SAMPLE

Henri J.M. NouwenLenten Prayer with

S O L I T U D EOF THE HEART

SAMPLE

2

INTRODUCTION

Henri J.M. Nouwen (1932-1996) was one of the most important voices in the resurgence of Catholic spirituality in the latter half of the twenti-eth Century. His wisdom and sound advice are nowhere more valuable than when he offers help with our constant desire to pray better. His practical and down-to-earth advice about prayer was the result of his many years of struggle with prayer in his own life. His gift is that he is able to describe so well the fluctuations in the spiritual life, with its fits of success and its flirtations with despair, in such down-to-earth lan-guage that we can readily apply his insights to our own prayer. As Nouwen knew so well, half the battle of prayer is won by just showing up—being faithful to setting aside some time each day to really be alone with God, and as difficult or easy, as fearful or rewarding as that solitude might be, to encounter God’s mystery and dare to let God work on our hearts. As he explains so well:

Although the discipline of solitude asks us to set aside time and space, what finally matters is that our hearts become like quiet cells where God can dwell, wherever we go and whatever we do. The more we train ourselves to spend time with God and Him alone, the more we will discover that God is with us at all times and in all places. Then we will be able to recognize Him even in the midst of a busy and active life. Once the solitude of time and space has become a solitude of the heart, we will never have to leave that solitude. We will be able to live the spir-itual life in any place and any time. Thus the discipline of solitude enables us to live active lives in the world, while remaining always in the presence of the living God.

So now, with Nouwen’s help and guidance, let us dedicate ourselves to the Lenten discipline of daily prayer and ask God to be with us in the solitude of our heart. This is our Lenten challenge.

—Steve MuellerEditor

SAMPLE

3

ASH WEDNESDAY

Now Is the Time for Change“O that today you would listen to his voice!” (Psalm 95:7)

The Lenten season begins. It is a time to be with you Jesus 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 atten tive 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 which you have prepared for me. Amen.

Jesus, lead me this Lent to yourself so I may become more like you. Today I will…

THURSDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY

Doing Nothing, Being Useless“Be still, and know that I am God!” (Psalm 46:10)

When we enter into solitude we will often hear these two voices—the voice of the world and the voice of the Lord pulling us in two contrary directions. But if we keep returning faithfully to the place of solitude, the voice of the Lord will gradually become stronger and we will come to know and understand with mind and heart the peace we are searching for.

What do we do in our solitude? The first answer is nothing. Just be

SAMPLE

4

present to the One who wants your attention and listen! It is precisely in this “useless” presence to God that we can gradually die to our illusions of power and control and give ear to the voice of love hidden in the center of our being. “Doing nothing, being useless,” is not as passive as it sounds. In fact it requires effort and great attentiveness. It calls us to an active listening in which we make ourselves available to God’s healing presence and can be made new.

O God, help me be more present to you during my prayer. Today I will…

FRIDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY

Living Here and Now with God“Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.”

(Mark 6:31)

The invitation to a life of prayer is the invitation to live in the midst of this world without being caught in the net of its wounds and needs. The word “prayer” stands for a radical inter ruption of the vicious chain of interlocking dependencies that leads to violence and war, and for an entering into an entirely new dwelling place. It points to a new way of speaking, of breathing, of being together, of knowing—truly, to a whole new way of living.

It is not easy to express the radical change that prayer repre sents, since for many the word prayer is associated with piety; talking to God; thinking about God; attending morning and evening worship; going to Sunday service; saying grace before meals; and many other things. All of these have something to do with prayer, but prayer is the center of Christian life. It is living with God, here and now.

Jesus, help me to find a new way of living during this Lenten time. Today I will…

SAMPLE

5

SATURDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY

Returning To God“We are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

(2 Corinthians 5:20)

I am certainly not ready for Lent yet. Christmas seems just behind us, and Lent seems an unwelcome guest. I could have used a few more weeks to get ready for this season of repentance, prayer, and preparation for the death and resurrection of Jesus. This morning at the eucharist I spoke about how Jesus stressed the hidden life. Whether we give alms, pray, or fast, we are to do it in a hidden way, not to be praised by people but to enter into closer communion with God. Lent is a time of re-turning to God. It is a time to confess how we keep looking for joy, peace, and satisfaction in the many people and things surrounding us, without really finding what we desire. Only God can give us what we want. So we must be reconciled with God, as Paul says, and let that reconciliation be the basis of our relationships with others. Lent is a time of refocusing, of reentering the place of truth, of reclaiming our true identity.

Jesus, help me to embrace your hidden way in my life now. Today I will…

1ST SUNDAY OF LENT

Heart Speaks to Heart“The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.”

(Romans 8:26)

The practice of contemplative prayer is the discipline by which we begin to see God in our heart. It is a careful atten tiveness to him who dwells in the center of our being such that through the recognition of his presence we allow him to take possession of all our senses. Through the discipline of prayer we awaken ourselves to the God in us and let him enter into our heartbeat and our breathing, into our thoughts and emotions, our hearing, seeing, touching, and tasting. It is by being awake to this God in us that we can see him in the world around us. The great mystery of the contemplative life is not that we see God in the

SAMPLE

6

world, but that God within us recognizes God in the world. God speaks to God, Spirit speaks to Spirit, heart speaks to heart. Con templation, therefore, is a participation in this divine self-recognition. It is the divine Spirit praying in us who makes our world transparent and opens our eyes to the presence of the divine Spirit in all that surrounds us. It is with our heart of hearts that we see the heart of the world. This explains the intimate relationship between contemplation and ministry.

