Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life features the wisdom that spiritual leader and counselor Henri J. M. Nouwen brought to the essential question asked by every Christian and seeker: What should I do with my life? Nouwen emphasizes listening to the Word of God--in our hearts, in the Bible, in the community of faith, and in the voice of the poor as a way to discern God's plan. Although the late Henri J. M. Nouwen counseled many people during his lifetime, his principles of discernment were never collected into a single volume. Now, in association with the Nouwen Legacy Trust, Michael Christensen--one of Nouwen's longtime students--and Rebecca Laird have taken his coursework, journals, and unpublished writings to create this and other books in the series exploring God's will for your life.

A succinct and powerful witness that fundraising is a form of ministry and can be a deeply spiritual experience.

Three short years transformed Romero, archbishop of San Salvador, from a conservative defender of the status quo into one of the churchs most outspoken voices of the oppressed. Though silenced by an assassins bullet, his spirit--and the challenge of his life--lives on.

Letters to Marc About Jesus is a beautiful collection of Henri Nouwen's very intimate and very enlightening writings to Marc, his nineteen-year-old nephew, who struggles to find his true path in a world of confusion and apathy. Written with Nouwen's characteristic grace and wisdom, these letters bear witness to his conviction that anyone can find lasting spiritual fulfillment if they simply take the time to maintain a daily awareness of Jesus in every aspect of life. Powerful and profound, Letters to Marc About Jesus is Nouwen at his best--teacher, guide, and mentor--and will provide the direction and inspiration necessary for any believer to change his or her life.

This intimate selection of Nouwen's spiritual writings on themes of faith and solidarity with a wounded world includes a substantial introduction by the man himself.

'We are the Beloved. We are intimately loved long before our parents, teachers, spouses, children and friends loved or wounded us. That's the truth of our lives. That's the truth I want you to claim for yourself. That's the truth spoken by the voice that says, "You are my Beloved."' - Henri Nouwen, Life of the Beloved Henri Nouwen, priest, professor and writer, devoted much of his later ministry to emphasising the singular concept of our identity as the Beloved of God. In an interview, he said that he believed the central moment in Jesus' public ministry to be his baptism in the Jordan, when Jesus heard the affirmation, 'You are my beloved son on whom my favour rests.' 'That is the core experience of Jesus,' Nouwen writes. 'He is reminded in a deep, deep way of who he is ... I think his whole life is continually claiming that identity in the midst of everything.' You Are Beloved is a daily devotional created from the very best of Nouwen's writings, paired with daily Scripture readings, that reveals our identity as children of God, and which encourages us to live out that truth in our daily lives. Nouwen is at once refreshingly accessible, unafraid to wrestle with challenging questions, and above all an encouraging and sympathetic voice along the way.

What does it mean to be a healer in the modern world? In this hope-filled and profoundly simple book, Henri Nouwen offers a radically fresh interpretation of modern ministry. Here he inspires devoted men and women who want to be of service in their church or community, but have found the traditional ways of ministry alienating and ineffective. According to Nouwen, we are called to identify the suffering in our own hearts and make that recognition the starting point of our service. We must be willing to go beyond our professional, aloof roles of service and leave ourselves open as fellow human beings with the same wounds and suffering as those we serve. We heal from our wounds.

Henri Nouwen's 'secret journal'. It was written during the most difficult period of his life, when, following the breakdown of a close relationship, he suddenly lost his self-esteem, his energy to live and work, his sense of being loved, and even his hope in God. For those who have to live through the anguish and despair of broken relationships, it offers new courage, new hope, even new life.

Henri Nouwen shares heartfelt insights on what it means to be a caregiver and to be cared for and how the caregiving relationship can lead to spiritual growth

"As he was dying, Abba Benjamin taught his sons this: Do this, and you'll be saved: Rejoice always, pray constantly, and in all circumstances give thanks".

Each Christian who seeks God through prayer is continuing a tradition that began with the desert fathers and mothers of the fourth and fifth century -- simple peasants whose spiritual progress was marked by inner peace, self-control, poverty, patience, humility, and hospitality. Desert Wisdom contains some hundred "sayings" of the desert fathers, each accompanied by playful illustrations by Japanese artist Yushi Nomura. Bridging East and West, the simple truths of Desert Wisdom remain as fresh and vital to Christians today as they were to the disciples who first heard and recorded them.

In this provocative essay on that least understood virtue, compassion, the authors challenge themselves and us with these questions: Where do we place compassion in our lives? Is it enough to live a life in which we hurt one another as little as possible? Is our guiding ideal a life of maximum pleasure and minimum pain? "Compassion" answers no.
After years of study and discussion among themselves, with other religious, and with men and women at the very center of national politics, the authors look at compassion with a vigorous new perspective. They place compassion at the heart of a Christian life in a world governed far too long by principles of power and destructive control. Compassion, no longer merely an eraser of human mistakes, is a force of prayer and action -- the expression of God's love for us and our love for God and one another.
"Compassion" is a book that says no to a compassion of guilt and failure and yes to a compassionate love that pervades our spirit and moves us to action. Henri Nouwen, Donald McNeill, and Douglas Morrison have written a moving document on what it means to be a Christian in a difficult time.

