I was going through boxes of stuff today that were cluttering the floor of my bedroom closet. In one of them were my notes of a retreat I made in Rome back in 1978. I believe the retreat master was Henri Nouwen who lived with us for a year. Here are a selection of tidbits of wisdom I jotted down.
Do what you can – not what you can’t.
Boredom is a choice.
Love is not self-conferred; it comes from outside.
To accept love is to accept forgiveness.
Face the fact of daily death – nothing can then harm us.
Live the answer; then you will understand.
The Spirit makes chaos an abyss of creativity.
Put the man Jesus together, then the world will fall into place.
A ministry without love is power corrupted.
Let things stand the test of time.
Never treat anyone as a threat to your vocation.
To deny sinfulness is to deny need.
The greater my ego, the more I project my ideals on others.
Jesus is always contemporary.
Just add “Lord” and you will be praying.
The ultimate purpose is transformation into Christ.
Truth without love results in disunity.
(I especially love the last statement, and the one about ministry without love resulting in corruption. So good for us to remember.)
