(17/12/15) “I thought it was something good for the whole people – not only for the citizens of Pentling – to go to the Mass on Sunday with me and listen to the Word of God”. This is what Pope Benedict XVI wrote in the preface of the book Le omelie di Pentling. It is about his homilies, that are now published in Italian language by the Vatican Publishing House (18th December ). A small Christmas present the emeritus Pope offered not only to his fellow citizens, but to all of us.“I hope it will be useful to understand and live the Word of the Gospel”, Benedict affirmed in the preface. It is a simple way to live the Holy Year that was recently opened and to try to answer to very deep questions.
“Let’s talk about us: Are Christian people in Europe similar to Jesus’ contemporaries? – asked Cardinal Ratzinger during a homily in August 1986 -. Aren’t we self-confident, indifferent and unhappy? Don’t we show sadness, malevolence towards the faith and the Church to be far from Jesus?”.
“These homilies evidently show – the director of the Vatican Publishing House (LEV) father Giuseppe Costa said – one of the fundamental sides of Ratzinger’s success as a writer (...): he is able to explain the Holy Scriptures to the “humble people” and to adapt their message to the modern world.”