Even if a unity of faith is not possible, a unity of love is.
Hans Urs Von BalthasarRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Christian meditation integrates the divine and human, allowing individuals to connect with God without abandoning their humanity.
This quote by Hans Urs Von Balthasar emphasizes that Christian meditation is both a deeply spiritual and a fundamentally human practice. It suggests that to truly connect with God, one does not have to forsake their humanity, but rather must view the world and themselves through the lens of the Holy Spirit, recognizing their divine nature as seen by God. This holistic approach encourages individuals to embrace their human identity as vital to their spiritual journey.
Themes
ChristianityMeditationSpiritualityHoly SpiritHumanity
In practice
Example use cases
In a sermon discussing the importance of personal spirituality, this quote can be used to illustrate the balance between humanity and divinity.
More from Hans Urs Von Balthasar
All quotes →It is to the Cross that the Christian is challenged to follow his Master: no path of redemption can make a detour around it.
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A truth that is merely handed on, without being thought anew from its very foundations, has lost its vital power.
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The Holy Spirit knows what a particular age's most pressing need is far better than men with their programs.
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The first attempt at a response: there must have been a fall, a decline, and the road to salvation can only be the return of the sensible finite into the intelligible infinite.
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But the saints are never the kind of killjoy spinster aunts who go in for faultfinding and lack all sense of humor. (Nor should the Karl Barth who so loved and understood Mozart be regarded as such.)For humor is a mysterious but unmistakable charism inseparable from Catholic faith, and neither the "progressives" nor the "integralists" seem to possess it - the latter even less than the former.
Hans Urs Von BalthasarRead
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