Spiritual Formation #03

The Way of the Heart

Henri Nouwen describes the ‘way of the heart’ – the descending from the mind into the heart in order to there encounter God’s Spirit within. “Spiritual formation presents opportunities to enter into the centre of our heart and become familiar with the complexities of our own inner life.”

Nouwen, steeped in the rich tradition of Catholic mystical theology yet also as a psychologist, integrated and developed an understanding of the inner polarities of the human psyche (soul), which he located in the heart, that is, a person’s spiritual centre, where the physical, mental, and emotional lives come together in relation to God. As these inner polarities are better understood and oriented toward God, transformative movement is possible. Nouwen affirmed that when the heart is open and responsive to the movements of the Spirit, vital spiritual formation takes place.

By reflecting on his own spiritual experience and the experiences of others, Nouwen articulated personal and universal qualities of the inner life in relation to spiritual formation. His initial focus was on the inner dynamics of fear, shame, vulnerability, identity, self-respect, anxiety, love, and hope. These psychological and spiritual polarities, he believed, prompt transformative movements within the spiritual journey.

By identifying a particular quality of inner life, he was able to articulate a corresponding discipline and movement in spiritual development - from this quality to that, from something enslaving and destructive to something liberating and life giving.

To learn more, go to the Henry Nouwen Society Webpage
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Henri J.M. Nouwen, Michael J. Christensen and Rebecca Laird. Spiritual Formation: Following the Movements of the Spirit, (New York: Harper Collins, 2010),  

Henri J.M. Nouwen, Intimacy: Pastoral psychological essays. Chicago: Fides/Claretian Publishers, 1970.