Kirjahaku

Addresses given by Pope Benedict XVI on his visit to the Holy Land from May 8-15, 2009. Includes an interview with the Holy Father; welcoming ceremony, visit to Regina Pacis center; visit to the ancient basilica of the memorial of Moses; blessing of the cornerstone; meeting with Muslim religious leaders; celebration of vespers; homily at Amman international stadium; blessing of the foundation stone; courtesy visit to two chief rabbis, and farewell ceremony. †

This brings together some of the most important Catholic teaching of the new millennium.

These captivating essays by Pope Benedict XVI deal with various issues facing the Church in the world today, including what unites and divides denominations, liturgy and sacred music, peace and justice in crisis, and interreligious dialogue and Jewish-Christian relations. As David Schindler notes in his introduction, -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 volume on the Church is to be followed by two others from Pope Benedict on, respectively, the themes of anthropology and theological renewal.

At his Wednesday audiences during 2007 and 2008 Pope Benedict XVI gave a series of short talks on the Fathers of the Church. He devoted himself not only to such famous and influential Fathers as Augustine and John Chrysostom but also to figures not venerated as saints; one subject, Tertullian, even died outside the Catholic communion. This volume contains thirty-six of these inspirational teachings. In these catecheses the Pope is not delivering academic lectures or preaching sermons. Rather, he is instructing Christian believers who want to have their faith confirmed and strengthened. Pope Benedict firmly believes that the Fathers of the Church still speak powerfully today, and his accessible presentations will make many readers eager to look further into the writings of these great early Christians.

A must-read to understand Pope Benedict XVI's view of the relationship between Christianity and the world. Secular thought has failed to answer the great questions of human existence. Pope Benedict XVI invites us to rediscover the Christ-centered basis for hope.

The successor to Pope John Paul II shares a Lenten blessing that evaluates the meaning of the season, the significance of the birth and death of Christ, and the meaning of Jesus in the lives of Christians everywhere, in a spiritual meditation that follows such themes as the mystery of Mary and the Pentecostal sending of the Spirit.