O God, help me to be more attentive to your presence all around me and in me. Today I will…

MONDAY, WEEK 1

An Hour with You“Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

My hour in the Carmelite chapel is more important than I can fully know myself. It is not an hour of deep prayer, nor a time in which I experience a special closeness to God; it is not a period of serious attentiveness to the divine mysteries. I wish it were! On the contrary, it is full of distractions, inner restlessness, sleepiness, confusion, and boredom. It seldom, if ever, pleases my senses. But the simple fact of being for one hour in the presence of the Lord and of showing him all that I feel, think, sense, and experience, without trying to hide anything, must please him. Somehow, somewhere, I know that he loves me, even though I do not feel that love as I can feel a human embrace, even though I do not hear a voice as I hear human words of consolation, even though I do not see a smile as I can see a human face.

O God, help me trust that my being attentive to you in prayer is bearing fruit. Today I will…

SAMPLE

7

TUESDAY, WEEK 1

Something Deep Is Happening in Me“O Lord, you have searched me and known me.” (Psalm 139:1)

Though my prayer may be dry, still the Lord speaks to me, looks at me, and embraces me there, where I am still unable to notice it. The only way I become aware of his presence is in that remarkable desire to return to that quiet chapel and be there without any real satisfaction. Yes, I notice, maybe only retrospectively, that my days and weeks are different days and weeks when they are held together by these regular “useless” times. God is greater than my senses, greater than my thoughts; greater than my heart. I do believe that he touches me in places that are unknown even to myself. I seldom can point directly to these places; but when I feel this inner pull to return again to that hidden hour of prayer, I realize that something is happening that is so deep that it becomes like the riverbed through which the waters can safely flow and find their way to the open sea.

Jesus, help me trust that your power is at work within me. Today I will...

WEDNESDAY, WEEK 1

Listen to My Voice“My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)

Prayer is the discipline of the moment. When we pray, we enter into the presence of God whose name is God-with-us. To pray is to listen attentively to the One who addresses us here and now. When we dare to trust that we are never alone but that God is always with us, always cares for us, and always speaks to us, then we can gradually detach ourselves from the voices that make us guilty or anxious and thus allow ourselves to dwell in the present moment. This is a very hard challenge because radical trust in God is not obvious. Most of us distrust God. Most of us think of God as a fearful, punitive au thority or as an empty, powerless nothing. Jesus’ core message was that God is neither a powerless weakling nor a powerful boss, but a lover, whose only desire is to give us what our hearts most desire.

Jesus, help me to hear your voice more clearly and follow you. Today I will…

SAMPLE

8

THURSDAY, WEEK 1

God’s Love Transforms Us

“We love because God first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)

Contemplative prayer leads us to that first love, the love by which we receive our true self. We are not the votes we receive, but rather we are who God has made us in love: children of the light, children of God. Only a life of ongoing intimate communion with God can reveal to us our true selfhood; only such a life can set us free to act according to the truth, and not according to our need for the spectacular.

This is far from easy. A serious and persevering discipline of solitude, silence, and prayer is demanded. Such a discipline will not reward us with the outer glitter of success, but with the inner light which enlightens our whole being, and which allows us to be free and uninhibited witnesses of God’s presence in our lives.

Jesus, help me continue to find you in my solitude, silence and prayer. Today I will…

FRIDAY, WEEK 1

My Own Way to Pray“Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.” (Psalm 61:1)

Just as there are many ways to be hospitable, there are many ways to pray. When we are serious about prayer and no longer consider it one of the many things people do in their life but, rather, the basic receptive attitude out of which all of life can receive new vitality, we will, sooner or later, raise the question: “What is my way to pray, what is the prayer of my heart?” Just as artists search for the style that is most their own, so people who pray search for the prayer of their heart. What is most profound in life, and therefore most dear to us, always needs to be properly protected as well as expressed. It, therefore, is not surprising that prayer is often sur rounded by carefully prescribed gestures and words, by detailed rituals and elaborate ceremonies.

Jesus, help me discover my own way to pray. Today I will…

SAMPLE

9

SATURDAY, WEEK 1

Opening Ourselves to God’s Gifts“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.” (Colossians 3:16)

Prayer must become an attitude that sees the world not as something to be possessed but as a gift that speaks con stantly of the Giver. It leads us out of the suffering that comes from insisting on doing things our way. It opens our hearts to receive. And prayer refreshes our memory about how other people reveal to us the gift of life.

When we pray we admit that we don’t know what God is going to do, but remember that we will never find out if we are not open to risks. We learn to stretch out our arms to the deep sea and the high heavens with an open mind and heart. In many ways prayer becomes an attitude toward life that opens itself up to a gift that is always coming. We find courage to let new things happen, things over which we have no control, but which now loom as less threatening.

Jesus, help me accept the risks that come with following you. Today I will…

2ND SUNDAY OF LENT

Letting God Transform Us“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

Do you really want to be converted? Are you willing to be transformed? Or do you keep clutching your old ways of life with one hand while with the other you beg people to help you change?

Conversion is certainly not something you can bring about yourself. It is not a question of willpower. You have to trust the inner voice that shows the way. You know that inner voice. You turn to it often. But after you have heard with clarity what you are asked to do, you start raising questions, fabricating objections, and seeking everyone else’s opinion. Thus you become

SAMPLE

10

entangled in countless often contradictory thoughts, feelings, and ideas and lose touch with the God in you. And you end up dependent on all the people you have gathered around you.

Only by attending constantly to the inner voice can you be converted to a new life of freedom and joy.

