Who Is Henri J. M. Nouwen's Life Of The Beloved

The book that I chose to read was Life of the Beloved by Henri J.M. Nouwen. This is an amazing book that I inspired me through what was being said. It did not feel like a book, but rather like a guide. Nouwen wrote this book for his friend Fred and his friends, who wanted to learn about the spiritual life. At the same time, it made me feel as if Nouwen wrote this to me. I understood the concepts Nouwen wanted to explain to his friend. What I learned was how I can live as the Beloved.
Nouwen goes into great details of how he managed to get where he is in his spiritual life. He explained how he found four words to be helpful for his life, and those are “taken”, “blessed”, “broken”, and “given”. He summarized it by saying “I come together around

Nouwen says that everyone in this world has or will experience brokenness. Being broken is just another part of life that we encounter. Nouwen then says how each human being suffers in a way that no other human can suffer. Mainly talking about the Western world, Nouwen realizes that “the suffering that seems to be the most painful is that of feeling rejected, ignored, despised and left alone” (pg. 89, Nouwen). Another great example is when Nouwen talked about a time he went to mass when the priest was being lifted by his people while holding a glass chalice. Then the human pyramid collapses, the priest comes tumbling down, and the glass chalice shatters on the ground. Once the priest got up, he seemed to notice the broken chalice. He looks at it for a while and says “I have never realized that broken glass can shine so brightly” (pg. 102, Nouwen). Nouwen says that the first step of healing is to not step away from the pain but rather go towards

But Fred’s friends did not understand since Nouwen explain what helped HIM out rather than putting himself in the shoes of those that do not have a lot of knowledge on God already. Fred tells Nouwen “you express to us what is most precious to you, you do not realize how far we are from where you are” (pg. 143, Nouwen). As of right now, I am doing the same for my friends so that the chance to officially accept God into their life. But this time since I know where my friends are on how strong their beliefs are, I can show them the beginning basics and learn from there. For a long time, my friend would thank God and not fully understand God’s work. I am slowly learning in this course, but I am really taking a lot of different insights on how we all can be better. I am giving my love and time to help my friends get to where I am so that they can appreciate God