What do you think?
Rate this book
Mary: The Church at the Source
Two great theologians endeavor to recover the centrality of Marian doctrine and devotion for the contemporary Church, offering a spiritually rich approach to Mariology that brings into new relief the Marian contours of ecclesial faith. Ratzinger and von Balthasar show that Mary is both the embodiment of the Church, and the mother who co-operates in giving birth to the Church in the souls of believers. At once profound and yet readily accessible, The Church at the Source offers a theologically balanced and biblically grounded presentation of traditional and contemporary thought on Marian doctrine and spirituality.
190 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
About the author
Hans Urs von Balthasar
389 books263 followersHans Urs von Balthasar was a Swiss theologian and priest who was nominated to be a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is considered one of the most important theologians of the 20th century.
Born in Lucerne, Switzerland on 12 August 1905, he attended Stella Matutina (Jesuit school) in Feldkirch, Austria. He studied in Vienna, Berlin and Zurich, gaining a doctorate in German literature. He joined the Jesuits in 1929, and was ordained in 1936. He worked in Basel as a student chaplain. In 1950 he left the Jesuit order, feeling that God had called him to found a Secular Institute, a lay form of consecrated life that sought to work for the sanctification of the world especially from within. He joined the diocese of Chur. From the low point of being banned from teaching, his reputation eventually rose to the extent that John Paul II asked him to be a cardinal in 1988. However he died in his home in Basel on 26 June 1988, two days before the ceremony. Balthasar was interred in the Hofkirche cemetery in Lucern.
Along with Karl Rahner and Bernard Lonergan, Balthasar sought to offer an intellectual, faithful response to Western modernism. While Rahner offered a progressive, accommodating position on modernity and Lonergan worked out a philosophy of history that sought to critically appropriate modernity, Balthasar resisted the reductionism and human focus of modernity, wanting Christianity to challenge modern sensibilities.
Balthasar is very eclectic in his approach, sources, and interests and remains difficult to categorize. An example of his eclecticism was his long study and conversation with the influential Reformed Swiss theologian, Karl Barth, of whose work he wrote the first Catholic analysis and response. Although Balthasar's major points of analysis on Karl Barth's work have been disputed, his The Theology of Karl Barth: Exposition and Interpretation (1951) remains a classic work for its sensitivity and insight; Karl Barth himself agreed with its analysis of his own theological enterprise, calling it the best book on his own theology.
Balthasar's Theological Dramatic Theory has influenced the work of Raymund Schwager.
Born in Lucerne, Switzerland on 12 August 1905, he attended Stella Matutina (Jesuit school) in Feldkirch, Austria. He studied in Vienna, Berlin and Zurich, gaining a doctorate in German literature. He joined the Jesuits in 1929, and was ordained in 1936. He worked in Basel as a student chaplain. In 1950 he left the Jesuit order, feeling that God had called him to found a Secular Institute, a lay form of consecrated life that sought to work for the sanctification of the world especially from within. He joined the diocese of Chur. From the low point of being banned from teaching, his reputation eventually rose to the extent that John Paul II asked him to be a cardinal in 1988. However he died in his home in Basel on 26 June 1988, two days before the ceremony. Balthasar was interred in the Hofkirche cemetery in Lucern.
Along with Karl Rahner and Bernard Lonergan, Balthasar sought to offer an intellectual, faithful response to Western modernism. While Rahner offered a progressive, accommodating position on modernity and Lonergan worked out a philosophy of history that sought to critically appropriate modernity, Balthasar resisted the reductionism and human focus of modernity, wanting Christianity to challenge modern sensibilities.
Balthasar is very eclectic in his approach, sources, and interests and remains difficult to categorize. An example of his eclecticism was his long study and conversation with the influential Reformed Swiss theologian, Karl Barth, of whose work he wrote the first Catholic analysis and response. Although Balthasar's major points of analysis on Karl Barth's work have been disputed, his The Theology of Karl Barth: Exposition and Interpretation (1951) remains a classic work for its sensitivity and insight; Karl Barth himself agreed with its analysis of his own theological enterprise, calling it the best book on his own theology.
