Recent and Upcoming Books by Pope Benedict XVI

	Dogma and Preaching: Applying Christian Doctrine to Daily Life Ignatius Press (October 1, 2011) This volume is an unabridged edition of Dogma and Preaching, a work that appeared in a much-reduced form in English, in 1985. The new book contains twice as much material as first English edition. "Dogma", for many people, is a bad word. For the well-informed believer, it shouldn't be. Dogmas are truths revealed by God, which should enlighten the minds, guide the choices, and gladden the hearts of Jesus' disciples, including pastors, deacons, and lay teachers. But, as Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), notes in the foreword to this book, "The path from dogma to proclamation or preaching has become very troublesome." Finding ways to relate the content of the Church's dogmas to everyday life can be challenging for today's preachers and teachers. Some people find the task so daunting that they leave dogma out. As a result, they wind up presenting something other than the Church's faith and speak in their own name, offering perhaps unwittingly merely their own, subjective ideas, rather than the Word of God. In Dogma and Preaching, the theologian and priest Joseph Ratzinger provides (1) a theory of preaching for today; (2) application of this theory to some themes for preaching drawn from the Church's dogmas; (3) meditations and sermons based on the liturgical year and the communion of saints; and (4) some thoughts regarding the decade after the Second Vatican and Christianity's seeming irrelevance. Ratzinger insists that sound preaching should rest on three pillars -- Dogma, Scripture, and the Church Today, the contemporary situation in which the Church finds herself. He shows that the proper understanding of the Church, her dogmas, the nature of faith, and the contemporary world allow the proclaimer-believer to remain faithful to the Church's mission and life-changing message.
	Friendship with Jesus: Pope Benedict XVI Talks to Children on Their First Holy Communion Ignatius Press (October 1, 2011) To receive Jesus in Holy Communion is to enter into a lifelong friendship with him. In this beautifully illustrated book, Amy Welborn, well-known author and blogger, introduces Pope Benedict's profound yet simple answers to various questions put to him by children in Rome who had recently made their First Holy Communion. Pope Benedict's answers, and the children's wonderful questions concerning this very important spiritual occasion in their young lives, provide inspiring text for this beautiful gift book for First Communion.
	Doctors of the Church Our Sunday Visitor (September 27, 2011) They are saints and teachers, monks, priests, bishops, and nuns. They faced opposition and exile. They lived in periods of confusion and conflict. Their teachings and insights not only brought peace and understanding to the Church of their time, but continue to anchor the Church of today. They brought clarity to the fragments and simplicity to the complex. They used speeches, documents, poems, and songs to reach the people of their time. Now Pope Benedict XVI explores the lives and significance of thirty-two of the Doctors of the Church like no one else can. Taken directly from the pope's addresses in his weekly audiences, Doctors of the Church is an incredible journey through time to better understand these individuals who explored and explained the critical questions of the Church. ---Who is Christ? ---How do we know Christ? ---How do we act as Christ's disciples? ---How are we in Christ?
	Great Christian Thinkers: From the Early Church Through the Middle Ages Augsburg Fortress Publishers (July 1, 2011) 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.
	Holy Women Our Sunday Visitor (June 28, 2011) Women have always played a unique and critical role throughout Scripture which has continued through today. In his weekly addresses, Pope Benedict XVI expertly and thoughtfully explores the life stories of 17 such holy women. From St. Hildegard of Bingen to St. Teresa of Avilla to St. Joan of Arc and many more in between, each one brings a fresh experience and example of faith that is still relevant today. These models of prayer, faith, and action will help you gain a fuller understanding of Church history as well as personal faith. Bring your faith to life with the spark of history as told by the pope himself.
	Great Teachers Our Sunday Visitor (March 28, 2011) Discover the greatest teachers of the Faith as Pope Benedict XVI highlights their essential role during a time of scandal and strife in the Church. Focusing specifically on the 13th-century founding of the Franciscans by St. Francis of Assisi and the Dominicans by St. Dominic, the pope said personal holiness led the two saints to preach and to help actualize a return to Gospel poverty, a deeper unity with the Church, and a new movement of evangelization, including within the European universities that were blossoming at the time. The Franciscans and Dominicans followed in the footsteps of their founders and demonstrated that it was possible to live evangelical poverty, to live the Gospel itself, without separating themselves from the Church, he said. Their example continues to be relevant today as we struggle with a culture that focuses more on having than on being, and look to emulate those holy people who chose to live very simply.
	Holiness Is Always in Season Ignatius Press (March 1, 2011) 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!"