[Book Review]; Walking Home with Henri J.M. Nouwen

Home Tonight: 

Further Reflections on the Parable of the Prodigal Son

Henri J.M. Nouwen

Doubleday, 2009

This book, the text of which is written by Henri J.M. Nouwen, is the follow up to what is commonly known as his masterpiece, "The Return of the Prodigal Son...A Story of a Homecoming. In both books, Nouwen is fascinatingly open about his journey with the Lord, and particularly about his coming to the Lord through the experience he had with Rembrant's depiction of the return of the prodigal son.

The reflections which are contained in this book are originally from a series of talks which he gave at a conference late in his life. The text of these talks was preserved through some not professional recordings as well as his notes, and some editors did their best to put it together as the best possible reflection of the heart of the man who shares his story of learning what it means to truly come home. All in all, I would say, these editors have done a fantastic job of putting together Nouwen's story in a way that is easy to read, convicting, and very much in line with profound wisdom with which he wrote and, I would venture to say, spoke.

In this particular book, Nouwen takes us on a three-part journey: "Leaving and Returning Home," "The Invisible Exile of Resentment," and "Home is Receiving Love and Giving Love." These three parts, as you might guess if you know the story of the Prodigal Son (found in Luke's Gospel, Chapter 15), follow the three main characters of the story: the son who left home and returned, the older son who stayed, and the father who loved them both. For Henri, these three characters are all typical of parts of his own spiritual journey, and he shows us how they are probably typical of ours as well. With this setup, the book is easy to read; each chapter (about 3 per section) contains his reflections as well as guidance on a time of listening, a time of journaling, and a time of 'communing.' Finally, each chapter ends with "A Wisdom Practice for those on a Spiritual Journey."

With this layout, the book reads much more like a prayer than anything else. You read one man's story, but always do so in the context of the story of the Prodigal Son and the way that the Lord might want to speak to you through that. You can fly through this book, but you would miss the chance to stop and to pray with the things he reflects on and says. While his language and way of talking about God might be different than many of ours (for me it absolutely was), what he has to say is worth taking the time to read and to pray through.

Throughout his book, I think Nouwen has a theme which is expressed in this quote from the book: "Coming home is claiming the truth. I am the beloved child of a loving Creator. We no longer have to beg for permission from the world to exist" (pp. 38-39). This, I think, is the central theme: despite what lies we may have believed, despite what pain we may have felt or may currently feel, despite whatever way we have physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually "left home" or turned away from our Creator, our journey is all about claiming the Truth that we are made out of Love by the One who loves with an infinite love. Whether, like the youngest son, we have "squandered our inheritance" through sin, or, like the older son, we've done so by thinking we can somehow earn our inheritance or comparing ourselves to others, the whole journey is learning how to claim that identity as a Son of the Creator, and to give that love back to those we encounter just as the Father did in this story.

Whether we realize it or not, we can probably relate to the experience of at least one of the people in the Gospel story, as well as to the experience of Nouwen living out that story in his own life. If you are on the journey of reclaiming your identity as a Son or a Daughter, your journey of realizing that you are loved by One who will never forsake or abandon you, this book could be a great tool along that path. Like I said, some of Nouwen's language and understanding of God differ from the way that I would state things, and yet it was all easy enough to move past to allow him to help me understand a little better the truth of my sonship, allowing me to continue on my path of coming home.

If you want to find out more about this book, you can get more info at Image Books' website here, as well as follow these links for Chapter One or the Author's Bio.


"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review as a part of their blogging for books program; you can learn more about this by visiting the program's website here Blogging for Books."  

Dive In; Moving Forward

I texted a friend of mine the other day asking his advice to people getting ready for another school year. His response? “Jesus loves you. But, if you mess up this year, He’s going to love you a lot less.”

So there’s that. It’s completely false and in no way based in the reality of God, but you know that…

As we wrap up Dive In and as we wrap up this summer of trying to grow in our faith and of coming to know the truth of God’s love for us a little bit more, the question is: what now?

Read the rest: Moving Forward

I wrote this blog as part of a series for Lighthouse Catholic Media's Youth Program. The Blogs were called Dive In, and you can find all of the blogs that we wrote this summer here: Lighthouse Catholic Youth Blog

Go and Be Hypocrites....

...Or Something Like That.

Go ahead and read the comments on, say, any article you could find defending orthodox Christianity on Huffington Post. Well, on second though, maybe don't. All you're going to find is a lot of anger and hatred and resentment towards Christianity, or more precisely, as Fulton Sheen put it, what people think Christianity is. 

One of the choruses that you'll hear repeated over and over again by people who don't like Christianity is that Christians are a bunch of hypocrites. You preach a big game, they'll say, but then you don't back it up. You talk about all this morality and about love and about being perfect and living for Christ, and then you go and mess up. You're hypocrites!

As if we didn't know. 

I mean, it's not like this is something new. "For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want to do." (that's Saint Paul, in Romans 7:19, back in the 1st Century). 

