Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth

With Dr. Larry Chapp Ph.D., we conclude our conversation by discussing the sections Love as Deed, Love as Form, and Love as the Light of the World. The post Love Alone is Credible with Dr. Larry Chapp pt. 5 – “Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth” Podcast appeared first on Balthasar.

With Dr. Larry Chapp Ph.D., we discuss the sections in Love Alone is Credible that cover Love Must Be Perceived, Love as Revelation, Love as Justification and Faith, and Love as Deed The post Love Alone is Credible with Dr. Larry Chapp pt. 4 – “Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth” Podcast appeared first on Balthasar.

With Dr. Larry Chapp Ph.D., we discuss Balthasar's sections that cover The Cosmological Reduction, The Anthropological Reduction, and The Third Way of Love. The post Love Alone is Credible with Dr. Larry Chapp pt. 3 – “Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth” Podcast appeared first on Balthasar.

With Dr. Larry Chapp Ph.D., we discuss Balthasar's expression of the Petrine and Marian dimensions of the Church and that Marian subjectivity is the superior principle that fosters a life of interior holiness.  This is exemplified by the contemplatives who fuel the heartbeat of the Church.  This leads to a discussion on the contribution of women in the theological heart of the Church.  Adrienne von Speyr and the misrepresentation some critics place on her collaboration with Balthasar is addressed by Dr. Chapp.  He highlights the importance of Sacred Scripture in all of Balthasar's teachings. The post Love Alone is Credible with Dr. Larry Chapp pt. 2 – “Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth” Podcast appeared first on Balthasar.

With Dr. Larry Chapp Ph.D., we begin with a conversation on Hans Urs von Balthasar and his theological significance.  While giving an overview of the book, the essential premise is discussed.  What makes the towering figure of Christ self-authenticating, self-justifying is that it is the unsurpassable revelation of love in its essence and its core.  The importance of mysticism to the contribution of theology is also addressed. The post Love Alone is Credible with Dr. Larry Chapp pt. 1 – “Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth” Podcast appeared first on Balthasar.

With Sr. Gill Goulding, C.J., Ph.D., we discuss one of the last books written by Hans Urs Von Balthasar on the theme of spiritual childhood. He 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. The post Unless You Become Like This Child with Sr. Gill Goulding, C.J., Ph.D. pt. 1 – “Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth” Podcast appeared first on Balthasar.

 The Moment of Christian Witness with Dr. Rodney Howsare Ph.D. – pt. 4 With Dr. Rodney Howsare, Ph.D., Moment of Christian Witness Balthasar Rodney Howsare Podcast Kris McGregor we continue our conversation on The Moment of Christian Witness.  We discuss the Ernstfall as the form of Christian life, as well as the importance of discerning the sign of the times, the common good, and the sacrifice of the Cross.  Any era the Christian lives in, when they go into the world, they ... Read More The post The Moment of Christian Witness with Dr. Rodney Howsare pt. 4 – “Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth” Podcast appeared first on Balthasar.

 The Moment of Christian Witness with Dr. Rodney Howsare Ph.D. - pt. 3 With Dr. Rodney Howsare, Ph.D., we continue our conversation on The Moment of Christian Witness.  We explore in-depth section two of the book discussing various philosophical systems, such as those proposed by Kant and Marx, and their effect on the human person. The post The Moment of Christian Witness with Dr. Rodney Howsare pt. 3 – “Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth” Podcast appeared first on Balthasar.

The Moment of Christian Witness with Dr. Rodney Howsare Ph.D. - pt. 2 With Dr. Rodney Howsare Ph.D., we continue with a conversation of Hans Urs von Balthasar's The Moment of Christian Witness and the first section of the book entitled "The Decisive Moment."  Among other topics, the Christian sense of mission and the nature of Christian love are discussed. The post The Moment of Christian Witness with Dr. Rodney Howsare pt. 2 – “Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth” Podcast appeared first on Balthasar.

