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"Know yourself" is good advice. But to know ourselves doesn't mean to analyse ourselves. Sometimes we want to know ourselves as if we were machines that could be taken apart and put back together at will. At certain critical times in our lives it might be helpful to explore in some detail the events that led us to our crises, but we make a mistake when we think that we can ever completely understand ourselves and explain the full meaning of our lives to others.Solitude, silence, and prayer are often the best ways to self-knowledge. Not because they offer solutions for the complexity of our lives but because they bring us in touch with our sacred center, where God dwells. That sacred center may not be analysed. It is the place of adoration, thanksgiving, and praise.
For further reflection...
"Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." (Psalm 100: 3-5 (NIV))
Your response...
In what ways do you remain a mystery to yourself?
Comment on this meditation.
Continue the Inspiration
Purchase your copy of Henri Nouwen's book "Clowning in Rome".
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Consider our monthly giving program to sustain the ability to extend Henri's legacy and make his work available to those who seek spiritual formation and nourishment. Click here to sign up today.
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.
Purchase your copy of Henri Nouwen's book "Clowning in Rome".
Visit our Bookstore:
United States | Canada | United Kingdom
Consider our monthly giving program to sustain the ability to extend Henri's legacy and make his work available to those who seek spiritual formation and nourishment. Click here to sign up today.
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.
STAY CONNECTED:
The Henri Nouwen Society
214 - 95 Saint Joseph Street
Toronto, Ontario M5S 2R9, | Canada
***
DAILY MEDITATION: "Claiming the Sacredness of Our Being" for Wednesday, 21 March 2018 - The Henri Nouwen Society in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Are we friends with ourselves? Do we love who we are? These are important questions because we cannot develop good friendships with others unless we have befriended ourselves.***
Photo courtesy of SDGimagery.com
How then do we befriend ourselves? We have to start by acknowledging the truth of ourselves. We are beautiful but also limited, rich but also poor, generous but also worried about our security. Yet beyond all that we are people with souls, sparks of the divine. To acknowledge the truth of ourselves is to claim the sacredness of our being, without fully understanding it. Our deepest being escapes our own mental or emotional grasp. But when we trust that our souls are embraced by a loving God, we can befriend ourselves and reach out to others in loving relationships.
For further reflection..."And the second is like it: love your neighbor as you love your self." (Matthew 22: 39 (NIV))
Your response...
"When Jesus calls us into deepening relationship, a total immersion into his ways of seeing and being, does he not call us into total acceptance and love of all that is God's, including ourselves?" (Kayla McClurg)
Comment on this meditation.
"When Jesus calls us into deepening relationship, a total immersion into his ways of seeing and being, does he not call us into total acceptance and love of all that is God's, including ourselves?" (Kayla McClurg)
Comment on this meditation.
Continue the Inspiration
Purchase your copy of Henri Nouwen's book "The Inner Voice of Love".
Visit our Bookstore:
United States | Canada | United Kingdom
Consider our monthly giving program to sustain the ability to extend Henri's legacy and make his work available to those who seek spiritual formation and nourishment. Click here to sign up today.
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.
Purchase your copy of Henri Nouwen's book "The Inner Voice of Love".
Visit our Bookstore:
United States | Canada | United Kingdom
Consider our monthly giving program to sustain the ability to extend Henri's legacy and make his work available to those who seek spiritual formation and nourishment. Click here to sign up today.
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.
STAY CONNECTED:
The Henri Nouwen Society
214 - 95 Saint Joseph Street
Toronto, Ontario M5S 2R9, Canada
***
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