Henri Nouwen

Henri Nouwen (1932-1996) went with friends to the German circus and was mesmerized as he watched the Flying Rodleighs perform their high-wire trapeze act. He returned to the circus and introduced himself to these trapeze artists as one of their big fans. They invited him to attend a practice session, share a meal, and even travel on tour with them for a week. One day, as Henri was sitting with Rodleigh, this leader of the troupe explained the twin roles of flying and catching. “As a flyer,” Rodleigh said, “I must have complete trust in my catcher. The public might think I am the great star of the trapeze, but the real star is Joe, my catcher. He must be there for me with split-second precision and grab me out of the air as I come to him in the long jump.” “But how does it work?” Henri asked. Rodleigh continued, “The secret is that the flyer does nothing, and the catcher does everything. When I fly to Joe, I simply stretch out my arms and hands and wait for him to catch me and pull me safely over the bar.” “You do nothing?” Henri said, surprised. “Nothing!” Rodleigh repeated, “The worst thing the flyer can do is to try to catch the catcher. I am not supposed to catch Joe. It’s Joe’s task to catch me. If I grabbed Joe’s wrists, I might break them, or he might break mine, and that would be the end for both of us. A flyer must fly, and a catcher must catch, and the flyer must trust, with outstretched arms, that his catcher will be there for him.” As Henri reflected on their conversation, he wrote, “If we are the flyers, God is the Catcher. Trust the Catcher.” Stretch out your hands and trust, trust, trust. Henri leads us in a prayer of trust: