The Call to Deep Roots and Outstretched Hands

The mystic and the activist are not two different ways of being in the world, with the one committed to withdrawal and the other to participation. These two ways ought to be complementary. Activism should drive us to reflection and inner renewal. And the search for prayerful solitude should motivate us to embrace the concerns of the world. The danger for the mystic is escapism. The danger for the activist is burnout and a gradual loss of perspective. In suggesting that the two belong together, we wish to see the activist embrace a life of prayer and the mystic embrace a costly worldly concern. Seeking to be both signals our growth in responsibility. Nouwen points out that it is “only through facing up to the reality of our world that we can grow into our own responsibility.” At the same time, it is only through facing up to the reality of our own needs, lack of resources, pain, weakness, and limitation that we grow into responsibility for others and for their growth and development. Growth in responsibility is never only growth in concern for others while negating our own needs. Growth in responsibility is never only growth for ourselves while denying the call to serve others, the cry of the poor, the alienation of our neighbor, and the commitment to a solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the faith.

—Charles Ringma, Dare to Journey with Henri Nouwen