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Book of All Saints
Adrienne von Speyr, a renowned mystic and spiritual writer from Switzerland, was 'received into the Catholic Church at the age of 38 on the Feast of All Saints, 1940, by one of the theological giants of the 20th century, Fr. Hans Urs von Balthasar. He became her spiritual director and confessor until her death in 1967 during which time Adrienne was favored with many gifts of authentic mystical prayer. Balthasar considered one of the central characteristics of Adrienne's prayer to be her transparency to the inspirations she received from God, along with a deep personal communion with the saints. Over a period of many years, Adrienne would see the saints (and other devout people) at prayer, and she would dictate what she saw to Fr.von Baltha... ... Read More
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Confession
Hans Urs von Balthasar calls this "one of her most central works". She discusses the moral and practical aspects of the sacrament in great depth. Some of the many areas covered include conversion, scruples, contrition, spiritual direction, laxity, frequency of confession, the confessions of religious and lay people, even the confessions of saints. One of the most complete spiritual treatises ever written on confession.... Buy Now
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John, Vol. 1
The first of von Speyr's scriptural commentaries, focusing on her reflections on the first five chapters of John and the beginning of the public life of Our Lord. She shares moving meditations on such profound and dramatic scenes as the witness of John the Baptist, the call of the disciples, the wedding at Cana, the cleansing of the money-changers in the temple, the Samaritan woman, etc. The combination of the Scripture verses and her meditations provide rich nourishment for prayer and spiritual reading. This series is particularly important because the spirituality of St. John, the Apostle of Divine Love, was the central source of von Speyr's own inspiration and spiritual life.... Buy Now
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John, Vol. 2
The mystic von Speyr continues her reflections on the Gospel of John, concentrating here on the discourses of Jesus in chapters 6-12. The various other events included by Saint John in these chapters are seen primarily by him as the occasion for new confrontations between Jesus and his disputants. These reflections present the moment in which the limited, self-satisfied standpoint of Christ's hearers must let itself be burst open into the unlimited, loving standpoint of the Lord. Some of the controversial discourses in this section of John's Gospel which von Speyr comments on include: The Multiplication of the Loaves; The Bread of Life; The Adulteress; The Man Born Blind; The Raising of Lazarus; The Good Shepherd, and The Entry into Jerusa... ... Read More
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John, Vol. 3
Von Speyr continues her wonderful reflections on the Gospel of John, concentrating here on The Farewell Discourses of Jesus, which reveal both the heart of John's Gospel and the Heart of Our Lord.... Buy Now
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John, Vol. 4
The fourth and final volume in von Speyr's meditations on the Gospel of St. John, concentrating on Peter and John and their roles in the church representing office and love.... Buy Now
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Letter to the Colossians
Contemporary mystic, physician, wife, cofounder of a secular institute, Adrienne von Speyr also provided us with a series of extraordinary Scripture commentaries. Here she brings her fresh, prayerful insights to bear upon immensely important themes of the Letter to the Colossians: the primacy of Christ in the cosmos as well as his centrality and abiding presence in the Church and in the life of each individual Christian; the meaning of reconciliation; the service of the apostle and his relationship to the community of believers; genuine and false knowledge; love as the binding force of social ethics and Christian morality-themes that only continue to increase in relevance in today's Church and world. With a sure touch and a distinctively fe... ... Read More
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Letter to the Ephesians
The contemporary mystic and spiritual writer Von Speyr gives a verse by verse commentary on St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians that is the fruit of her own contemplative meditation and prayerful reflection. As with her other volumes of New Testament meditations, this one bears two distinctive features. First, her method of expressing the theological meaning of an enunciation is not merely to state the universal Christian truth, but also to characterize the particular angle of vision from which the sacred writer (St. Paul) sees it. Thus Paul's way of conceiving the content and life of faith, and the self-conscious role of the apostle in the economy of salvation accordingly stands out in bold relief. Secondly, Von Speyr always retraces the co... ... Read More
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Light and Images
