My Work: In Retrospect

by Hans Urs von Balthasar

  Hans Urs von Balthasar made detailed statements about his work on five occasions, mostly on the birthdays that marked the end of a decade of his as a young author in his "desire to lift out of the jumble of history the four or five figures which represent for me the constellation of my idea and my mission;" as publisher and writer, "out of concern for the reader" and in order to equip this reader with a guide to his own books. Then, in the midst of the transformations connected with the Council, he wrote an "Account" for himself and his readers, about what had been done, and what was still required. Finally, in a kind of pause, as one already looking toward the close of his life, he gave once again an account of what had been achieved and what could no longer be achieved, in a clear shift of emphasis away from his "authorship" in favor of the pastoral work in the communities which he had founded. This present volume is a helpful guide to his many-sided work.

Genres: Theology

120 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

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

[Justin Evans]

"In this year, I wrote this book. Then later I wrote this one. Then, after that, I wrote this one. Karl Rahner is more a journalist than he is a serious thinker. The following year, I wrote this book." Repeat three times, and you have this book.

A lot of people have given this good ratings, and I'm glad they got something out of it, but as far as I can see it's just poorly written, uninformative self-congratulation. I don't begrudge the self-congratulation; Balthasar had a lot to congratulate himself for. Its the lack of information and the turgid prose that I can't handle. Really only the last piece, written in 1988, even suggests something about the detailed contents of the books.

[Earl]

For a great man who had numerous great books, von Balthasar sure stands as a very conscious man about his own works. But what I love here is that he himself traced the development of his own thoughts, and at the same time providing not only hermeneutic "bookmarks" that would help us students of theology today to trace his thoughts, but also and more importantly insights that would help in our own Christian witnessing.

PS I think that was four or five retrospective essays in this work, which made it easier to get to know the great Communio theologian and his works.