Philip Endean, an English Jesuit, is editor of the journal The Way and author of Karl Rahner and Ignatian Spirituality. He serves as editor of this volume in the Orbis Modern Spiritual Masters Series. In his introduction to this collection of writings, Endean talks about the importance of mystery and grace in the Catholic purview of Karl Rahner (1904-1984). This German professor, who spent most of his life teaching at the Universities of Innsbruck, Munich, and Munster, was a very devotional person. He believed that prayer was the most important element of the Christian way, saying in a discussion with a friend, "I believe because I pray." The turning point in his life came when he was 60 and participated in the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Although previously seen as a traditionalist, the German theologian became, according to Endean, "a kind of intellectual icon for the forces of change in Roman Catholicism."

This anthology is divided into four sections: God and Human Experience; Turning Points; Jesus; and Church, Creativity, and Process. Rahner's major theme was the many paths of God's disclosure in grace. In his exploration of the growth of the whole person toward God, he emphasized the importance of mystery. Rahner's most broadly quoted statement was: "Tomorrow's devout person will either by a mystic — someone who has 'experienced' something — or else they will no longer be devout at all."