‘Just as a whole world of beauty can be discovered in one flower, so the great grace of God can be tasted in one small moment.’

This observation is central to the probing spiritual journey of Henri Nouwen written during his seven-month stay in a Trappist monastery: the Abbey of the Genesee in upstate New York.

During this period he had a unique opportunity to explore crucial issues of the spiritual life and discover ‘a quiet stream underneath the fluctuating affirmations and rejections of our little world’.

Insightful, compassionate, often humorous, always realistic, The Genesee Diary is both an inspiration and a challenge to those who are in search of themselves.

Henri J. M. Nouwen was a Dutch Roman Catholic priest who left a highly acclaimed academic career to share his life with people with mental disabilities as pastor of l'Arche Daybreak Community, Toronto, Canada. He died in 1996.