- B-16 will visit the Academy of St. Cecilia today. Prepare for beautiful reflections on music.
Ratzinger to World: Don’t mess with Jesus. The Pope’s got a new book debunking the separation between “the historical Jesus” as opposed to “the Christ of faith.”
if the human Jesus was totally different from the Jesus depicted in the Gospels and proclaimed by the church, what does it mean to have faith in him?
"I trust the Gospels," the pope wrote.
And while he said he relied on modern scholarly biblical criticism and historical research, "I wanted to attempt to present the Jesus of the Gospels as the true Jesus, as the 'historic Jesus' in the true sense of the expression." "Only if something extraordinary happened, if the figure and words of Jesus radically exceeded all the hopes and expectations of his age, can his crucifixion and his effectiveness be explained," the pope wrote.
Intriguingly, he’s chosen to write as a private man, not qua Pope:
The pope says clearly, with his usual simplicity and humility, that this is not a 'magisterial act,' but a fruit of his personal research and, as such, can be freely discussed and critiqued.
Make that two new books. He’s also released Christianity & the Crisis of Cultures, which George Weigel discusses here.
- "Turkey Day" at the Vatican isn’t til next week, but you can get a preview of what the Pope hopes to accomplish and the major activities planned for his pilgrimage. Then return next week for transcripts as they become available.
- One of the most moving B16 homilies was delivered to the Swiss bishops a few weeks ago. It’s a shame they’re not going to translate it into English. I thought about trying my hand at my favorite grafs, but they’re all my favorite grafs. Spanish here.
Papal audiences these days cover St. Paul (“a giant”) & his teaching. Here are the first two in the series (the latter is a penetrating explanation of the Holy Spirit –read it). The third, delivered this morning, continues with Paul, but also comments on the slaying of Gemayel in Lebanon yesterday. Go here for the link and a round-up.
- At last week’s Angelus, the Pope praised cloistered religious:
monasteries of contemplative life appear as "oases" in which man, a pilgrim on earth, can go to the sources of the Spirit and slake his thirst along the way. These places, apparently useless, are, on the contrary, indispensable, like the green "lungs" of a city: They are beneficial for all, including for those who do not visit them or perhaps do not know that they exist.Finally, just for fun: Egad! Hitch on the same side as the Vatican again. (He says don’t hang Saddam.) And this Italian priest, for one, was having nothing to do with the sham celebrity wedding (aren’t they all?) du jour. (Curtsy to open book.) And it's a tad early, but factor this into your Advent preparations: a B16 Christmas.
