Monday, February 19, 2018

Daily Meditation: The Henri Nouwen Society in Toronto, Ontario Canada -

Daily Meditation: The Henri Nouwen Society in Toronto, Ontario Canada - 
DAILY MEDITATION: "The Basis of Our Security" for Monday, 19 February 2018
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What is the basis of our security? When we start thinking about that question, we may give many answers: success, money, friends, property, popularity, family, connections, insurance, and so on. We may not always think that any of these forms the basis of our security, but our actions or feelings may tell us otherwise. When we start losing our money, our friends, or our popularity, our anxiety often reveals how deeply our sense of security is rooted in these things.
A spiritual life is a life in which our security is based not in any created things, good as they may be, but in God, who is everlasting love. We probably will never be completely free from our attachment to the temporal world, but if we want to live in that world in a truly free way, we'd better not belong to it. "You cannot be the slave both of God and of money" (Luke 16:13).

For further reflection...
[The one] who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust." (Psalm 91:1-2 (NIV))
Your response...
Where do you seek your security when times get tough?
Comment on this meditation.
Continue the Inspiration
Purchase your copy of Henri Nouwen's book "The Selfless Way of Christ".
***
DAILY MEDITATION: "Creating Beautiful Memories" Sunday, 18 February 2018
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What happens during meals shapes a large part of our memories. As we grow older we forget many things, but we mostly remember the Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners in our families. We remember them with joy and gratitude or with sadness and anger. They remind us of the peace that existed in our homes or the conflicts that never seemed to get resolved. These special moments around the table stand out as vivid reminders of the quality of our lives together.
Today fast-food services and TV dinners have made common meals less and less central. But what will there be to remember when we no longer come together around the table to share a meal? Maybe we will have fewer painful memories, but will we have any joyful ones? Can we make the table a hospitable place, inviting us to kindness, gentleness, joy, and peace and creating beautiful memories?

For further reflection...
"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an [adult], I put childish ways behind me." (I Corinthians 13:11 (NIV))
Your response...
What memories do you have around the family dining table?
Comment on this meditation.
Continue the Inspiration
Purchase your copy of Henri Nouwen's book "Spiritual Formation".
***
Reflection for the First Sunday in Lent - The Henri Nouwen Society in Toronto, Ontario, Canada 
Reflection for the First Sunday in Lent
THE GIFT OF FRIENDSHIP
There is a twilight zone in our own hearts that we ourselves cannot see. Even when we know quite a lot about ourselves - our gifts and weaknesses, our ambitions and aspirations, our motives and drives - large parts of ourselves remain in the shadow of our consciousness.
This is a very good thing. We will always remain partially hidden to ourselves. Other people, especially those who love us, can often see our twilight zones better than we ourselves can. The way we are seen and understood by others is different from the way we see and understand ourselves.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Loving God, take my poor offering of friendship and remind me every day of your invitation to journey with you to the Easter miracle of Resurrection. Allow me to accept the weaknesses and defects that you and others see in me, but which are hidden from me. Lift me up when I fall and always let me reach, not reject, your outstretched hand of welcome and forgiveness. And, keep my sins and doubts from leaching the joy out of life.
Amen.
Lent Online Book Discussion
The popular Nouwen Book Discussion runs throughout Lent.
This year's featured book is The Road to Daybreak: A Spiritual Journey.
Facilitated by Brynn Lawrence and Ray Glennon, you are welcome to participate in any way that is spiritually nourishing for you!
Read * Reflect * Share
For more information, click here.
Photo of Henri Nouwen by Frank Hamilton. Used with kind permission.
Help us extend Henri Nouwen's impact and legacy
to a new generation of spiritually hungry seekers and readers.
***
DAILY MEDITATION: "The Barometer of Our Lives" Saturday, 17 February 2018
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Although the table is a place for intimacy, we all know how easily it can become a place of distance, hostility, and even hatred. Precisely because the table is meant to be an intimate place, it easily becomes the place we experience the absence of intimacy. The table reveals the tensions among us. When husband and wife don't talk to each other, when a child refuses to eat, when brothers and sisters bicker, when there are tense silences, then the table becomes hell, the place we least want to be.
The table is the barometer of family and community life. Let's do everything possible to make the table the place to celebrate intimacy.

For further reflection...
"Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." (Colossians 4:6 (NIV))
Your response...
Have your table experiences been mostly good, intimate experiences or the hellish kind or something in between?
Comment on this meditation.
Continue the Inspiration
Purchase your copy of Henri Nouwen's book "Bread for the Journey".
***
DAILY MEDITATION: "The Intimacy of the Table" Friday, 16 February 2018
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The table is one of the most intimate places in our lives. It is there that we give ourselves to one another. When we say, "Take some more, let me serve you another plate, let me pour you another glass, don't be shy, enjoy it," we say a lot more than our words express. We invite our friends to become part of our lives. We want them to be nurtured by the same food and drink that nurture us. We desire communion. That is why a refusal to eat and drink what a host offers is so offensive. It feels like a rejection of an invitation to intimacy.
Strange as it may sound, the table is the place where we want to become food for one another. Every breakfast, lunch, or dinner can become a time of growing communion with one another.

For further reflection...
When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God." After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this, and divide it among you." And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them... (Luke 22: 14-17, 19)
Your response...
What opportunities to give or receive hospitality do you see today?
Comment on this meditation.
Continue the Inspiration
Purchase your copy of Henri Nouwen's book "Reaching Out".
***
DAILY MEDITATION: "The Meal That Makes Us Family and Friends" Thursday, 15 February 2018
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We all need to eat and drink to stay alive. But having a meal is more than eating and drinking. It is celebrating the gifts of life we share. A meal together is one of the most intimate and sacred human events. Around the table we become vulnerable, filling one another's plates and cups and encouraging one another to eat and drink. Much more happens at a meal than satisfying hunger and quenching thirst. Around the table we become family, friends, community, yes, a body.
That is why it is so important to "set" the table. Flowers, candles, colorful napkins all help us to say to one another, "This is a very special time for us, let's enjoy it!"

For further reflection...
The king asked, "Is there no one still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show God's kindness?" Ziba answered the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in both feet." When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, "Mephibosheth! Don't be afraid, for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table." Then Ziba said to the king, "Your servant will do whatever my lord the king demands his servant to do." So Mephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the king's sons. And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king's table, and he was crippled in both feet. (2 Samuel 9: 3, 6, 7, 11, 13)
Your response...
"Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the soul." (Teresa of Ávila, Complete Works of St Teresa of Jesus: Volume 3)
Comment on this meditation.
Continue the Inspiration
Purchase your copy of Henri Nouwen's book "The Road to Daybreak".
***
DAILY MEDITATION: "Seeing the Beauty and Goodness in Front of Us" for Wednesday, 14 February 2018
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We don't have to go far to find the treasure we are seeking. There is beauty and goodness right where we are. And only when we can see the beauty and goodness that are close by can we recognize beauty and goodness on our travels far and wide. There are trees and flowers to enjoy, paintings and sculptures to admire; most of all there are people who smile, play, and show kindness and gentleness. They are all around us, to be recognized as free gifts to receive in gratitude.
Our temptation is to collect all the beauty and goodness surrounding us as helpful information we can use for our projects. But then we cannot enjoy it, and we soon find that we need a vacation to restore ourselves. Let's try to see the beauty and goodness in front of us before we go elsewhere to look for it.

For further reflection...
"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)
Your response...
What are you most grateful for today?
Comment on this meditation.
Continue the Inspiration
Purchase your copy of Henri Nouwen's book "Bread for the Journey".
***
DAILY MEDITATION: "Celebrating Being Alive" for Tuesday, 13 February 2018
Photo courtesy of Jim van Dijk
Birthdays are so important. On our birthdays we celebrate being alive. On our birthdays people can say to us, "Thank you for being!" Birthday presents are signs of our families' and friends' joy that we are part of their lives. Little children often look forward to their birthdays for months. Their birthdays are their big days, when they are the center of attention and all their friends come to celebrate.
We should never forget our birthdays or the birthdays of those who are close to us. Birthdays keep us childlike. They remind us that what is important is not what we do or accomplish, not what we have or who we know, but that we are, here and now. On birthdays let us be grateful for the gift of life.

For further reflection...
"Lord, by such things [we] live, and my spirit finds life in them too. You restored me to health and let me live!" (Isaiah 38: 16)
Your response...
There are two great days in a person's life: The day we are born, and the day we discover why. (WIlliam Barclay)
Comment on this meditation.
Continue the Inspiration
Purchase your copy of Henri Nouwen's book "Adam".
***
DAILY MEDITATION: "Words That Feed Us" for Monday, 12 February 2017
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When we talk to one another, we often talk about what happened, what we are doing, or what we plan to do. Often we say, "What's up?" and we encourage one another to share the details of our daily lives. But often we want to hear something else. We want to hear, "I've been thinking of you today," or "I missed you," or "I wish you were here," or "I really love you." It is not always easy to say these words, but such words can deepen our bonds with one another.
Telling someone "I love you" in whatever way is always delivering good news. Nobody will respond by saying, "Well, I knew that already, you don't have to say it again"! Words of love and affirmation are like bread. We need them each day, over and over. They keep us alive inside.

