''Mysterium Paschale. The Mystery of Easter'' (german: Theologie der Drei TageBalthasar, Hans Urs von (2000). p
3
) is a 1969 book by the Swiss

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...

and

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

Hans Urs von Balthasar Hans Urs von Balthasar (12 August 1905 – 26 June 1988) was a Swiss theologian and Catholic priest who is considered an important Catholic theologian of the 20th century. He was announced as his choice to become a cardinal by Pope John Paul II, b ...

. The original German edition was published by Benziger Verlag, Einsiedeln. In 1983 it was reprinted by St. Benno-Verlag, Leipzig, including additions made to the second French edition ''Pâques le mystère'', copyright 1981 by '' Les Edition du Cerf'', Paris. The first English translation with an Introduction by

Aidan Nichols John Christopher "Aidan" Nichols (born 17 September 1948) is an English academic and Catholic priest. Nichols served as the first John Paul II Memorial Visiting Lecturer at the University of Oxford for 2006 to 2008, the first lectureship of Ca ...

, O.P., was published in 1990.

Publication history

The book began as a monograph-sized article for the volume 3/2 of the dogmatic encyclopedia ''Mysterium Salutis'' (1965-1976), which was intended as a complete treatment of the mystery of salvation in Catholic theology. Balthasar wrote several sections, but he was not initially asked to author this one on the paschal mystery. The editors had commissioned the article from another collaborator, and when he refused because he was sick, Balthasar was called to replace him at short notice and had to write hastily. The article (197 pages in the original) was published almost simultaneously also in book form, with the title ''Theologie der drei Tage''.

Content

''Mysterium Paschale'' offers an account of the death and resurrection of

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

, and their significance for the Christian life. Balthasar discusses the "bodiliness" of the Resurrection from the "radical" death of Jesus, involving his descent into the place of the dead on Holy Saturday. Balthasar's willingness to assume the nature and the consequence of his

sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

makes him, as well as the reader, extrapolate that God can endure and conquer godlessness, abandonment, and death. His exegesis emphasizes that Jesus was not betrayed but surrendered and delivered up by himself, since the meaning of the Greek word used by the New Testament, ''paradidonai'' (παραδιδόναι, la, tradere), is unequivocally "handing over of self". In the 1972 "Preface to the Second Edition", Balthasar takes a cue from Revelation (

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels us ...

: ''agni qui occisus est ab origine mundi'',

NIV Niv may refer to: * Niv, a personal name; for people with the name, see * Niv Art Movies, a film production company of India * Niv Art Centre, in New Delhi, India NIV may refer to: * The New International Version, a translation of the Bible into ...

: "the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world") to explore the idea that, from the "

immanent Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the ...

" up to the "economic" One, "God is love" consists in an "eternal super- kenosis". In the words of Balthasar himself: "At this point, where the subject undergoing the 'hour' is the

Son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some curren ...

speaking with the

Father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fath ...

, the controversial ' Theopaschist formula' has its proper place: 'One of the Trinity has suffered.' The formula can already be found in

Gregory Nazianzen Gregory of Nazianzus ( el, Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, ''Grēgorios ho Nazianzēnos''; ''Liturgy of the Hours'' Volume I, Proper of Saints, 2 January. – 25 January 390,), also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory N ...

: 'We needed a...crucified God'." But while theopaschism indicates only a Christological kenosis (or kenotic Christology), instead Balthasar supports a Trinitarian kenosis: "The persons of the Trinity constitute themselves as who they are through the very act of pouring themselves out for each other".

References

{{Reflist Christian literature 1970 non-fiction books Swiss non-fiction books

Publication history

Content

See also

References