Balthasar's Theological Dramatic Theory has influenced the work of Raymund Schwager.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
June 6, 2014
Despite its title this is not so much a book on Mary or Mariology per se as it is a book on the Church’s understanding of itself through its understanding of Mary in relationship with Jesus, hence the title, Mary: The Church At Its Source. Although Mariology is an impossibly broad topic to begin with it is still generally limited – according to the Catholic Encyclopedia – to, ‘the doctrine of the Mother of God, (which) cannot be separated either from the person or from the work of the Redeemer and therefore has the deepest connection with both Christology and Soteriology,’ and doesn’t explore questions of Church identity in quite the way this book does.
However, for that reason, this isn't really a good book for someone looking to begin their studies on the Mother of God. It has limited and narrowly-defined objectives which it clearly sets out and beautifully meets.
It was interesting (and recommended) to read this book during the Liturgical seasons of Advent and Christmas as well as in conjunction with Bud McFarlane’s Pierced by a Sword another book with deep Marian significance.
The first half of the book is a collection of essays written by Pope Benedict XVI and the second half are written by the Catholic theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar. Each essay is a stand-alone entity and as such they can be read in any order, although I did see some benefit in reading them in chronological order. Readers can expect to learn about Marian doctrine and piety in faith, especially Mary’s significance to her children as ‘Woman’, our mother and as she represents the Church.
Highly recommended—especially during Advent—which is when I read it the first time. Since then I have found it to be an excellent resource.
However, for that reason, this isn't really a good book for someone looking to begin their studies on the Mother of God. It has limited and narrowly-defined objectives which it clearly sets out and beautifully meets.
It was interesting (and recommended) to read this book during the Liturgical seasons of Advent and Christmas as well as in conjunction with Bud McFarlane’s Pierced by a Sword another book with deep Marian significance.
The first half of the book is a collection of essays written by Pope Benedict XVI and the second half are written by the Catholic theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar. Each essay is a stand-alone entity and as such they can be read in any order, although I did see some benefit in reading them in chronological order. Readers can expect to learn about Marian doctrine and piety in faith, especially Mary’s significance to her children as ‘Woman’, our mother and as she represents the Church.
Highly recommended—especially during Advent—which is when I read it the first time. Since then I have found it to be an excellent resource.
January 2, 2010
This series of lectures and essays on Mariology, along with a class on the subject I took at Mundelein, have totally revolutionized the place Marian doctrine and devotion has in my life. Formerly, I regarded the discipline of Mariology as an obscure, restricted study of 18th- and 19th-century works on Marian devotion, devoid of much systemazation or relevance to Church teaching on Mary, let alone the life of the Church as a whole. With then Cardinal Ratzinger's and von Balthasar's exposition of the subject, I was disabused of my disregard of Mariology in general. In fact, in the Church's teaching on the person of Mary, the subjects of human freedom and divine grace, biblical theology, theological anthropology, Church history, ecclesiastical office, and the form of discipleship--just to name a few--converge. In this way, Mary provides an entry point into all these various dimensions of theology and serves to unite them. I would highly recommend this book to all interested in discovering the foundations of the Church's teaching on Mary, especially those who are puzzled by the apparently undue emphasis Catholic teaching places upon her.
May 15, 2020
**Not actually a "review" of this book of essays by Ratzinger and von Balthasar; just some reflections prompted by the essays and addresses on Mary collected in this volume.**
They say that heresies are often good for the Church because of the way they force clarification of disputed doctrines, and of course that has often proved true. Reading this book on Mary, though, made me aware of a flip side to the presence of heresies: that sometimes the pressure to justify disputed doctrines has led to oversights in areas where Catholic apologists have minimized themes that could actually be minefields of deep truths.
Two examples: in response to Protestant objections to Catholics' high regard for Mary, Catholic apologists are always keen to show that most of the Church's doctrines regarding Mary are important because of ways they guard or relate to important doctrines about Christ, or the ways that Mary herself points attention to her Son. Prime example of a Marian dogma with a key function in Christology: Mary's title "Mother of God" preserves an important truth about Christ's being fully God as well as fully man. And of course Mary does direct us to Christ, and most of the doctrines about her are important precisely because of how they relate to Christ or to Christ's work of salvation.
Nevertheless, Ratzinger here makes bold to claim that Mary herself is important, too--not outside the whole divine narrative of salvation, but not because of a direct connection to Christology either. As the new Eve and as daughter Zion, Mary as a concrete person is the meeting point between Christ and Church, not important solely because she guards doctrines about Christ, or as a mere type of the Church, dissolvable into it. Enabled by grace, she herself recapitulates the faith of Abraham, and becomes the mother of the faithful, the one in whom all nations of the earth are blessed. Without a due regard for Mary, it's hard to read even the Old Testament in its completeness, because of the way in which it is actually Mary, and not Christ directly, who completes both the story of Israel and the specifically feminine line of the faithful in the OT.