With Dr. Rodney Howsare Ph.D., we begin with a conversation about Hans Urs von Balthasar and his analysis of the thought of Karl Rahner S.J. and those who followed after him. We then discuss the meaning of what Balthasar calls "the Decisive Moment." The post The Moment of Christian Witness with Dr. Rodney Howsare pt. 1 – “Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth” Podcast appeared first on Balthasar.

 A Short Primer for Unsettled Laymen with Dr. Angela Franks – pt. 2 With Dr. Angela Franks, we continue our discussion on the truth of the uniqueness of each person and the danger of the “-isms” of modernity to depersonalize and devalue humanity.   Among other things, Dr. Franks speaks on Balthasar's understanding of authority which provides a gift of unity for the Church and its members, as well as the receptivity of the Marian assent and the power of the ... Read More The post A Short Primer for Unsettled Laymen with Dr. Angela Franks pt. 2 – “Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth” Podcast appeared first on Balthasar.

 A Short Primer for Unsettled Laymen with Dr. Angela Franks – pt. 1 With Dr. Angela Franks, we begin our discussion with an understanding of where we are today and why there is a crisis of identity.  She will discuss Balthasar's emphasis on the importance of thinking with the Church and properly understanding Word, Sacrament, and Authority and his warnings concerning the corrosive effects of the “-isms” of our age. Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth is a series of conversations with noted theological ... Read More The post A Short Primer for Unsettled Laymen with Dr. Angela Franks pt. 1 – “Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth” Podcast appeared first on Balthasar.

Section 3 (continued)  – “Union” of Christian Meditation With Dr. Anthony Lilles, we continue our discussion on section 3 of Hans Urs von Balthasar's Christian Mediation. Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth is a series of conversations with noted theological scholars about the life and teachings of Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar who is considered to be one of the most important Catholic intellectuals and writers of the twentieth century. Find the paperback book here Find the e-book here From the ... Read More The post Christian Meditation with Dr. Anthony Lilles pt. 5 – “Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth” Podcast appeared first on Balthasar.

Section 3  – “Union” of Christian Meditation With Dr. Anthony Lilles, we discuss section 3 of Hans Urs von Balthasar's Christian Mediation. Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth is a series of conversations with noted theological scholars about the life and teachings of Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar who is considered to be one of the most important Catholic intellectuals and writers of the twentieth century. Find the paperback book here Find the e-book here From the book description: While von ... Read More The post Christian Meditation with Dr. Anthony Lilles pt. 4 – “Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth” Podcast appeared first on Balthasar.

With Dr. Anthony Lilles, we continue our discussion of section 2 of Hans Urs von Balthasar's Christian Mediation. The post Christian Meditation with Dr. Anthony Lilles pt. 3 – “Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth” Podcast appeared first on Balthasar.

With Dr. Anthony Lilles, we discuss section 2 of Hans Urs von Balthasar's Christian Mediation. The post Christian Meditation with Dr. Anthony Lilles pt. 2 – “Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth” Podcast appeared first on Balthasar.

With Dr. Anthony Lilles, we discuss the first chapter of Hans Urs von Balthasar's Christian Mediation. Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth is a series of conversations with noted theological scholars about the life and teachings of Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar who is considered to be one of the most important Catholic intellectuals and writers of the twentieth century. The post Christian Meditation with Dr. Anthony Lilles pt. 1 – “Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth” Podcast appeared first on Balthasar.