One of Adrienne von Speyr's most cherished concerns was to rekindle Christians' desire for contemplation and thus to renew the Church's prayer. Light and Images is one of the most important of her works on the subject. She sets forth the deepest theological foundations of contemplative prayer according to the reciprocal relationship between "light" and "images". ' Like the simple images that open up infinite depths to the eye of faith, this little book contains an overwhelming wealth of insight into contemplation. One comes away from it with a vastly transformed understanding of the nature of prayer and an appreciation for its irreplaceable role in Christian life. With its disarmingly simple language, Light and Images is immediat... ... Read More
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Lumina and New Lumina
A beautiful little book of brief meditations on the love of God by the Swiss spiritual writer, mystic and medical doctor von Speyr. These short ¢â‚¬Å“insights¢â‚¬? are fruits of Adrienne's contemplative prayer that reflect her constant quest for an ever deeper union with God, a union of divine and human love that is shown in her life by her great compassion for others as seen in her tireless devotion to her many medical patients. She knew that in order to best serve others she must first serve and love God with all her heart, and thus her life and writings reveal the combination of a deep spiritual and practical approach to the meaning of love as seen in these wonderful, uplifting reflections that echo the inmost mystery of Christianity.... Buy Now
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Mary in the Redemption
Adrienne Von Speyr was a convert to Catholicism, a medical doctor, wife, mystic and author of some 70 books on spirituality. In this profound work on Our Lady, Von Speyr explores Mary's participation with Christ in our redemption, and the unique relationship that each of us should have with our spiritual mother. ¢â‚¬Å“A beautiful book, beautifully received by the author in prayer. The reader is plunged into the mystery of Mary's co-redemption in an individual manner as our Mother wishes for us. Avoiding the extremes of sentimental devotion or a radical feminist usurpation of Mary, von Speyr's account brings us right into the center of truth. It offers us a bridge between the warm intuitions of our hearts and theological formulations that m... ... Read More
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My Early Years
The contemporary mystic and physician von Speyr gives an account of her early years which reveals her extraordinarily rich and integral personality. Written at the request of Hans Urs von Balthasar, the 50 year old von Speyr reflects on the significant events of her younger years, including some of her mystical experiences, which shaped the two key elements of her life: her unshakable resolve to become a doctor against incredible obstacles in order to help others, and her unquenchable longing to belong completely to God. Written in an upbeat and lively manner, this is an authentic first hand picture that reveals the boundless spirit and deeply sensitive soul of an extraordinary woman who was completely dedicated to her patients and yet live... ... Read More
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Mystery of Death
Von Speyr addresses the perennial and ultimate human question--the question of death. This book is not only a synthesis of the Christian view of death. It is also an antidote to the insipid sociological sentimentalism of so many books written about death and dying today. Death is not just the last stage of growth or something we must cope with or accept, nor something we must help people do without any fear or feeling of guilt. None of the merely human answers can satisfy because death is a mystery that only God and his Revelation can begin to explain. "If God had not instituted death, man could have imagined that, each time he offended God, he could subsequently make it good, supply what he had failed to do, obliterate his turning away f... ... Read More
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The Boundless God
'The nature of God is that he cannot be "bound" to one place or time-but he also took finite form, bounded to a redemptive act and time that forever changed the world. The understanding of the Triune God also brings together a certain ¢â‚¬Å“boundedness¢â‚¬? that cannot be taken in any way to limit the bounds of the Creator. 'In this treatment on the nature of the Lord, Adrienne Von Speyr's mystical erudition is implemented to great effect, allowing the reader to glimpse a view of God that many lack. The fruitfulness of these meditations is evident on every page, and brings the Christian view of divinity to a new and beautiful level of interpretative thought.' ' Adrienne von Speyr was a contemporary Swiss convert, mystic, wife, medica... ... Read More
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The Countenance of the Father
A twentieth-century mystic's meditative reflection on the role of God the Father in eternity and in time. The book brings the reader a greater awareness of the First Person of the Trinity in eternity, and the interaction of the Three Persons. Then the reader is helped to consider the role of the Father in creation and throughout salvation history. Finally we are led to contemplate the Eternal Life toward which the Father's love is drawing us. A very approachable and beautiful work, Adrienne closes her prayerful and meditative exploration with: "Thus, by virtue of the Son's sacrifice and his having brought the world home again, the Father is able to regard men as his eternal creatures. Eternal life is not situated in heaven, far from man's... ... Read More