O God, help me trust in your power to transform me into the likeness of Jesus. Today I will…

MONDAY, WEEK 2

Trying to Hear and Obey“Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people.”

(Jeremiah 7:23)

The word obedi ent comes from the Latin word audire, which means “listening.” Jesus’ life was a life of obe dience. He was always listening to the Father, always attentive to His voice, always alert for His directions. Jesus was “all ears.” That is true prayer: being all ears for God. The core of all prayer is indeed listening, obediently standing in the presence of God. A spiritual discipline, therefore, is the concentrated effort to create some inner and outer space in our lives, where this obedience can be practiced. Through a spiritual discipline we prevent the world from filling our lives to such an extent that there is no place left to listen. A spiritual discipline sets us free to pray or, to say it better, allows the Spirit of God to pray in us. Through a spiritual discipline we prevent the world from filling our lives to such an extent that there is no place left to listen.

Jesus, help me to listen more attentively to your voice and obey your com-mands. Today I will…

TUESDAY, WEEK 2

Knowing My Inmost Heart“‘Come,’ my heart says, ‘seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, do I seek.”

(Psalm 27:8)

Our heart is at the center of our being human. There our deepest thoughts, intuitions, emotions, and decisions find their source. But it’s

SAMPLE

11

also there that we are often most alienated from ourselves. We know little or nothing of our own heart. We keep our distance, as though we were afraid of it. What is most intimate is also what frightens us most. Where we are most ourselves, we are often strangers to ourselves. That is the painful part of our being human. We fail to know our hidden centers; and so we live and die often without knowing who we really are.

The mystery of the spiritual life is that Jesus desires to meet us in the seclusion of our own heart, to make his love known to us there, to free us from our fears and to make our own deepest self known to us. In the privacy of our heart, therefore, we can learn not only to know Jesus but, through Jesus, ourselves as well.

Jesus, help me discover my hidden center where you live in me. Today I will…

WEDNESDAY, WEEK 2

Listening Attentively to Jesus“Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” (John 18:37)

Praying is first and foremost list ening to Jesus who dwells in the very depths of your heart. He doesn’t shout. He doesn’t thrust himself upon you. His voice is an unassuming voice, very nearly a whisper, the voice of a gentle love. Whatever you do with your life, go on listening to the voice of Jesus in your heart. This listening must be an active and very attentive listening, for in our restless and noisy world God’s so loving voice is easily drowned out. You need to set aside some time every day for this active listening to God if only for ten minutes. Ten minutes each day for Jesus alone can bring about a radical change in your life. You’ll find that it isn’t easy to be still for ten minutes at a time. You’ll discover straightaway that many other voices, voices that are very noisy and distracting, voices which do not come from God, demand your attention.

Jesus, help me to listen to your voice and discover you in the depths of my heart. Today I will…

SAMPLE

12

THURSDAY, WEEK 2

Let Jesus Enter“Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.”

(Revelation 3:20)

If you stick to your daily prayer time, then slowly but surely you’ll come to hear the gentle voice of love and will long more and more to listen to it. Prayerful listening will guide you to an ever deepening spiritual life. They will help you to get to know Jesus in a very intimate way, make you aware of the unique manner in which he is calling you, and give you the courage to follow him even to places where you’d rather not go. Living with Jesus is a great adventure. It’s the adventure of love. When you admit Jesus to your heart, nothing is predictable; but everything becomes possible. I pray that you will venture on a life with Jesus. He asks everything of you, but gives you more in return. With all my heart I wish you much hope, much courage, and abounding confidence.

Jesus, help me discover where you are calling me and dare to follow you.Today I will…

FRIDAY, WEEK 2

Changed by God’s Spirit“May you be strengthened in your inner being with power through God’s Spirit.” (Ephesians 3:16)

Often you will feel that nothing happens in your prayer. You say: “I am just sitting there and getting distracted.” But if you develop the

discipline of spending one half, hour a day listening to the voice of love, you will gradually discover that something is happening of which you were not even conscious. It might be only in retrospect that you discover the voice that blesses you. You thought that what happened during your time of listening was nothing more

than a lot of confusion, but then you discover yourself looking forward to your quiet time and missing it when you can’t have it. The movement

SAMPLE

13

of God’s Spirit is very gentle, very soft—and hidden. It does not seek attention. But that movement is also very persistent, strong and deep. It changes our hearts radically. The faithful discipline of prayer reveals to you that you are the blessed one and gives you the power to bless others.

Jesus, help me follow the gentle nudges that your Spirit is giving me this Lent. Today I will…

SATURDAY, WEEK 2

Praying Always“Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.” (2 Timothy 1:14)

If you want to follow Jesus, control what you take in every day. When you are on the bus or subway, or in your car, why busy your mind with all the garbage of advertisements? Why fill your mind with television and radio? Somehow you have to decide what your mind will receive. I don’t mean you shouldn’t ever go to movies or watch television, but control what enters your mind and heart. It’s not just a question of pushing bad things out but a question of holding on to something really good.

It is good to have a prayer on your lips wherever you go. There are so many moments in life when you are free to pray. When you are waiting for the cashier in the supermarket, getting mad because he or she doesn’t hurry, say a little prayer: “Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” Take that prayer with you wherever you go.

Jesus, help me guard my senses in order to hold on to you. Today I will…

3RD SUNDAY OF LENT

Yearning for Relationship“The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him.” (John 8:29)

Jesus’ life is an invitation for us to believe, not primarily in him but in the relationship between himself and the God whom he calls “Father.” Furthermore, Jesus comes into the world to communicate to those of us

SAMPLE

14

who are listening that this very same relationship is uniquely available to each one of us. By his life and death he announces the yearning in the heart of Love Divine, to be in relationship with each individual person. For you or I to engage this primal encounter is for us to return “home.”

