Divine Fruitfulness: A Guide to Balthasar's Theology beyond the Trilogy (Introduction to Hans Urs von Balthasar)

This fifth and final book in Aidan Nichols's Introduction to Hans Urs von Balthasar series covers Balthasar's prodigious output from the 1940s to his death in 1988, leaving aside the great multi-volume trilogy. Nichols identifies Balthasar's most significant sources, including the Church Fathers (especially Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, Maximus the Confessor, and Augustine), Henri de Lubac, Karl Barth, and Adrienne von Speyr. He then guides the reader through Balthasar's works thematically, covering fundamental theological themes (revelation and theology, divine providence, the paschal mystery), Mary and the church, the saints, prayer and mysticism, and Christian literature. Readers familiar with Balthasar's corpus will immediately recognize the major works on which Nichols draws. Throughout, Nichols calls attention to the way in which these writings fill out and complete the trilogy.

With its division of well-chosen sources and themes, the book serves as an introduction not only to Balthasar's later work but to the whole of his theology. Nichols, with his typical clear and elegant style, sets forth a comprehensive picture of Balthasar's thought and the impact it may have on Catholic theology.

Previous volumes in the Introduction to Hans Urs von Balthasar series available from the Catholic University of America Press are:

The Word Has Been Abroad: A Guide Through Balthasar's Aesthetics

No Bloodless Myth: A Guide Through Balthasar's Dramatics

Say It Is Pentecost: A Guide Through Balthasar's Logic

Scattering the Seed: A Guide Through Balthasar's Early Writings on Philosophy and the Arts

Aidan Nichols entered the Dominican Order in 1970 and has since worked in Edinburgh, Oslo, Rome, and Cambridge, where he now lives.