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The Cross: Word and Sacrament
A profound contemplation of the Seven Last Words of Our Lord on the Cross with specific application to the Seven Sacraments instituted by Christ.... Buy Now
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The Gates of Eternal Life
The Swiss mystic explores the different "gates into eternal life" which God's grace has placed in our life, including the Sacraments, the Church's calendar, prayer and Holy Scripture.... Buy Now
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The Holy Mass
This meditation on the Mass by the mystic Von Speyr contains many penetrating insights, particularly about the nature of the Mass as sacrifice"of Christ, of his priest, and of every believer united in and with the entire Church"expressed with a poetic layering of concepts and images that is at once complex and lucid, dense and transparent. The meditation rewards the present-day reader's effort with a fresh and palpable sense that the real truth of the Church's constant re-presentation, re-enactment of Christ's "sacrifice once offered" transcends not only the nearly half-a-century since Von Speyer's meditation, but all time "time which is itself sanctified precisely through the endless repetition of the Sacrament of unity that is the Holy Ma... ... Read More
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The Mission of the Prophets
Adrienne von Speyr, whom Hans Urs von Balthasar credits with having an incalculable influence on his own writing, examines the mission of thirty-four figures in salvation history, from Abraham, through Moses, David, Elijah, and Isaiah, to the New Testament era and Our Lady. Mission is central to Christian life, and if we are to do justice to what God chooses for us, we can profit from looking at the chosen ones in scripture and seeing how they accepted their callings and lived out a life of service. Adrienne's contemplation on these unique missions helps us to open ourselves and respond to the call of God in our own lives. "Von Speyr's main concern with these great figures of the Old Testament is their inner decisions, their prayers, their... ... Read More
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The Passion from Within
The mystic Adrienne von Speyr, drawing on her very special God-given charism of being able to experience the interior states of persons, shares her profound insights on the suffering, loneliness and loss Christ endured for love of us during His Passion. These unique experiences and insights of von Speyr on Christ's redemptive sufferings, and the people and events surrounding Him, offer rich and moving material for meditation and adoration. She also presents rare and beautiful mediations on Christ's mysterious presence in the Eucharist, as well as a kind of "theology of the body", echoing John Paul II's emphasis on the dignity and importance of the human body in our relationship to God. "Here is a profoundly riveting account of the Lord's ... ... Read More
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They Followed His Call
Combining rich philosophical insight with the spiritual discernment of a true contemplative, Adrienne opens the reader to Our Lord's desire for our total surrender to His Love. As a remarkable contemporary woman teacher of the Church, she points out the many ways we flee from the demands of our vocation.... Buy Now
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Three Women and the Lord
Von Speyr gives us inspirational spiritual commentary on passages from Scripture relating to Mary Magdalen, Mary of Bethany and the woman who was a sinner.... Buy Now
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Victory of Love
The mystic von Speyr provides profound and original meditations on each verse of St. Paul's rich summary of the meaning of the Christian faith. The eighth chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Romans, a radiant trumpet-call in the tremendous symphony of the Pauline writings, proclaims the ultimate victory of the love of God through Christ in the Holy Spirit in the faithful united as the Church. In our age, which has become focused on the darker side of man, von Speyr shows how the Christian needs nothing more urgently than the courage, inspiration and hope that God offers to us through these writings of St. Paul. '"For I am convinced that there is nothing in death or life, nothing in all creation that can separate us from the love of God ... ... Read More
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With God and with Men: Prayers
Adrienne von Speyr, whom Hans Urs von Balthasar called "one of the great mystics of the Church", shares her own prayers with us on a variety of spiritual themes. These prayers from a modern mystic who lived very much in the world as a devoted medical doctor and wife are profound, unique and intriguing. They cover a variety of themes and needs that will be both an inspiration and help to spiritual seekers. Her prayers include such themes as "Before the Tabernacle", "Prayer for Times of Weariness", "For Renewal of the Spirit", "For Detachment", "For the Right Use of Suffering", "For Constancy", and a whole section of Marian Prayers with such themes as "Thru Mary to Christ", "Prayer of Mary in the Family" and "Mary's Prayer at the Cross".... Buy Now
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World of Prayer
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. ... ... Read More
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