Mystic Monday: Henri Nouwen (1932-1996)
“Our inclination is to show our Lord only what we feel comfortable with.”
“But the more we dare to reveal our whole trembling self to him, the more we will be able to sense that his love, which is perfect love, casts out all our fears.1
If you were to visit the campus of a divinity school or seminary in the late 1970's and early 1980's you would have observed a particular fashion trend. Many of the young men and some of the young women2 would affect a scarf with their tweed or corduroy sport coats. Rather, what my Scottish grandmother would call a "muffler".
It was all because of a particular Roman Catholic priest.
Most contemporary mainstream Protestants and Roman Catholics know of Henri Nouwen. Even if his books have not been read, his theological perspective echoes through sermons, pastoral letters, ministry programs, aerated proclamations from bishops, and even through divinity school and seminary curricula.
In particular, during those quiet moments of pastoral service, Nouwen is often remembered for his wisdom by the clergy and laity who minster to, in Nouwen's terminology, the wounded.
In a post-Christian age, many people want God to be small. They want God to be predictable. That God is beyond human scope and does not follow a predicated path can produce remarkable discomfort for those of a constrained perspective. It is not God who necessarily creates the discomfort, of course; it is often the pure product of those who are uncomfortable with a God who is beyond their control.
Nouwen took that into account when attempting to broaden the horizons of spiritual possibility. While he was not always successful, and I personally feel he channeled too much of his personal neediness into his work, it is undeniable that he provided the foundation for this perspective in contemporary Christianity.
Praying means breaking through the veil of existence and allowing yourself to be led by the vision which has become real to you. Whether we call that vision ‘the Unseen Reality,’ ‘the total Other,’ ‘the Spirit,’ or ‘the Father,’ we repeatedly assert that it is not we ourselves who possess the power to make the new creation come to pass. It is rather a spiritual power which has been given to us and which empowers us to be in the world without being of it. 3
Henri Nouwen was born in the Netherlands in 1932 to a comfortable middle-class family. Even during World War II, when his country was occupied by the Nazis, his young life was little disturbed by what was going on in much of the rest of the world. As he matured, he realized how privileged his childhood and youth had been when, for so many, those years carried a brutal reminder of the power and influence of evil. It has been supposed by at least one of his close friends that this was why he would dedicate his later life not to the education of divinity students, but to those who are often discarded by society.
As he was academically gifted, and was from a prominent Roman Catholic family, his education was overseen by the clergy of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, who are regarded as the guardians of erudition within the Church of Rome.4 Naturally, he was also steered towards ordained service.
Nouwen was subsequently ordained and entered the doctoral program at what was then the Catholic University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands [known today as Radboud University Nijmegen]. As the university had lost many of its senior faculty during the war, either in battle or to the concentration camp at Dachau, and most of its buildings having been destroyed in the Allied bombings, those left in the midst of this shattered rampart of Catholic education were theologically ready to appreciate the post-war world in a new way.
With the permission of his archbishop, Nouwen studied not just theology, but psychology. This was an innovative way to approach mysticism. His intention was to open theology to an interdisciplinary appreciation, with the hope of gaining greater insight into spiritual growth.
We can see the visionary in the guerilla fighter, in the youth with the demonstration sign, in the quiet dreamer in the corner of a café, in the soft-spoken monk, in the meek student, in the mother who lets her son go his own way, in the father who reads to his child from a strange book, in the smile of a girl, in the indignation of a worker, and in every person who in one way or another dreams life from a vision which is seen shining ahead and which surpasses everything ever heard or seen before.”5
Europe, however, was not where the most progressive work was being done in interdisciplinary theology. As was the case in much of academic life in the late 1950's and early 1960's, it was in the United States where one could find the most creative study of God, spirituality, and scriptural interpretation. In 1964, Nouwen came to the United States and found himself drawn into the Clinical Pastoral Education movement.
Now, some background: Odds are, if your clergyperson was educated through a divinity school or seminary sometime in the last fifty years, he or she has been required to experience the basic unit of Clinical Pastoral Education, or CPE. It generally takes the form of a hospital chaplaincy.
The intention of the program is to build a systematic analysis of pastoral practice so that the pastor may better serve those under her or his care, especially in a clinical setting. It encourages reflection, within the context of group therapy, on pastoral interaction for their psychological, emotional, and theological meaning. If organized correctly, CPE can make better, more thoughtful pastors who are able to use an interdisciplinary approach to their work.