Literature is sparing in giving directions on how to meditate. Generally such directions omit the decisive middle part. They treat at length of the entrance to meditation and the various preparatory acts, and also of the end phase, where they deal with acquired and infused contemplation and their mutual limits. For “meditating” on the more abstract truths of faith there are the directives of the Spiritual Exercises. First we are to picture the object we are recalling and then let light shine on it with our intellect (but how this is supposed to be done is seldom explained), so that we can use our will to apply what we have found to our own conduct (Sp. Ex., 50). On taking a closer look, however, we see more than a mere preliminary step in the preparatory instruction for the “contemplation”, which tells us to place ourselves vividly in the scene to be contemplated. Rather, it is something that helps to determine the whole course of the meditation. We shall speak of that first. 1. Presence Some aspects of this theme have already been mentioned, but now we shall proceed to the heart of the matter. When we meditate on a saying or scene of the Gospel, we do not meditate on a text but on him of whom the text treats and to whom it points: the person of Jesus Christ. This means more than what we have previously said—that the Spirit makes the scene present for us now after so many centuries. It means, rather, that by means of this text, Jesus Christ presents himself to us as present and turned to us in this articulate text by means of this very word spoken by him or through this miracle—not, therefore, merely on the basis of God's omnipresence in general but of his presence concretized precisely in this word, this gesture or this way of acting. The movement from the written word before me, not to the Spirit but to the living Lord, seems to be difficult for many, although it is really very simple. I stand before my Lord, and he turns toward me personally. He himself is this turning-toward, inasmuch as he is the Word, the Word of the Father in all its human forms, whether speech or silence, jubilation in the Father or tears over Jerusalem, warning or consolation, a humble or a sovereign bearing. In every case, he is Word, and now he is Word just for me. The post Presence 1 – an excerpt from Christian Meditation appeared first on Balthasar.

Here the close parallel between Word and sacrament makes itself felt. It would be wrong to attribute the Spirit's work of making present solely to the sacraments and not also to the Word of the Gospel (which as we have seen, embraces the Lord's deeds, sufferings and Resurrection as well as his words). Origen very strongly emphasized this in interpreting the texts in which the prophet Ezekiel and the seer of the Apocalypse are commanded to eat the Word (in the form of a scroll). This Father of the Church knows that “the Word is the true food of the spirit”, and “what could be more nourishing for the soul than the Word?” “Just as material bread is assumed into the nourished body and is transformed into its substance, so too the ‘living bread come down from heaven'—God's Word—is assumed into the spirit and soul and imparts its own strength to anyone who offers himself to receive his food.” The post The Light of the Holy Spirit – an excerpt from Christian Meditation appeared first on Balthasar.

The silence required of the Christian is not fundamentally and primarily of human making. Rather, believers must realize that they already possess within themselves and at the same time in God the quiet, hidden “chamber” into which they are to enter (Mt 6:6) and in which they are with the Father. This is perhaps analogous to how the unsuspecting “little ones” have “angels in heaven who always see my heavenly Father's face” (Mt 18:10). Our earthly cares and preoccupations are always on the lighter side of the scale, while the, other, which sinks and is just as much ours—our being in God—possesses an “unimaginable weight” in comparison (2 Cor 4:17). We need not first pave for ourselves an approach to God on our own; already and always “our life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3:3). Accordingly, preparation for meditation does not first necessitate lengthy psychological adjustments but only a brief realization in faith of where our true center and emphasis permanently are. We seem to be far from God, but he is near us. We need not work our way up to him. Instead, our situation is like that described in the parable: “From a distance the father already saw him coming and was moved with pity. Running up to him, he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him” (Lk 15:20). The post Introduction to Meditation 2 – an excerpt from Christian Meditation appeared first on Balthasar.

If we want to hear something we must prepare ourselves to perceive by being still. If we ourselves are talking, or if our own thoughts, wishes and concerns are speaking within us, the noise they make will render us unable to hear. Hence directions for meditating always begin by requiring us to create inner stillness and emptiness as a means of making room for what is to be received. Mention is made of “turning off”, of “concentrating” the scattered consciousness, of entering upon the “mysterious path inward” and so forth. It would, however, be reasonable to doubt that such efforts, in their mere negativity, already belong to that positive readiness to listen that distinguishes Christian meditation from other kinds in which this readiness is superfluous because no Word comes from God. The post Introduction to Meditation 1 – an excerpt from Christian Meditation appeared first on Balthasar.

