Mar 12th to Mar 18th: Third Week of Lent – The Middle Twelve Imperatives

ReadingThe Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom
“Remain Anchored in Your Community” to “Claim Your Unique Presence in Your Community” (pages 45 to 69)

True love between two human beings puts you more in touch with your
deepest self. It is a love in God . . . . God’s love is all the love you need,
and it reveals the love of God in the other. So the God in you
can speak to the God in the other. This is deep speaking
to deep, a mutuality in the heart of God,
who embraces both of you. (p.64)

On behalf of our Lenten community, I want to express our gratitude for another week of thoughtful, meaningful, and inspiring comments on Henri’s spiritual imperatives. I know that the thoughts posted here prompt me to go deeper in my own reflections. It is also a blessing to see our virtual Lenten community continue to grow closer together.

We are midway through our Lenten journey and this week we are reading and reflecting on the middle 12 of Henri’s 62 spiritual imperatives. My heart was draw to the quotation above taken from “Let Deep Speak to Deep.” Henri describes the profound reality that the (Spirit of) God present in me can speak to (or encounter) the (Spirit of) God present in another. For me, this is a key to understanding God, ourselves, and our relationship to others. As we read in Scripture, “God is love and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4:16). In our polarized world, unfortunately including the church, a necessary, and at times difficult, first step for me is to allow the God that is in me to see the God that is in the other. For if I do not recognize another person as my brother or sister, I will not hear and be open to what is said when deep speaks to deep. This is an area where I know I struggle and it is a cause of loneliness for me, another key theme throughout our Lenten discussion. Which of Henri’s imperatives are touching your heart this week?

As we have been doing, during this Third Week of Lent you are encouraged to read and to reflect on the this weeks’ spiritual imperatives and share whatever touches your heart, issues arise, or insights you gain in the readings. This group is here to listen, encourage and support each other. Once again, here is a possible process you might consider.

  1. Briefly look over the twelve imperatives assigned to this week (pages 45 to 69), either by simply reading the title or by lightly skimming the text.  Don’t feel you need to closely read them all.  Remember Henri’s advice on p xxi…too much salt can spoil a meal!
  2. Select a few (perhaps 3 or 4) imperatives that stand out to you, and read them thoroughly, perhaps several times.
  3. Consider:
    1. The thought or concept that stands out to you
    2. How does it relates to your personal experience?  Look at your experience with the benefit of Henri’s insight. Does that help you to see things differently or to know yourself better?
    3. What is God speaking to your heart in this imperative? Has God touched your heart in other ways about this thought or concept (e.g., Scripture, spiritual reading, through another person)?
    4. How you will respond?  Carefully (prayerfully) consider how your heart responds to the insights gained during your reflection. Are there small steps you can take to incorporate these insights and to move toward spiritual freedom in your life? Perhaps you would like to write your own Spiritual Imperative.
    5. Pray!
  4. Please share with the group to the extent you are comfortable. You might consider sharing on a single imperative per comment. If you have a second or third imperative that was meaningful to you, submit separate comments for each. As always you are invited to continue building our community by responding to what others have shared.

As always, you are encouraged to share whatever touched your heart during the week while reading Henri’s spiritual imperatives and the comments of others. I’m confident that our rich and spirit-filled discussion will blossom and be fruitful as we continue our Lenten journey together. Once again, thank you to all that have joined us. You bless us by your presence.

Peace and all good.
Ray

Mar 5th to Mar 11th: Second Week of Lent – The Next Thirteen Imperatives

Reading: The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom
“Enter the New Country” to “Follow Your Deepest Calling” (pages 21 to 44)

Enter the new country, where your beloved dwells. . . . This requires
the death of what has become so precious to you: influence,
success, yes, even affection and praise. (p. 21)

The spiritual task is not to escape your loneliness. . . You might find that your loneliness is linked to your call to live completely for God. (p. 36)

In everything, keep trusting that God is with you, that God
has given you companions on the journey. Keep
returning to the road to freedom. (p. 39)

What an incredible First Week of Lent! You have freely offered such deeply personal, vulnerable, and insightful reflections and responses to Henri’s spiritual imperatives. We are strengthening our Lenten community through your supportive comments and feedback to each other. It is my great privilege and a genuine blessing to join you on this journey. Based on just this first week of discussion, I’m confident that Henri would agree “I did the right thing” (p. xix) when he made his spiritual imperatives available to all.

In the quotations above, I have selected three of Henri’s ideas from this week’s readings. Henri knows he is called to enter the “new country” but to do so has a cost. If he is willing to pay the price, he will meet his beloved and experience the reality that, like Jesus, he too is the beloved—and so are we. Yet even in the new country, Henri (and each of us) will still experience loneliness at times. Our challenge is to live that loneliness well. And how do we do that? By living completely for God and continuing our journey on the road to freedom. We walk with the companions (or community) that God has given us and we trust that God is with us every step of the way. These ideas spoke to me. What are Henri’s words saying to you this week?

Given the rich and fruitful discussion last week we will use the same approach again. You are encouraged to read and to reflect on the this weeks’ spiritual imperatives and share whatever touches your heart, issues arise, or insights you gain in the readings. This group is here to listen, encourage and support each other. Once again, here is a possible process.

