List $24.95

Written by Henri J.M. Nouwen - Narrated by Dan Anderson - Unabridged Religion - COMPACT DISCS - 4.5 hours

Publisher, Saint Anthony Messenger Press & Franciscan Communications (May 2005)

Who was Henri Nouwen? And why do we urgently need to hear his voice today? On The Return of the Prodigal Son, you will learn how a chance encounter with a painting by Rembrandt led this beloved Dutch priest and writer on the last great spiritual adventure of his life. Celebrated as the author of many books on contemporary spiritual life, Nouwen spent his final years ministering to handicapped adults before he died unexpectedly in 1996.

In this rare archival session, Nouwen shows how, like the prodigal son, we find ourselves today in a "distant country" where we spend our lives searching for love where it can never be found. Nouwen explores the "mystery of homecoming," into the embrace of an all-loving, all-forgiving God who is both mother and father. Enriched with many stories from Nouwen's remarkable life as a theologian, a peace-worker, a pastor, and a seeker.

About the Author: Henri J.M. Nouwen was born in 1932, and ordained into the priesthood in 1957. He pursued an academic career, specializing in psychology from 1964 to 1982, with positions at the Menninger Clinic, Notre Dame, the University of Nijmegen, Harvard, and Yale. Nouwen next spent time as a missionary to the poor in war and poverty-torn areas of Latin America, including Bolivia, Peru, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Honduras. In his last years of life, he was a pastor at L'Arche Daybreak, a community for handicapped adults in Canada. Henri Nouwen was the author of over 30 books, including The Wounded Healer; Our Greatest Gift; Life of the Beloved; and others.