I submitted my book manuscript today. It is a comprehensive interpretation of Adrienne von Speyr’s vision of the Trinity. I focused instensely on the one critical thing in Adrienne’s thought. This one critical thing, her trinitarian mysticism, must be at the center of receiving what is true, good, and beautiful about her writings.
I will let you know the progress of the book manuscript as it advances through the publishing stages. You will know first when the book is available. Like you, I hope it will be published soon, but so many factors and the hard work of good people go into the process. It can take some time. Still, I will be waiting in hope.
And as I wait, please look for more frequent postings here at the best place on the web to learn about Adrienne von Speyr.
Happily my article “A Compelling Trinitarian Theology: Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Theology of the Trinitarian Inversion and Reversion” has just been published by the International Journal of Systematic Theology. If your institution gives you access to the journal’s articles, you can find it here.
The abstract of the article:
In trinitarian theology, the problematic place of the Holy Spirit in the taxonomy of the immanent Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) does not seem to correspond to what is revealed in the economy (Father, Holy Spirit and Son). Because of this pneumatological problem, some theologians have abandoned the traditional trinitarian taxonomy. This approach, however, does not provide a finally convincing answer that is consistent with both the biblical witness and the theological tradition. In this article, I argue that Hans Urs von Balthasar’s theology of the trinitarian inversion and reversion does provide a convincing answer to the trinitarian taxonomy problem. After supporting my thesis by first referencing the traditional trinitarian taxonomy offered in Augustine’s de Trinitate and then examining the possibility of abandoning the taxonomy given by Jürgen Moltmann and Leonardo Boff, I will offer von Balthasar’s solution as the most compelling trinitarian taxonomy, especially in light of the ecumenical dialogue between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.
If you would like to do a dissertation on Adrienne von Speyr, I wanted to let you know that Dr. Philip Zeigler at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland is very interested in advising research on Adrienne von Speyr. A scholar of twentieth-century Reformed theologians, Dr. Zeigler is well versed in Karl Rahner and Hans Urs von Balthasar from his studies at the University of Toronto. He is also helping the University of Aberdeen library collect von Speyr’s complete works.
Scotland … a beautiful place for Adrienne von Speyr research.
Recently, I spoke with the new international volunteers working with Heart’s Home to prepare them for their compassionate service to those who are suffering.
My thesis for the presentation is this:
“Things have meaning only to the extent that they lead to God, come from him and can be placed at his service” (Adrienne von Speyr, Mystery of Death, p. 47).
Two parts make up this presentation on Adrienne von Speyr and the meaning of suffering. The first part below is an overview of Adrienne’s life and thought especially as it relates the meaning of personhood and how suffering fits within her understanding of being a person in relation to God and others.
I hope you enjoyed that one. We go deeper yet.
The second part of the presentation below is a discussion of the chapter “Death as God’s Action” from Adrienne’s book The Mystery of Death.
I hope you enjoyed that one too.
For those interested in a tangent about how I’ve come to these insights about Adrienne on the meaning of suffering, please continue to read on.
I’ve been working on several major research projects on the meaning of suffering through the academic conference Making Sense of Suffering with the scholar community Inter-Disciplinary.Net. I presented at their Prague conference last year on Balthasar and the Meaning of Suffering. A version of the presentation is in the conference proceedings eBook Making Sense of Suffering: Theory, Practice, and Representation. I will be presenting at their next conference on Adrienne and the Meaning of Suffering, which I will post here when it becomes available. Additionally, if you are really interested in the postmodern debate on the meaning of suffering, I have recently co-edited a book on it, which is will be available in a few months.
Thank you for being such loyal readers of this website. I’m grateful for your comments and emails. Blessings to you all.
This Friday I will be speaking at Heart’s Home again to help prepare their international volunteers. I will be speaking about the meaning of suffering according to Adrienne von Speyr. I’ll post the audio of my talk soon afterward.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 4:20PM 
