Saint Paul General Audiences, July 2, 2008-February 4, 2009
St. Paul is one of the most important figures in Christian history. As Saul of Tarsus he vigorously persecuted Christianity, even collaborating in the death of Christianity's first martyr, Stephen. His encounter with the resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus changed Paul's life, the Christian Church, and world history. More than anyone else in the early Church, Paul saw the universal nature of the Christian message. He became the Apostle to the Gentiles and the Teacher of the Nations. As the human author of half of the New Testament, Paul is a figure who cannot be overlooked by anyone who wants to understand Jesus Christ and Christianity.
In this book, Pope Benedict XVI, a profound spiritual leader in his own right and a first-rate theologian and Bible commentator, explores the legacy of Paul. Pope Benedict follows the course of the Apostle's life, including his missionary journeys and his relationship with the other apostles of Jesus such as St. Peter and St. James, and Paul's martyrdom in Rome. Benedict also examines such questions as: Did Paul know Jesus during his earthly life and how much of Jesus' teaching and ministry did he know of? Did Paul distort the teachings of Jesus? What role did Jesus' death and resurrection play in Paul's teaching? What are we to make of Paul's teaching about the end of the world? What does Paul's teaching say about the differences between Catholic and Protestant Christians over salvation and the roles of faith and works in the Christian life? How have modern Catholic and Protestant scholars come together in their understanding of Paul? What does Paul have to teach us today about living a spiritual life?
These and other important issues are addressed in this masterful, inspirational, and highly-readable presentation of St. Paul and his writings by one of today's great spiritual teachers, Pope Benedict XVI.
The Apostle Paul, an outstanding and almost inimitable yet stimulating figure, stands before us as an example of total dedication to the Lord and to his Church, as well as of great openness to humanity and its cultures.
--Pope Benedict XVI
ReligionBiblical StudiesBiblical BiographyNew TestamentPaul's LettersChristian Living
RELEASED2009
PUBLISHERIgnatius Press
LENGTH131
LANGUAGEEN
Joseph Alois Ratzinger was born in Marktl, Bavaria, Germany, the son of a police officer. At the age of five, he declared that he wanted to be a cardinal. In 1941, he was conscripted into the Hitler Youth, which was mandatory, although his father believe that Nazism conflicted with the Catholic faith. In 1943, while in seminary, he was drafted into the German anti-aircraft corps, although he deserted in 1945. When he returned home he was imprisoned in a POW camp, and returned to the seminary when he was released after a few months. He was ordained in 1951. In 1958 Ratzinger became a professor of Freising College. He moved to the University of Bonn in 1959, the University of Münster in 1963, and the University of Tübingen in 1966, where he was appointed to a chair in dogmatic theology. While he was at Tübingen he witnessed the student movements of the 1960s, which culminated in disturbances and riots in spring of 1968. Although he was seen as a dogmatic reformist, he believed that the radicalization of the student body was a result of a departure from traditional Catholic teachings. In 1969, Ratzinger was moved to the University of Regensburg in Bavaria. In 1972 he co-founded the theological journal Communio. In 1977, Ratzinger was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising. That same year he was named Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria Consolatrice al Tiburtino by Pope Paul VI. In 1981, Pope John Paul II named Ratzinger Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and he resigned his post at Munich. In 1993 he became Cardinal Bishop of Velletri-Segni. In 2005, he was elected as the next Pope. He chose for himself the name Pope Benedict XVI.
Saint Paul General Audiences, July 2, 2008-February 4, 2009
St. Paul is one of the most important figures in Christian history. As Saul of Tarsus he vigorously persecuted Christianity, even collaborating in the death of Christianity's first martyr, Stephen. His encounter with the resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus changed Paul's life, the Christian Church, and world history. More than anyone else in the early Church, Paul saw the universal nature of the Christian message. He became the Apostle to the Gentiles and the Teacher of the Nations. As the human author of half of the New Testament, Paul is a figure who cannot be overlooked by anyone who wants to understand Jesus Christ and Christianity.
In this book, Pope Benedict XVI, a profound spiritual leader in his own right and a first-rate theologian and Bible commentator, explores the legacy of Paul. Pope Benedict follows the course of the Apostle's life, including his missionary journeys and his relationship with the other apostles of Jesus such as St. Peter and St. James, and Paul's martyrdom in Rome. Benedict also examines such questions as: Did Paul know Jesus during his earthly life and how much of Jesus' teaching and ministry did he know of? Did Paul distort the teachings of Jesus? What role did Jesus' death and resurrection play in Paul's teaching? What are we to make of Paul's teaching about the end of the world? What does Paul's teaching say about the differences between Catholic and Protestant Christians over salvation and the roles of faith and works in the Christian life? How have modern Catholic and Protestant scholars come together in their understanding of Paul? What does Paul have to teach us today about living a spiritual life?
These and other important issues are addressed in this masterful, inspirational, and highly-readable presentation of St. Paul and his writings by one of today's great spiritual teachers, Pope Benedict XVI.
The Apostle Paul, an outstanding and almost inimitable yet stimulating figure, stands before us as an example of total dedication to the Lord and to his Church, as well as of great openness to humanity and its cultures.
--Pope Benedict XVI
ReligionBiblical StudiesBiblical BiographyNew TestamentPaul's LettersChristian LivingSpiritual GrowthChristian Theology
RELEASED2009
PUBLISHERIgnatius Press
LENGTH131
LANGUAGEEN
Joseph Alois Ratzinger was born in Marktl, Bavaria, Germany, the son of a police officer. At the age of five, he declared that he wanted to be a cardinal. In 1941, he was conscripted into the Hitler Youth, which was mandatory, although his father believe that Nazism conflicted with the Catholic faith. In 1943, while in seminary, he was drafted into the German anti-aircraft corps, although he deserted in 1945. When he returned home he was imprisoned in a POW camp, and returned to the seminary when he was released after a few months. He was ordained in 1951. In 1958 Ratzinger became a professor of Freising College. He moved to the University of Bonn in 1959, the University of Münster in 1963, and the University of Tübingen in 1966, where he was appointed to a chair in dogmatic theology. While he was at Tübingen he witnessed the student movements of the 1960s, which culminated in disturbances and riots in spring of 1968. Although he was seen as a dogmatic reformist, he believed that the radicalization of the student body was a result of a departure from traditional Catholic teachings. In 1969, Ratzinger was moved to the University of Regensburg in Bavaria. In 1972 he co-founded the theological journal Communio. In 1977, Ratzinger was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising. That same year he was named Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria Consolatrice al Tiburtino by Pope Paul VI. In 1981, Pope John Paul II named Ratzinger Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and he resigned his post at Munich. In 1993 he became Cardinal Bishop of Velletri-Segni. In 2005, he was elected as the next Pope. He chose for himself the name Pope Benedict XVI.
