Spiritual Formation

In many ways Henri Nouwen's Spiritual Formation follows on from his Spiritual Direction. Certainly it also has some really helpful pointers with respect to the spiritual life. I like what he says about our realising how hungry we are for God - "we need to begin with a careful look at the way we think, speak, feel, and act from hour to hour, day to day, week to week, and year to year, in order to become more fully aware of our hunger for the Spirit." 

Three things particularly struck me.

In the first place, he points out how we need to let the Bible speak to us. "The Bible does not speak to us as long as we want only to use it. But when we are willing to hear the Word as a word for us, sacred scripture can disclose itself, and its message can penetrate into the centre of our hearts." In other words, if we just treat the Bible as a book, it is not going to have much impact on us. We need to recognise that it actually is something else.

Secondly, he emphasises the importance of silence. "Without silence the Word of God cannot bear fruit. One of the most depressing aspects of contemporary life is the almost complete absence of silence." We live in a noisy world. We surround ourselves with sound. Sometimes we need to discover what the Simon and Garfunkel song once called 'the sound of silence'.

Thirdly, as followers of Jesus, we are part of a community. (Maybe that is a particularly helpful reminder in these days when there is so much talk about self isolation!) Nouwen says - "Christian spirituality is essentially communal. Spiritual formation is formation in community. One’s personal prayer life can never be understood if it is separated from community life." Of course, we need the solitary, the personal, the private. But we also need the corporate, and to remember that we are part of a community.

However, I think the little section of this book that I most like, and that made the greatest impact on me, is Nouwen's reminder that Communion is a feast that we are celebrating. It doesn't just help us along. It totally sustains us. As Nopuwen puts it - "Jesus never said, “Munch and sip” the bread and wine. He said, “Eat me up, drink me empty, take it all in. Don’t hold back. I want to become part of you. I want you to become part of me. I don’t want to be separate anymore. I want to live within you, so that when you eat and drink, I disappear because I am within you. I want to make my home in you, and invite you to make your home in me.” (See John 6:53–58.)"