By François-Régis Salefran - Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikipedia
CV NEWS FEED // Cardinal Robert Sarah has written a new book paying tribute to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI titled He Gave Us So Much: A Tribute to Benedict XVI.
In the new tribute published by Ignatius Press, “Cardinal Sarah traces the spiritual contours of Ratzinger’s life and thought, revealing the image of a man on fire with love for God and neighbor. Benedict XVI was no professor in an ivory tower, but a shepherd and pastor, with the heart of a father,” according to a press release by Carmel Communications.
“Nearly a year to the date after the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Cardinal Robert Sarah has written an honest and moving tribute to the late pope,” reads the press release:
He Gave Us So Much delves into the childlike faith and innocence possessed by the late pope, his love for the Church, his ability to see the good in others, his persistence to always put Jesus first in his life, and his endearing answers to children receiving their First Holy Communion.
Pope Benedict XVI publicly suffered ridicule from the moment he was elected to the pontificate but endured because of his deep faith and true joy in knowing his place as a son of God.
Cardinal Sarah takes readers behind the scenes of Benedict XVI’s pontificate when he visited sick children in the hospital, when he took questions from seminarians and First Holy communicants, and how difficult it was for him to pick trustworthy personnel.
Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke praised the new book, according to the press release:
Cardinal Sarah opens up for us Benedict XVI’s intimate relationship with Christ, God the Son Incarnate, from which flowed the many wonderful priestly gifts that he gave us in the Church. We owe a profound debt of gratitude to Cardinal Sarah for his rich testimonial.
“You may discover an unexpected, unknown Benedict XVI,” said Cardinal Sarah, according to the book’s overview on Ignatius Press. “His teaching and his example are a continent, still unexplored, where the Church will be able to find nourishment for a long time.”
The book’s overview adds,
This book offers not an academic analysis of Ratzinger’s intellectual work, but a personal sketch of the “soul of Joseph Ratzinger”, a glimpse into “the secret recesses of his heart”…
After a series of essays on Ratzinger, He Gave Us So Much also presents a selection of texts and homilies written by the late pope himself, arranged by Cardinal Sarah as a “spiritual itinerary” for prayer. These works invite us to follow Jesus in our own lives—body, soul, and spirit—to the ends of the earth and beyond…
This is no ordinary biography, but—in Sarah’s words—the “portrait of a saint”.