Everything about Jesus is Word. This includes his silence before human tribunals, his being scourged and spat upon. Above all, his death after that great, inarticulate cry followed by the icy muteness of the corpse. No Word of God is more eloquent than this extreme condition of his mortal being. For if we did not have this Word and this self-expression on God's part, we would not know that in the midst of all gloom “God is love”, a statement that no other religion in the world has dared to make. Nothing more than this statement is needed to prove that he is present. “He who has seen it gives witness to it, and his witness is true. He knows that he is reporting the truth, so that you too may believe” (Jn 19:35). What is narrated about the risen Christ over and beyond this is still more transparent in regard to God—paradaisal is too weak a word for it. Precisely for this reason, there is nothing in the Gospel more tenderly human than the conversation with Magdalen at the tomb and with the disciples in the Cenacle; the loving reproof of Thomas and the granting of his request; the scene on the way to Emmaus; the gesture of blessing at the Ascension. This reaches even to his glorious apparition to Paul, to whom Jesus repeatedly appears at very difficult moments to console and strengthen him (Acts 18:9-10; 23:11; 27:24). Even in the transfiguration, everything remains corporeal and concrete; in the world of redemption nothing pertaining to the world of creation is disowned. The post The Mediating Word 3 – an excerpt from Christian Meditation appeared first on Balthasar.

It is not we who force a knowledge of the Absolute for ourselves by means of techniques under our control. Of his own accord God freely reveals himself, explains himself in his Son and gives us a Word that satisfies our hungering soul. We learn that man has been created in God's image and likeness (Gen 1: 27) so that God can one day place in his creature the perfect image (2 Cor 4: 4; Col 1: 15) and complete likeness (Heb 1: 3) of the Invisible One. The man Jesus Christ is not subsequently raised to being this image of God; from the very beginning he was aware of being such. His “but I tell you” surpasses Moses' authority and can only be the “I” of Yahweh himself and of his Word. “Before Abraham was, I am” (Jn 8: 58). This is the intolerable scandal of a people accustomed to prophets. They try to kill Jesus “because he called God his Father and thus made himself equal to God” (Jn 5: 18). They want to stone him “for blasphemy, because you who are human make yourself God” (Jn 10: 33). In the whole history of religion Jesus' claim is without parallel. He demands to be loved absolutely, in preference to any mutual human love, no matter how sacred, and even in preference to any well-ordered love of self (Lk 12:26) ...According to Jesus' demand,, then, the condition for mutual love, true Covenant love, between God and man is love for him, the God-Man and perfect embodiment of the Covenant. He is the twofold channel—of God to us and of us to God.  the condition for mutual love, true Covenant love, between God and man is love for him, the God-Man and perfect embodiment of the Covenant. He is the twofold channel—of God to us and of us to God. The post The Mediating Word 1 – an excerpt from Christian Meditation appeared first on Balthasar.

The dimensions of Christian meditation develop from God's having completed his self-revelation in two directions: God speaks out of his own depths and, speaking as a man, he discloses at the same time the depths of man. Christian meditation can begin only where God reveals himself as a man and, consequently, where this man reveals God to his very depths. Hence this point of departure may not be bypassed. And this meditation can take place only where the revealing man, God's Son, Jesus Christ, reveals God as his Father: in the Holy Spirit of God, whom he truly communicates to us so that in this Spirit given to us we may join in probing God's depths, which only God's Spirit probes -"But we have received the Spirit who is from God so that we may realize what God has given us" (1 Cor 2:12).   Consequently, Christian meditation is entirely trinitarian and at the same time entirely human. In order to find God, no one need reject being human personally or socially, but in order to find God all must see the world and themselves in the Holy Spirit as they are in God's sight. The post Introduction – an excerpt from Christian Meditation appeared first on Balthasar.