This relationship between Jesus and the One who sent him into the world is the central focus of Jesus’ whole life and teaching. He urges us to see how he comes to us not on his own but sent and in relationship with God the Creator-Spirit. Jesus’ whole mission, his life, words, works, disgrace, and glory, are only relevant because of his relationship with the One who sent him.

Jesus, draw me more deeply into your relationship with God. Today I will…

MONDAY, WEEK 3

Forgiving Means Freeing“Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, for-give each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”

(Colossians 3:13)

It is good for us to “be with” and to forgive family members, partners, and children without needing to shape them in a violent way. It is liberating to accept that they are different from us, that they think and act in their own ways, and that they make different choices

than we might make. It is important to liberate them to make their own mistakes and to learn life’s lessons at their own pace. And finally, instead of wishing they had lived according to our expectations, how blessed we’d be to be grateful even when they weren’t able to love us perfectly, and how

loving it would be to allow them to die in peace. Jesus gives us good advice: “Leave your father, leave your mother, leave your sister, and leave your brother.” He knows that letting our parents and siblings go free is creating space in us not only to welcome God’s unconditional love but also to gradually become a compassionate parent figure for others.

Jesus, help me to find ways to let others be free to be themselves.

SAMPLE

15

TUESDAY, WEEK 3

Let God’s Word Be Your Companion“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)

The Word of God is powerful indeed. Not only the Jesus Prayer but many words from the Scriptures can reshape the inner self. When I take the words that strike me during a service into the day and slowly repeat them while reading or working, more or less chewing on them, they create new life. Sometimes when I wake up during the night I am still saying them, and they become like wings carrying me above the moods and turbulences of the days and the weeks. The words of God are indeed like eagles’ wings. Maybe I can deepen my hope in God by giving more time and attention to his words.

Jesus, help me use your words more fully to guide my daily life. Today I will…

WEDNESDAY, WEEK 3

Being Unbusy with God“For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.”

(Psalm 62:1)

The world says, “If you are not making good use of your time, you are useless.” Jesus says: “Come spend some useless time with me.” If we think about prayer in terms of its usefulness to us—what prayer will do for us—God cannot easily speak to us. But if we can detach ourselves from the idea of prayer’s usefulness, we become free to “waste” a precious hour with God in prayer.

Prayer is being unbusy with God instead of being busy with other things. Prayer is primarily to do nothing useful or productive in the presence of God. To not be useful is to remind myself that if anything important or fruitful happens through prayer, it is God who achieves the result.

Jesus, help me trust that you are at work in my prayer. Today I will…

SAMPLE

16

THURSDAY, WEEK 3

To Whom Am I Really Speaking?“Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!”

(Psalm 27:7)

For many of us prayer means nothing more than speaking with God. And since it usually seems to be a quite one-sided affair, prayer simply means talking to God. This idea is enough to create great frustrations. If I present a problem, I expect a solution; if I formulate a question, I expect an answer; if I ask for guidance, I expect a response. And when it seems, increasingly, that I am talking into the dark, it is not so strange that I soon begin to suspect that my dialogue with God is in fact a monologue. Then I may begin to ask myself: to whom am I really speaking, God or myself?

O God, help me forget myself and concentrate more on you in my prayer. Today I will…

FRIDAY, WEEK 3

Finding My Quiet Center“In the morning, while it was still very dark, Jesus got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.” (Mark 1:35)

To live a Christian life means to live in the world without being of it. It is in solitude that this inner freedom can grow. Jesus went to a lonely place to pray, that is, to grow in the awareness that all the power he had was given to him; that all the words he spoke came from his Father; and that all the works he did were not really his but the works of the One who had sent him. In the lonely place Jesus was made free to fail.

A life without a lonely place, that is, a life without a quiet center, easily becomes destructive. When we cling to the results of our actions as our only way of self-identification, then we become possessive and defensive and tend to look at our fellow human beings more as enemies to be kept at a distance than as friends with whom we share the gifts of life.

Jesus, lead me to the quiet center where you desire to meet me each day. Today I will…

SAMPLE

17

SATURDAY, WEEK 3

Do I Belong to God or the World?“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” (Jeremiah 31:3)

As long as I keep running about asking “Do you love me? Do you really love me?” I give all power to the voices of the world and put myself in bondage because the world is filled with “ifs.” The world says: “Yes, I love you if you are good-looking, intelligent, and wealthy. I love you if you have a good education, a good job, and good connections. I love you if you produce much, sell much, and buy much.” There are endless “ifs” hidden in the world’s love. These “ifs” enslave me, since it is impossible to respond adequately to all of them. The world’s love is and always will be conditional. As long as I keep looking for my true self in the world of conditional love, I will remain “hooked” to the world—trying, failing, and trying again.

Jesus, free me from the world’s conditional love to find your unconditional love for me. Today I will…

4TH SUNDAY OF LENT

Show Me Your Way“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)

O Lord, this holy season of Lent is passing quickly. I entered into it with fear, but also with great expectations. I hoped for a great breakthrough, a powerful conversion, a real change of heart; I wanted Easter to be a day so full of light that not even a trace of darkness would be left in my soul. But I know that you do not come to your people with thunder and lightning. Let me be thankful for your gentle way. I know you are at work. I know you will not leave me alone. I know you are quickening me for Easter but in a way fitting to my own history and my own temperament. I pray that these last three weeks, in which you invite me to enter more fully into

SAMPLE

18

the mystery of your passion, will bring me a greater desire to follow you on the way that you create for me and to accept the cross that you give to me. Let me die to the desire to choose my own way and select my own cross. You do not want to make me a hero but a servant who loves you. Be with me tomorrow and in the days to come, and let me experience your gentle presence. Amen.

