A new book by a favorite writer who died 25 years ago is a great occasion. Flying, Falling, Catching: An Unlikely Story of Finding Freedom is Henri Nouwen’s account of a great passion he developed, in the final years of his life, for the flying trapeze. Who knew?
In 1974, a decade before joining the L’Arche community in Toronto, Henri Nouwen made a seven-month retreat at a Trappist monastery called The Genesee. He subsequently published his diary for that period, which ended on Christmas Day. Here is his final entry, dated Wednesday, December 25: