This volume initiates von Balthasar's study of the biblical vision and understanding of God's glory. Starting with the theopanies of the Patriarchal period, it shows how such glory is most fully expressed in the graciousness of the Covenant relationship between God and Israel.

This volume presents a series of studies of representative mystics, theologians, philosophers, and poets and explores the three mainstreams of metaphysics which have developed since the catastrophe of Nominalism.

considers the metaphysical tradition of the contemplation of Being: Homer, the Greek Tragedians, Plato, Plotinus and the development of the tradition in the Middle Ages. Von Balthasar then explores the analogy between the metaphysical vision of Being and the Christian vision of the Trinity.

This work presents a sustained reflection on the New Testament vision of God's revelation of his glory in Christ. This divine "appearing" is grounded in the self-emptying of the eternal Logos in the incarnation, cross and descent into hell, yet this is the means whereby his glory is manifested and enriches all who are seized by its beauty.

In this volume von Balthasar turns to the works of the lay theologians, the poets and the philosopher theologians who have kept alive the Grand Tradition of Christian theology in writings formally very different from the works of the Fathers and the great Scholastics. This volume contains studies of Dante, John of the Cross, Pascal, Hamann, Soloviev, Hopkins and Peguy.

offers a series of earlier Christian theology when the aesthetic view was still held and appreciated. Drawing insights from some of the leading figures of the early Church such as Anselm, Augustine, Bonaventura, Denys and Irenaeus, von Balthasar presents his views with a freshness and vigour rarely excelled in contemporary theological writing about the Grand Tradition.

This text opens with a critical review of developments in Protestant and Catholic theology since the Reformation which have led to the steady neglect of aesthetics in Christian theology. Then, von Balthasar turns to the central theme of the volume, the question of theological knowledge. He re-examines the nature of Christian believing, drawing widely on such theological figures as Anselm, Pascal and Newman.

Two great theologians endeavor to recover the centrality of Marian doctrine and devotion for the contemporary Church, offering a view of Mary as both the embodiment of the Church, and the mother who cooperates in giving birth to the Church in the souls of believers.

Written by an anonymous figure who wished for the book to be published posthumously, Meditations on the Tarot has been translated from the original French by author Robert Powell, who lives in Germany.

Maximus the Confessor, saint and martyr, is the theologian of synthesis: of Rome and Byzantium, of antiquity and the Middle Ages, reexcavating the great treasures of Christian tradition, which at that time had been buried by imperial and ecclesial censure. Von Balthasar was an authority on the Church Fathers--Irenaeus, Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, Augustine, and above all, Maximus the Confessor. This masterpiece on Maximus broke new ground at that time. This is the first English translation of the latest edition of this acclaimed work. This book presents a powerful, attractive, religiously compelling portrait of the thought of a major Christian theologian who might, for this book, have remained only an obscure name in the handbooks of patrology. Here the history of theology has become itself a way of theological reflection.

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.

Originally published in German in 1938, this highly acclaimed volume presents more than one thousand selections from the various extant writings of Origen, the great Alexandrian theologian. Robert J. Daly, S.J., has re-translated the majority of these texts from the original Greek and Latin, added the scriptural references in the translated texts and an index, and included updated bibliographical information. This volume comprises thoughts of one of the greatest of ancient theologians as seen through the eyes of an almost equally prolific successor in the same central Christian enterprise. The book remains a great resource for anyone interested in patristic theology, early Christian mysticism, and early interpretation of Scripture. This Cornerstones edition has a new introduction written by Robert J. Daly, S.J.

The brilliant theologian and philosopher Balthasar writes about Gods involvement with man and mans involvement with God in the Old and the New Testaments, and how that interaction of the divine with the human reveals the meaning of true freedom that man is always hungering for but often strives after in wrong and dangerous ways. He shows that Gods free revelation of himself in Christ is an invitation into the realm of absolute and divine freedom, in which alone human freedom can be fully realized

This is an account, at once rigorously theological and warmly devotional, of the death and resurrection of Christ, and their significance for the Christian life. Von Balthasar offers sharp insights into some current controversies -- for example, the 'bodiliness' of the Resurrection -- and spiritual inspiration for the year round. This scholarly reflection of the climax of the Christian year is an established classic of contemporary Catholic theology.

Originally published in 1967 (the German title of the original volume translates to The Whole in the Fragment), A Theological Anthropology is described by the author as "an essay." Indeed, it is man's history of theology, without firm conclusions, but brilliantly written by one of the foremost theologians of his time.

Originally published in German in 1938, this highly acclaimed volume presents more than one thousand selections from the various extant writings of Origen, the great Alexandrian theologian. Robert J. Daly has retranslated the majority of these texts from the original Greek and Latin, added the scriptural references in the translated texts and an index, and included updated bibliographical information. "This collection has been extremely well translated into English by Fr. Daly and to him a great debt of gratitude is due for having made available the thoughts of one of the greatest of ancient theologians as seen through the eyes of an almost equally prolific successor in the same central Christian enterprise." - Heythrop Journal

In the twelve months before his sudden death, Hans Urs von Balthasar had been writing a series of reflections on the twelve articles of the Apostles' Creed. These texts, which are undoubtedly among the last things he wrote, take on the character of a legacy, a spiritual testament. For they amount in their extraordinary compactness and depth to a little "summa" of his theology. What he had set out in detail in numerous book over five decades, he summarizes here in contemplative plainness and simplicity.

All the characteristics that make von Balthasar's work so distinctive and valuable are to be found here; breadth of vision, loveliness of style, and an intuitive-contemporary passion that allows him to "pray intellectually and think 'cordially.'".

In his warm and extensive introduction to the book, Medard Kehl speaks of von Balthasar's "unclouded, almost childlike joy in the richness and beauty of the Mystery" of the threefold God, which "is evidenced in his interpretation of the creed".

Von Balthasar regards love as the only key and foundation of Christianity. He is not talking about any kind of love, but a love that is God himself, in his fullness of life, a love that is the source, beginning, and foundation of all things. This love has been revealed at the cross of Jesus and poured by the Spirit on the believers' hearts. Only his love can guarantee the full reality of both God and the world. Von Balthasar defines this brief book as a programmatic one. It is an early synthesis of all his theology, a classic yet updated work, indispensable to know how Christian faith is reasonable and believable.