Above all we must not wish to cling to our suffering. Suffering surely deepens us and enhances our person, but we must not desire to become a deeper self than God wills. To suffer no longer can be a beautiful, perhaps the ultimate sacrifice.

Saints appear as an example of the lived Christian life throughout his writings. Hans Urs von Balthasar (12 August 1905 Lucerne – 26 June 1988 Basel) was a Swiss theologian and priest (incardinated into Roman Catholic Diocese of Chur) who was to be created a cardinal of the Catholic Church but died before the ceremony.

He is considered one of the most important theologians of the 20th century.