My Work: in Retrospect

Hans Urs von Balthasar made detailed statements about his work on five occasions, mostly on the birthdays that marked the end of a decade of his life: as a young author in his "desire to lift out of the jumble of history the four or five figures which represent for me the constellation of my idea and my mission;" as publisher and writer, "out of concern for the reader" and in order to equip this reader with a guide to his own books. Then, in the midst of the transformations connected with the Council, he wrote an "Account" for himself and his readers, about what had been done, and what was still required.

Finally, in a kind of pause, as one already looking toward the close of his life, he gave once again an account of what had been achieved and what could no longer be achieved, in a clear shift of emphasis away from his "authorship" in favor of the pastoral work in the communities which he had founded. This present volume is a helpful guide to his many-sided work.

"Von Balthasar's theological universe includes the entire Christian culture of saints and scholars, artists and poets, theologians and philosophers, Church fathers and heretics. It grew so vast that every decade he had to draw a road map of the work accomplished in his titanic enterprise. To the reader venturing into the thicket of the hundreds of books, articles, and editions in which he realized his project of overcoming the modern gap between nature and grace, these guides have become indispensable. This collection presents them all in one volume."
-Louis Dupre, Yale University

"In providing the author's own guide to his vast corpus, My Work becomes indispensable for anyone who would understand the constellation of von Balthasar's ideas and mission."
-David L. Schindler, Professor of Theology John Paul II Institute