Thanks, Connor K, for waiting patiently for me to read and reflect on this book. On the surface, it's the story of a friendship. A younger Jewish man and an older Catholic priest. Their differences may define them, but they find bridges to each other and forge a strong relationship. Here Nouwen attempts to explain to his young friend why faith is important in the modern world, and how it can help people lead their very best lives.

He's organized his letter around the concept of being the Beloved -- the chosen. But NOT the exclusive 'it's me and not you' chosen but the chosen that is inclusive and accepting.

He discusses the concepts of the taken, the blessed, the broken, the given, and how each of these concepts helps us define our mission in our lives.

Ultimately, the letter fails to do what Nouwen hopes: explain and convince his friend that faith is the answer. His secular friend is touched by Nouwen's attempts at communication, but not moved. But ironically, others are! Others have taken the text and used it for their own purposes and have felt rewarded. Nouwen is honest about the fact that while his book may not have had the desired effect on his friend, it has reached others, and has ultimately deepened his friendship. What a courageous thing to do.

Nouwen intrigues me. He was living and working in a facility that provided room and board and care to severely handicapped adults. His stories about these clients are so warm and heart-felt. It's easy to see his life was enriched by his work. I absolutely understand the gift of working with handicapped people...they give us so much more than we could ever give them.

Like his friend, this book did not change my life, but I found much to admire, to reflect upon, to return to.

Favorite quotes -- Speak from that place in your heart where you are most yourself
The greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity or power, but self-rejection
you have to keep unmasking the world for what it is: manipulative, controlling, power-hungry, and in the long run, destructive.
That is the greatest joy of being chosen: the discovery that others are chosen as well
our sufferings touch us in our uniqueness and our most intimate individuality
Each human being suffers in a way no other human being suffers.
Our humanity comes to hits fullest bloom in giving
We have to find the courage to embrace our won brokenness to make our most feared enemy into a friend and to claim it as an intimate companion

This book found me in 2020 right when I most needed it and unlocked a door I had been pounding on for what felt like my entire life.

While I love Nouwen, I was disappointed by this work. I found it to be a beautiful depiction of the Gospel message with one vital omission: Christ. He speaks of us as being (like the bread of the Eucharist) taken, blessed, broken, and given. It is a wonderful way of presenting the role we play in this world, and how God prepares us for this role. However, without the explanation of why we are broken and how we are blessed, the work rings hollow.

I find it interesting that in the epilogue Nouwen admits that his secular friend, for whom he wrote the book, didn't feel that the book addressed where he and his friends were at. I think that this speaks to the fact that the Gospel, stripped of "religious language" can be powerfully effective, but not if it also has the very heart removed.

If you want to read your first Nouwen, go with Return of the Prodigal or The Way of the Heart.

Re-read before Easter 2014. Nouwen's writing is amazing!!

"Life is a God-given opportunity to become who we are, to affirm our own true spiritual nature, claim our truth, appropriat and intergrate the reality of our being, but most of all, to say "yes" to the One who calls us the Beloved."

Nouwen wrote this book in response to longtime friend, Fred Bratman, request for "a word of hope to people who no longer came to churches or synagogues."
Nouwen explains spiritual life as:
I. Being the Beloved
II. Becoming the Beloved -Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the Beloved. From the moment we claim the truth of being the Beloved, we are faced with the call to become who we are (our spiritual journey.)
a. TAKEN - or "chosen' children of God - not competition or comparison- 1) be not of this world, different; "long before any person spoke to us in this world, we are spoken to by the voice of eternal love." 2) look for truth dwells to be reminded of your identity as the chosen one; 3) celebrate your choseness by gratitude to God
b. BLESSED - to give a blessing is to say "yes" to a person's Belovedness; Its not enough to be chosen. We also need an ongoing blessing that allows us to hear in an ever-new way that we belong to a loving God who will never leave us alone, but will remind us always that we are guided by love on every step or our lives.Clain it through prayer & presence.
c. BROKEN- all are broken in personal, unique ways as individuals -- brokeness of heart - unappreciated; respond to brokeness by befriending & seeing as a blessing - embrace it.
d. GIVEN- joy that comes from being able to do something for another person. True joy, happiness & inner peace come from the giving of ourselves to others. Ways to give: 1) our humanity; friendship, love, foregiveness, trust, etc. 2) life is a preparation for death as a final act of giving; fruitful
III. Living as the Beloved -- chosen, blessed, broken and given to live out our lives with a deep inner joy and peace.

Written by a priest to a Jewish friend to explain the spiritual in everyday terms and thoughts that a secular person would understand.

I don't believe he accomplished his goal and his friend attests to that. However I did pick up a few thoughts that are worthy.

~When we persist in looking at the shadow side, we will eventually end up in the dark.
~Every time we decide to be grateful it will be easier to see new things to be grateful for.
~You have to choose where it is that you want to live.
~The blessed one always blesses.

~Our brokenness reveals something about who we are.
~First step to healing is not a step away from the pain but a step toward it.
~Broken glass shines brightly.
~We are chose, blessed and broken to be given.
~Life finds its fulfillment in giving.
~Just as bread needs to be broken in order to be given, so do our lives.

~More important than our talents are our gifts.
~The greatest gift I have to offer is my own joy of living, my own inner peace, my own silence and solitude, my own sense of well-being.
~The real question is not "What can we offer each other?" but "Who can we be for each other?"

Ah where to begin? I’m not sure I can review this properly until I give it some time. Let me just say this feels like one of those “top 10” books of my life that I’ll return to over and over again and it will speak to me in different ways in different seasons. We’ll see what life holds :) but I know I’d recommend this book to anybody!

Everything I’m reading by Nouwen I’m loving!!

i really enjoyed this book! it’s framework of us being the Beloved through being Taken, Blessed, Broken, and Given has helped to guide my prayers and my confessions since i’ve finished it. i recommend!

very short but pretty profound. gives a bit of a different perspective on how to become what we are as believers and i loved it. lots of nuance communicated very conversationally which made it easy to understand and remember. definitely a “will-read-again” vibe.

This book is a beautiful guide to saying yes to God’s pursuing love in our everyday lives. So much of our culture has made sex and marriage the bread of life, but Henri Nouwen shows how to interact with God as our one true lover. It was a challenging read for me because I tend elevate human love over God’s love, but this book is helping me find satisfaction and belonging in God’s love first.

Henri :’)

In this short book, Nouwen lays forth his own vision of the spiritual life. Nouwen writes with an honesty and rawness that I am drawn to. I appreciate his down-to-earth writing which tries to make the spiritual life widely accessible (especially after having just read Merton.. iykyk).

I don't have much to say, but I'll share two quips that struck me:

n  Deep friendship is a drawing forth of each other's chosenness and a mutual affirmation of being precious in God's eyes.n

and

n  The world is evil only when you become its servant. The world has a lot to offer — as Egypt did to the children of Jacob — as long as you do not feel bound to obey it.n