  1. Briefly look over the thirteen imperatives assigned to this week (pages 22 through 41), either by simply reading the title or by lightly skimming the text.  Don’t feel you need to closely read them all.  Remember Henri’s advice on p xxi…too much salt can spoil a meal!
  2. Select a few (perhaps 3 or 4) imperatives that stand out to you, and read them thoroughly, perhaps several times.
  3. Consider:
    1. The thought or concept that stands out to you
    2. How does it relates to your personal experience?  Look at your experience with the benefit of Henri’s insight. Does that help you to see things differently or to know yourself better?
    3. What is God speaking to your heart in this imperative? Has God touched your heart in other ways about this thought or concept (e.g., Scripture, spiritual reading, through another person)?
    4. How you will respond?  Carefully (prayerfully) consider how your heart responds to the insights gained during your reflection. Are there small steps you can take to incorporate these insights and to move toward spiritual freedom in your life? Perhaps you would like to write your own Spiritual Imperative.
    5. Pray!
  4. Please share with the group to the extent you are comfortable. You might consider sharing on a single imperative per comment. If you have a second or third imperative that was meaningful to you, submit separate comments for each. As always you are invited to continue building our community by responding to what others have shared.

Of course, the above is only a suggestion. We are interested in learning whatever touched your heart during your reading and reflection. Your comments are the lifeblood of the Henri Nouwen Society book discussions and a gift to all who participate, both people actively posting comments and people reflecting in the silence of their hearts.

May we have a blessed and fruitful discussion during this Second Week of Lent.

Peace and all good.
Ray

Feb 26th to Mar 4th: First Week of Lent – The First Thirteen Imperatives

Reading: The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom
“Work Around Your Abyss” to “Bring Your Body Home” (pages 3 to 20)

Do not read too many of these spiritual imperatives at once!
They were written over a long period of time and
need to be read that way too. (p. xxi)

It was so wonderful to read all your introductions last week – again, a very warm welcome to each of you!  This is the largest group that has gathered for these discussions since 2015. I think that speaks to the importance and timeliness of The Inner Voice of Love. It is book for difficult times. We are grateful for your presence, your vulnerability, and your honest and open sharing. You have joined a loving and supportive community–as is already evident by the comments exchanged among participants. We are excited to begin our first full week of exploring Henri’s secret and deeply personal journal.

As a number of you noted when introducing yourself, Henri’s words often speak directly a reader’s heart. That has certainly been the case for me. In this book, Henri shares his most personal thoughts, feelings, and emotions in a time of great anguish. Writing these spiritual imperatives was an important part of Henri’s healing process that, ultimately, contributed to his emotional and spiritual growth, and led to the most fruitful time of Henri’s ministry and his most popular and acclaimed books.

Although Henri wrote these spiritual imperatives when he was in crisis, the challenges and conditions he identifies and the influence they may have on a person’s life affects everyone, not just those in difficult circumstances. We all face similar conditions and situations during our journey through life and one or more of Henri’s imperatives may speak directly to our hearts—and through the imperatives we may gain a new perspective or insight that can guide us along the way. Sharing those perspectives and insights, to the extent you are comfortable, with the community of Nouwen readers gathered together this Lent may help us to support each other as we learn to live as God’s beloved children.

Veterans of previous Nouwen book discussions may recall that I would often select excerpts from the text and pose questions to prompt your reflections. That approach doesn’t work for this book. Henri’s spiritual imperatives are largely standalone reflections that may or may not apply to a particular reader on their journey. I found that four or five of the first thirteen imperatives were directly relevant to me. Therefore, rather than me posing questions, you are asked to reflect on the imperatives and share whatever issues come up or insights you gain in the readings. This group is here to listen, encourage and support each other as we discover the meaning of Henri’s spiritual imperatives in our individual lives.

Below is a process you might consider following to help you explore the readings and share your journey with the group. (With thanks to former facilitator Brynn Lawrence.)

  1. Briefly look over the thirteen imperatives assigned to this week (pages 3 through 20), either by simply reading the title or by lightly skimming the text.  Don’t feel you need to closely read them all.  Remember Henri’s advice on p xxi…too much salt can spoil a meal!
  2. Select a few (perhaps 3 or 4) imperatives that stand out to you, and read them thoroughly, perhaps several times.
  3. Consider:
    1. The thought or concept that stands out to you
    2. How does it relates to your personal experience?  Look at your experience with the benefit of Henri’s insight.  Does that help you to see things differently or to know yourself better?
    3. What is God speaking to your heart in this imperative? Has God touched your heart in other ways about this thought or concept (e.g., Scripture, spiritual reading, through another person)?
    4. How you will respond?  Carefully (prayerfully) consider how your heart responds to the insights gained during your reflection. Are there small steps you can take to incorporate these insights and to move toward spiritual freedom in your life?  Perhaps you would like to write your own Spiritual Imperative.
    5. Pray!
  4. Please share with the group to the extent you are comfortable. You might consider sharing on a single imperative per comment. If you have a second or third imperative that was meaningful to you, submit separate comments for each.

Of course, the above is only a suggestion. We are interested in learning whatever touched your heart during the reading. You are also welcome to comment on the sharing of others. We also welcome those that are reading along without posting; you are an important part of our Lenten community too.

Very much looking forward to hearing from each of you!

Peace and all good.

Ray