Unless You Become Like This Child

by Hans Urs von Balthasar

In one of the last books written before his death, the great theologian provides a moving and profound meditation on the theme of spiritual childhood. Somewhat startlingly, von Balthasar puts forth his conviction that the central mystery of Christianity is our transformation from world-wise, self-sufficient "adults" into abiding children of the Father of Jesus by the grace of their Spirit.

Genres: Theology, Spirituality, Christianity, Catholic, Christian Living, Nonfiction

75 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Hans Urs von Balthasar was a Swiss theologian and priest who was nominated to be a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is considered one of the most important theologians of the 20th century.

Born in Lucerne, Switzerland on 12 August 1905, he attended Stella Matutina (Jesuit school) in Feldkirch, Austria. He studied in Vienna, Berlin and Zurich, gaining a doctorate in German literature. He joined the Jesuits in 1929, and was ordained in 1936. He worked in Basel as a student chaplain. In 1950 he left the Jesuit order, feeling that God had called him to found a Secular Institute, a lay form of consecrated life that sought to work for the sanctification of the world especially from within. He joined the diocese of Chur. From the low point of being banned from teaching, his reputation eventually rose to the extent that John Paul II asked him to be a cardinal in 1988. However he died in his home in Basel on 26 June 1988, two days before the ceremony. Balthasar was interred in the Hofkirche cemetery in Lucern.

Along with Karl Rahner and Bernard Lonergan, Balthasar sought to offer an intellectual, faithful response to Western modernism. While Rahner offered a progressive, accommodating position on modernity and Lonergan worked out a philosophy of history that sought to critically appropriate modernity, Balthasar resisted the reductionism and human focus of modernity, wanting Christianity to challenge modern sensibilities.

Balthasar is very eclectic in his approach, sources, and interests and remains difficult to categorize. An example of his eclecticism was his long study and conversation with the influential Reformed Swiss theologian, Karl Barth, of whose work he wrote the first Catholic analysis and response. Although Balthasar's major points of analysis on Karl Barth's work have been disputed, his The Theology of Karl Barth: Exposition and Interpretation (1951) remains a classic work for its sensitivity and insight; Karl Barth himself agreed with its analysis of his own theological enterprise, calling it the best book on his own theology.

Balthasar's Theological Dramatic Theory has influenced the work of Raymund Schwager.

Reviews

[Jasonlylescampbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Balthasar is contemplating the stories of Jesus holding out a child and telling us that we will not enter his kingdom unless we become like this little child. He describes that ultimatley this is rooted in Jesus very way of life. As a grown man, he never leaves the "bosom of the Father." His identity is inseperable from his being a child in the bosom of the Father. No other philosopher or founder of religion or psychologist have ever lived more authentically and deeply as a child of the Father than Jesus Christ. In one part he imagines the child Jesus becoming conscious of the world around him ... "when the Mother awakens him, the opening up of the whole horizon of reality is experienced not only as somthing holy but as the realization that in the depths of this opened fullness of being there radiates the personal Face of his Father, personally turned toward him."

And so he is truly able to call us into sonship and daughterhood ... "we must perservere, together with Christ, in fleeing to the Father, in entrusting ourselves to the Father, in imploring and thanking the Father." He also talks about what fights against this for us modern humanity. The biggest is the "makability of man." Our leaning on the idea of being self-made ... of plundering and conquering the world (as opposed to seeing it as given to us). "Nothing, compared to this, has ever more emptied the wonderous mystery of childhood of its value. But the ideal of man's self-fabrication is infallibly also his self-destruction."

"Thanksgiving, in Greek eucharistia, is the quintessence of Jesus stance toward the Father. The Eucharist celebration is when we thank God for Jesus and through him are able to give ourselves away ... "Paul reminds his communities of this need to give thanks to God, and just as often he himself thanks God for having received the grace that enables him to spend himself for Christ's work."

And our thankfulness is also for our very existance ... that we are even ourselves. "To be a child means to owe one's existence to another, and even in our adult life we never quite reach the point where we no longer have to give thanks for being the person we are. This means that we never quite outgrow our condition of children, nor do we therefore ever outgrow the obligation to give thanks for ourselves or to continue to ask for our being. Individual men, cultures and institutions may forget this. Only the Christian religion, which in its essence is communicated by the eternal child of God, keeps alive in its believers the lifelong awareness of their being children, and therefore of having to ask and give thanks for things."

