Item 1581 - The gift of solitude

2 p. of textual records

This item is a two page article by Henri Nouwen entitled ‘The Gift of Solitude” published in Faith At Work, Volume 89, No. 3, April 1976, p. 28-29. In this article Nouwen is discussing the necessity of solitude in family life allowing each member to have the space to grow. “…the family is a special witness to the general Christian and human vocation to live a life in which solitude leads to intimacy and intimacy to solitude’. Nouwen states that we live in a world in which what we ‘do’ defines who we are and therefore leads us to believe that we must be constantly occupied. Nouwen then states that ‘the first gift of family members to each other is the gift of solitude, in which they can discover their real selves’. He states that allowing solitude for a married couple increases the intimacy between them and between and with their children. Nouwen concluded, ‘In their solitude and intimacy, they evoke a love which transcends the limits of human togetherness; they evoke a divine love of which they have become visible witnesses’.

Published in Faith at Work 89, no. 3 (April 1976): 28-29.

Added by L Joson, 8 November 2017