Henri Nouwen’s Bread for the Journey. Catherine Self’s regular
contribution will return next Friday)
doctor, a lawyer, a minister, a social worker-they all want to use
their professional skills to bring about changes in people’s lives.
They get paid for whatever kind of cure they can bring about. But cure,
desirable as it may be, can easily become violent, manipulative, and
even destructive if it does not grow out of care. Care is being with,
crying out with, suffering with, feeling with. Care is compassion. It
is claiming the truth that the other person is my brother or sister,
human, mortal, vulnerable, like I am.
When care is our first
concern, cure can be received as a gift. Often we are not able to cure,
but we are always able to care. To care is to be human.
Henri Nouwen was a writer, teacher, spiritual guide and Roman Catholic priest who was pastor of the L’Arche Daybreak community from 1986 until his death in 1996. Nouwen’s desire
for community and passionate conviction that those rejected by society
have essential and prophetic gifts to offer took shape during the
1960’s through his involvement with the American civil rights movement
led by Martin Luther King, Jr. Trained in psychology, his career took
him to a variety of teaching positions at Notre Dame, Yale and Harvard,
and ongoing involvement in American peace and social justice movements.
In all of these, Henri looked for ways to help people deepen their
spiritual foundations and cultivate community. He is one of the most
popular and prolific spiritual writers of the later twentieth century.
In 1985, Henri spent a year at L’Arche in
Trosly, and in 1986 the L’Arche Daybreak community became Henri’s home.
As a member of L’Arche, Henri continued to travel and speak, but
usually travelled with members of his L’Arche community. "People won’t
remember a word I say," he commented, "but they’ll remember that Bill
and I stood here as friends and equals and spoke together." For more
information about Henri Nouwen and his ongoing legacy, see the website
of the Henri Nouwen Literary Centre at http://nouwen.net/.
“The
friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion,
who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can
tolerate not knowing… not healing, not curing… that is a friend who
cares" – Henri Nouwen
Journal of Sacred Work 
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