Six Lenten Lectures by Henri Nouwen

In today's world, where delusion is on the rise, our daily lives are consumed by anxiety.
A book has been published that brings the heavy worries in our hearts into the light.
A compilation of six lectures given by Henri Nouwen at St. Paul's Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts during Lent in 1985.
This lecture, titled "How to Live in an Age of Anxiety," clearly demonstrates the secret to his ability to live a transparent life, holding on to Jesus' teachings to the end and never losing compassion for his neighbors.

“Lord Jesus, I lay down now everything that controls me.
Help me shake off the countless fears that run rampant inside and outside of me.
Please take away all my insecurities and low self-esteem and let the Lord, the Lamb of God, shape me.
I want to go deeper into the silence of the Lord.
Let us hear the word of the Lord there.
Lord, let me hear the voice calling me and gain strength and courage to follow you.
Please be with me, Lord, as I listen to your word.
Help me to understand more deeply the mystery of the Lord who calls me to his house.
Be with us now and always.
amen."
--- p.39

When we follow Jesus, our hearts, the deepest part of our personality, draw closer to Him.
Following the Lord is deeply connected to my inner self.
Following Jesus means living in His spirit, light, and heart, but also living with my own spirit, light, and heart.
It means that rather than being passive imitators, each person discovers their own unique calling and vocation in a completely new way.
So, those who follow Jesus allow God's love to become flesh in their own unique way.
Following Jesus means living our lives authentically, just as Jesus lived his unique life.
It is about surrendering our selves to Him and following the God of love that Jesus showed us.
--- p.60~61

Love in the world is a transaction.
Because love is a transaction, people are always struggling with problems.
They want to be repaid for the love they give.
It is at this point that conflict, hostility, anger, jealousy, resentment, and revenge sprout.
All human confusion stems from viewing love as a transaction.
… (omitted)… We pray not only with our heads but also with the center of our being and our hearts to know that we are completely loved.
So I pray.
If you pray, you will not be consumed by desires or hurt others, no matter where you go in this world.
You can give love without expecting anything in return.
When we pray, we become free.
--- p.74~75

We can love others because our deepest self first encountered love.
God's love is unconditional and has no limits.
When we enter into a relationship, we must recognize that the other person is also a being who is loved with that first love.
The way that first love becomes incarnate varies from person to person.
So this love calls us to build together God's new home, a new community, a new dwelling place in the world.
That's marriage, that's friendship, that's community.
True relationships between people point to God.
Whether it's friendship, marriage, or community, the relationship the Bible speaks of means that each member realizes that he or she belongs to God's love.
God's love is too great for any individual to contain.
So, we point out that love together.
The focus of relationships is not on ourselves, but on the greater love that embraces us.
--- p.78

Following Jesus means we walk.
We are the subjects who speak, live, and form relationships.
We have to think about it and make an effort.
In some ways, Jesus does not remove the adversity from our journey.
I dare say that when we follow Jesus, everything changes and yet everything remains the same.
As you know, the reality of life is the same for those who follow Jesus (disciples).
Being a disciple doesn't make life easier.
Following Jesus can actually be more difficult and painful.
But at the same time we gain special powers.
Because I am no longer alone.
We no longer bear the struggles, struggles, and pains of life alone, like orphans with no one to care for them.
In fact, following Jesus means following in His footsteps and walking His path.
In this dark, broken, and suffering world, He shows us the way.
Following Jesus means living as a companion to Him who knows us inside out.
--- p.91

Often, it seems that we are always trying to carry the cross that is far away, rather than the cross that is close to us.
“That person didn’t talk to me today.
It's not a big deal, but I feel sad.
“I do not deny these feelings, but confess them as a small cross I must bear today.” “I have not heard from my friend.
It becomes a wound in the heart.
“There’s no need to ignore this hurt as if nothing happened.” Amazingly, just by observing these small struggles, we slowly come back to our inner home and regain our composure.
I'm not afraid that something more terrible will happen.
There is no need to be afraid.
Because he already knows and acknowledges his own struggles.
Jesus says, “Take up your cross.”
He does not tell us to deliberately create a cross or to search for one, but simply to carry the cross.
This is a message to have the courage to look into your own pain.
--- p.106~107

Because of fear, humans become obsessed with safety.
We usually prefer to be safe and a little unhappy rather than get excited by adventure.
Some people find solace in complaining.
To the question, “How are you?” they answer like this.
“It’s okay, but there are always complaints.
So don't think I'm doing all right!” We get a strange kind of satisfaction from complaining.
We are accustomed to speaking negatively about others, ourselves, our health, or any other aspect of our lives.
We sit around in groups, sharing complaints and clever gossip, and find a glimmer of relief.
It's like this.
“The situation is not good.
There won't be any good days ahead anyway, so just let time pass.
“With the world like this, we can’t help but always have a hard time, right?”

We have no intention of moving because safety comes first.
“Let’s not push ourselves too hard and just maintain the status quo.
“Since it won’t get any better anyway, we have to face reality.” In this way, when we are afraid, we tend to choose safety.
If you think about it, choosing safety is not only for individuals but also for society as a whole.
If you think about it, the world's obsession with safety is intertwined with fear.
--- p.129~130

The experience of joy that Jesus gives is not happiness, nor is it simply a heightened emotion.
The joy Jesus gives is different from that of the world.
Jesus' joy is never separated from sorrow.
The world is so strange that it divides the sadness and joy we experience into two emotional states: unhappiness and happiness.
It's like this.
“There is so much sadness in the world that we need happy moments in between to survive.” Like drinking time.
The world speaks.
“Let’s create a little happiness to forget our sorrow.
“Life is inherently sad, gloomy, and miserable, so we must deliberately be happy, even if only for a moment.” Many commercial products are linked to this idea.
Every company creates small products that will give you a moment of happiness.
But a moment of happiness is not the joy Jesus speaks of.
Joy is not some intermediate state between being fixed and being rootless.
Joy is not like that.
Joy is not a temporary release from the heavy burdens of life, nor is it an escape from the problems of the world.
The joy that Jesus gives is spiritual.
It is not just an emotion or a physical state, but a spiritual gift.
--- p.135~136

One of the greatest temptations in our lives is the whispering to rush through life.
The world makes us believe that what really matters will happen next week, next month, or next year.
The challenge for Christians is to believe that meaningful things are always happening right here and now.
What we need to pay attention to is this very moment.
If you are faithful to the present, the future will grow.
The future reveals itself before us.
Because we have already received the Holy Spirit.
We have already received the beginning of eternal life and come to God's house to breathe His breath.
So let us stay in that place and listen.
We encounter the remarkable word “patience” in the Gospel.
Patience means staying fully present, being present in the moment, and trusting that everything I need is here.
--- p.162~163

The more we come to know through prayer that God is here and now within us, the more our attention to others deepens.
Because you become less self-absorbed and less concerned about yourself.
When you're not worried about your own business, you see other people more clearly.
Their troubles, beauty, and kindness are visible.
It also seems that they are not trying to hurt me, but that they each have their own problems.
In the presence of the Holy Spirit, we become much gentler and realize that other people's lives are also difficult.
--- p.169

Service is not an act of getting results or an anxious desire to save the world.
We never serve on the condition that change is guaranteed.
If you do that, it could easily go to extremes.
If our sole concern in helping someone or doing something is to change people, the world, our country, politics, or the social environment—if change is a condition of service—we will quickly become filled with resentment.
On the other hand, if service is an expression of gratitude for the love you already enjoy, you can participate in the change without being too pushy.
Service is an expression of sharing the gifts given within you with others.
In some ways, service is an act of gratitude.

--- p.170~171