Finding My Way Home: Pathways to Life and the Spirit

A collection of essays by the great spiritual writer and teacher covers a wide range of topics, from the "theology of weakness" to the spirituality of waiting.

Nouwen's unexpected death in 1996 ended the prolific writing career of the Dutch Catholic priest who bridged denominational chasms between Christians everywhere. Since then, the Henri Nouwen Literary Centre in Canada has seen that two of Nouwen's unfinished books have been published and has continued to plumb his collection of unpublished papers, manuscripts, letters, tapes and videos for other possibilities. This brief collection is part of that effort. It comprises three previously published Nouwen essays, "The Path of Power," "The Path of Peace" and "The Path of Waiting," and adds a fourth, "The Path of Living and Dying." Based on a talk Nouwen gave at the National Catholic HIV/AIDS Conference in Chicago and an interview with Crosspoint magazine, this last essay is of particular interest as it opens a window to Nouwen's own preparation for his passage into the life he believed awaited him after death. Although Sue Mosteller, literary executrix of the Nouwen Literary Centre, molded Nouwen's thoughts into this essay, her choice and arrangement of words are true to the man's spirit in their frankness and ability to distill a subject's essence. Those familiar with Nouwen's writings will doubtless agree that he could easily have written passages like this: "Death in itself is not wonderful. It is terrible. But how we see our death and the death of others we know and love can be transforming. It takes time. But it is possible."

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By the time of his death in 1996, Nouwen had garnered a large, faithful audience for his unique mixture of Christian inspiration, contemplative exploration, and theology. The four essays gathered here reflect a man going home. He writes poignantly of the powerlessness inherent to the human condition and the poverty that we all share. He argues that the peace and love gained from acknowledging one's fragility are the keys to the sort of richness that makes life meaningful. "The Path of Peace," in which he introduces Adam, a physically and intellectually disabled man from whom we learn the peace that comes from being rather than doing, makes this case especially powerfully. Three of the essays were previously published as pamphlets; the previously unpublished one, on life and death, proves especially poignant. Nouwen encourages us and himself to live a life and die a death that will help others, just as Jesus did. Nouwen himself, in life and in death, gave to us. Let that be his eulogy. John Green
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