Mar 6th to Mar 12th: First Week of Lent

Reading:
Letter I—Jesus: The Heart of Our Existence (p.3 to p. 8)
Letter II—Jesus: The God Who Sets Us Free (p. 11 to p. 20)

If you were to ask me point blank, “What does it mean to you
to live spiritually?” I would have to reply,
“Living with Jesus at the center.” (p.7)

Welcome to each of you. What a tremendous start to what promises to be a blessed and meaningful Lenten journey. Thanks to those of you who introduced yourselves—and for those of you that chose not to, you are most welcome here as well. We have a wonderful community from Canada, the United States, Mexico, and the United Kingdom (so far) joining us in this virtual space for our Lenten book discussion of Letters to Marc About Jesus: Living a Spiritual Life in a Material World by Henri Nouwen.

For Henri, writing was an essential element of coming to know himself, and understanding his relationship to God and the world. Henri’s great gift as a priest, pastor, and writer was his ability to share the spiritual insights he gained on his life journey in a meaningful and timeless way. And such is the case with this book. As we read in the Preface, these letters to Henri’s nephew Marc were written with the intent of publishing them. But they became more than that as Henri writes in the Preface, “In the course of writing I became aware that I was engaged. . . in rediscovering Jesus and the meaning of my existence for myself.” And what did Henri discover? The quote at the top of this post is one of my favorite Henri quotes—and it says it all. But how do we live with Jesus at the center? These letters point the way.

The first letter was written on Shrove Tuesday in 1986. And Henri immediately begins with a problem that I know that many of us face today—being preoccupied with urgent matters and never getting around to what is essential and “never starting to live, really to live.” Henri restates for Marc, and for each of us, life’s essential questions (p.4) and closes with the foundational question for a Christian, “Who is Jesus for you and me?”—very similar to the question that Jesus asked his Apostles at Caesarea Philippi (Mt 16:13).

Written in Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Henri’s second letter uses the gospel story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus to explore and explain the spiritual freedom that comes from following Jesus—a freedom that “enabled them to stand on their own two feet in the world, without being manipulated by that world. Their freedom was such that they had even overcome, to a great extent, the fear of death.” (p. 17). <Photo:Andreas Schwarzkopf, CC BY-SA 4.0, WikiMedia Common>

Henri, a Catholic priest, is writing to his Catholic nephew in the rapidly secularizing Netherlands. Henri emphasizes his Catholic understanding of the Eucharist throughout the book—making this one of Henri’s most “Catholic” books. Those of you with a different understanding of the Eucharist might consider Henri’s eucharistic reflections as pointing to the presence of Jesus in our world today—the same presence that was experienced by the disciples at Emmaus, “(T)he Jesus in whom they placed all their hopes, the Jesus who was indeed dead and buried, this Jesus is alive.” (p. 14)

You are encouraged to share and discuss whatever came up for you in the readings. You are also welcome to share your reflections and insights prompted by the comments of others. The thoughts and insights shared by the participants provides the heartbeat for every Henri Nouwen book discussion. Here are a few questions that may help get the discussion going, but please don’t feel bound to them.

  1. The spiritual life has to do with the heart of existence. (p. 5)
    Consider Henri’s first letter and reflect on your understanding of the spiritual life. Share what you discover to the extent you are willing.
  2. But you know yourself that Freiburg doesn’t tell the whole story. . . . From everywhere there comes news of violence and oppression. (p. 11-12)
    As we journey through Lent, we are witnessing aggression and violence that has not been seen in Europe in eight decades. How have events of the recent past influenced your spiritual life and your attitude entering this Lent?
  3. Freedom belongs to the core of the spiritual life. (p. 18)
    How has Henri’s reflection on the gospel story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus and its relationship to spiritual freedom influenced your understanding of freedom and how will you respond?

As we enter in to this first week of Lent there is much to share from our reading and we look forward to hearing from many of you. It is an joy to be gathered with each of you, those posting comments, and those following along silently. Everyone is welcome here.