For further reflection...
"The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught." (Isaiah 50:4)
Your response...
"Listen into the silences where the best words begin." (Marilyn Chandler McEntyre, Caring for Words in a Culture of Lie)
Comment on this meditation.
Continue the Inspiration
Purchase your copy of Henri Nouwen's book "The Inner Voice of Love".
***
DAILY MEDITATION: "Words That Create" for Sunday, 11 February 2018
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Words, words, words. Our society is full of words: on billboards, on television screens, in newspapers and books. Words whispered, shouted, and sung. Words that move, dance, and change in size and color. Words that say, "Taste me, smell me, eat me, drink me, sleep with me," but most of all, "buy me." With so many words around us, we quickly say: "Well, they're just words." Thus, words have lost much of their power.
Still, the word has the power to create. When God speaks, God creates. When God says, "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3), light is. God speaks light. For God, speaking and creating are the same. It is this creative power of the word we need to reclaim. What we say is very important. When we say, "I love you," and say it from the heart, we can give another person new life, new hope, new courage. When we say, "I hate you," we can destroy another person. Let's watch our words.

For further reflection...
"As the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out of my mouth: it will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55: 10,11)
Your response...
How can you use words today to bless someone else?
Comment on this meditation.
Continue the Inspiration
Purchase your copy of Henri Nouwen's book "The Way of the Heart".
***
DAILY MEDITATION: "Dying Well" for Saturday, 10 February 2018 
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We will all die one day. That is one of the few things we can be sure of. But will we die well? That is less certain. Dying well means dying for others, making our lives fruitful for those we leave behind. The big question, therefore, is not "What can I still do in the years I have left to live?" but "How can I prepare myself for my death so that my life can continue to bear fruit in the generations that will follow me?"
Jesus died well because through dying he sent his Spirit of Love to his friends, who with that Holy Spirit could live better lives. Can we also send the Spirit of Love to our friends when we leave them? Or are we too worried about what we can still do? Dying can become our greatest gift if we prepare ourselves to die well.

For further reflection...
"Now Israel's eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them. Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too." Then Joseph removed them from Israel's knees and bowed down with his face to the ground. Then Jacob called for his sons and said, "Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come." When Jacob had finished [pronouncing blessings over] his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people. Joseph threw himself upon his father and wept over him and kissed him." (Genesis 48:10-12; 49:1,33; 50:1)
Your response...
Growth begins when we start to accept our own weakness." (Jean Vanier,Community and Growth)
Comment on this meditation.
Continue the Inspiration
Purchase your copy of Henri Nouwen's book "Our Greatest Gift".
***
DAILY MEDITATION: "Giving and Receiving Consolation" for Friday, 9 February 2018 
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Consolation is a beautiful word. It means "to be" (con-) "with the lonely one" (solus). To offer consolation is one of the most important ways to care. Life is so full of pain, sadness, and loneliness that we often wonder what we can do to alleviate the immense suffering we see. We can and must offer consolation. We can and must console the mother who lost her child, the young person with AIDS, the family whose house burned down, the soldier who was wounded, the teenager who contemplates suicide, the old man who wonders why he should stay alive.
To console does not mean to take away the pain but rather to be there and say, "You are not alone, I am with you. Together we can carry the burden. Don't be afraid. I am here." That is consolation. We all need to give it as well as to receive it.

For further reflection...
"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6: 2)
Your response...
"You're imperfect and wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging." (Brene Brown, The GIfts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are)
Comment on this meditation.
Continue the Inspiration
Purchase your copy of Henri Nouwen's book "Compassion".
***
DAILY MEDITATION: "Care, the Source of All Cure" for Thursday, 8 February 2018 
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Care is something other than cure. Cure means "change." A doctor, a lawyer, a minister, a social worker-they all want to use their professional skills to bring about changes in people's lives. They get paid for whatever kind of cure they can bring about. But cure, desirable as it may be, can easily become violent, manipulative, and even destructive if it does not grow out of care. Care is being with, crying out with, suffering with, feeling with. Care is compassion. It is claiming the truth that the other person is my brother or sister, human, mortal, vulnerable, like I am.
When care is our first concern, cure can be received as a gift. Often we are not able to cure, but we are always able to care. To care is to be human.

