preorder heaven open

Now available for preorder: my new book Heaven Opens: The Trinitarian Mysticism of Adrienne von Speyr.

Adrienne von Speyr was one of the most important mystical theologians of the last century, heralded by figures like John Paul II and T.S. Eliot. However, her work has been eclipsed in many ways by her personal connection to Catholic theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar. Heaven Opens provides one of the first comprehensive accounts of von Speyr's theology.

My book argues that the eternal, immanent relations of the Triune God ground the mystical theological vision of von Speyr. Rooted in this vision of divine love, von Speyr's work is an account of the opening of heaven, a revelation of the Trinity's interior life turned outward to the world, that links intimately to the sacraments, prayer, the church, and the ethical life of obedience. In von Speyr's mystical theology, God as Triune journeys to us in order to brings into the inner life of the Trinity. Here, von Speyr's work is for the first time given an independent hearing, expositing its content, features, and connections, and assessing its contribution to contemporary Catholic theology.

Please preorder Heaven Opens

minimalist design in theology

I have often tried to figure out how minimalism as a design philosophy behind so much of Jonathan Ive’s projects at Apple could be used in theology. The philosophy of minimalist design articulates that there will be a way to put so much thought into a simple loci that it becomes the whole in a point. I have arrived at this moment in my Catholic theological life.

When I think about the nodal point of systematizing the dogma of Catholic faith it must be the mystery of Holy Saturday. The point could be summarized cleanly:

Through his extreme kenosis, the Son’s descent into hell has overtaken all that disobeys God and within this disobedience he has given his obediential love to the Father through the Holy Spirit as their mutual love in order to bring all into their self-offering triune love.

When we come to think and pray deeply about the revelation of Jesus Christ’s descent to the dead for three days, we see that these days of darkness are the point of his mission. After this nodal point, everything becomes ascent for him, for us, and for the world. The light has gone into the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. The darkness is not just the world, it is also death and hell. The light has gone even here into the dark absence of God and manifested his radiate presence.

For me, it is that simple.

a compelling trinitarian theology

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.