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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Aquinas
Format:Paperback
This is a fabulous and mind blowing book. I was enthralled by its mysticism and theology. Trully, I felt I was in the presence of a man, who really had one foot in heaven. On a practical litrugical note, one of his most insightful comments is on the positioning of the tabernacle in church - he dismisses the argument that the central positioning of the tabernacle detracts from the cosmic mystery of the mass - his comment made in 1955 before churches began to sideline the tabernacle was trully prescient as many churches have made that error. This is a book for anyone who wants to deepen his/her faith. It should be kept as a pearl withour price.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By WOOD
Format:Paperback
This book is written by a theologian so it might not be an easy read for most people. But, it is well worth the effort because there are some real gems to be found. For the contemplative this book is a guide and a source of experienced wisdom. Balthasar's deep knowledge comes from his accute spiritual hearing. He makes it clear that all prayer belongs to the Church who benefits from it. He says:
"Created being as a totality can only be conceived as dependent on and inhabited by eternal, absolute Being, and the same applies to the created 'I'. Just as the part loves the whole more than itself, and loves itself most when it does so in the whole and not in its particularity, the created 'I' loves and affirms itself at the deepest level by loving God's absolute, free 'I'..." [p.23].This book proves that we are created for God.
"Created being as a totality can only be conceived as dependent on and inhabited by eternal, absolute Being, and the same applies to the created 'I'. Just as the part loves the whole more than itself, and loves itself most when it does so in the whole and not in its particularity, the created 'I' loves and affirms itself at the deepest level by loving God's absolute, free 'I'..." [p.23].This book proves that we are created for God.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.8 out of 5 stars
9 reviews
57 of 60 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A richly textured treatment of prayer
9 Oct 2003
By Liangtu
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
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.
45 of 52 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
a masterpiece.
30 Oct 2000
By A. Hogan
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
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
44 of 52 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Way over my head!
15 Sep 2002
By Donald S. Meador
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
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.
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4.8 out of 5 stars
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