Joyce Gallagher

Henri asks:  “What does caring mean when we think of the many people for whom growing old has become a way to the darkness.  What is there to say to men and women who feel forgotten and lonely, and who are approaching death as the only way to escape their misery?”  He admits there are no … Read more

After dealing with “caring as the way to the self”, Henri ponders “caring as the way to the other”.  According to Henri, “caring can lead to a new self-understanding, but this self-understanding can never be its own goal”.  Instead, “we are called to put our aging self at the service of the aging other.  The … Read more

Henri advises us that compassion can grow in a poor heart, “because in a poor heart the pains of growing old can be recognized and shared.  Compassion is the second most important characteristic of caring, since it allows us to overcome the fear of old strangers and invite them as guests into the center of … Read more

Using Heni Nouwen’s book on “Aging” as our guide, we last discussed the futility of going out and finding the elderly to help them.  Henri believes, and I agree, we have to draw them to ourselves by connecting with the aging stranger within ourselves.  Beyond that he explains that, “the old stranger must first become part of … Read more

Henri Nouwen believes that the question is not:” how to go out and help the elderly, but how to create the space where they can be heard and listened to from within with careful attention”.  He goes on to say that we often want to: “preach, teach or cure” and that prevents us from: “perceiving and receiving … Read more

Henri Nouwen believes that the only way to combat ageism and care for the elderly, a person must first: “enter into close contact wth your own aging self, to sense your own time, and to experience the movements of your own life cycle.  From this aging self,  healing can come forth and others can be invited … Read more

Henri Nouwen in his book,  “Aging, The Fulfillment of Life”, presents the premise that: “There can hardly be a better image of caring than that of the artist who brings new life to people by (his) honest and and fearless self-portrait.”  He references an example given by Horst Gerson in his book, “Rembrandt Paintings”,  in that the … Read more

We have explored humor as a way of connecting generations and “creating communication” as Henri Nouwen has defined it and now I am led to explore this common experience of the symbolism of “light”.  Henri states that, “light might dissolve much deeper separations and bring all humanity into a liberating unity.”  He highlights the experience of Father Han Fortmann … Read more

Heni speaks of the vision, which grows in aging, leading us beyond the limitations of our human self  “It is a vision that makes us not only detach ourselves from preoccupation with the past but also from the importance of the present.  It is a vision that invites us to a total, fearless surrender in which … Read more