A Quote by Henri Nouwen

Christian life is not a life divided between times for action and times for contemplation. No. Real social action is a way of contemplation, and real contemplation is the core of social action.

Henri Nouwen

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Action Between Christian Christian Life Contemplation Core Divided Life Life Is Real Social Social Action Times Way

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Henri Nouwen
Dutch - Priest
January 24, 1932 - September 21, 1996

But this is that which will dignify and exalt knowledge: if contemplation and action be more nearly and straitly conjoined and united together than they have been: a conjunction like unto that of the highest planets, Saturn, the planet of rest and contemplation, and Jupiter, the planet of civil society and action.

Francis Bacon

Action should be founded on contemplation, and those of us who act don't put enough time, don't give enough emphasis, to contemplation.

Robert McNamara

Ideas are powerful things, requiring not a studious contemplation but an action, even if it is only an inner action.

Midge Decter

The Oriental philosophy approaches easily loftier themes than the modern aspires to; and no wonder if it sometimes prattle about them. It only assigns their due rank respectively to Action and Contemplation, or rather does full justice to the latter. Western philosophers have not conceived of the significance of Contemplation in their sense.

Henry David Thoreau

The life of wisdom must be a life of contemplation combined with action.

M. Scott Peck

There always comes a time when one must choose between contemplation and action. This is called becoming a man.

Albert Camus

Contemplation within activity is a million times better than contemplation within stillness.

Hakuin Ekaku

Happiness, then, is co-extensive with contemplation, and the more people contemplate, the happier they are; not incidentally, but in virtue of their contemplation, because it is in itself precious. Thus happiness is a form of contemplation.

Aristotle

I am suggesting that we can and do regain eternity when we are so immersed in life, in moral action, or in aesthetic contemplation, that we completely forget about time and anxiety.

Don Cupitt

What distinguishes - in both senses of that word - contemplation is rather this: it is a knowing which is inspired by love. "Without love there would be no contemplation." Contemplation is a loving attainment of awareness. It is intuition of the beloved object.

Josef Pieper

Reformation ends not in contemplation, but in action.

George Gillespie

Action is the stream, and contemplation is the spring.

Thomas Merton

Yesterday for contemplation, today for action.

James Burgh

The world can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation.

Jacob Bronowski

We ascend to the heights of contemplation by the steps of action.

Pope Gregory I

Before examining this more carefully and investigating its consequences, I want to dwell for a moment in the contemplation of God, to ponder His attributes in me, to see, admire, and adore the beauty of His boundless light, insofar as my clouded insight allows. Believing that the supreme happiness of the other life consists wholly of the contemplation of divine greatness, I now find that through less perfect contemplation of the same sort I can gain the greatest joy available in this life.

Rene Descartes

A Quote by Henri Nouwen

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