Called to Communion: Understanding the Church Today

by Pope Benedict XVI

Publisher:

Ignatius

, 1996

Overview

Called to Communion is a book of wisdom and insight that explains how providential the trials are through which the Catholic Church is now passing. Topics covered include:

• The need of the papal primacy to ensure Christian unity
• The true meaning of the priesthood as a sacrament and not a mere ministry
• The necessity of the Eucharist as the sacrifice of the Savior now offering himself on our altars
• The role of the bishops as successors of the apostles, united with the successor of St. Peter, the bishop of Rome
• The value of suffering in union with Christ crucified
• The indispensable service of the laity in the apostolate

All these themes, received from Cardinal Ratzinger, bring new clarity and depth.

With the Logos Bible Software edition of Called to Communion, you have an abundance of resources that offer applicable and insightful material for study. You can easily search the subject of Christian unity and access an assortment of useful resources and perspectives from a variety of pastors and theologians.

Key Features

• Foreword by the author
• Ratzinger’s address presented at the opening of the Synod of Bishops on the priesthood
• Homily preached by Ratzinger in January 1990

Contents

Top Highlights

“In Jesus’ mouth, ‘Kingdom of God’ does not mean some thing or place but the present action of God.” (Page 22)

“the sole meaning of the entire activity of Jesus is the gathering of the eschatological people of God.’^{8” (Page 22)}

“We can call it ‘people of God’ only because it is through communion with Christ that man gains access to a relationship with God that he cannot establish by his own power.” (Page 29)

“The Roman primacy, or, rather, the acknowledgement of Rome as the criterion of the right apostolic faith, is older than the canon of the New Testament, than ‘Scripture’” (Page 70)

“In constituting the circle of Twelve, Jesus presents himself as the patriarch of a new Israel and institutes these twelve men as its origin and foundation.” (Page 25)

Praise for the Print Edition

Cardinal Ratzinger offers us what he calls a “primer of Catholic ecclesiology.” As a true theologian, he clarifies the nature of church, bishop and priest, basing his remarks on Scripture and tradition. The book offers penetrating insights into the church from a profound thinker. This is Catholic theology at its best and as it should be.

—Fr. Kenneth Baker, editor, Homiletic & Pastoral Review

Cardinal Ratzinger guides us through today’s confusion about the faith back to the core from which the life of the church unfolds: communion. At the end of the journey, we not only have a better grasp of the controverted issues of the day, but also a renewed understanding of the central mystery of the church and a powerful encouragement to the theological and spiritual renewal envisaged by the Second Vatican Council.

—David Schindler, editor, Communio

This is a goldmine of insights which brings out the development of Catholic doctrine in our day without surrendering one iota of the deposit of faith entrusted to the church by her Divine Founder.

—Fr. John Hardon, editor, The Treasury of Catholic Wisdom

Product Details

• Title: Called to Communion: Understanding the Church Today
• Author: Joseph Ratzinger
• Translator: Adrian Walker
• Publisher: Ignatius
• Publication Date: 1996
• Pages: 165

About Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI was the 265th pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the head of the Roman Catholic Church. He was elected on 19 April 2005 in a papal conclave, celebrated his Papal Inauguration Mass on 24 April 2005, and took possession of his cathedral, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, on 7 May 2005. A native of Bavaria, Pope Benedict XVI has both German and Vatican citizenship.