With his terminal studies complete, Nouwen received a two-year fellowship in the Religion and Psychiatry Program at the Menninger Clinic6 where he studied ways to boost the CPE experience by integrating the scientific and medical approach with that of the theological and pastoral.
Being new to the United States, and excited by its energy and possibilities, Nouwen also became involved in social programs, including the civil rights movement of the early and mid-1960's. He participated in the march on Selma, Alabama and met many of the movement's leading figures.
As he started to publish his research, he became sought after in the burgeoning field of pastoral therapy, with teaching posts at Notre Dame in Indiana and the Catholic University in Utrecht. In 1971, he began a decade-long tenure at Yale Divinity School, which is where his influence became powerful in mainstream Protestant churches, as he was the professor in demand.7
Interspersed with his teaching and writing, he published fourteen books and tracts over a twelve year period, Nouwen would visit centers of contemplation such as the Trappist monastery in New York and the L'Arche organization in France and Canada.
L’Arche ["The Ark", in English], which has a variety of branches around the world, serves as a community for the developmentally challenged where life skills, mutualized support, and pastoral care are offered. As L'Arche is a ministry of the Roman Catholic Church, the Eucharist is at the heart of all community activities.
After a lifetime in the ivory tower and, particularly, Ivy League Protestantism, Nouwen found his passion among the troubles, kindnesses, intense labor, broken hearts, and healing nature of the people of L'Arche.
Much to the surprise of the faculty and students at Harvard Divinity School, where he was working by the mid 1980's, Nouwen resigned to become the resident chaplain of L'Arche Daybreak in Richmond Hill, not far from Toronto, Ontario. For one so celebrated and in demand, this seemed an odd decision. However, he had found his strongest calling and it was here that he would spend the remainder of his days.
Henri Nouwen died of a sudden coronary episode while in Europe on a book tour in 1996. As his companionship and collegiality were prized, and in testimony to his ecumenism, his funeral Mass was celebrated in the cathedral in Utrecht, the Slovak cathedral in Ontario, and the small parish in Richmond Hill. A coffin of simple pine construction was built and prepared by the residents of L'Arche as a final tribute to their chaplain and pastor.
He is interred in the Anglican parish's cemetery in Richmond Hill, as he wanted to be as close as he could to the people of L'Arche Daybreak.
Over his lifetime, Nouwen wrote 39 books, most of which are still in print, and literally hundreds of separate articles. His various personal sufferings, plus his difficulties with depression and with the realization of his sexual identity, were to become the engine of his faith and the source of the eternal wisdom that he sought. At a time when the academic literature of spirituality was remote and narrow, Nouwen brought personality and a broad range of learning to the study of God, the human race, sorrow, incarnation, and reconciliation.
His most popular book, at least for my generation, is The Wounded Healer. It was mandatory reading in my student days, as we were making the shift away from the imperious ministry of the mid-century towards one that acknowledged our own sufferings and humanness. As I now have the luxury of gazing back on 40+ years of work in the Episcopal Church, I note how Nouwen's well-reasoned style has changed not just pastoral care, but preaching, liturgy, and parochial organization.
For, as he noted in that well-used volume, “The great illusion of leadership is to think that man can be led out of the desert by someone who has never been there.”
from Nouwen’s A Cry for Mercy
Yes, we were young in those days, most of us in our twenties, as opposed to 21st century seminarians who take to divinity training after they've raised children and retired from their "real" careers
from Nouwen’s With Open Hands
I received a portion of my own education from the Jesuits and can testify to their academic discipline and rigor.
Ibid.
Outside of Menninger, I cannot think of any scientific or medical center that offers the combined study of religion and science.
Many of the people who taught me were, if not personal friends with Nouwen, former students of his. His influence and regard among them was broad and ubiquitous.
Enjoyed this and now I know something about the theologian/author whose name I have heard mentioned often. Have not read any of his works. Suggestions?
Another great read--thank you! I found this particularly interesting, "it was in the United States where one could find the most creative study of God, spirituality, and scriptural interpretation." I had never heard of Nouwen before, so this was an enjoyable documenation of his life, journey, and influence. And, as you may have guessed, I love the concept of studying theology & psychology together.