You see, I think this is just part of signing up for Christianity. Christ tells us to be perfect, and yet we are all well aware that we aren't. We want to be better, we want to get rid of that sin, we want to be over it; and yet all too often we find ourselves in that same pit, that same despair, that same sin. 

The question, though, is what do we do about it? Do we let the com-box atheists win and stop defending the faith because we're not worthy of it? Do we grow weary, let fear win, and hide?

I, for one, certainly hope not. 

We're going to be hypocrites at times. Is that good? Of course not. We need to fight back from that, we need to pick ourselves up and return to the Father always, but we also cannot stop standing up for truth. Truth, we know, is not something we make up; it's not based on how well we live it, but it is based on the One outside of ourselves in whom we have life. 

So, you realize you're a hypocrite. St. Paul did the same-but he never stopped standing up for truth. Don't let your insecurities and faults stop you from standing up for what you believe in. In fact, if you and I stand up for Truth with courage despite our own faults, I think we'll all find that we become a little less hypocritical in the process. 

He Won't Relent

The other day I got to be present at the celebration of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony uniting two dear friends, surrounded by many of my other dearest friends in the world. It's quite an experience, really; for a weekend, every couple of months or so (more often in the summer, because wedding season) a whole bunch of crazy recent college grads descend upon a city, have a blast with one another for like 3 days, and then go back to life. We celebrate, we catch up, we pray, and then we head back. It's incredible.

I could keep writing about how awesome it is, but none of you really wants to hear that. What I want to reflect on briefly is a line of a song that we sang at this wedding in a time of praise after communion which wrecked me (read: I cried). After communion, the musicians led us in a time of praise that was one of the more powerful moments I have ever been a part of, as the Bride and Groom praised the God who they had just received and who had just united them in this great Sacrament, and their family and friends joined them in this time of praise and thanksgiving. The verse to the song that we were all singing together, a song called "You Won't Relent," goes like this:

"I set you as a seal, upon my heart, as a seal upon my arm. For there is love, that is as strong as death, jealousy demanding as the grave. And many waters, cannot quench this love." 

This verse, coming from Scripture (Songs 8:6), is what got me so emotional. As I was in this place, surrounded by so many of the people I love, worshiping the God who had just humbled Himself to be received in flesh and blood, there was no doubt in my mind that there is a God who loves so deeply and intensely that it can only be described as a love so jealous and demanding as to only be compared to the grave, and yet is stronger than the grave.

Think of that line. The love of God is not just simply a nice, fluffy love. This is not a love which is just kind, and caring. It's not a love that it just a kind sentiment or a nice word. No, this love is SO MUCH more. This love is so jealous, so demanding, so unquenchable that it took on the grave and it won. This is a love that is as strong as death, but more than that-it's STRONGER. This love didn't just take on the grave, it won. And after winning that victory, this God has continued to come after His beloved. He will never stop searching out the ones He loves simply because He loves us.

The refrain of that song says "You won't relent until you have it all, my heart is yours." His love won't stop, He won't stop, until He has my whole heart. As I prayed in that Church, I knew this to be true. Even when life isn't perfect, I can never lose sight of the fact that His love is stronger than death, that His love will continue to come after me and seek me out in all of my imperfection and brokenness, His love will not abandon or betray me but will come after me with a jealousy as demanding as the grave, defeating death so as to give me new life.

What a gift.

[Coffee with the Saints]: The Assumption of Mary

Happy Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary! Defined officially in 1950, this is a belief that Mary was taken body and soul into heaven which dates back to the early Church, with writings on it from as early as the 4th Century. Since other people have done the work to explain this day beautifully, I thought I'd link to a few of them, and then give some of my own thoughts in the end!: 

The best explanation I've found of how we can know all of this from Scripture and tradition, from Mark Hart, written at Lifeteen.com: Missing: Jesus' Mom 

Jimmy Akin with a quick FAQ on the Assumption of Mary. This is a great explanation of the basic facts of this great celebration:  12 Things to Know. 

The Anchoress, over at Patheos.com, on how science makes the Assumption a no-brainer; really fascinating take on this feast: In which Science and Theology are Met.

Catholic Encyclopedia with details on the Assumption; the basic facts: The Assumption of Mary. 

Our very dear Pope Francis today on how Mary, if we call on her, will journey with the Church and Her members through all trials and struggles:  Mary is Always Near. 

And so, let us celebrate this great feast of the Church with much joy. On this day we understand that Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven, giving us the hope of our future resurrection, and the joy of knowing that Mary is always near to us. Today we can take hope in the face of any trials or tribulations, knowing that we have a mother who is experiencing our future glory already, and who is watching over us daily to protect us and help us to stay near to our God. Today we can know that as we journey through the difficulty of life, we have the joy of heaven to look forward to, the joy of the resurrection of the body, the joy of the new creation in which we have the chance to live in total peace and joy for all of eternity with our Blessed Mother, who constantly watches over us on our journey to get there. 

Blessed Virgin Mary, Assumed body and soul into heaven...PRAY FOR US!! 


This coffee with the saints is a series that I am doing to reflect on the lives of the saints; if you want to read more about it or see other saint posts, you can click the tab on the top of this page or click this link Saints.