Love Alone : Hans Urs Von Balthasar on the Trinity and the Paschal mystery

Abstract

Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988), a distinguished Swiss theologian, deliberately set out to write a theology of glory within the great tradition of Christian humanism. However, his rich analogical theology contains within it a dialectic of the cross. He avers that the glory of God is most fully revealed in the descent of the Son into suffering, death and the passivity of the grave, which is the kenosis of all beauty that will eventually save the world. Balthasar speaks of a “great reversal” that took place between God and the dead man Jesus during the triduum of Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. Trinitarian and Christological themes all play foundational roles in clarifying the “great event” of the triduum and its saving significance. This book is an invitation to anyone who wishes to understand the paschal mystery more fully as well as experience the new life of resurrection. Balthasar holds that only if transformed by God’s love can one journey towards the gift of resurrection, become a contemplative in action, and live in unison with the Trinity.