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A Morning With Henri Nouwen

A Morning With Henri Nouwen. Barbara R. Guerin October 22, 2011 St. John Neumann Women’s Ministry. Program Overview. Theme 1: Tell Your Story Theme 2: Becoming the Beloved Theme 3: The Inner Voice of Love Theme 4: Coming Home. Who is Henri Nouwen ?.

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A Morning With Henri Nouwen

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  1. A Morning With Henri Nouwen Barbara R. Guerin October 22, 2011 St. John Neumann Women’s Ministry

  2. Program Overview • Theme 1: Tell Your Story • Theme 2: Becoming the Beloved • Theme 3: The Inner Voice of Love • Theme 4: Coming Home

  3. Who is Henri Nouwen? • A priest, academic, psychologist, teacher, author, gifted public speaker, spiritual member, faithful correspondent and friend, wounded healer and a passionate seeker. • Wrote about our contemporary longings for meaning, belonging, and intimacy and, at the same time, integrates this with a powerful vision of service and social justice.  • Often used the three core themes of solitude, community, and compassion to help people enter into a fresh vision of the spiritual life. • Wrote over 40 books on the spiritual life.

  4. Chronology of Henri Nouwen’s Life • Born in Nijkerk, Holland, on January 24, 1932 • Ordained in 1957 as a diocesan priest • Studied psychology at the Catholic University of Nijmegen • In 1964 he moved to the United States to study at the Menninger Clinic • Taught at the University of Notre Dame, and the Divinity Schools of Yale and Harvard • During the 1970s, Nouwen lived and worked with the Trappist monks in the Abbey of the Genesee • In the early 1980s he lived with the poor in Peru • In 1985 he was called to join L’Arche in Trosly, France • A year later Nouwen came to make his home at L’Arche Daybreak near Toronto, Canada • Died suddenly on September 21st, 1996, in Holland and is buried in King City, Ontario

  5. Nouwen’s Family of Origin • Nouwen's mother, Maria Huberta Helena Ramselaar (1906 - 1978) is remembered as being warm, welcoming and religious. Her sudden death had a profound impact on Nouwen's life. • Nouwen's father, Laurent Jean Marie Nouwen (1903 - 1997), was known for his expertise in tax law. • Three younger siblings: Paul, Laurent, and Laurien. Henri with his parents and younger siblings Paul, Laurent and Laurien.

  6. Nouwen’s Childhood • As a youth he experienced the Second World War. • He was a good student. • Expressed his desire to become a priest at age six.  Henri with his father and younger brother, Paul.

  7. Formation Years • Educated by the Jesuits at the Aloysius Gymnasium at The Hague. He decided that he would not become a Jesuit priest because it required too much study. • After secondary school he took one year in the minor seminary in Apeldoorn, where his uncle, Toon, was president. • Studied for six years in the major seminary in Rijsenburg/Driebergen and was ordained a priest for the diocese of Utrecht on July 21st, 1957. • After ordination, Nouwen was granted further study in psychology at the University of Nijmegen. • He graduated as a psychologist in 1963. His maternal grandmother had a child-size altar and vestments made for him, so he could “celebrate” the Eucharist with his siblings and playmates in the attic of their home.

  8. Menninger Clinic, 1964 - 1966 • Spent two years at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas, in the Religion and Psychiatry Program. • Hoped to introduce the combination of psychology and theology pioneered at Menninger into a religious education program in The Netherlands. • Grew more politically aware during this period, participating in Martin Luther King’s great civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

  9. The Teaching Years, 1966 - 1985 • Taught psychology at the University of Notre Dame from 1966-68. • Developed courses in pastoral theology that reflected his knowledge of psychology. • In 1968 Nouwen returned to The Netherlands to teach pastoral psychology and spirituality • Spent ten years (1971 - 1981) at Yale Divinity School • Taught at Harvard Divinity School from 1983-85.

  10. University of Notre Dame, 1966 - 1968 • At the invitation of his Menninger colleague Dr. John Santos, Nouwen joined the new psychology department at Notre Dame. • Taught pastoral theology, served as priest to the academic community, offered counseling and made many lasting friendships.  • This period launched Nouwen’s teaching career and his fruitful writing career. • Lectured on the themes of depression, intimacy and love. • Led to publication of his first book, Intimacy: Essays in Pastoral Psychology, in 1969.

