On Retreat with Henri Nouwen: Engaging Life’s Big Questions

On Retreat with Henri Nouwen: Engaging Life’s Big Questions

• March 10, 17, 24, 31, April 7, 14 (Thursdays)
• 10-11:30 a.m.
• $10 suggested donation. (The book purchase is separate.)
• In-person and live-streamed

Facilitated Kathy Keary

Henri Nouwen, a Dutch Catholic priest, psychologist and author of more than 20 books, has been called “one of the great contemporary spiritual masters.” The Renewal Center is inviting you to explore Nouwen’s wisdom through the study of the newly published On Retreat with Henri Nouwen: Engaging Life’s Big Questions by Dr. Chris Pritchett and Marjorie J. Thompson.

This is how the Henri Nouwen Society advertises the retreat guide: Henri Nouwen is widely recognized as one of the most beloved and prolific spiritual writers in contemporary times. Yet Nouwen’s own spiritual journey was marked by his emotional struggles, anxieties and loneliness. Although he owned his brokenness, he was careful not to be defined by it.

The essential questions he wrestled with are the same that speak to our own hearts: Who am I? Who is God? How do I know God loves me? Where is God when suffering surrounds me? How can I find interior peace in anxious, troubled times? This unique retreat experience encourages readers to profoundly reflect on these five existential questions in light of their own doubts and insecurities.

Join us this Lent for a life-changing journey. Pritchett and Thompson draw the reader in by incorporating their own stories into the spirituality and wisdom expressed by one of the greatest spiritual masters of our time.

COVID Protocols: If you are joining us in person, we require participants to show proof of vaccination. We require masks at all times indoors and practice social distancing.

The book is available for $17.95 at Twenty-Third Publications: On Retreat with Henri Nouwen (twentythirdpublications.com)

What others say about the book:

Richard Rohr: “One of the great contemporary spiritual masters leads us on a transformative journey to the sacred center. A life-changing retreat.”

Simone Campbell: “Pick up this book and let it guide you to reflect on the questions of your life and the choices ahead. I was enriched by the journey into solitude (not loneliness), gratitude (not resentment), love (not fear). Through reading journaling, and just plain savoring the message of our lives, the authors lead us through Henri Nouwen’s writings to author our own lives in vibrant ways. The message in the end is that the world is hungry for us as we weave the community we hunger for.”

Sr. Helen Prejean, CSJ: “A welcome retreat with one of the most tender, vulnerable, human spiritual masters of our time. An inspiration and transformative read.”

Henri J. M. Nouwen was a Dutch-born Catholic priest, professor, and pastor, who gained international renown as the author of more than thirty books on the spiritual life, including such classics as The Wounded Healer, The Inner Voice of Love, and The Return of the Prodigal Son. Nouwen’s books have been translated into more than thirty languages and have sold upwards of seven million copies worldwide, resonating with people across the religious, spiritual, cultural, and political spectrum. Since his death in 1996, ever-increasing numbers of readers, writers, teachers, and seekers have been guided by his literary legacy.Photo of Henri Nouwen by Frank Hamilton