The real 'work' of prayer is to become silent and listen to the voice that says good things about me.
Henri NouwenDo not tell everyone your story. You will only end up feeling more rejected. People cannot give you what you long for in your heart. The more you expect from people's response to your experience of abandonment, the more you will feel exposed to ridicule.
Henri NouwenI am the prodigal son every time I search for unconditional love where it cannot be found.
Henri NouwenIn other words, first we must call people to communion with God, to intimacy with God, to a sense of belonging. Most people are lost, confused, alienated. They suffer and struggle immensely in relationships. We have to proclaim loudly and clearly in our actions and in our words that God loves us that we belong to him. That's a call to the mystical life.
Henri Nouwen