In this second edition of her profound work on the sacrament of Confession, which theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar calls "one of her most central works," the mystic von Speyr discusses the moral and practical aspects of the sacrament in great depth. Some of the many areas covered include conversion, scruples, contrition, spiritual direction, laxity, frequency of confession, the confessions of religious and lay people, even the confessions of saints. This is one of the most complete spiritual treatises ever written on confession.
The new element in von Speyr's understanding of confession, fully developed in this volume, is its trinitarian and its christological basis. The Cross is the archetypal confession, and Christian sacramental confession thus is imitation of Christ in the strict sense. Confession examines the enormous fruitfulness of this dogmatic basis from many perspectives, giving a wealth of suggestions which both the theological expert and the layman will find very helpful.
The quality of this work is also manifested in its dual character: speculative and profound on the one hand, practical and simple on the other. Its practical aspect, its applicability to one's own confession, emerges from every page.
