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In this bold, momentous work, the pope, in his first book written as Benedict XVI, seeks to salvage the person of Jesus from recent "popular" depictions and to restore Jesus' true identity as discovered in the Gospels. Through his brilliance as a theologian and his personal conviction as a believer, the pope shares a rich, compelling, flesh-and-blood portrait of Jesus and incites us to encounter, face-to-face, the central figure of the Christian faith.

Benedict XVI: A Life offers insight into the young life and rise through the Church’s ranks of a man who would become a hero and a lightning rod for Catholics the world over. Based on countless hours of interviews in Rome with Benedict himself, this two-volume biography is the definitive record of the life of Joseph Ratzinger and the legacy of Pope Benedict XVI. This first volume follows his early life, from his days growing up in Germany and his conscription into the Hitler Youth during WWII to his career as an academic theologian and eventual archbishop of Munich.

Emeritus Pope Benedict commands both adulation and unremitting criticism. In this second volume of Peter Seewald’s authoritative biography, the story runs from the Second Vatican Council (1965-68) that shaped Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s conservative ideas about the role of the Catholic Church, through his short, scandal-ridden papacy and unprecedented resignation. Volume two introduces listeners to the Pope Emeritus living in the Vatican Gardens, contemplating the future of the church and his controversial legacy within it.

One of Cardinal Ratzinger's most important and widely read books, this volume is a revised second edition with an improved translation and an in-depth preface by the Cardinal. As he states in the preface, since this book was first published over 30 years ago, many changes and significant events have occurred in the world, and in the Church. But even so, he says he is firmly convinced that his fundamental approach in this book is still very timely and crucial for the spiritual needs of modern man.

With prophetic insight into our times, Benedict warns of a "radical manipulation of man" in the name of tolerance, insisting that the only "authentic counterweight to every form of intolerance" is Christ himself—and Christ crucified. A lifelong Catholic, the late pope pays tribute to some of the giant figures of Christianity who have served him through the years as guiding stars: his predecessor Pope John Paul II, the 20th-century German Jesuit martyr Alfred Delp, and the silent carpenter Joseph, his patron saint.

Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, and no myth, revolutionary, or misunderstood prophet, insists Benedict XVI. He thinks that the best of historical scholarship, while it can't "prove" Jesus is the Son of God, certainly doesn't disprove it. Indeed, Benedict maintains that the evidence, fairly considered, brings us face-to-face with the challenge of Jesus-a real man who taught and acted in ways that were tantamount to claims of divine authority, claims not easily dismissed as lunacy or deception.

Based on Pope Benedict XVI's weekly teaching on the relationship between Christ and the Church, this book tells the drama of Jesus' first disciples—his Apostles and their associates—and how they spread Jesus' message throughout the ancient world. Far from distorting the truth about Jesus of Nazareth, insists Pope Benedict, the early disciples remained faithful to it, even at the cost of their lives.

Prayer is essential to the life of faith. In this superb book, based on Pope Benedict's weekly teaching, he examines the foundational principles of the life of prayer. Believers of various backgrounds and experience in prayer-from beginners to spiritually advanced-will be enriched by this spiritual masterpiece.

In 2007, Joseph Ratzinger published his first book as Pope Benedict XVI in order “to make known the figure and message of Jesus”. Now, the Pope focuses exclusively on the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life as a child. The root of these stories is the experience of hope found in the birth of Jesus and the affirmations of surrender and service embodied in his parents, Joseph and Mary.

Since resigning from the papacy in 2013, the first pope in more than 700 years to do so, Pope Benedict has lived quietly in a convent in the Vatican gardens in Rome. He has devoted himself to a life of prayer and study and has vowed to remain silent, until now. So much controversy still surrounds Pope Benedict’s time in office - in this book, written with best-selling German author Peter Seewald, he addresses the issues of his papacy and reveals how, at his late age, governing and reforming the Church was beyond him.

In his first Encyclical, Pope Benedict helps to clarify the meaning of love. He examines the nature of various kinds of love—human love and divine love, eros, friendship, and charity. He writes beautifully and inspirationally of how man was made for love by the God who is love, the God who became one of us out of love—Jesus Christ.

Increasingly, the future is becoming a theme for theological reflection. In the background we can detect a growing concern among many people for the future of faith. Does faith have any future at all, and, if so, where in all the confusion of today's trends will we discover its embryo? But the problem of the future assails not only the believer. In the ever more rapidly advancing process of historical evolution, man is confronted with enormous opportunities, but also with colossal perils. For him, the future is not only hope, but sorrow a nightmare, indeed.

For a Christian, the way to reach perfection is to strive for holiness. What is true perfection? Christ's words are clear, sublime and disconcerting: "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." To have God as our model is a dizzying thought! Yet the Church reminds us that, "All the faithful, whatever their condition or state in life, are called by the Lord to that perfect holiness." The Church teaches us that holiness is not the concern of a privileged few, nor does it only pertain to Christians of the past.

Pope Benedict XVI's second encyclical, Saved in Hope, ("Spe Salvi" in Latin) takes its title from St. Paul, who wrote, "In hope we have been saved." In this audiobook, the Holy Father continues a line of thought he began with his first encyclical, God Is Love. Love and Hope are closely related in the spiritual life. Love of God involves hope or trust in God. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man."

Since Pope Benedict XV1 died he has had a remarkably good press. Indeed many have argued that there is a natural evolution between Pope Benedict`s mission and that of his successor Pope Francis. Here for the first time are assembled a collection of Pope Benedict`s most important public speeches and addresses. Dubbed and dismissed by many as an unrepentant traditionalist, we now see a man of profound intelligence and wisdom on matters relating not just to religion but to what is not termed ` The Common Good`.

Pope Benedict XVI will go down in Church history as one of the greatest popes. In this heartfelt defense of Pope Benedict’s words and works, a tribute to his life and legacy and an homage to his sanity and sanctity, Joseph Pearce’s biography provides an unforgettable encounter with this great historical figure.

In this book, Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) gives us profound meditations on what our life in Christ should be like as it is lived through the various Seasons and Feasts of the liturgical year. This book also includes thoughts on other spiritual and secular themes such as the true nature of peace, why it is difficult for so many to experience joy, the relationship between spirit and matter, vacation and rest, etc.

Benedict surveys the social issues that confront the human race today—assaults on the dignity of the human person such as the attack on human life, poverty, issues of war and peace, terrorism, globalization, and environmental concerns. Benedict provides sound moral principles to address these social and economic problems, and to promote a culture of life and genuine peace. In this outstanding work, Pope Benedict shows us why so many observers regard him as the world's leading moral voice, as well as one of the most insightful and profound social/political thinkers of our day.

In this book, the pope emeritus and the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments give their brother priests, and the whole Church, a message of hope. They honestly address the spiritual challenges faced by priests today, while pointing to deeper conversion to Jesus Christ as the key to faithful and fruitful priestly ministry and genuine reform.

Was the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI valid? Or, did Benedict remain the true pope of the Catholic Church despite his seeming resignation? Incredible as it may seem, some Catholics today argue Benedict’s resignation was invalid, either due to a “substantial error” in his act of resignation, or due to his own intentional attempt to ‘sabotage’ it. These “Benepapists” reject the validity of Benedict’s resignation, believing he has remained pope, and will continue to be pope until either his death or until he validly resigns. They have spread their views internationally via ...