Mysticism in Thomas Aquinas and Hans Urs von Balthasar
A Preliminary Comparison
Keywords:
Mysticism, Thomas Aquinas, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Christian mysticismAbstract
Even though the writings of Thomas Aquinas and Hans Urs von Balthasar do not directly deal with Mysticism, a careful examination will uncover many of their thoughts that today we would call mystical themes. Thomas considers key issues in the history of Christian mysticism under at least four headings treated in the Summa theologiae. Balthasar eschewed the category of “mysticism” as an organizational or integral theme for his systematics; but he could not avoid mystical themes in his writings. Those are flagrant in his perspective based on the fundamental theological categories of beauty, action, and truth. Thomas Aquinas’s theology of mysticism is centered on the role of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and the way in which the supreme gift of infused sapientia provides a connatural knowing and loving of God even in this life.
References
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