Originally posted by kirksey957I called you a clown once ? .... in which context ?
Merciful Jesus. Thank the Lord for this thread as I'm gonna give you a wonderul theologian under your own roof. His name is Henri Nouwen. I will save my essay until tomorrow as this one will take some time. Oh, by the way, the metaphor he really liked for Jesus was a clown. Sorry about that. 🙂
Originally posted by kirksey957No, not too deep for Nouwen. I used to have a few books by him: There was one on hospitaliy if I recall correctly. He was a great proponent of the "wounded healer" philosophy, though i don't remember if he used that phrase. Anyway, I await your post to refresh my memory....
He's dead now. You may be too deep for him. I'm just a simple minister of the Gospel.
Originally posted by vistesdIndeed you are correct. While not originating the term "wounded healer", he is most often associated with this term. If you visit any minister from a variety of faith traditions, you will likely find some of his books in their collection. Nouwen was a brilliant man in two aspects for me. He was a Catholic priest but had the uncanny ability to be understood by a variety of traditions. Even Robert Schuler was so impressed with him that he had him preach 3 consecutive Sundays at the Crytal Cathedral. He also had the ability to make the complicated very simple and easy to understand.
No, not too deep for Nouwen. I used to have a few books by him: There was one on hospitaliy if I recall correctly. He was a great proponent of the "wounded healer" philosophy, though i don't remember if he used that phrase. Anyway, I await your post to refresh my memory....
Much can be said of his life, but as gifted as he was, he was also a man tortured by loneliness and insecurity. Indeed, many of his writings resonated with people because he was so confessional in his style of writing. Yet it ws also a liturgical priest that found great meaning in the daily practice of prayer and the eucharist.
Nouwen was a gay man. Much of his depression found its roots in the confusion he felt in being gay and also having to live a celibate life. As I mentioned earlier he had an encounter with another of my group of saints. He approached Mother Teresa for advice on dealing with his anxieties. After rambling for 10 minutes she said, "well, when you spend one hour a day adoring your Lord, and never do anything which you know is wrong...you will be fine."
Those of you who are aetheists or searching, I would recommend any of his books as I think you will find them quite readable and not an insult to your intelligence. As I mentioned earlier, Nouwen was quite captivated by images and metaphors, particularly of the circus, and especially the trapeze artists and the clowns. For him these were quite symbolic of the Christ experience. Shortly before Nouwen died, he was able to get on the high wire to try his hand at "letting go."
My calling as a clown for Christ found some validation in his stories. 🙂
Originally posted by Bosse de NageCheck out the "game of skill part 2" thread in the spirituals.
Care to share one?
Speaking of Christ's jesters, have you heard of John Bradburne? Worth a Google 🙂
This man was unknown to me, but I invite you to share his story in this thread. He certainly qualifies for what I wanted to highlight in this thread.
Originally posted by ivanhoeYou're kidding me! Do you think she would be interested in joining this forum to shed some light into you and Nouwen?
I saw his sermon. It was very interesting and convincing.
He was a man who did much good.
One of my ex-girl friends, a clinical psychologist, used to work with him.
Originally posted by kirksey957No, I'm afraid not. She passed away about five years ago.
You're kidding me! Do you think she would be interested in joining this forum to shed some light into you and Nouwen?
I believe I once met Henry Nouwen without knowing it was him. We bumped into eachother one day. My ex-girlfriend, or ex-partner, was walking down the street with a man. She introduced him to me and introduced me to him. I forgot about it, until I found out she was Nouwen's assistent and was working with him. I thought about it and adding things up I identified the man I met as thé Henri Nouwen. I'm not absolutely sure though it was him.
Originally posted by ivanhoeI'm sorry to hear about that. I am wondering if I may be able to identify her from the book I am reading. I will PM if I can and let you know the name of the biography.
No, I'm afraid not. She passed away about five years ago.
I believe I once met Henry Nouwen without knowing it was him. We bumped into eachother one day. My ex-girlfriend, or ex-partner, was walking down the street with a man. She introduced him to me and introduced me to him. I forgot about it, until I found out she was Nouwen's assistent and was work ...[text shortened]... s up I identified the man I met as thé Henri Nouwen. I'm not absolutely sure though it was him.
Strange Vagabond of God
While living in Zimbabwe I heard the remarkable story of John Bradburne (1921-1970). After serving with the Ghurkas & Chindits (jungle SAS) in WW2, this incurable wanderer, poet and recorder-player could not find a way to settle down. Forestry and teaching didn’t suit him; a Catholic convert, he attempted to join several monasteries (in England, Belgium, Rome) but was found unsuitable by the Abbots he encountered. He came across as a religious hippy—playing the recorder on the street during a pilgrimage to Rome, scribbling poetry—and his sheer eccentricity (getting up to sing praises to God whenever inspiration struck, however late the hour) counted against him. Eventually, despairing of ever finding a nice, he wrote to an old war buddy who was living as a priest in Zimbabwe and asked whether there wasn’t perhaps a cave somewhere for him to live in.
So, having become a lay member of the Order of St Francis of Assisi, he moved to Zimbabwe and worked around a few missions there. At the educational retreat of Silveira House, he was bothered by visitors and asked God to send a swarm of bees to chase them off. A colony of bees moved into his desk and were very effective in safeguarding his peace and quiet, allowing him to sit on the floor, play his harmonium and sing.
In 1969 he took up a post at the Mutemwa Leper Colony in the north of the country. He was the first person to treat them as people rather than, well, lepers, and devoted himself to ensuring that they received the best possible care. In so doing, he made enemies—one story is that he stopped a scheme where people were selling the lepers’ food off for their own profit—and was eventually sacked. Undeterred, he built a shack nearby and continued to minister to them, helping as much as he could. On Sundays he would lead the lepers in singing hymns, to the accompaniment of his by now rather battered harmonium.
In 1979, toward the end of the Second Chimurenga (Zimbabwean war of independence), Bradburne was murdered by local bandits in somewhat mysterious circumstances, fulfilling his previously stated wish to die a martyr. At his funeral, a friend placed three white flowers on the coffin to represent the Trinity. During the Mass, three drops of fresh blood fell from the coffin. The coffin was opened; the body hadn’t bled. John had to be re-buried and a Franciscan habit was found to bury him in, fulfilling another one of his eccentric wishes.
After his death people began praying to Bradburne for intercession and various miraculous healings, often associated with bees, have been credited to him. He is currently on the RCC’s list of candidates for sainthood.
(Read more at http://www.johnbradburne.com)