Pilgrim Fellowship of Faith: The Church as Communion
Overview
Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, has been the most visible member of the Catholic clergy in the world second only to Pope John Paul II. His status as the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith made him one of the most discussed churchmen in recent history.
On the occasion of Ratzingers’ 75th birthday, his former students selected essays, lectures, letters, and conferences that Ratzinger has written in recent years—writing that they feel best represents his position on issues of theology, the modern world, secularism, non-Christian religious, and other key topics of the Catholic Church. This book, characterized by Ratzinger’s concisely reasoned style, is an invaluable resource to those who wish to understand the modern Church and the thinking of Pope Benedict XVI, as well as a treasured volume for those who are students of Ratzinger’s theology.
In the Logos edition, this volume is enhanced by amazing functionality. Important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.
Save more when you purchase this book as part of the Select Works of Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI (21 vols.).
Key Features
- Offers a selection of essays, lecutres, letters and conferences
- Presents Ratzinger’s position on issues in theology, the modern world, secularism, and more
- Unpacks the thinking of Pope Benedict XVI
Contents
- Faith and Theology
- What in Fact Is Theology?
- The Holy Spirit as Communion
- Communion: Eucharist—Fellowship—Mission
- Eucharist and Mission
- The Ecclesiology of the Constitution Lumen Gentium
- The Ministry and Life of Priests
- Church Movements and Their Place in Theology
- Presentation of the Declaration Dominus Iesus
- Exchange of Letters between Metropolitan Damaskinos and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger
- Exchange of Letters between Provincial Bishop Johannes Hanselmann and Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
- On the Ecumenical Situation
- The Heritage of Abraham
- The Church’s Guilt
- The Church on the Threshold of the Third Millennium
Top Highlights
“The Marian view of the Church and the ecclesial and salvation-historical view of Mary lead us back in the end to Christ and to God the Trinity; because here it becomes clear what holiness means, what the dwelling of God in man, and in the world, actually is, and what we are to understand by the ‘eschatological’ tension in the Church.” (Page 152)
“the purpose of the sacrifice and the sacrificial meal is to establish community between God and his people” (Pages 73–74)
“‘Communion’ ecclesiology is in its inmost nature a eucharistic ecclesiology.” (Page 131)
“Faith is an anticipation that is made possible by the will through the heart being touched by God. It grasps in advance what we cannot yet see and cannot yet have. This anticipation sets us in motion. We have to follow that motion. Because assent has been anticipated, thought has to try to catch up with that and is also constantly having to overcome the contrary movement, the motus de contrario. This is the situation of believing so long as man stands within this history. That is why there must always be theology, right throughout history; that is why the task of theology within history remains unfinished. Thought is still on its pilgrim’s journey, as we ourselves are. And we are not making our pilgrimage aright unless our thought is on pilgrimage, too.” (Pages 25–26)
“Because he is in himself relationship—word and love—that is why he can speak, feel, respond, and love. Because he is relationship, he is able to open himself up and establish a relationship of his creature to himself. In the Incarnation of the eternal Word, there comes about that communion between God and the being of man, his creature, which had hitherto seemed impossible to reconcile with the transcendence of the one God.” (Page 76)
Praise for the Print Edition
Cardinal Ratzinger is one of the great spirits and most distinguished theologians of contemporary Catholicism. This tribute is a living testimony to Cardinal Ratzinger’s life long labors on behalf of the communion of the Church which is rooted in the love of Christ. No one demonstrates better than Cardinal Ratzinger that the Church’s tradition is a living and dynamic reality, born of a truth that everyone can know and love—and, in so doing, be transformed.
—George Wiegel
Product Details
- Title: Pilgrim Fellowship of Faith: The Church As Communion
- Author: Joseph Ratzinger
- Translator: Henry Taylor
- Publisher: Ignatius Press
- Publication Date: 2005
- Pages: 340
- Christian Group: Catholic
- Resource Type: Collected Works
- Topic: Theology
About Joseph Ratzinger
Joseph Ratzinger is one of the most revered Catholic prelates, scholars, theologians, teachers, and authors of our time. He has spoken on many crucial subjects, including sexual consumerism, roles of men and women today, marriage, the priesthood, and the future of the world. On June 29, 1951, Joseph Ratzinger was ordained to the priesthood in the Cathedral of Freising on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. He also received his doctorate in theology in 1953 from the University of Munich. Starting in 1959, Ratzinger taught theology at the University of Bonn.
After many years of teaching at several German universities, Ratzinger was appointed by Pope Paul VI as Archbishop of Munich and Freising in March 1977, and was elevated to cardinal in June 1977. In November 1981, Ratzinger was summoned by Pope John Paul II to Rome, where he was named Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, President of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, and President of the International Theological Commission.
On April 19, 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected to be the 265th pope. He took the name Benedict XVI, after St. Benedict of Nursia. As pope, he received worldwide respect and was a spiritual influence to Christians and non-Christians alike. In 2013, he resigned the papacy, becoming the first pope to do so in since the fifteenth century. He retired to a monastery in the Vatican Gardens, where he continues to study and write.