Lent: A Journey of the Heart

A journey of the heart

Henri Nouwen, known for his deep insights into spiritual life, saw Lent as a time for inner transformation—a journey of the heart. He often emphasized the importance of vulnerability, inviting followers of Jesus to step away from the distractions that impede their souls and examine their hearts honestly. Nouwen described Lent as a journey of returning to God, very much in the thread of the story of the prodigal son.

He first saw a reproduction of Rembrandt’s painting entitled, “The Return of the Prodigal Son” on a colleague’s office door. It may be impossible to explain the lifelong impact that experience had on Henri’s life. The image stirred something deeply profound in his heart. 

Rembrandt completed the painting between 1668 and 1669. It hangs in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, which Nouwen visited specifically to see. 

I invite you to read the Prodigal Son text in Luke 15:11-32 and take a moment in this first week of Lent to let the story Jesus told also penetrate your heart. Write your feelings, thoughts, or simple responses in a journal to which you may return.

The painting captures the stunning moment when the prodigal son returns home.  He arrives in utter humility, knowing he has brought shame upon his father and family.  Rembrandt, however, saw it through his own eyes of faith:  instead of shame and rejection, the prodigal son is embraced by his father in a grand moment of welcome home.  Artists have long studied Rembrandt’s dramatic use of light and shadow, which displayed the biblical story’s deep emotional and spiritual significance.

A journey of returning to God

Nouwen described Lent as a journey of returning to God. He believed that in this return, followers of Jesus can recover their identity and remember always that we are the beloved children of God. How did he practice Lent? He urged believers to practice solitude, prayer, and acts of compassion during Lent. These disciplines, he argued, help individuals confront their own brokenness and open their hearts to God’s healing love. For him, Lent was not merely about outward rituals but about profound intimate encounters with the grace and mercy of God.

Through extended reflection on this work of art, he came to understand his calling to become a loving, compassionate and forgiving one, like our Abba-father, full of compassion, and forgiveness. 

Lent will do that to you. It can be both a transformation and a homecoming, as it was for the prodigal. Nouwen came to see himself as a recipient of grace and as someone called to extend that same love to others. The painting became a lens through which he viewed his own life, ministry, and relationship with God. When we return home, we are moved to invite others to the table of our spiritual home, where God, the Father, races down the driveway to welcome us.

In the week ahead, I invite you to pray this prayer each day from Nouwen’s book, Show me the Way:

“Dear Lord, be with me today.  Listen to my confusion and help me know how to live it. I don’t know the words. I don’t know the way. Show me the way.”