For further reflection...
"He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him." (Luke 10: 34)
Your response...
What part of your life needs special care today?
Comment on this meditation.
Continue the Inspiration
Purchase your copy of Henri Nouwen's book "A Spirituality of Caregiving".
***
Online Book Discussion Begins Wednesday, February 14 - The Henri Nouwen Society in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
OUR LENT BOOK DISCUSSION BEGINS NEXT WEEK!
Dear Friends,
We are eagerly awaiting the start of this year's Henri Nouwen Society Lent book discussion of The Road to Daybreak. This is Henri's journal describing the spiritual journey that led him from the heights of the academic world to the community of disabled people at L'Arche Daybreak where he found his true home.
Neither Brynn nor Ray have read this book before and we are looking forward to sharing in the experience, insights and reflections of the caring community that gathers online every Lent and Advent.
We will walk with Henri as he comes to understand the answer God provided to his prayer, "Lord, show me where you want to go and I will follow."
We hope that you will join us for what promises to be an enriching Lenten journey on The Road to Daybreak with Henri Nouwen.
We begin with greetings and introductions on Ash Wednesday, February 14th. Discussion of the book will begin on Sunday, February 18th.
The Road to Daybreak is available through most bookstores and online booksellers.
Join us here: http://wp.henrinouwen.org
Anticipating a wonderful discussion,
Brynn Lawrence & Ray Glennon
Henri Nouwen Society
www.henrinouwen.org
***
DAILY MEDITATION: "Dressed in Gentleness" for Wednesday, 7 February 2018 
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Once in a while we meet a gentle person. Gentleness is a virtue hard to find in a society that admires toughness and roughness. We are encouraged to get things done and to get them done fast, even when people get hurt in the process. Success, accomplishment, and productivity count. But the cost is high. There is no place for gentleness in such a milieu.
Gentle is the one who does "not break the crushed reed, or snuff the faltering wick" (Matthew 12:20). Gentle is the one who is attentive to the strengths and weaknesses of the other and enjoys being together more than accomplishing something. A gentle person treads lightly, listens carefully, looks tenderly, and touches with reverence. A gentle person knows that true growth requires nurture, not force. Let's dress ourselves with gentleness. In our tough and often unbending world our gentleness can be a vivid reminder of the presence of God among us.

For further reflection...
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5: 22)
Your response...
Who is the most gentle person you know?
Comment on this meditation.
Continue the Inspiration
Purchase your copy of Henri Nouwen's book "Lifesigns".
***
DAILY MEDITATION: "Returning to God's Ever-Present Love" for Tuesday, 6 February 2018
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We often confuse unconditional love with unconditional approval. God loves us without conditions but does not approve of every human behavior. God doesn't approve of betrayal, violence, hatred, suspicion, and all other expressions of evil, because they all contradict the love God wants to instill in the human heart. Evil is the absence of God's love. Evil does not belong to God.
God's unconditional love means that God continues to love us even when we say or think evil things. God continues to wait for us as a loving parent waits for the return of a lost child. It is important for us to hold on to the truth that God never gives up loving us even when God is saddened by what we do. That truth will help us to return to God's ever-present love.

For further reflection...
"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him." (Luke 15: 20)
Your response...
"I do not at all understand the mystery of grace ­­ only that it meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us." (Anne Lamott)
Comment on this meditation.
Continue the Inspiration
Purchase your copy of Henri Nouwen's book "Home Tonight".
***
DAILY MEDITATION: "God's Unconditional Love" for Monday, 5 February 2018
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What can we say about God's love? We can say that God's love is unconditional. God does not say, "I love you, if ..." There are no ifs in God's heart. God's love for us does not depend on what we do or say, on our looks or intelligence, on our success or popularity. God's love for us existed before we were born and will exist after we have died. God's love is from eternity to eternity and is not bound to any time-related events or circumstances. Does that mean that God does not care what we do or say? No, because God's love wouldn't be real if God didn't care. To love without condition does not mean to love without concern. God desires to enter into relationship with us and wants us to love God in return.
Let's dare to enter into an intimate relationship with God without fear, trusting that we will receive love and always more love.

For further reflection...
"Though the mountains be shaken, and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the Lord, who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:10)
Your response...
What feelings come up when you read that "God's love has no ifs"?
Comment on this meditation.
Continue the Inspiration
Purchase your copy of Henri Nouwen's book "The Return of the Prodigal Son".
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Text excerpts taken from Bread for the Journey, by Henri J.M. Nouwen, ©1997 HarperSanFrancisco. All Scripture from The Jerusalem Bible ©1966, 1967, and 1968 Darton, Longman & Todd and Doubleday & Co. Inc. Scripture chosen by L. Yeskoo.
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