Behold the Beauty of the Lord: Praying with Icons - Paperback

by Henri J. M. Nouwen (Author), Robert Lentz O. F. M. (Foreword by)

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 for private contemplation or meditation.

Author Biography

Henri J. M. Nouwen is one of the most popular spiritual writers of our time. He wrote more than forty books, among them the bestselling Out of Solitude. He taught at the University of Notre Dame, as well as Yale and Harvard Universities. From 1986 until his death in 1996, he was part of the L'Arche Daybreak community in Toronto, where he shared his life with people with mental disabilities.

Robert Lentz, O.F.M., a Franciscan friar, is one of the best-known contemporary icon painters in North America. His work has been shown around the world, has appeared on the covers of many books and magazines, and is featured with the text of Joan Chittister's book, A Passion for Life: Fragments of the Face of God. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.