Henri J. M. Nouwen’s path to healing : embracing brokenness within a eucharistic community

Abstract

Generally, the word “healing” is understood as the process of recovery, of being restored to health. A person who is healed is cured, and, therefore, is no longer in need of medication or therapy. In spirituality, the word takes on a totally different meaning. The process of healing, rather than a road to recovery, becomes, here, the way to inner freedom. It is the process of accepting God’s grace in one’s life, in one’s brokenness and, therefore, while remaining broken or wounded, one reaches to inner freedom. This inner freedom is the space in which God holds the broken person, and in His infinite love embraces the person’s brokenness leading the beloved to embrace his or her own brokenness. This process is made easier in a Eucharistic Community, that is, a community of persons that are broken and, together, are journeying towards this inner freedom, in which brokenness is a source of grace instead of shame. One of the greatest experts on this journey is Henri Nouwen. Nouwen, who experienced humanity’s brokenness so deeply in himself till the very end of his life and who let God transform his wounds into a source of love, creativity, energy and hope, offered through his life and writings, a sure way to the place where God dwells; that is, “true inner freedom”. Thus, the present study will focus on the life and journey of Henri Nouwen. It will explore his experience of brokenness, his attempt to live in alienation from the pain that brokenness brings, and his journey towards God’s embrace in a Eucharistic Community. Through this study, I hope to present a model for today’s Church, which, slowly, through the leadership of Pope Francis, is moving from one that views perfection as being free of brokenness towards one in which brokenness is a place of grace and hope.