On Sex
"As the erotic faculties of the growing person begin to blossom, the ability to marvel that was enjoyed at the dawn of life again awakens in the same primal sense. Now the Christian task lies in trying to deepen the erotic faculty from the surface of the senses into the depths of the heart: for here eros can keep alive an awed amazement at one's partner's self-surrender within all the routine of the common life, even after the first sensual stimulus has evaporated." This is such an intersting perspective on sexual desire ... it seems very true.

On being present
"The child has time to take time as it comes, one day at a time, calmly without advance planning or greedy hoarding of time. Time to play, time to sleep. He knows nothing of appointment books in which every moment has already been sold in advance." Instead every moment "we should receive with gratitude the full cup that is handed to us ... And only with time of this quality can teh Christian find God in all things, just as Christ found the Father in all things. Pressured man on the run is always postponing his encounter with God to a "free moment" or a "time of prayer" that must constantly be rescheduled, a time he must laboriously wrest from his overburdened workday."

It was a pretty good book ... but more than anything the concept of our faith being led by the Eternal child of God is something we would do well to reflect on.

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Balthasar's short book takes childhood as a theme and stands it on its head. Typically, modern accounts of psychology and subjectivity focus on progression and development, with the effects of childhood often being snares that prevent our later success. Balthasar instead offers childhood as an exemplar of Christian life, of something we must continuously recover when lost in the world of adults. What makes Balthasar's account special is that he is able to connect this theme to many dimensions of logic in Christian texts, as if he were making obvious points about the internal logic of the world.

[Daniel Supimpa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Von Balthasar does a short but interesting exploration on Jesus' command to become like a child in order to enter the Kingdom of Heavens/God (Matt 18:2-4). His writing style reflects the author's catholic tradition, which, fortunately, sees little divisions between academic and philosophical expertise and attempts of writing with existential and spitirual depth. Particularly interesting to me was his chapter that compares the relationship of simultaneous distance and belonging within the Trinity and father-mother-infant. At the same time, I questioned his affirmations that young children are naturally inclined to self-forgetfulness and generosity (having my own experiences with my children!), and an excessive 'psychologization' of the Jesus' and even Mary's childhood. Other than that, a valid reading on the topic.

[Maria Therese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a simple and yet such a beautiful book. Many of the comments and themes strung throughout were not new to me, but the elements with Mary specifically were entirely new to me or at least struck me in an entirely new way.

This is the first book I have read by Balthasar (outside of the context of school), and it was suggested to me by a dear professor when I asked what I should read by Balthasar first after graduating. For such a small volume, it has much to provide food for thought. I find myself wanting to start over and read it again even just after I have finished!

I look forward to reading more by Balthasar in the future! He has a heart for God and a beautiful way of expressing the love and commitment that he has while also presenting the faith well. It also struck me that the Gospel of John is woven seamlessly through his writing. A great Gospel to rely on!

[Conor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful reflection on a fundamental Gospel theme.

[Clayton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hans Urs von Baltahasar not only writes about beauty; he writes beautifully. This small volume radiates with simple and profound wisdom. It's an extended meditation on the words of Christ and the example of Christ, who lives his mission eternally as Child, and who invites his disciples to pattern their own disposition to the Father on his own.

[Sammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars

I'm just getting into von Balthasar's work for the first time. This was my first intentional dive into his work after reading a few of his essays in a separate collection, and I must say, I'm counting him among my favorite theologians after this experience.

In a humble yet profound style, he gently reveals some of the mysteries of Faith to his readers with a simplicity that resonates deeply. His language is approachable and yet quite deep, and his chapters are brief and easily connected to assist the reader through a little journey of discovery throughout the book. As someone who has aspired to having "faith like a child" for quite some time, this book taught me that I had no idea what that really meant -- and also taught me the profound goal that this attitude should be in any Christian's life.

As a mother, I was touched by von Balthasar's treatment of Mary and parenthood in general throughout this text. The analogies of human relationships made the depth of Divine relationships seem much more palpable, and though I know I'll never (in this life) fully understand the truth of these relationships, I did come away from this read with a much deeper respect and a much more actionable hope to improve my relationship with God and my approach to faith.