Peace and all good.
Ray

Mar 2nd to Mar 5th: Welcome and Introductions

Reading: Preface, p. vii to viii

In the course of writing I became aware that I was engaged. . .
in rediscovering Jesus and the meaning of my
existence for myself. —Henri Nouwen

As we enter this season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving in preparation for Easter, we welcome you to the Henri Nouwen Society 2022 Lent book discussion. If you have joined us for previous book discussions, welcome back. And if you are here for the first time, thank you for joining our vibrant and spirit-filled community as we share a fruitful and enlightening discussion on our Lenten journey.

For many Christians, Lent is a season of reflection and conversion when our heart and minds are turned to Christ as we seek to follow in the footsteps of Jesus more faithfully. Our book selection, Letters to Marc About Jesus—Living a Spiritual Life in a Material Word, will inspire, challenge, and encourage us to encounter Jesus, just it did for Henri (see quote above and Preface) when he wrote these letters, primarily during Lent 1986.

Henri was in the midst of a major life transition when he composed these letters to his 19-year old nephew, with the mutual understanding they were intended to be published. In the spring of 1985 he had resigned from his teaching post at the Harvard Divinity School and Henri spent most of the next year living in the L’Arche community in Trosly, France. He was discerning whether he was called to live in community with and to minister to the severely handicapped core members at L’Arche and their assistants. Interestingly, during Lent 1985, just prior to resigning from Harvard, Henri had presented a series of talks at St. Paul Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts that also focused on Jesus. These talks were published for the first time in 2019 as Following Jesus—Finding Our Way Home in an Age of Anxiety. In hindsight, it seems clear that during this time of turmoil and transition, Henri’s heart and mind had turned in a particular and deeply fruitful way to Jesus—and we are blessed to be able to harvest that fruit this Lent. As we will see in Letter VII, by September 1986 Henri had followed Jesus’ call to his new home at L’Arche Daybreak, just north of Toronto, where he lived until his unexpected death ten years later.

Our discussion begins in earnest on the March 6th, the First Sunday of Lent. If you are joining us for the first time or if you would like a refresher, the instructions for our online book discussion are provided below my brief biography.

As we begin our journey together, it’s always nice to know something about our companions. Over the next few days you are encouraged to introduce yourself. You may choose to share:

  • Your general geographic location.
  • To whom or what you dedicate your days or energy, and why.
  • How you came to know and read Henri Nouwen and whether or not you have participated in previous Henri Nouwen Society online discussions.
  • What you hope to gain from this experience.

I’m looking forward sharing a spirit-filled Lenten season with this online community of seekers as we gather together to to discuss Letters to Marc About Jesus by Henri Nouwen. Please scroll to the bottom to post a comment.

In gratitude,
Ray

Ray Glennon: Ray and his wife Dawn live in Columbia, Maryland. He came to know and trust Henri’s written word in a special way in 2004 when he discovered The Return of the Prodigal Son for sale after Mass in Singapore at a difficult and transformative point in his life. He began participating in Henri Nouwen Society book discussions in 2010 and has served as a moderator since 2014. He developed and led a six-week adult education course on “Henri Nouwen and A Spirituality of Living.” Ray will present a new adult education course, “Nouwen’s The Return of the Prodigal Son: The Story and Backstory” later this spring. Ray and his wife are professed members of Secular Franciscan Order (OFS) and he volunteers in his parish Confirmation program and other ministries. You may contact Ray by email at ray.glennon@1972.usna.com and you can follow him on Twitter.

Henri Nouwen Society Online Book Discussion Instructions
Let’s briefly describe how our online book discussion works. If you’ve joined us before, this will serve as a review.

Beginning this Sunday, March 6th, and each Sunday throughout Lent, a new entry or post will be added to the book discussion (the blog) home page. The post will identify the reading for the week, present a brief moderator’s reflection, and suggest some questions for discussion. Participants are invited and encouraged to comment on the post by responding to the suggested questions, by sharing their own reflections, and by replying to the comments of others throughout the week.

To read the comments or to leave a comment of your own, scroll down to the bottom of the post.  If you don’t see any comments, click on the small link at the bottom that says
## Comments.  To leave a new comment, continue scrolling down and use the “Leave a Reply” box.  To reply to someone else’s comment, click the Reply link directly below their comment. After you submit a new comment or a reply, it needs to be “approved” either by me or Will at the Nouwen Society so it may take a few hours before it actually appears on the blog page. If you have any questions or problems, please do not hesitate to contact me by email at ray.glennon@1972.usna.com.