Jesus, be with me each day to lead me according to your ways. Today I will…

MONDAY, WEEK 4

Receive and Share God’s Love“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.When shall I come and behold the face of God?” (Psalm 42:2)

God is Spirit and the Source of all love. Our spiritual journey calls us to seek and find this living God of Love in prayer, worship, spiritual reading, spiritual mentoring, compassionate service to the poor, and good friends. Let us claim the truth that we are loved and open our hearts to receive God’s overflowing love poured out for us. And living fully each day let us share that love in all our wonderful and difficult relationships, responsibilities, and passages.

The seeds of death are at work in us, but love is stronger than death. Your death and mine is our final passage, our exodus to the full realization of our identity as God’s beloved children and to full communion with the God of love. Jesus walked the path ahead of us and invites us to choose the same path during our lifetime. He calls to us, “Follow Me.” He assures us. “Do not be afraid.” This is our faith.

Jesus, help me bring your love to others. Today I will…

TUESDAY, WEEK 4

God’s Word Is Powerful“The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

The Word of God is not a word to apply in our daily lives at some later date; it is a word to heal us through, and in, our listening here and

SAMPLE

19

now. The questions therefore are: How does God come to me as I listen to the word? Where do I discern the healing hand of God touching me through the word? How are my sad ness, my grief, and my mourning being transformed at this very moment? Do I sense the fire of God’s love purifying my heart and giving me new life? These questions lead me to the sacrament of the word, the sacred place of God’s real presence.

At first this might sound quite new for a person living in a society in which the main value of the word is its applica bility. But most of us know already, generally unconscious ly, of the healing and destroying power of the spoken word. When someone says to me, “I love you,” or “I hate you,” I am not just receiving some useful information. These words do something in me. They make my blood move, my heart beat, my breathing speed up. They make me feel and think differently. They lift me up to a new way of being and give me another knowledge of myself. These words have the power to heal or to destroy me.

Jesus, help me be more attentive to your word and let it move me. Today I will…

WEDNESDAY, WEEK 4

Moving from Mind to Heart“Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:9)

The word obedi ent comes from the Latin word audire, which means “listening with great attention.” Jesus is called the obedient one, that means the listener. The Latin word for not listening, being deaf, is surdus. If you are absolutely not listening, that is where the word “absurd” comes from. So it might be interesting to note that somebody who is not listening is leading an absurd life.

Now, to become a listener, one way to do it is to say, “How can I let the ‘Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want’ enter in from my mind to my heart?” I can say it is here and that is just a statement, but it becomes prayer when I experience the shepherding presence of God in the center of my being. Listening starts precisely when you move from the mind to the heart and let the truth of your being center you down.

Jesus, help me move your words from my head to my heart so that they change me completely. Today I will…

SAMPLE

20

THURSDAY, WEEK 4

God’s Pruning Work“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower who removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.” (John 15:1-2)

Jesus told his followers that they were intimately related to him as branches are to a vine, but they still needed to be pruned to bear more fruit. Pruning means cutting, reshaping, removing what diminishes vitality. When we look at a pruned vineyard, we can hardly believe it will bear fruit. But when harvest comes, we realize that the pruning

allowed the vines to concentrate their energy and produce more grapes.

Grateful people learn to celebrate even amid life’s hard and harrowing memories because they know that pruning is no mere punishment, but preparation. When our grati tude for the past is only partial, our hope for the

future can likewise never be full. But our submitting to God’s pruning work will not ultimately leave us sad, but hopeful for what can happen in us and through us. Harvest time will bring its own blessings.

Jesus, send your life into me so that I may bear fruit for your kingdom.

FRIDAY, WEEK 4

Living with Open Hands“Be filled with the Spirit…singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:18-20)

A life in prayer is a life with open hands where you are not ashamed of your weakness but realize that it is more perfect for a man to be led by the other than to seek to hold everything in his own hands. Only within this kind of life does a spoken prayer make sense. A prayer in church, at table or in school is only a witness to what we want to make of our entire lives. Such a prayer only recalls to mind that praying is living and it invites you to make this an ever-greater reality.

SAMPLE

21

Thus there are as many ways to pray as there are moments in life. Sometimes you seek out a quiet spot and you want to be alone, sometimes you look for a friend and you want to be together. Sometimes you’d like a book or some music. Sometimes you want to sing out with hundreds, sometimes only to whisper with a few. Sometimes you want to say it with words, sometimes with a deep silence. In all these moments, you gradually make your life more a prayer and you open your hands to be led by God even to where you would rather not go.

Jesus, help me make my whole life a prayer. Today I will…

SATURDAY, WEEK 4

God’s Mighty Deeds“I will meditate on all your work, and muse on your mighty deeds.”

(Psalm 77:12)

The more I come in touch with what happened in the past, the more I come in touch with what is to come. The Gospel not only reminds me of what took place but also of what will take place. In the contemplation of Christ’s first coming, I can discover the signs of his second coming. By looking back in meditation, I can look forward in expectation. By reflection, I can project; by conserving the memory of Christ’s birth, I can progress to the fulfillment of his kingdom. I am struck by the fact that the prophets speaking about the future of Israel always kept reminding their people of God’s great works in the past. They could look forward with confidence because they could look backward with awe to Yahweh’s great deeds. I pray for the opportunity to deepen my memory of God’s great deeds in time and will set me free to look forward with courage to the fulfillment of time by him who came and is still to come.

