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Henry Nouwen Trilogy (see text of review for further details)

Reviewed by Luke Penkett.

Henri Nouwen: A Spirituality of Imperfection

Paulist Press, Mahwah, New Jersey 2006; xx+164pp; £13.50; ISBN 978 0 8091 4434 1

Henri Nouwen and Soul Care: A Ministry of Integration

Paulist Press, Mahwah, New Jersey 2008; xxiv+104pp; £10.99; ISBN 978 0 8091 4546 1

Henri Nouwen and Spiritual Polarities: A Life of Tension

Paulist Press, Mahwah, New Jersey, 2012; xxxii+144pp; £13.50; ISBN 978 0 8091 4741 0

Henri Nouwen was one of the greatest and most inspiring spiritual teachers of the twentieth century. Author of over 40 books – most of them still in print – he continues to exert a profound influence on a truly international readership. Wil Hernandez, a retreat leader, counsellor, and spiritual director, teaches courses on the spirituality of Henri Nouwen across America and is a recognised authority on Nouwen. These three books of his present a comprehensive, penetrating but, above all, vital overview of Nouwen’s spiritual life and writing.

The first book of the trilogy, A Spirituality of Imperfection, opens with an exploration of the movements of the Spirit, perceived and described as journeys. We have the journey inward (via psychology), outward (in ministry), and upward (doing theology). Hernandez then looks at the spirituality of imperfection and gives ‘a perfect example of imperfection’.

Henri Nouwen and Soul Care is a worthy companion to A Spirituality of Imperfection. Here, Hernandez concentrates on Nouwen’s highly integrated philosophy of spirituality. We have descriptions of words such as bridge-builder, counsellor, guide, mentor, pastor, and priest and we are given living examples from people who encountered Nouwen in these various roles in their lives. Using insights gained through psychology, spirituality and theology, Hernandez represents Nouwen’s blend of human vulnerability and spiritual power, demonstrating how all this rich variety of elements collaborate in Nouwen, the seeker and minister.

There are four chapters in this book. The first explores what spiritual nurture may encompass, introduces us to spiritual companioning, and describes Nouwen’s unique and rich ministries as pastor, priest, and prophet. The middle two chapters examine Nouwen as spiritual companion – as friend and guide, mentor and director – with a wealth of personal stories from Nouwen’s own life, and the last combines Nouwen’s integrated approach to soul care and spiritual formation, summarising their associated and intersecting dynamics.

The third and final book of the trilogy is Henri Nouwen and Spiritual Polarities: A Life of Tension. Nouwen loved much and suffered much and his adult life was one of creatively living out the tension between the two. Hernandez’s third book revisits his earlier works, in which he has already mentioned tension, but treats it here more comprehensively and systematically. He sets his subject in the broader and more inclusive field of spirituality, and demonstrates how tensions may be embraced so that the reader may befriend them in such a way that we both ... and ... .

What’s new in this book is the inclusion of a set of questions for personal reflection followed by a suggested reflective exercise at the end of each chapter, enabling the reader to take the information they have gleaned in every section into a more personal level, ‘descending,’ as Nouwen often said – quoting Theophan the Recluse – ‘with the mind into the heart.’

For those of us who did not know Nouwen personally, Wil Hernandez’s trilogy is a wonderful introduction. And for those of us who did know Nouwen, it is a fitting tribute, a companion to Nouwen’s spiritual life and writing. Each book stands on its own merits. It is not necessary to read them in order of publication. Indeed, one can read them in any order.  They are expertly end-noted and indexed. The trilogy, both individually and as a whole, is a significant contribution to studies on Nouwen.