Father Henri J. M. Nouwen’s Daily Meditation – Thursday, January
23, 2014 “Community, a Quality of the Heart”
The word community has many connotations, some positive, some
negative. Community can make us think of a safe togetherness, shared meals,
common goals, and joyful celebrations. It also can call forth images of
sectarian exclusivity, in-group language, self-satisfied isolation, and romantic
naiveté. 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 (see Philippians 2:4). The question, therefore, is
not "How can we make community?" but "How can we develop and
nurture giving hearts?"
-------
Henri Nouwen Society
P.O. Box 220522
St. Louis, MO 63122 United States
-------
No comments:
Post a Comment