Robert A. Jonas, director of The Empty Bell contemplative center in Watertown, Massachusetts, is a psychotherapist, spiritual director, and retreat leader. His interpretive essay on the life and work of priest, teacher, and writer Henri Nouwen (1932-1996) is based on their friendship of 13 years.
The Eucharist was the ground of Henri Nouwen's personal and social identity according to Robert A. Jonas. He saw it as a perfect expression of Jesus's message and as the source of all self-giving. Nouwen used the words "somehow" and "somewhere" as ways of describing his respect for the mystery of God's presence. Jonas explains the importance of Nouwen's term "the wounded healer" and his belief in the quest for social and economic justice.
The writings selected for this work cover some of the major themes in Nouwen's career as an author: prayer, befriending our brokenness, death and resurrection, gratitude, Jesus' story as our story, community, and ministry. This volume is part of Orbis's "Modern Spiritual Masters Series."
