File 25 - Audio letters by Henri Nouwen sent to Fran and Annemieke Alting Von Geusau

3 audio cassettes (48:05-96:54)

File consists of three audio letters sent to Professor Jhr. Dr. Frans A.M. and Annemieke Alting Von Geusau by Henri Nouwen.

SR2010 54 01: recording of Nouwen speaking. The recording was made specfically for Prof. Jhr. Dr. Frans A.M. and Annemieke Alting Von Geusau following a visit to their home, as stated by Nouwen at the beginning of the recording.
On Side A of this recording, Henri Nouwen speaks on the topic of being beloved. Nouwen mentions how the voice of God came to Jesus after Jesus' baptism in the River Jordan, and said "You are my beloved. On you, my favour rests." Humans are the children of God, as Jesus was, and therefore we are also beloved: yet Nouwen discusses how he has a difficult time accepting that, as a voice inside him tells him "you're no good, you're useless, you're a failure" (6:12 in the recording). He admits that the dark force inside him is strong, and it is a struggle for him to ignore this dark voice; he wonders if "life is worth living." Nouwen mentions a painful experience that he had had a few years prior, when a dear friend had decided that they could no longer be friends. This caused a depression, and Nouwen felt very dark inside, and desperate. Nouwen realized from this experience that God loves him unconditionally, completely: he is God's beloved. The voice of God is a soft, gentle voice, that can be drowned out by the noisy voices that ask one to prove themselves as valuable. Nouwen states that he must let that soft voice of God "penetrate his entire being."
Henri Nouwen says that, through prayer, it is possible to hear that soft voice more closely. "To pray is to be obedient, and to be obedient is to listen" (14:10-14:17).
Nouwen also discusses how people are wounded by those who love us. Nouwen states that he is a deeply woulded person (17:05), as are all people: all people have their own needs and weaknesses, and others cannot provide everything we need, and we feel misused and wounded. "There is a lot of brokenness in the most basic relationships in our lives [...] We see ourselves as victimized" (17:55). People do not need to feel victimized: the voice saying "you are my beloved" was there before we were born, and we are eternally loved by God.
Side B discusses "becoming the beloved." He focuses on 4 words: "to take, to bless, to break, and to give" (1:23). He mentions these words in relation to bread and the eucharist.

SR2010 54 02: Recording of Nouwen speaking. The title of his talk is "The Gift of Being".

SR2010 57 01: Recording of Nouwen speaking. The first side of the cassette is entitled: "To Be the Beloved". The second side "To Become the Beloved". Nouwen recorded these talks for Fran and Annemieke Alting von Geasau.

Title based on contents of the file.
Access copies (2) available in Access Copies - Research Collection fonds, Box 31.
Originals located in Research Collection fonds, Box 3-4.
Digitized on September 23, 2010.

Revised by T Wong, 8 September 2021