O God, thank you for all the ways you have come into my life. Today I will…

SAMPLE

22

5TH SUNDAY OF LENT

The Lord Is with You“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own in-sight.” (Proverbs 3:5)

What I must do first of all is be faithful. If I believe that the first commandment is to love God with my whole heart, mind, and soul, then I should at least be able to spend one hour a day with nobody else but God. The question as to whether it is helpful, useful, practical, or

fruitful is completely irrelevant, since the only reason to love is love itself. Everything else is secondary.

The remarkable thing, however, is that sitting in the presence of God for one hour each morning—day after day, week after week, month after month—in total confusion and with myriad distractions radically changes my life. God, who loves me so much that he sent his only son not to condemn me but to save me, does not leave me waiting in the dark too

long. I might think that each hour is useless, but after thirty or sixty or ninety such useless hours, I gradually realize that I was not as alone as I thought; a very small, gentle voice has been speaking to me far beyond my noisy place. So: Be confident and trust in the Lord.

Jesus, make my prayer a time for you to work changes in me. Today I will...

MONDAY, WEEK 5

God’s Heart-Felt Love“God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5)

O Lord, how can I ever go anywhere else but to you to find the love I so desire! How can I expect from people as sinful as myself a love that can touch me in the most hidden corners of my being? Who can wash me clean as you do and give me food and drink as you do? Who wants me to be so close, so intimate, and so safe as you do? O Lord, your love is not an intangible love, a love that remains words and thoughts. No,

SAMPLE

23

Lord, your love is a love that comes from your human heart. It is a heart-felt love that expresses itself through your whole being. You speak...you look...you touch...you give me food. Yes, you make your love a love that reaches all the senses of my body and holds me as a mother holds her child, embraces me as a father embraces his son, and touches me as a brother touches his sister and brother.

O God, help me experience your love and share it with others. Today I will...

TUESDAY, WEEK 5

Seeing Jesus Today“It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.”

(Galatians 2:20)

O Lord, I have not seen you and yet I truly see you every time I look at the broken bodies of my fellow human beings. I have not heard you, and yet I truly hear you every time I hear the cries uttered by men, women and children in pain. I have not touched you, and yet I truly touch you every time I touch all those who come to me in their loneliness. In the midst of all the human brokenness and human pain, I see, hear and touch the heart of humanity, your humanity, the humanity of all the people embraced by your love.

Thank you for showing me your heart. Thank you for letting me see while not seeing, hear while not hearing, touch while not touching. Thank you for letting me believe more every day, hope more every day and love more every day. Here I am, Lord, take my heart and let it become a heart filled with your love.

Jesus, help me recognize you in each person I encounter today. Today I will…

WEDNESDAY, WEEK 5

We Are Never Alone“Live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”

(Philippians 4:9)

Anyone who seeks to know God’s peace and presence, regardless of age or circumstance, can practice—anywhere, anytime—the sacrament of the present moment? When we pray, we enter into the presence

SAMPLE

24

of God whose name is Immanuel—God-with-us. To pray is to listen attentively to the One who addresses us here and now. When we dare to trust that we are never alone but that God is always with us, always cares for us, and always speaks to us, we can gradually detach ourselves from the voices that make us feel guilty or anxious, and embrace the present moment. If we could, for a few minutes each day, just be fully where we are, we would indeed discover that we are not alone, and that the One who is with us in our hearts wants only to give us the love we need and the power to love others.

Jesus, help me know you are with me every moment and everywhere. Today I will…

THURSDAY, WEEK 5

The Grace to Forgive“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6:37)

We are a wounded people. Who wounds us? Often those whom we love and those who love us. When we feel rejected, abandoned, abused, manipulated, or violated, it is mostly by people very close to us: our parents, our friends, our spouses, our lovers, our children, our neighbors, our teachers, our pastors. Those who love us wound us too. That’s the tragedy of our lives. This is what makes forgiveness from the heart so difficult. It is precisely our hearts that are wounded. We cry out, “You, who I expected to be there for me, you have abandoned me. How can I ever forgive you for that?”

Forgiveness often seems impossible, but nothing is impossible for God. The God who lives within us will give us the grace to go beyond our wounded selves and say, “In the Name of God you are forgiven.” Let’s pray for that grace.

Jesus, help me forgive those who have wounded me, especially close friends and family members. Today I will…

SAMPLE

25

FRIDAY, WEEK 5

Seek Love Not Power“The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

(Matthew 23:11-12)

One of the greatest ironies of the history of Christianity is that its leaders constantly gave in to the temptation of power—political power, military power, economic power, or moral and spiritual power—even though they continued to speak in the name of Jesus, who did not cling to his divine power but emptied himself and became as we are. The temptation to consider power an apt instrument for the proclamation of the Gospel is the greatest of all.

With this rationalization, crusades took place; inquisitions were organized; Indians were enslaved; positions of great influence were desired. Every time we see a major crisis in the history of the Church, we always see that a major cause of rupture is the power exercised by those who claim to be followers of the poor and powerless Jesus.

What makes the temptation of power so seemingly irresistible? Maybe it is that power offers an easy substitute for the hard task of love. It seems easier to be God than to love God, easier to control people, easier to own life than to love life.

