The seventh volume of Adrienne von Speyr’s Posthumous Works, The Mystery of Youth (1966) traces the pre-history of her ecclesial mission. In obedience to her confessor and spiritual Father, Hans Urs von Balthasar, she revisits the early stages of her life and inhabits the state of consciousness proper to each one. The result, as Balthasar writes in his introduction, is a vivid illustration of Christ’s promise that his followers can become as children without losing the maturity of their adulthood or diminishing the seriousness of their commitment to him.

Further Reading

• Hans Urs von Balthasar. “General Introduction to the Posthumous Works.” The Book of All Saints: Part One, Ignatius Press, 2008, pp. 1–24
• Hans Urs von Balthasar. First Glance at Adrienne von Speyr.