Abstract

The essay surveys the writings of Hans Urs von Balthasar on the theology of the Eucharist and the eucharistic theme in theology. After an initial presentation of the distinct contribution of a theological aesthetics to the theology of the Eucharist, these issues are addressed from the vantage point of von Balthasar’s thought: 1.) Discerning the reality of Christ’s activity in the Eucharistic form of the Church, 2.) the meaning of the eucharistic sacrifice, 3.) Marian assent in the eucharist, 4.) a trinitarian spirituality of the Eucharist, 5.) the event of the Eucharist as de-privatizing prayer. By way of conclusion, a comparison is drawn to the life and thought of Dorothy Day.