All of the Catholic apologists I've ever heard also tend to minimize the hard sayings of Jesus to or about Mary: "Woman, what have I to do with you?" or "Who is my mother? They are my mother and brothers who do the will of God." Because these texts are often deployed by people who would deny the importance of Mary, to try to show that Jesus himself denied the ultimate importance of his birth mother, the apologists (rather justifiably) have often claimed that these texts are not so harsh as they sound, in order to show that these texts do not diminish Mary's importance.
But von Balthasar acknowledges that the texts are harsh--and then offers a profound meditation on why Jesus had to be so brusque. I can't reproduce it here, but in short, Mary concretely births Christ in the primary sense when she physically gives him a body. But faith goes beyond physical ties and births Christ in a second sense when it says, "Do whatever he tells you" (hence, why they are Christ's mother who do God's will). And precisely because Mary is called to the act of faith which births Christ in this second sense, and for her will be consummated when she stands at the foot of the cross and yields back to God the body she first gave him, she must be prepared early by having her faith tested and being made to give up the claims of her physical motherhood. Thus, and thus only, she becomes the mother of the whole church as her first maternity is crucified (throughout her life and finally at the Cross), and in faith she births Christ in his new body, the Church.
They say that heresies are often good for the Church because of the way they force clarification of disputed doctrines, and of course that has often proved true. Reading this book on Mary, though, made me aware of a flip side to the presence of heresies: that sometimes the pressure to justify disputed doctrines has led to oversights in areas where Catholic apologists have minimized themes that could actually be minefields of deep truths.
Two examples: in response to Protestant objections to Catholics' high regard for Mary, Catholic apologists are always keen to show that most of the Church's doctrines regarding Mary are important because of ways they guard or relate to important doctrines about Christ, or the ways that Mary herself points attention to her Son. Prime example of a Marian dogma with a key function in Christology: Mary's title "Mother of God" preserves an important truth about Christ's being fully God as well as fully man. And of course Mary does direct us to Christ, and most of the doctrines about her are important precisely because of how they relate to Christ or to Christ's work of salvation.
Nevertheless, Ratzinger here makes bold to claim that Mary herself is important, too--not outside the whole divine narrative of salvation, but not because of a direct connection to Christology either. As the new Eve and as daughter Zion, Mary as a concrete person is the meeting point between Christ and Church, not important solely because she guards doctrines about Christ, or as a mere type of the Church, dissolvable into it. Enabled by grace, she herself recapitulates the faith of Abraham, and becomes the mother of the faithful, the one in whom all nations of the earth are blessed. Without a due regard for Mary, it's hard to read even the Old Testament in its completeness, because of the way in which it is actually Mary, and not Christ directly, who completes both the story of Israel and the specifically feminine line of the faithful in the OT.
All of the Catholic apologists I've ever heard also tend to minimize the hard sayings of Jesus to or about Mary: "Woman, what have I to do with you?" or "Who is my mother? They are my mother and brothers who do the will of God." Because these texts are often deployed by people who would deny the importance of Mary, to try to show that Jesus himself denied the ultimate importance of his birth mother, the apologists (rather justifiably) have often claimed that these texts are not so harsh as they sound, in order to show that these texts do not diminish Mary's importance.
But von Balthasar acknowledges that the texts are harsh--and then offers a profound meditation on why Jesus had to be so brusque. I can't reproduce it here, but in short, Mary concretely births Christ in the primary sense when she physically gives him a body. But faith goes beyond physical ties and births Christ in a second sense when it says, "Do whatever he tells you" (hence, why they are Christ's mother who do God's will). And precisely because Mary is called to the act of faith which births Christ in this second sense, and for her will be consummated when she stands at the foot of the cross and yields back to God the body she first gave him, she must be prepared early by having her faith tested and being made to give up the claims of her physical motherhood. Thus, and thus only, she becomes the mother of the whole church as her first maternity is crucified (throughout her life and finally at the Cross), and in faith she births Christ in his new body, the Church.
March 19, 2013
This book reflects the Mariology of Pope Benedict XVI. I love it all...
January 14, 2014
Good, but as a Protestant not what I needed.
