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An Introduction to Hans Urs von Balthasa It is increasingly clear that the Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar (d. 1988) is among the most lastingly significant theologians of the twentieth century. It is the purpose of this article to introduce some of the themes of Balthasars work. Though not invited to be present at the Second Vatican Council, Balthasar was later awarded the prestigious Paul VI Prize for theology, and at the time of his death in 1988 was about to be made a Cardinal by John Paul II. Through the influence of his ideas not only on the Pope but also on Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, with whom he founded the journal Communio, and on the Catechism of the Catholic Church which later consolidated the teaching of the Council and the postconciliar popes, Balthasar building on the almost equally monumental work of his teacher, Cardinal Henri de Lubac SJ (d. 1991) has without doubt helped to shape the form of Catholicism and the direction of its development well into the new century. It is the purpose of this brief article to introduce some of the themes of Balthasar's work, and perhaps to help some of those who find his writings voluminous and obscure to understand better why Balthasar is nevertheless so important for modern theology and for the Church. Theology, Balthasar believed, is supposed to be the study of the fire and light that burn at the centre of the world. Theologians had reduced it to the turning of pages in a dessicated catalogue of ideas a kind of butterfly collection for the mind. The philosopher Maurice Blondel had warned as far back as 1870 (in his groundbreaking thesis L'Action) of the danger in treating God in this way: "As soon as we regard him from without as a mere object of knowledge, or a mere occasion for speculative study, without freshness of heart and the unrest of love, then all is over, and we have in our hands nothing but a phantom and an idol." An Introduction to Hans Urs von Balthasar WWW.CATHOLICEDUCATION.ORG It is increasingly clear that the Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar (d. 1988) is among the most lastingly significant theologians of the twentie...