I. Introduction. This thesis shows that Adrienne von Speyr interprets the Son’s entire kenosis through the Suscipe, making this prayer the essential interpretative key to her writings. Although others have noted an Ignatian influence, most dissertations focus on pastoral applications of her writings; none have expressed the Suscipe as the essential key to her work, to her influence on Hans Urs von Balthasar, and through him to twentieth century theology. As a contemplative, her writings more nearly resemble monastic theological writings that have been valued in the Church from before the development of scholasticism and that have continued alongside scholastics until the present day. Attempts to read and understand her writings through a scholastic or academic lens rather than contemplative modes and without the Suscipe key can lead to misunderstanding and misinterpretation. II. A Biography of Adrienne von Speyr. To her contemporaries, von Speyr lived a full and normal life, actively involved with her family and city life. She was known as a physician to the poor, devoted to her family, charitable to all even as an invalid. Her most controversial moment as an adult was converting from the state reformed church to the Roman Catholic Church. Not until her death did anyone, even her family, become aware of her mystical experiences. Von Balthasar as her personal confessor emphasizes the mystical experiences and qualities of von Speyr’s life in his hagiographical styled writings. Her own accounts report mystical experiences including apparitions of Ignatius of Loyola (a mystic) and Mary Mother of God. Von Balthasar attributes certain of these experiences as the impetus for founding the lay secular order of the Community of St. John. Her visionary experiences during Passion Week form the basis for her writings on Holy Saturday and von Balthasar’s.

Thesis (M.C.S.)--Regent College, Vancouver, B.C., 1995. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-84).

The significance of Holy Saturday, the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, is often ignored in Christian life. The most influential modern theologian who has taken its importance seriously is the Swiss Catholic theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar. He has presented a very innovative but also controversial interpretation that on Holy Saturday Jesus Christ suffered in utter solidarity with the dead in Hell and took to himself our self-damnation. However, this interpretation and several other aspects of his theology related to it seem to depart from the traditional teaching in an idiosyncratic way and have invited various critiques. What this thesis aims to do is to critically examine Balthasar’s theology of Holy Saturday and present its implications for Christian suffering and discipleship, while doing full justice to the genre within which he is working (a combination of theology and spirituality) and at the same time taking into consideration the main critiques made against him. First of all, we will argue that Balthasar does not try to present a radical reinterpretation of the doctrine of the Descent into Hell in contrast to the traditional teachings but rather tries to fully appreciate the in-betweenness of Holy Saturday as the day of transition from the Cross to the Resurrection, in other words, from the old aeon to the new. Balthasar says that Christ Himself descended into Hell as victor over sin and death objectively, but He still had to wait for the victory to arrive subjectively. Further, we will claim that this silent waiting on Holy Saturday, which marks the transition from the Cross to the Resurrection, helps us to deepen our understanding of the meaning of suffering in Christian discipleship. The waiting on Holy Saturday represents the fundamentally ‘tragic’ state of the Christian (understood as “tragedy under grace”) torn between the law of this world and the truth of Christ. As a paradoxical being in transition, the Christian believes that their victory is both already there and not there yet. In this sense, the Christian still lives in Holy Saturday. This notion deepens our understanding of suffering in the Christian life, because now we could translate the meaning of suffering into ‘tragic waiting,’ while fully facing the subjective reality of suffering and at the same time maintaining the hope of finding its salvific meaning by relating it to the paschal mystery. Our conclusion will be that this ‘tragic waiting,’ which itself is our lives, now can be seen in a Christological light. In short, we can patiently endure our Holy Saturday because of Christ’s Holy Saturday in Hell.