Jesus Christ "suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died,
and was buried; he went down to the dead (ad inferno-to hell),"
according to the fourth line of the ancient Christian Apostles' Creed.
Adrienne von Speyr, a Swiss laywoman, physician, wife, mother, and
spiritual writer, developed a deep mystic spirituality as a result of
this enigmatic thread of Christ's descent into hell (d. 1967). Hans Urs
von Balthasar, a Catholic theologian who had a significant impact on
Catholic theology in the late 20th century and even now, was influenced
by the comprehensive, theoretical mysticism of this woman in his
critical work. A powerful contact with Adrienne's mystical encounter
with the inner life and passionate love of the Trinity is provided in
this book by Matthew Lewis Sutton. This mystical spirituality of Holy
Saturday, which falls on the day in between Good Friday and Easter
Sunday, directs us away from our current era of loneliness, alienation,
and loneliness and toward a fresh restoration of compassion, love, and
harmony. The old Christian belief that Christ went to hell can help us
find God's incredible compassion for wanting to bring us back into his
loving presence.
About the Author
At St.
John's University in Queens, New York, Matthew Lewis Sutton (Ph.D.,
Marquette University) teaches systematic theology as an associate
professor. He is the author of Heaven Opens: Adrienne von Speyr's
Trinitarian Mysticism (Fortress, 2014).