This is a short book that's easily read in a day (if you have a few spare hours), and it is far and away worth the time.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of spiritual theology makes my eyes glaze over, and this wasn't an exception. So four stars, because the fault is in me rather than the book, as far as I can see. There were interesting passages that stood out. I am not sure why German theology in translation seems to be rather stilted and awkward, but I've found that to be true with Pieper, Ratzinger and now von Balthasar.

[Bradleya · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a practicing Catholic who doesn’t read much from theologians, there were definitely many parts of this book that were over my head. But there were also plenty of parts that connected to my life, helped me reflect on what it means to be a child of God, and explained how Jesus Christ shows us that. It was definitely worth reading.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final chapter has a lot about Mary that I don’t agree with, but otherwise these meditations are really great.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great until the last chapter, when he is wildly speculating about Mary. The rest is worth an annual read.

[Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two things drew me to this book, one its beautiful title, and second the fact that it was written by Hans Urs von Balthasar, the wonderful 20th century Swiss theologian.

This was a nice and short book to read at only 75 pages long. I must admit that the book was a bit sluggish to get through, especially in the first couple of chapters, mainly due to the long sentence structure that von Balthasar uses, in which he crams a lot of info. But once you assimilate his writing style, the book does pick up. The theme of the book is to become like a child in our relationship with God. This thought coming from the Bible verse, "Whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter into it." (Mk 10:15)

Hans Urs von Balthasar uses a nice cup analogy about how we must always be ready to 'receive' everything from our Lord in full. So, you simply wouldn't want to "make the most out of it", but instead receive the full glass. Von Balthasar observes how children don't worry about whether there'll be food on the table tomorrow, as the parents are the ones who must worry and it's their job to make sure to put food on the table. Thus we, as children of God, mustn't worry about tomorrow's food, but simply receive the food that has already been laid out on the table, which has been given to us.

Von Balthasar, interestingly, discusses what it means to be in the Father, which is to be in his bosom. But in order to be in his bosom, we must first follow the example of Jesus, who is the Eternal Child of God. It is only through Christ that we can become children of God.

The following quote is one of my favorites from the book, which also nicely summarizes the book, "To be a child means to owe one's existence to another, and even in our adult life we never quite reach the point where we no longer have to give thanks for being the person we are."

[Gab Nug · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these short spiritual reflections by von Balthasar. The texts are short, and yet so richly profound, that returning to them will likely be a recurrence for me.


Having taken the time to go through this again, a couple things stand out. First, having encountered more of von Balthasar's works, I was more equipped with the method and style of both his spirituality and writing to begin to digest more of the depth of this short reflection. I happen to have picked this back up as I'm out at the Institute for Priestly Formation. A big part of the spiritual work we're doing here is deepening our personal relationship with the LORD, and that's precisely what this text is about. Hans Urs von Balthasar discusses a need to return to a childlike state of utter dependence, trust, and obedience to the Father. This of course is first and foremost done through our Baptism, by which we are reborn and made members of the Church, the Body of Christ, who is the archetypical Child of the Father. Hence, this return to a pure childlike state, which can only be done in communion with Christ, modeled by the Blessed Mother, is the goal for all of us Christians. It can only be Providence that I'm rereading this at this time, because this reflection helped to substantiate with meaning a lot of the discussion at IPF which was initially falling flat. Praise God for drawing me back to this short book at this time.

[Phil · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish I could give this book more than 2 stars. I'm sure it contains some wonderful thoughts and ideas, but I found so much of the writing so convoluted that any such treasures remained hidden from me. Perhaps the problem is with the translation (from the original German), or perhaps I'm just not up to the task of understanding and appreciating the theology (quite likely). Regardless, however good the book might be for some, sadly it was not for me.

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an extraordinary little book. Von Balthasar roots the doctrine of spiritual childhood in Jesus, the Eternal Child, who never leaves the bosom of the Father, even when He is accomplishing His very adult mission of redemption on the Cross.

[Christopher McCaffery · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of his best short books I think. Goes right to the core of his theological approach.