My Review of "Love, Henri"

Love, Henri is a collection of Henri Nouwen's, the great spiritual writer, letters. It's particularly poignant these 20 years after Nouwen's death, because it gives us a glimpse into the Christian hope in a chaotic, uncertain world. In this collection, Nouwen reminds us that the world has always been a frightening place with upheaval, wars, and dissension. In 1981 Henri Nouwen was asked in a letter if he thought humanity would survive the century. Here is part of his answer.

"But important for me is not if our civilization will survive or not but if we can continue to live with hope, and I really think we can because our Lord has given us His promise that He will stay with us at all times. He is the God of the living, He has overcome evil and death and His love is stronger than any form of death and destruction. That is why I feel that we should continually avoid the temptation of despair and deepen our awareness that God is present in the midst of all the chaos that surrounds us and that that presence allows us to live joyfully and peacefully in a world so filled with sorrow and conflict."

That little reminder serves to place our Christian attention where it should be.

But Love, Henri is a collection that goes beyond the political and the Christian hope, to cover nearly every spiritual topic.

This is a book that I'll keep on my shelf for years to come.

I received a free copy of this book as part of the Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review here.

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