New light on a Nouwen classic
Home Tonight, a previously unpublished set of reflections on parenthood, filial duty, rivalry and unconditional love, by the well known Catholic spiritual writer, Henri JM Nouwen, has been made available in the UK by DLT.
Everyone knows the story of Henri Nouwen, the Dutch Roman Catholic priest who left a high-flying academic career to share his life with people with mental disabilities as pastor of the L'Arche Daybreak Community in Toronto and went on to write forty very influential books of spirituality.
What is less well known is that in his second year at L'Arche Daybreak he suffered a breakdown and spent seven months in near-solitude. During this period he formed a profound relationship with Rembrandt's painting of The Prodigal Son and had a series of reflective encounters with the people in it.
Some years later, one of his best loved works, The Return of the Prodigal was based on these encounters. But as a preliminary study for his masterpiece he formed his notes from this emotional period into the basis of a series of private workshops. Despite the difficulty he had putting his experiences into words, Henri 'found his voice' and described how, after huge emotional struggles, he came to accept himself as God's son. This material has now been published as Home Tonight.
This book guides the reader through an inner journey using practical techniques such as journalling and spiritual listening and encourages us to be in touch with our vulnerability. It is a must for all Henri Nouwen fans and anyone who wants to find their path to a spiritual homecoming.
To order his book through the ICN shop see: www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=13