  11. Yale Divinity School, 1971 - 1981 • Accepted the invitation to teach with three conditions: • He would not have to write a dissertation. He would receive tenure after three years and full professorship within five years. He would be free to write without restrictions. • Wrote The Wounded Healer, Reaching Out and The Way of the Heartduring these years. • Discovered solitude by twice spending about seven months living as a monk in the Trappist Monastery of the Genesee in New York State. He wrote about this experience in The Genesee Diary. • Nouwen’smother died during this time. He wrote compellingly about her death and the gift of her life in In Memoriam and A Letter of Consolation. Henri teaching at Yale .

  12. Latin America, 1981 - 1982 • Became interested in the political and theological developments that were so deeply affecting the poor in Central and South America.  • Left Yale in 1981 to spend six months discerning whether to join the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers to live with and serve the poor in Peru. • Expanded his worldview and deepened his engagement with social justice. • Wrote the journal iGracias! and Love in a Fearful Land, about his friend Father John Vesey’s work in Guatemala. Ciudad de Dios, Lima PeruonHenri's 50th birthday. 

  13. Harvard Divinity School, 1983 - 1985 • Accepted a position at Harvard Divinity School that required him to teach only one semester per year. • Allowed him to continue to travel to Latin America and to lecture in North America. • Despite Nouwen’s popularity at Harvard, he was not happy there. Environment was too competitive, he yearned for community. • In 1985 Nouwen resigned from Harvard and went to stay at the L’Arche community in Trosly, France. Henri with Harvard Students

  14. A Home in L’Arche, 1986 - 1996 • L'Arche, an international movement of communities that welcome people with disabilities • Spent a year writing in the original L’Arche community in Trosly-Breuil, France. • Accepted an invitation to become pastor for the L'Arche community of Daybreak in Richmond Hill, north of Toronto, Canada. Henri with Linda Slinger

  15. The Final Years • After recovering from a severe depression, Nouwen began to experience perhaps his deepest fulfillment as priest, friend, author, lecturer and mentor. • Gave countless talks and retreats, welcomed hundreds of people for counsel and still found time to write. • En route to Russia to do a documentary about Rembrandt's painting Return of the Prodigal Son, Nouwen suffered a heart attack in The Netherlands. He died on Saturday, September 21, 1996. Henri's gravesite – St. John’s Cemetery, 12125 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, 1.5 miles north of L'Arche Daybreak. 

  16. Journal Activity 1: Tell Your Story • Take 10 minutes to write your story. Then take 10 minutes to share your story.

  17. Theme 2: Becoming the Beloved • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naCvCZ2Bv00&feature=related

  18. Journal Activity 2 • What does it mean to you to be taken, blessed, broken, given?

  19. Theme 3: The Inner Voice of Love • In 1987 Henri left his community and went into counseling therapy. • After each counseling session he wrote a "spiritual imperative." • 62 “spiritual imperatives” • A private journal not intended for publication. • Over the years friends urged that it be released for publication. • Months before his death, he released the journal to his publisher.

  20. The Spiritual Imperatives

  21. Journal Activity 3 • Each one of you has been randomly given one of the 62 spiritual imperatives to read and reflect on. • Take 15 minutes to read and reflect on the spiritual imperative which has been given to you.

  22. Theme 4: Coming Home • Chance encounter with this painting by Rembrandt. • Expounds on the spiritual roles of Father, Brother, and Son. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuabMEa32CA&feature=related

  23. Journal Activity 4 • Study the Rembrandt painting and write down what you see and feel. • What impressed you about Nouwen’s story? • What does it feel like to leave home? • Have you ever felt like the prodigal son? Have you ever felt like the father? Explain the situations and your feelings. • What similarities are there between you and the eldest son? Reflect on the “elder son” that lives within you. • Look at the Rembrandt painting again. What do you see now that you did not see the first time?

  24. Summary & Conclusion • Henri Nouwen was perhaps the most popular spiritual writer of the late 20th century and his popularity endures today. More than seven million of his books have been sold world-wide and they have been translated into 30 languages.  • Both his teaching and his writing, helped make spirituality something mainstream within Roman Catholicism, within Christianity in general, and within secular society itself. • To learn more visit http://www.henrinouwen.org/

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