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Eulogy for Mum's Memorial Service - March 13, 2021

For years, whenever I've thought about Mum and her love for us, I've found myself thinking about Mary and Martha. One of the many la...

Apr 18, 2021

Danielou - Hope for salvation of the world

Too often we think of hope in too individualistic a manner as merely our personal salvation. But hope essentially bears on the great actions of God concerning the whole of creation. It bears on the destiny of all humanity. It is the salvation of the world that we await. In reality hope bears on the salvation of all men—and it is only in the measure that I am immersed in them that it bears on me.

Jean Cardinal Daniélou, S.J. Essai sur le mystère de l’histoire (1953), p. 340 - quoted in Hans Urs von Balthasar, Dare We Hope "That All Men Be Saved"? 2nd edition (2014)

This is a really mind-blowing quote for me. It's perfect as the epigraph for Balthasar's Dare We Hope in that it encapsulates the major underlying theme of the book. On the surface, the debate is about the question of Hell—specifically whether we are certain that anyone goes there. But Balthasar's deeper interest is not in that question, but rather on how Christian hope should be focused. He, along with Danielou, contend that our hope is for the salvation of the world, of the human race as a whole, as opposed to simply ourselves as individuals.