In this journal of his travels in Bolivia and Peru, Nouwen ponders the presence of God in the poor, the challenge of a persecuted church, the relation between faith and justice, and his own struggle to discern the path along which God is calling him. "Nouwen puts his inexhaustible curiosity and hunger for religious experience gladly at the service of a worldwide audience".--The Boston Globe.

A chance encounter with a reproduction of Rembrandt's painting, The Return of the Prodigal Son, catapulted Henri Nouwen into a long spiritual adventure. In his highly-acclaimed book of the same title, he shares the deeply personal meditation that led him to discover the place within which God has chosen to dwell. This Lent course, which has been adapted from the book, helps us to reflect on the meaning of the parable for our own lives. Divided into five sessions, the course moves through the parable exploring our reaction to the story: the younger son's leaving and return, the father's restoration of sonship, the elder son's resentment and the father's compassion. All of us who have experienced loneliness, dejection, jealousy or anger will respond to the persistent themes of homecoming, affirmation and reconciliation. Each session contained on the CD includes extracts from the book by Henri Nouwen, and background information about Henri Nouwen's life, as well as suggestions for reflection. Notes for Group Leaders and written questions for group discussion are also included in the enclosed booklet.

Did you know that noise is scientifically proven to stress you out Noise triggers a stress response in a region of your brainstem causing a release of cortisol (a stress hormone). Now think about how noise impacts you and why we need silence.

Distinguished theologian, spiritual thinker and author Henri Nouwen writes about the importance of silence for spirituality and presents the invitation to “pray always” in The Way Of The Heart.

The great Henri Nouwen said, “What makes us human is not our mind but our heart, not our ability think but our ability to love.” In The Heart of the Way Nouwen encourages people to take the disciplines of solitude, silence and prayer more seriously. He draws from the writings of the desert mother and fathers who lived in the Egyptian desert during the fourth and fifth centuries.

This uplifting read is for anyone looking to:

• Renew their spirituality and find faith within simple practices.
• Learn more about continuous prayer and pursue a deeper relationship with God.
• Create solitude and find comfort in silence.

The Way of the Heart has helped men and women cast off the anger and greed that trouble the world—and find love, compassion, and peace in the heart of God. Within this book lies the most relevant and inspiring challenge that we shall ever face: to surrender the compulsive noise of the world for the way of the heart that leads us to God.

The inspiring words of Henri J. M. Nouwen guide the faithful on a spiritual journey through the Advent and Christmas season in this book of waiting, hope, anticipation, and celebration. Each day of the Advent season (28 in all, to accommodate the varying number of days in the season) and each day of Christmas (12 in all, ending with Jesus' baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist) contain a pertinent excerpt from the writings of Father Nouwen, a related quotation from Scripture, a prayer for the day, and a suggested activity that offers a concrete response to mark the season.
"Advent and Christmas Wisdom" is indeed an easy-to-use, daily program to celebrate the momentous arrival of the Christ Child and the joyous news of our salvation. It is also an ideal book for the individual seeking active participation in the season and a renewal of faith for the start of the liturgical year.

How service is prayer and prayer is service

In this rich and deceptively simple book, beloved writer Henri Nouwen speaks--from the heart and from his own experience--of the joys and challenges of religious service. He shows how ministry cannot be separated from spirituality and reveals how anyone involved in religiously motivated service can act as a healing, sustaining, and guiding reminder of Jesus.

The real 'work' of prayer is to become silent and listen to the voice that says good things about me. The late Henri Nouwen was one of the twentieth century's greatest spiritual writers, and this book brings together two of his most inspirational pastoral works. Life of the Beloved asks how one can live a spiritual life in a completely secular culture. The greatest challenge, concludes Nouwen, is to bridge the gap between secular and sacred within the human self as a human being beloved of God. Our Greatest Gift is a meditation on dying. Dying and death can often bring fear, but the experience of dying and caring for the dying can become the deepest experience of love. Nouwen encourages us to ask, 'How can my death become fruitful in the lives of others?' Ultimately, it is the greatest gift we have to offer.

The beloved spiritual writer meditates on the parable of the prodigal son's return -- a powerful drama of fatherhood, filial duty, rivalry, and anger between brothers -- and its enduring lessons for Christianity.

Full-color photographs with gatefold.

Beloved author Henri Nouwen reflects on the spiritual significance of death and life in this moving meditation dedicated to "all those who suffer the pain that death can bring and who search for new life."