Religious Language as Icon

Ron Rolheiser, OMI highlights Nouwen's The Return of the Prodigal Son

September 2nd, 2009

Religious Language as Icon, by Ronald Rolheiser, 2009-08-30

Before Henri Nouwen wrote the book that became his signature work, The Return of the Prodigal Son, he went to The Hermitage museum in Russia and sat for whole days contemplating Rembrandt's famous painting on the return of the prodigal son. He was given permission to bring a chair into the museum and he would sit for hours, studying the painting from various angles and letting it speak to him in his varying moods. The result was one of the finest commentaries ever written on both Rembrandt's painting and on the meaning of that famous parable in the gospels. Read more...

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