Teaching and Learning the Love of God: Being a Priest Today

Teaching and Learning the Love of God: Being a Priest Today by Joseph Ratzinger. Introduction by Gerhard Cardinal Müller. Forward by Pope Francis. Ignatius Press (August 1, 2017). 392 pgs. This inspiring collection of homilies delivered by Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) over six decades offers deep theological and historical insights on the meaning of the life and the witness of a Catholic priest. When Pope Benedict XVI inaugurated the Year for Priests in 2009, he did so in conjunction with celebrating the 150th anniversary of the death of John Vianney, the patron saint of all parish priests. Benedict's purpose for that special year is the same purpose of this book of homilies -- to deepen the commitment of all priests to interior renewal for the sake of a stronger and more incisive witness to the Gospel in today's world. As St. John Vianney would often say, "The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus." This touching expression makes us reflect on the immense gift that priests represent, not only for the Church but for all mankind. Contemporary men and women need priests to be distinguished by their determined witness to Christ. These homilies are meant to illuminate and to inspire priests to renew their commitment to "teaching and learning the love of God". The homilies cover a wide variety of important topics on the priesthood, all deeply rooted in Scripture, including acting in persona Christi, becoming an offering with Christ for the salvation of mankind, being there for God's mercy, and witnessing Christian joy.

The Last Testament: In His Own Words

Last Testament: In His Own Words by Pope Benedict XVI, Peter Seewald (interviewer) Bloomsbury Continuum (November 15, 2016) 224pp. Pope Benedict made history by being the first Pope in over 700 years to resign from office. The Catholic Church the world over was stunned. Worn out by corruption in the Church and by an endless series of clerical sex scandals, he decided that the resolution of all these problems was outside his power for a man of his age. Last Testament is nearest to an autobiography from the shy and private man who has remained “hidden to the world” in a former convent in the Vatican gardens. He breaks his silence on issues such as: The “Vatileaks” case in which his butler leaked some of his personal letters that alleged corruption and scandal in the Vatican The presence of a “gay lobby” within the Vatican and how he dismantled it His alleged Nazi upbringing His attempts at cleaning up the “dirt in the church” (clerical sexual abuse) The mysterious private secretary “Gorgeous George” On a more personal level he writes with great warmth of his successor Pope Francis, who he admits has a popular touch, a star quality which he has lacked. Much controversy still surrounds Pope Benedict`s Papacy--in this book he addresses these controversies and reveals how at his late age, governing and reforming the Papacy and particularly the Vatican, was beyond him.

The Unity of the Nations: A Vision of the Church Fathers

The Unity of the Nations: A Vision of the Church Fathers The Catholic University of America Press (March 16, 2015) What did ancient Christians and pagans believe makes the unity of the nations? Just as he began serving as a major adviser at the Second Vatican Council in 1962, Joseph Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI) studied this question in lectures delivered at Austria's University of Salzburg. These lectures, originally published in German, are now made available in English in this volume. According to Ratzinger, pagan Rome said the Empire was the "cosmopolis" which united the world. The church affirmed the goodness of the world, and acknowledged the proper role of the state. But Christian belief that Christ had given birth to the church, the eternal cosmopolis, present now, was revolutionary. Christ was the New Adam, who restores unity to a humanity scattered in the Fall and at Babel. For Origen, Israel was the true state that remained under the one God; other nations were under archons or dark angels, from which Christ came to liberate them. Christ instituted the eternal kingdom of peace, to which Christians belong now, living within and at the service of, their earthly nations. In Ratzinger's view, Origen thought peace between the church and world before the Eschaton - the eternal kingdom - was possible. Augustine responded in two ways to claims by pagans that the Christian God had not protected Rome from being sacked in 410. First, Rome's pagan civic religion was undermined in its function of aiding state security by the fact that it was not true. Second, Christianity, as the truth, was not subordinate to the state, but was a new community. In Ratzinger's view, Augustine saw the church, the City of God, as an alien citizen, but one very much within the City of Man and meant to renew, not take over, that earthly city, until Christ's Second Coming. This early work of Ratzinger's showcases the development of his theology, including themes that will inform his life's work, such as how God's transcendence and the doctrine of creation inform a Christian worldview, and the central role of the Incarnation in understanding how the church relates to the world.

The Garden of God: Toward a Human Ecology

The Garden of God: Toward a Human Ecology The Catholic University of America Press (April 2014). Genesis, the first book of the Bible, tells of the creation of the world and our dominion over it. But is this the whole storyfi The planet on which we live is ecologically fragile, and all people of good will have a respon- sibility to take care of this most precious gift. During his papacy, Pope Benedict XVI repeatedly drew attention to the environment, whether in terms of preserving it -- such as his address concerning Amazonia and his letter regarding the Arctic -- or distributing its vital resources -- such as water -- more equitably. What is more, during Benedict’s papacy, the Vatican became the first, and remains the only, carbon-neutral country in the world. This book gathers together the audiences, addresses, letters, and homilies of Benedict on a wide-ranging set of topics that deal with the world about us. The major themes and connections he explores are cre- ation and the natural world; the environment, science, and technology; and hunger, poverty, and the earth’s resources. In these pages, Benedict insists that if we truly desire peace, we must be increasingly conscious of and nurture all of creation. Further- more, he argues convincingly that as our love of God should cause us to protect the environment, so should our heightened sense of appre- ciation of the natural world draw us closer to God. Benedict speaks out against the spread of nuclear weapons, threats to biodiversity, and in favor of alternative energy. He urges sustainable development, equita- ble distribution of food and water, and an end to hunger. This book is a valuable resource for all those who seek to under- stand more fully the relationships among the environment, Catholic social teaching, and theology. Whether speaking to a vast crowd, meet- ing with a small group of scientists, or writing letters to world leaders, Benedict has shown a clear path towards a theologically cogent con- cern for the planet on which we live.

Joseph Ratzinger in Communio, Vol. 2: Anthropology and Culture

Joseph Ratzinger in Communio, Vol. 2: Anthropology and Culture (Ressourcement: Retrieval and Renewal in Catholic Thought) by Pope Benedict XVI. Edited by David Schindler and Nicholas J. Healy. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (January 2013) In this second volume of Joseph Ratzinger in Communio, Pope Benedict XVI speaks to various issues relating to humanity today -- conscience, technological security, the origin of human life, the meaning of Sunday, Christian hope, and more. As editor David L. Schindler notes, "Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) rarely writes on any churchly matter that does not manifest its implications for man and culture, and vice versa. Indeed, this indissoluble linking is one of the main distinguishing features of his theology." This is the second of three volumes; the first deals with themes relating to the Church, and the third volume is to focus on theological renewal.