,
Eyes That Heal / WEDNESDAY IN HOLY WEEK,
The New and Eternal Covenant / HOLY THURSDAY,
Cross of Hope / GOOD FRIDAY,
Mortification / HOLY SATURDAY,
Risen Indeed / EASTER SUNDAY,
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Acknowledgments,
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