Behold the Beauty of the Lord
Praying with Icons
This twentieth-anniversary edition (more than 111,000 copies sold) brings Henri J. M. Nouwen’s writings on Eastern Orthodox icons to a new generation and adds to the Nouwen collection published by Ave Maria Press. With a foreword by Br. Robert Lentz, a well-known painter of contemporary icons, this classic Nouwen book invites readers to pray with four Russian icons with their eyes open by emphasizing seeing or gazing, which are at the heart of Eastern spirituality. Nouwen’s meditations reveal his viewing of the icons not as decorations, but holy places. The book includes four full-color icons, which can be removed for private contemplation or meditation.
More About this Book
In this short book (116 pages) Nouwen invites the reader to contemplate four Eastern Orthodox icons. The four Russian icons chosen by Nouwen are the icon of the Holy Trinity, the icon of the Virgin of Vladmir, the icon of the Savior of Zvenigorod and the icon of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. According to Nouwen, each icon has a particular invitation: the first to dwell in the house of love, the second to feel a sense of belonging to God, the third to see the face of God and the fourth to liberate the world. Nouwen hopes that studying these four icons will help readers “strengthen the awareness of God’s magnificent and loving presence in their lives.”
Themes: Contemplation, God, Prayer, Art, Love, Seeing, Gazing, Eastern Orthodox spirituality, Byzantine icons, House of Love, House of Fear, Andrew Rublev, Russian mysticism, Descent into the heart, Holy Trinity, Mary the Blessed Mother, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Community, Faith, Pentecost, The Church, Christian action, Liberation, Beauty
Ave Maria Press, 1987
Praise for "Behold the Beauty of the Lord"
"If you liked Nouwen's "The Return of the Prodigal Son," you will like this. Nouwen opens our eyes to aspects of the art work and the spiritual truths it reveals." -ReadnPonder
"Nouwen's enthusiasm and heartfelt approach was infectious and sparked my interests in pursuing icons further." -Scott
"Very thoroughly researched, but more importantly devotedly and passionately written, this book is the best one I know of that is an introduction to icons." -Evan