Jesus, help me to serve others instead of seeking power over them. Today I will…

SATURDAY, WEEK 5

Jesus’ Way of Weakness“God said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

The way of God is the way of weakness. The great news of the Gospel is precisely that God became small and vulnerable, and hence bore fruit among us. The most fruitful life ever lived is the life of Jesus, who did not cling to his divine power but became as we are. Jesus brought us new life in ultimate vulnerability. He came to us as a small child, dependent on the care and protection of others. He lived for us as a poor preacher, without any political, economic, or military power.

SAMPLE

26

He died for us nailed on a cross as a useless criminal. It is in this extreme vulnerability that our salvation was won. The fruit of this poor and failing existence is eternal life for all who believe in him. It is very hard for us to grasp even a little bit of the mystery of God’s vulnerability. Yet, when we have eyes to see and ears to hear we can see it in many ways and in many places.

Jesus, help me accept my own weakness and vulnerability to be like you. Today I will…

PASSION/PALM SUNDAY OF LENT

The Self-emptying Christ“Though Jesus was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.” (Philippians 2:6-7)

Our vocation as Christians is to follow Jesus on his downward path and to become witnesses to God’s compassion in the concrete situation of our time and place. Our temptation is to let needs for success, visibility,

and influence dominate our thoughts, words, and actions to such an extent that we are gripped in the destructive spiral of upward mobility and thus lose our vocation. It is this lifelong tension between vocation and temptation that presents us with the necessity of spiritual formation. Precisely because the downward mobility of the way of the cross cannot rely on our spontaneous responses, we are faced with the question, “How do we conform our minds and hearts to the

mind and heart of the self-emptying Christ?” To follow Christ requires the willingness and determination to

let God’s Spirit pervade all the corners of our minds and hearts and there make us into other Christs. Formation is transformation, and transformation means a growing conformity to the mind of Christ, who did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself.

Jesus, help me empty myself as you did and serve those I meet each day. Today I will…

SAMPLE

27

MONDAY HOLY WEEK

We Belong Together“The love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all…so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

Christians are called to bear witness to the truth that God has gathered all people into one family. Yet wherever we look we see the devastating fear people have of one another. Fear between races, religions, nations, continents. Fear between rich and poor, North and South, East and West. Wherever this fear rules division breeds, leading to hatred, violence, destruction, and war. We need new eyes to see and new ears to hear the truth of our unity, a unity which cannot be perceived by our broken, sinful, anxious hearts. Only a heart filled with perfect love can perceive the unity of humanity. This requires divine perception. God sees his people as one, as belonging to the same family and living in the same house. God wants to share this divine perception with us. By sending the only beloved son to live and die for us all, God wants to open our eyes so that we can see that we belong together in the embrace of God’s perfect love.

O God, help me see persons as you do and serve them as Jesus did. Today I will...

TUESDAY HOLY WEEK

Our God Is Not Distant“The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.”

(Psalm 145:9)

The mystery of God’s love is not that he takes our pains away, but that he first wants to share them with us. Out of this divine solidarity comes new life. Jesus’ being moved in the center of his being by human pain is indeed a movement toward new life. God is our God, the God of the living. In his divine womb life is always born again....The truly good news is that God is not a distant God, a God to be feared and avoided, a God of revenge, but a God who is moved by our pains and participates in the fullness of the human struggle.

O God, help me recognize your presence in my suffering and let me bear it as Jesus did. Today I will…

SAMPLE

28

WEDNESDAY HOLY WEEK

A New Way to Live“When you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.”

(John 21:18)

To pray means to open your hands before God. It means slowly relaxing the tension which squeezes your hands together and accepting your existence with an increasing readiness, not as a possession to defend, but as a gift to receive. Above all, prayer is a way of life which allows you to find a stillness in the midst of the world where you open your hands to God’s promises and find hope for yourself, your neighbor, and your world. In prayer, you encounter God not only in the small voice and the soft breeze, but also in the midst of the turmoil of the world, in the distress and joy of your neighbor, and in the loneliness of your own heart. Therefore, a life in prayer is a life with open hands where you are not ashamed of your weakness but realize that it is more perfect to be led by the other than to seek to hold everything in his own hands.

O God, help me open my hands to you and accept everything as your gift. Today I will…

HOLY THURSDAY

Cup of Sorrow, Cup of Joy“Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” (Matthew 20:22)

Jesus’ unconditional yes to his Father had empowered him to drink his cup, not in passive resignation but with the full knowledge that the hour of his death would also be the hour of his glory. His yes made his surrender a creative act, an act that could bear much fruit. His yes took away the fatality of the interruption of his ministry.

Instead of a final irrevocable end, his death became the beginning of a new life. Indeed, his yes enabled him to trust fully in the rich harvest the dying grain would yield.

Joys are hidden in sorrows! I know this from my own times of

SAMPLE

29

depression. We need to remind each other that the cup of sorrow is also the cup of joy, that precisely what causes us sadness can become the fertile ground for gladness. Indeed, we need to give each other strength and consolation. Because only when we fully realize that the cup of life is not only a cup of sorrow but also a cup of joy will we be able to drink it.

Jesus, help me to give up my resistance to your love so I can be more like you. Today I will…

GOOD FRIDAY

The Way to New Life“The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:10-11)

Suffering and death belong to the narrow road of Jesus. Jesus does not glorify them, or call them beautiful, good, or something to be desired. Jesus does not call for heroism or suicidal self-sacrifice. No, Jesus invites us to look at the reality of our existence and reveals this harsh reality as the way to new life. The core message of Jesus is that real joy and peace can never be reached while bypassing suffering and death, but only by going right through them.

