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This book is a double-treat: it combines the genius of the towering theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar and his ability to make his subject come alive before the reader, along with the focus of that genius on someone with the spiritual depth and creative stature of Georges Bernanos, considered by many to be the greatest Catholic creative writer of the twentieth century. The goal of this book is to simply convey what Bernanos wanted to say as the devout Christian that he was. Bernanos was a deeply prayerful, practicing sacramental Catholic whose profound love for the Church made everything he created or wrote an "ecclesial existence that has been given form: existence derived not merely from an abstract, individual faith but from the faith of the Church." With judicious quoting of the primary source and careful juxtaposing of texts and commentary, Balthasar provides a unique forum from which Bernanos can speak to the reader in a way that he can be clearly heard and genuinely understood.
| Translator's Note | ||
| Bibliographical References | ||
| Foreword | ||
| Pt. 1 | A Christian and a Writer | |
| I | The Spirit | 25 |
| II | The Life | 57 |
| III | The Dimensions of Reason | 81 |
| IV | The Dream of the Imagination | 121 |
| V | The Writer's Mission | 154 |
| Pt. 2 | The Church: A Place for Living | |
| I | Cosmos and Salvation | 217 |
| II | The Church | 257 |
| III | The World of Baptism and Confirmation | 313 |
| IV | The World of Holy Orders and Confession | 369 |
| V | The World of Anointing and Communion | 462 |
| Pt. 3 | Contemporary Man | |
| I | The Christian Within Time | 537 |
| II | The Church Within Time | 580 |
| Index of Names | 615 |
Overview
This book is a double-treat: it combines the genius of the towering theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar and his ability to make his subject come alive before the reader, along with the focus of that genius on someone with the spiritual depth and creative stature of Georges Bernanos, considered by many to be the greatest Catholic creative writer of the twentieth century. The goal of this book is to simply convey what Bernanos wanted to say as the devout Christian that he was. Bernanos was a deeply prayerful, ...