Even if a unity of faith is not possible, a unity of love is.
Hans Urs Von BalthasarRead
Everything in Irenaeus is bathed in a warm and radiant joy, a wise and majestic gentleness. His words of struggle are hard as iron and crystal clear, ... so penetrating that they cannot fail to enlighten the unbiased observer.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the profound clarity and gentle wisdom in Irenaeus's teachings, suggesting they illuminate understanding for those who are open-minded.
In this quote, Hans Urs Von Balthasar highlights the remarkable depth and clarity found in the teachings of Irenaeus. He portrays Irenaeus's approach to wisdom as both joyfully radiant and gently authoritative, implying that his profound insights carry a strength and precision that can illuminate the minds of those who seek truth without bias. The imagery of struggle being hard as iron yet crystal clear suggests that confronting difficulties through wisdom leads to enlightenment.
Themes
WisdomJoyTeachingClarityEnlightenment
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a philosophical discussion on the value of wisdom and its impact on understanding.
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.
Hans Urs Von BalthasarRead
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.
Hans Urs Von BalthasarRead
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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