November 9, 2018
Surely, an unsurpassable work on Mary, Marianology, and the place of the Marian in the church. Personally, the Benedict/Ratzinger half was the more memorable (and perhaps more cleanly translated), while the von Balthasar half suffered a bit from lacking clarity, although this half of the book contains a compelling case for Catholic (via a Marian/Petrine church) Christianity.
I already know I'll be rereading it, outlining it, etc. Just invaluable.
I already know I'll be rereading it, outlining it, etc. Just invaluable.
September 1, 2021
I'm inclined to give this book three stars, for to density. But I think my lack of comprehension comes from the fact that I'm mostly sleep-deprived when I find time to read this book. That is my problem, not Card. Ratzinger's and Von Balthasar's. I also read this over a long period of time; there are sustained arguments built in these essays that require a sharper and more attentive mind than mine at the moment.
There are more gems in here than the few onto which I was able to hold. Ergo, four stars instead of three. My problem, not the authors'.
There are more gems in here than the few onto which I was able to hold. Ergo, four stars instead of three. My problem, not the authors'.
January 23, 2018
Wonderful in the argument building. This book really defines well the role of the laity, of the priestly office, and what and who the Church are as a whole.
April 30, 2022
It’s a good introduction to Roman Catholic Mariology. Nothing completely new to something that Jarslov Peliken wrote or Aaron Riches in Ecce Homo. Honestly would want to give in 2.5 stars.
April 1, 2021
Excellent read. I would say von Balthasar’s half was more invigorating but both sections were phenomenal. Anyone looking for a book that brings forward the higher aspects of Catholic Mariology is in for a treat. There’s plenty of entry level literature that explains simple beliefs about Mary, such as her perpetual virginity, her sinlessness and how those beliefs don’t conflate with what the Bible teaches. Once you’re ready to move beyond those distractions, the next step is understanding the Christocentricism of Mariology and how fundamental our Blessed Mother’s relationship with her son is to our inheritance of divine adoption.
April 7, 2023
Excelente. Se va a mi repisa de consulta permanente 💙
September 20, 2008
A decent book with some good points. This book is not to be used as an introduction to Mariology, but rather, must be read by one with a grip on the basics of Mariology or the reader will be overwhelmed or misguided. There is a marked difference in the way these two great theologians think and explain the truths of the faith. Ratzinger explains Mariology from its fittingness while Balthasar explains Mariology from the point that it must have been so. I am more inclined to agree with the fittingness arguement - God did not have to do anything, but it is fitting the way that he did it.
December 15, 2014
A typology of the Church. I was very taken by von Balthazar's comparison of the feminine and masculine aspects of the Church and how we are forgetting the beauty of the feminine because of the misconception that the masculine is greater.
June 13, 2011
Deep theology!
December 14, 2012
Quite good!
July 30, 2019
Great book
This book is highly thoughtful, through and through. In the end it views Mary ecclesiologically and relates this to the hierarchy in the Church. This takes on a new meaning as the Church is faced with such serious crises as clergy sexual abuse. Though written before the summer of 2018, the theological and ecclesiological message is relevant for the hierarchy of today: look to Mary as an example, because everything that she does is as a handmaiden of the Lord, not for her own glory.
This book is highly thoughtful, through and through. In the end it views Mary ecclesiologically and relates this to the hierarchy in the Church. This takes on a new meaning as the Church is faced with such serious crises as clergy sexual abuse. Though written before the summer of 2018, the theological and ecclesiological message is relevant for the hierarchy of today: look to Mary as an example, because everything that she does is as a handmaiden of the Lord, not for her own glory.
December 22, 2021
I highly recommend this book for anyone from a cradle Catholic to someone interested in converting to the faith. This is not a simplistic expression of Mary and the Church, but a rich combined text on the centrality of our Marian beliefs. The text adds fullness to our understanding of Christ and the Church on earth. I certainly had to re-read paragraphs to fully grasp some concepts. This book enlightened my thoughts and attitudes toward our beliefs on the Mother of God.
March 6, 2019
Though a bit “heady” at times, after a slower reading I can truly say that this book was amazing! Mary - Mother of God, Mother of the Church, our Mother - through her YES - is the source of the Church!
August 30, 2018
Probably too high-brow for me
January 21, 2022
HUVB is amazing
November 12, 2022
Profound insights into Mary's role in the Church and as the Church. Delves deeply into what the Church is as the Body of Christ.
February 27, 2008
Mariology since Vatican II and approaches of Balthasar and Ratzinger.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews