Pope Benedict XVI

The task of priests is to give the Lord: in the Eucharist, in word, and in charity. What a responsibility! That is why a priest needs to have a style of life conformed to this vocation: a style of living, a moral discipline, and a certain perfection. May the Lord therefore help all priests to impress a gentle and austere new style upon our modern society, a lifestyle that demands and engenders holiness. Priestly Style addresses the task of priests, their leadership in the Church through their vocations, and what is required from the commitment of serving others.

With an Introduction by Timothy Gray, Ph.D., and outline and study questions by Mark Brumley, Curtis Mitch, and Laura Dittus A user-friendly aid for readers of Pope Benedict XVI's Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection, this Study Guide is excellent for individual or group study, for formal class instruction or informal study. Excellent for parish groups, high school programs, college classes, and graduate studies. The Study Guide does not replace Benedict XVI's book, but it makes it more accessible and beneficial to the average reader-whether lay, religious, or clergy-as well as the knowledgeable student. The Study Guide includes: An outline of Benedict XVI's Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection A convenient chapter-by-chapter summary A list of key terms Questions for understanding, reflection, application, and discussion An easy-to-use glossary of important terms and persons A section for readers to include their personal reflections on the reading Mark Brumley is President of Ignatius Press and editor of A Study Guide for Joseph Ratzinger's Jesus of Nazareth (Ignatius Press). Curtis Mitch is co-editor and annotator (with Scott Hahn) of the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament.

In brief portraits, Pope Benedict XVI offers engaging, perceptive, and edifying sketches of some of the great thinkers and writers of Christianity, from early Christianity through the high Middle Ages. Pope Benedict discusses notable theologians from East and West but also many figures whose primary witness was as ascetics, poets, mystics, and missionaries. Always with an eye to their deepest religious convictions and struggles, the Holy Father presents these great thinkers importance for the church and for Christian life today.

For Christians, Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, who died for the sins of the world, and who rose from the dead in triumph over sin and death. For non-Christians, he is almost anything else-myth, a political revolutionary, a prophet whose teaching was misunderstood or distorted by his followers.

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.

Benedict XVI presents this challenge in his new book, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection, the sequel volume to Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration.

Why was Jesus rejected by the religious leaders of his day? Who was responsible for his death? Did he establish a Church to carry on his work? How did Jesus view his suffering and death? How should we? And, most importantly, did Jesus really rise from the dead and what does his resurrection mean? The story of Jesus raises these and other crucial questions.

Benedict brings to his study the vast learning of a brilliant scholar, the passionate searching of a great mind, and the deep compassion of a pastor's heart. In the end, he dares readers to grapple with the meaning of Jesus' life, teaching, death, and resurrection. Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection challenges both believers and unbelievers to decide who Jesus of Nazareth is and what he means for them.

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. Holiness is always a call to every Christian of every age, a challenge for anyone who wants to follow in the footsteps of Christ.

Pope Benedict XVI says: "Holiness never goes out of fashion; on the contrary, with the passage of time it shines out ever more brightly, expressing man's perennial effort to reach God." Mother Teresa of Calcutta wrote: "Holiness is not something for the extraordinary; it is not a luxury of the few. Holiness is the simple duty for each one of us."

The saints are our models and teachers in the ways of holiness. They show us that holiness is possible for us, since they experienced the same difficulties and weaknesses we do, yet persevered in achieving sanctity. The world of saints is a world of wonders, and in this book Pope Benedict XVI helps us to enter into that world.

This inspiring volume presents the Pope's numerous reflections on many saints arranged according to the calendar year. He shows how the life of each saint has something unique to teach us about virtue, faith, courage and love of Christ. Dozens of saints are covered in this wonderful spiritual book. The Pope exhorts us through their lives, "Be holy! Be saints!"