Henri Nouwen Quotes About Giving
-
Solitude begins with a time and place for God, and him alone. If we really believe not only that God exists but also that he is actively present in our lives—healing, teaching, and guiding — we need to set aside a time and space to give him our undivided attention.
→ -
This brief lifetime is my opportunity to receive love, deepen love, grow in love, and give love.
→ -
Dare to love and to be a real friend. The love you give and receive is a reality that will lead you closer and closer to God as well as those whom God has given you to love.
→ -
When we give generously, with an abundance mentality, what we give away will multiply.
→ -
Dear God, I am so afraid to open my clenched fists! Who will I be when I have nothing left to hold on to? Who will I be when I stand before you with empty hands? Please help me to gradually open my hands and to discover that I am not what I own, but what you want to give me.
→ -
I want my work to create space where people can meet God, rather than give them something they can "apply" to their daily life.
→ -
The Church will always be renewed when our attention shifts from ourselves to those who need our care. The blessing of Jesus always comes to us through the poor. The most remarkable experience of those who work with the poor is that, in the end, the poor give more than they receive. They give food to us.
→ -
God, help me to see others not as enemies or as ungodly but rather as thirsty people. And give me the courage and compassion to offer your Living Water, which alone quenches deep thirst.
→ -
Our humanity comes to its fullest bloom in giving. We become beautiful people when we give whatever we can give: a smile, a handshake, a kiss, an embrace, a word of love, a present, a part of our life...all of our life.
→ -
Friendship is one of the greatest gifts a human being can receive. It is a bond beyond common goals, common interests, or common histories. It is a bond stronger than sexual union can create, deeper than a shared fate can solidify, and even more intimate than the bonds of marriage or community. Friendship is being with the other in joy and sorrow, even when we cannot increase the joy or decrease the sorrow. It is a unity of souls that gives nobility and sincerity to love. Friendship makes all of life shine brightly.
→ -
When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand.
→ -
In 1970 I felt so lonely that I could not give; now I feel so joyful that giving seems easy. I hope that the day will come when the memory of my present joy will give me the strength to keep giving even when loneliness gnaws at my heart.
→ -
The more you have loved and have allowed yourself to suffer because of your love, the more you will be able to let your heart grow wider and deeper. When your love is truly giving and receiving, those whom you love will not leave your heart even when they depart from you. The pain of rejection, absence, and death can become fruitful. Yes, as you love deeply the ground of your heart will be broken more and more, but you will rejoice in the abundance of the fruit it will bear.
→ -
Our greatest fulfillment lies in giving ourselves to others.
→ -
To give someone a blessing is the most significant affirmation we can offer.
→ -
When we break bread and give it to each other, fear vanishes and God becomes very close.
→ -
We need to be angels for each other, 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.
→ -
The great teachers are always those who can live the tension. They are not criticizing everybody, they're not complaining. They give young people a vision.
→ -
If we want other people to give us something that only God can give, we become a demon. We say, "Love me!" and before you know it we become violent and demanding and manipulative. It's so important that we keep forgiving one another - not once in a while, but every moment of life.
→ -
A sense of solitude is one of the most beautiful things that parents can give a child. It doesn't mean leaving the child alone, but it does mean creating safe spaces where the child can be with other people. It does mean directing their attention to God.
→ -
Do not tell everyone your story. You will only end up feeling more rejected. People cannot give you what you long for in your heart. The more you expect from people's response to your experience of abandonment, the more you will feel exposed to ridicule.
→ -
For as long as you can remember, you have been a pleaser, depending on others to give you an identity. You need not look at that only in a negative way. You wanted to give your heart to others, and you did so quickly and easily. But now you are being asked to let go of all these self-made props and trust that God is enough for you. You must stop being a pleaser and reclaim your identity as a free self.
→ -
However, community is first of all a quality of the heart. It grows from the spiritual knowledge that we are alive not for ourselves but for one another. Community is the fruit of our capacity to make the interests of others more important than our own. The question, therefore, is not 'How can we make community?' but, 'How can we develop and nurture giving hearts?'
→ -
The best of community does give one a deep sense of belonging and well-being; and in that sense community takes away loneliness.
→ -
My hope is that the description of God's love in my life will give you the freedom and the courage to discover... God's love in yours.
→ -
Asking people for money is giving them the opportunity to put their resources at the disposal of the Kingdom.
→ -
We have probably wondered in our many lonesome moments if there is one corner in this competitive, demanding world where it is safe to be relaxed, to expose ourselves to someone else, and to give unconditionally. It might be very small and hidden, but if this corner exists, it calls for a search through the complexities of our human relationships in order to find it.
→ -
When you pray, you open yourself to the influence of the power which has revealed itself as love. The power gives you freedom and independence. Once touched by this power, you are no longer swayed back and forth by the countless opinions, ideas, and feelings which flow through you. You have found a center for your life that gives you a creative distance so that everything you see, hear, and feel can be tested against the source.
→ -
Indeed, when God's glory dwells in me, there is nothing too far away, nothing too painful, nothing too strange or too familiar that it cannot contain and renew by its touch. Every time I recognize the glory of God in me and give it space to manifest itself to me, all that is human can be brought there and nothing will be the same again.
→ -
By giving words to these intimate experiences I can make my life available to others.
→
Related Authors
-
Barbara Brown Taylor Priest -
Dietrich Bonhoeffer Pastor -
Eberhard Arnold Writer -
Anthony de Mello Writer -
Philip Yancey Author -
Richard J. Foster Author -
John Dear Priest -
Eugene H. Peterson Author -
Thomas Merton Writer -
Scott Hahn Author -
Dorothy Day Journalist -
Rembrandt Painter -
Jean Vanier Philosopher -
-
-
Dallas Willard Philosopher -
-
John Ortberg Author -
Richard Rohr Priest -
Brennan Manning Author
Popular Topics
- Spirals
- Westminster
- Rationale
- Funny Fishing
- Upholstery
- Victim Mentality
- Fastballs
- Sunbathing
- Eiffel Tower
- Dominican Republic
- Love No Matter What
- Staying Positive In Life
- Philosophical Thinking
- Living Consciously
- Interviewing Someone
- Fire Department
- Invisible Things
- Impossibility
- Deepest Life
- Eclectic Style