We could say: We really have no choice. Indeed, who escapes suffering and death? Yet there is still a choice. We can deny the reality of life, or we can face it. When we face it not in despair, but with the eyes of Jesus, we discover that where we least expect it, something is hidden that holds a promise stronger than death itself. Jesus lived his life with the trust that God’s love is stronger than death and that death therefore does not have the last word. He invites us to face the painful reality of our existence with the same trust. This is what Lent is all about.

Jesus, help me trust that through my suffering there will be new life with you. Today I will…

SAMPLE

30

HOLY SATURDAY

Through Death to New Life“We are always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.” (2 Corinthians 4:10)

You know that something totally new, truly unique, is happening within you. It is clear that something in you is dying and something is being born. You must remain attentive, calm, and obedient to your best intuitions. You feel a strange sadness. An enormous loneliness emerges, but you are not frightened. You feel vulnerable but safe at the same time. Jesus is where you are, and you can trust that he will show you the next step.

There are two realities to which you must cling. First, God has promised that you will receive the love you have been searching for. And second, God is faithful to that promise. So trust that God will bring you what you need. Your whole life you have been running about, seeking the love you desire. Now it is time to end that search. Trust that God will give you that all-fulfilling love and will give it in a human way. Just stop running and start trusting and receiving.

Jesus, help me trust your work in me and hope that it continues. Today I will…

SAMPLE

31

AcknowledgementsAll Saints Press expresses thanks to the following publishers

from which these reflections have been excerpted.

Bread for the Journey by Henri Nouwen, © 1996 by Henri Nouwen (HarperSanFrancisco)Can You Drink the Cup? The Challenge of the Spiritual Life by Henri J.M. Nouwen (Ave Maria, 1996)

Clowning In Rome Copyright © 1975 by Henri J.M. Nouwen (Doubleday)Compassion Copyright © 1982 by Henri J.M. Nouwen (Doubleday)

A Cry for Mercy by Henri J.M. Nouwen (Doubleday, 1981) Finding My Way Home Copy right © 2001 by The Estate of Henri J.M. Nouwen (Crossroad)

The Genesee Diary by Henri J.M. Nouwen (Doubleday, 1976)¡Gracias! by Henri J.M. Nouwen (Harper & Row, 1983)

Heart Speaks to Heart by Henri J.M. Nouwen (Ave Maria Press, Inc., 1989, 2007)Here and Now by Henri J.M. Nouwen (The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1994)

Home Tonight: Further Reflections on the Parable of the Prodigal Son by Henri J.M. Nouwen (Doubleday, 2009)The Inner Voice of Love Copyright © Henri J.M. Nouwen (Doubleday, 1996)

In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership by Henri J.M. Nouwen (Crossroad, 1989)Letters to Marc about Jesus by Henri J.M. Nouwen (HarperCollins, 1998)Life of the Beloved Copyright © 1992 by Henri J.M. Nouwen (Crossroad)

Lifesigns: Intimacy, Fecundity, and Ecstasy in Christian Perspective by Henri J.M. Nouwen (Doubleday, 1986)Liguorian Magazine, October 1992

Making All Things New & Other Classics, by Henri J.M. Nouwen (HarperCollins, 2000)Out of Solitude by Henri J.M. Nouwen (Ave Maria Press, 1974)

Reaching Out by Henri J.M. Nouwen (Doubleday, 1975)The Return of the Prodigal Son: The Story of Homecoming © 1992 by Henri J.M. Nouwen (Doubleday)

The Road to Daybreak by Henri J.M. Nouwen © 1988 Henri J.M. Nouwen (Doubleday)The Road to Peace, by Henri J.M. Nouwen (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1998)

Sabbatical Journey Copyright © 1998 by The Estate of Henri J.M. Nouwen (Crossroad) The Selfless Way of Christ by Henri J.M. Nouwen (Orbis, 2007)

Spiritual Formation: Following the Movements of the Spirit by Henri J.M. Nouwen (HarperCollins, 2010)Turn My Mourning into Dancing by Henri J.M. Nouwen (Nashville: World Publishing Group, 2001)

The Way of the Heart by Henri J.M. Nouwen (HarperCollins, 1981)With Burning Hearts: A Meditation on the Eucharistic Life by Henri J.M. Nouwen (Orbis, 1994)

With Open Hands by Henri J.M. Nouwen (Ave Maria Press, Inc., 1972)

SAMPLE

EASTER SUNDAY

He Is Risen and with Us Still“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” (Luke 24:5)

The Easter season is a time of hope. There still is fear, there still is a painful awareness of sinfulness, but there also is light breaking through. Something new is happening, something that goes beyond the changing moods of our life. We can be joyful or sad, optimistic or pessimistic, tranquil or angry, but the solid stream of God’s presence moves deeper than the small waves of our minds and hearts. Easter brings the awareness that God is present even when his presence is not directly noticed. Easter brings the good news that, although things seem to get worse in the world, the Evil One has already been overcome. Easter allows us to affirm that although God seems very distant and although we remain preoccupied with many little things, our Lord walks with us on the road and keeps explaining the Scriptures to us. Thus there are many rays of hope casting their light on our way through life.

O God, fill me with hope that the new life that is happening within me will continue beyond Lent. Today I will…

Solitude of the Heart was edited by Steve Mueller from the works of Henri J.M. Nouwen. © Copyright 2012 by All Saints Press, PO Box 190825, St. Louis, MO 63119. Painting of Christ of Saint John of the Cross by Salvador Dalí. (800) 923-8618 and AllSaintsPress.com. 03-361