Bøger af Adrienne Von Speyr

Original German edition: Das Buch vom Gehorsam, Ã1966 Johannes Verlag, Einsiedeln.

Von Speyr's book does not lend itself to any classification that I can think of. It is not dogmatic theology; still less is it exegesis. . . . There is nothing to do but to submit oneself to it; if the reader emerges without having been crushed by it, he will find himself strengthened and exhilarated by a new experience of Christian sensibility. -- T.S. EliotFollowing The Word: A Meditation on the Prologue to Saint John's Gospel, this beautiful work by Adrienne von Speyr continues her meditations on the fourth Gospel to the end of chapter five.Von Speyr reflects deeply on the text, taking it sentence by sentence, but this precise adherence to the words is developed into a much broader picture. Her meditations faithfully follow the scenes and the themes of the Gospel, using Saint John's imagery to convey his thought. She does not use the language of abstraction but that of the Christian disciple, while retaining the living, moving, dramatic quality of the Gospel itself.

Translation of: Kreuzeswort und Sakrament.

These meditations on the Gospel of Mark, with the exception of the second part on the Passion, were given by Adrienne von Speyr between 1945 and 1958 to members of the Community of St. John, which she founded with the renowned theologian, Fr. Hans Urs von Balthasar. Adrienne is speaking to young adults who have decided to live the state of the evangelical counsels in a secular profession, as part of a recently established secular institute. Nevertheless this contemplative commentary can be very useful for all who seek to meditate on Holy Scripture. As always, Adrienne here draws from the abundance of her own contemplation which keeps continually in view the harmonious unity of Christian dogmatic truth; she gives to others what has been offered to her in contemplation, without exegetical notes or any attempt at scholarship. Since she is speaking to novices, the train of thought is simple and practical, yet rich in depth. The points for meditation are not primarily for spiritual reading, but an introduction to personal prayer. They are meant only to point out a path, because it is the Holy Spirit who directs contemplative prayer in all liberty. As one reads through this book, he will find in it a kind of synthesis of Adrienne von Speyr's spirituality. This work will also be very useful to preachers, catechists, pastors, communities and institutes who have understood with Pope Benedict XVI that "It is time to reaffirm the importance of prayer in the face of the activism and the growing secularism of many Christians engaged in charitable work."

In this profound book on the mystery of Mary, Adrienne von Speyr reflects on the life, attitude, and prayer of the Mother of God. She shows how Mary's assent to God's will--her Fiat: "Let it be done to me according to thy word"--is what defines and sanctifies every aspect of her life. She gives new insights into Mary's holiness, suffering, prayer, and role of spiritual motherhood for all mankind.Handmaid of the Lord is not a biography detailing the daily life of the Mother of Jesus, filled with the sights and the sounds found in the holy imagination of a saintly visionary. Rather, it responds to our desire to know Mary in a penetrating and personal way, opening us to the mystery of her inner life, which can be revealed only by the Word himself and pondered in the heart, just as Our Lady herself did.Humility, obedience, availability, joy, suffering, and transparency before God are some of the key spiritual attributes of Our Lady found in this timeless work. As with her other books, von Speyr helps us to savor and to appreciate each word of Sacred Scripture as self-revelation from the Father through the heart of the Church, the Bride of the Son, in a loving exchange of the Spirit. In this way, the Word may be absorbed into the very core of our being, as it was for Mary, the Mother of God.

Prayer was a way of life for Adrienne von Speyr, one of this last century's great Catholic mystics. In this major work on prayer, edited by Hans Urs von Balthasar, Adrienne discusses the many aspects and kinds of prayer, the vocation of every Christian.The fundamental theme of this work is that prayer, like everything else that comes to man through God's self-revelation in Christ (such as grace; faith, hope and love; or the realtionship between Christ and the Church), is ultimately rooted in God himself and in his triune exchange of life.Beyond all purely creaturely motives and needs, Christian prayer is a participation in the inner life of the Trinity, which is revealed, prepared and accomplished in the world by Jesus Christ our Lord. By him it is made available for us to take part in. This book is much more than a manual on how to pray. It gives an in-depth description of prayer: first the prayer of the Trinity, then the prayer of Christ, then of the Blessed Virgin, and finally that of all Christians. In particular, the section on the prayer of Mary is a masterful description of the various stages of growing in prayer. Mary is the perfect model because of her intimate association with her Son.