Heart Speaks to Heart: Three Prayers to Jesus

By Henri J.M. Nouwen

Book Overview

With a new foreword from friend and author Christopher de Vinck, Heart Speaks to Heart follows Henri Nouwen during a Holy Week retreat during which he desired to write about the Sacred Heart. As his... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 087793388X
• ISBN13: 9780877933885
• Release Date: January 1989
• Publisher: Ave Maria Press
• Length: 62 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 6.0" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

Immense Wisdom

Heart Speaks to Heart, a classic since its publication in 1989, has been repackaged as part of a collection of Nouwen titles. For those unfamiliar with this work, it is composed of three meditations Nouwen wrote during Holy Week as he spoke to (not "about") the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The thing about Nouwen is that he expresses a raft of human weaknesses while demonstrating an overwhelming desire to come ever closer to Jesus. The wisdom and hope he offers those who enter his meditations in "Heart" are immense. His style, placing himself in the gospel narrative, is compelling. In the meditation on Holy Thursday he resists Jesus' attempt to wash his feet, then recognizes that he can claim the Savior's boundless love by simply letting go of his fears, distrust, and anguish. As we listen to Nouwen speak to Jesus, we find relevance in his struggles and encouragement in his prayer: "Help me close the many doors and windows of my heart through which I flee from you or through which I give entry to words and sounds coming not from you, but from a raging, screaming world that wants to pull me away form you." This new carry-along edition of "Heart Speaks to Heart" is designed for praying over and over, alone or with others.

Heart Speaks to Heart

Henri Nouwen explores the traditional devotion to the Sacred Heart; and, characteristically, addresses the Lord in a very personal, unpompous, and unforbidding tone of voice.What is most fascinating about this book, however, is how it happened to get written: under the persistent encouragement and gentle prodding of Madame Pauline Vanier, whose son Jean was the founder of the L'Arche/Daybreak communities for the mentally challenged.Henri Nouwen's attempt to get in touch with this aspect of Catholic devotion, we find praiseworthy. The simplicity and lucidity with which we writes, and the endearing gentleness of his approach: winsome and effective. These three prayers, written from the standpoint of fallibility and vulnerability, nonetheless display an appropriate confidence in God's prevailing mercy.

Are you looking for a new look into the sacred heart?

This is an excellent read in classic Nouwen style. Nouwen draws the reader into a wonderful meditation on the incredible love that Jesus has for His people and the unbelievable breadth of His ability and desire to take on all human pain and suffering. This is a short book of 3 prayers that help the reader to meditate on the wonderful gift of the sacred heart of Jesus.