“In the end, a life of prayer is a life with open hands where we are not ashamed of our weakness but realize that it is more perfect for us to be led by the Other than to try to hold everything in our own hands.”

—  Henri Nouwen

With Open Hands (1972)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "In the end, a life of prayer is a life with open hands where we are not ashamed of our weakness but realize that it is …" by Henri Nouwen?
Henri Nouwen photo
Henri Nouwen 23
Dutch priest and writer 1932–1996

Related quotes

Henri Nouwen photo
Elizabeth Bibesco photo

“Life more often teaches us how to perfect our weaknesses than how to develop our strengths.”

Elizabeth Bibesco (1897–1945) writer, actress; Romanian princess

Haven (1951)

“We hold each other’s lives in our open hands, not in clenched fists.”

Source: The Chronicles of Prydain (1964–1968), Book II: The Black Cauldron (1965), Chapter 2

Fernando Pessoa photo

“Come sit by my side, Lydia, on the bank of the river.
Calmly let us watch it flow, and learn
That life passes, and we are not holding hands.
(Let us hold hands)
…..
Let us hold hands no more: why should we tire ourselves?
For our pleasure, for our pain, we pass on like the river.
'Tis better to know how to pass on silently,
With no great disquiet.”

Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher and philosopher

Vem sentar-te comigo, Lídia, à beira do rio.
Sossegadamente fitemos o seu curso e aprendamos
Que a vida passa, e não estamos de mãos enlaçadas.
(Enlacemos as mãos)
.....
Desenlacemos as mãos, porque não vale a pena cansarmo-nos.
Quer gozemos, quer não gozemos, passamos como o rio.
Mais vale saber passar silenciosamente
E sem desassossegos grandes.
Ricardo Reis (heteronym), ode translated by Peter Rickard.

“So often the pain of our life is no more than a reminder to take our hand off the stove.”

Richard Paul Evans (1962) American writer

Source: The Carousel

Henry Miller photo
Hannah Arendt photo
Algernon Charles Swinburne photo
James Frey photo
Roger Ebert photo

“Life's missed opportunities, at the end, may seem more poignant to us than those we embraced — because in our imagination they have a perfection that reality can never rival.”

Roger Ebert (1942–2013) American film critic, author, journalist, and TV presenter

Review http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-sleepy-time-gal-2002 of The Sleepy Time Gal (22 November 2002)
Reviews, Three-and-a-half star reviews

Related topics