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Prayer

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For American Christians lazily accustomed to psychospiritual pap, this book might seem overwrought and inaccessible. But don't get the wrong idea: this is not a book for arm-chair intellectuals either. Rather in this book we witness how a "kneeling theologian" savors the theological bouquet that is released in the vital practice of prayer. Doctrinally meticulous the way a lover is attentive to his beloved's every move, von Balthasar masterfully grounds Christian spirituality in Scripture and Patristic witness. Some familiarity with the Catholic tradition would help, but this book will be deeply edifying for anyone who believes that in Christ, heart and mind must interpenetrate each other--a compelling corrective to modern faith's flaky preoccupation with spirituality full of feelings and me-centeredness but void of Christological substance.

The late h.u. von balthazar, the theologian du juer of the vatican was a brilliant,cultured theological giant,and also a man of deep and profound prayer.{do not let the fact that von balthazar has been co-opted by reactionaries daunt you. he is infinitely rewarding.}This book, divided into 3 sections;the act of contemplation;the object of contemplation andthe tensions of contemplation.though von balthazar can be dense and at times obtuse,this book is rich, the prose clear and at times,poetic,befitting its subject.This book is qiute literally a lifetime companion, for i believe it contains all of von Balthazar's wisdom, eriudition, and holiness[which is ,of course, a subjective thing.]Well, well worth the effort.As an aside, the publishers have done a commendable job with the presentation of this book. The binding is excellent, the pages themselves of fine qulaity. well done all around

I was very much looking forward to Prayer by Hans Urs von Balthasar. While I grew up in the Christian tradition, my particular flavor did not practice contemplative prayer. So, I was looking to expand my horizons. This book came to me highly recommended. However, I must tell the readers of this review that this in no introductory text on prayer. It is nowhere near easy reading.

The book is well written, that is certain. It is as much a systematic theology as it is a book on prayer. I graduated from seminary with a Master of Divinity and still found this book to be dense reading. Balthasar is no foreigner to philosophy and uses the language of philosophy generously. In fact, I found him hard to follow at times.

I am glad that I read this book. I value any insight I can gain to grow in my own prayer pilgrimage. But, be forewarned, this is no easy read on prayer. I hope to find a better introduction to contemplative prayer.

This book is refreshing. Deep down refreshing. Balthasar is one of those rare theologians that could write beautifully. Every sentence is like a rare jewel. I read this book slowly and savored every single thought.

I have found this book to be a challenging but rewarding read. Read it through once to get an overview, second time to get her message and subsequently to chew on selected passages for their affective value. Balthasar writes in a quasi-poetic style, reminiscent of writers like Alexander Schmemann and Abraham Heschel, on the subject of prayer and contemplation. He uses the word 'contemplation' in the broad sense of lifting one's heart and mind to God. He contends that the possibility of prayer is materialised through God's self-revelation in salvation history and particularly through the Word made flesh. It is the particularity of God's engagement with the world through the historical covenants that defines and gives shape to Christian prayer. This is different from attempts to connect with the Other through self-contemplation or absorption into the absolute being. Contemplation in the Christian tradition is therefore a concrete response to the Word of God that has entered into space and time through the particularities of human lives and supremely in the life of the Son of God. The fine example of Mary in her words, 'Let it be to me according to your word' is the embodiment of Christian contemplation that allows the Word to be born in us and take us where it will.

"Contemplation's ladder, reaching up to heaven, begins with the word of scripture, and whatever rung we are on, we are never beyond this hearing of the word.... neither can we get beyond the word in its human form. It is in the humanity that we find God, in the world of sense that we find the Spirit." (preface, p.9)

It is out of this Word-centred view of contemplation that Balthasar takes us through the various aspects of the prayer life that is rooted in the the total self-offering of the worshippers, liturgy, personal freedom and eschatology as well as the odd tensions within which one finds himself praying on this side of the eschaton. What we find here is a deep and comprehensive exposition of the full contours of Christian prayer that is characteristically trinitarian, rooted in salvation history and mediated by the Church. Written in the spirit of prayer, this spiritual masterpiece can be deeply nourishing when we take in a small portion at a time and ponder it deeply in our hearts.

Although we may have heard countless times, "Indeed he is not far from any one of us," [for] "In him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:27-28) and, we know, "Whoever does the will of God remains forever" (Jn 2:17), to discover the "living waters" in our lives--this underlying reality: We must "ask," "seek" and "knock." We must find quiet. We must find a way to be recollected amidst all the noise, the attractions, and distractions of the world. We must find the "meaning" of our lives. In short, we must pray--amply! In this book, Hans Urs von Balthasar tells us that anyone who would begin to take time, not just seek to know God, but simply seek and find the fundamental meaning or mystery underlying his or her existence would begin to take the necessity of prayer for granted, particularly the prayer of listening and of contemplation.

He tells us, "Existence itself was only given to us for the sake of an even earlier and even more inconceivable purpose of God "before the foundation of the world" (Eph 1:3, ff); indeed, our existence as a whole is immersed in a far deeper sea, the bottomless ocean of the love of the Father who creates natures and laws as a foil for his miracles. This is something we must be vividly aware of as we pray, contemplating the word of God: that the whole compact solidity of our creaturely being and essence, and of the everyday world in which we find ourselves and find our bearings, is afloat like a ship above the immense depths of an entirely different element (which alone is absolute and decisive), namely, the unfathomable love of the Father."

Wow! It's like he's telling us that the Father is this "living water." And, to seek and find the "living water" is to find LOVE. Von Balthasar says, "The person who prays must experience this love." To experience this Love means: we put aside all pride, that sin in us that resembles the fallen angels, that moves us to want to be the one who determines our lives, that lets us think that we are a necessary part of creation, that wants to be worshipped rather than to love. We no longer try to "stand secure" on our own. He says that we begin to experience the freedom to change--to be willing to see ourselves as created, unnecessary, dependent beings, very much restricted by the meaning of our Creator's purpose--created by Love and for Love. What does not conform to love of God and love of neighbor does not belong in our existence. We have been destined to live in this Sea of Love, "but [with] the much deeper and wholly new and different freedom which accords with the Father's `good pleasure': we, his creatures and servants, are to be regarded and `esteemed' as members of his household, as his children and `co-heirs' with his Son."

This great Sea of Love actually envelops us--now! In this "we live and move and have our being," but blind as we are, we cannot see it. We are like the Samaritan Woman who did not know the gift of God. It is as if he must say to us too, "If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, `Give me a drink,' you would have asked him and he would have given you living water" (Jn 4:10). And so, the Father sent his Son in human flesh that there would be no mistake about it--that we might believe and have eternal life and share this life with him--in mansions already created for us. For, if "We do not believe ... we will die in our sins" (Jn 8:24). We will die with neither Baptismal Promises coming to fulfillment--nor with the Love that created us--nor even wanting Love.

Not exactly an easy read. Maybe better to be read in spurts, or to use in daily meditation.

Of all the books that I own by Hans Urs Von Balthasar this is my favorite. I have read it once and I still think I need to read it again to totally grasp the spiritual richness contained in it. Can't wait to read it again on my next vacation.