The Story
What did Pope Benedict XVI teach and preach when he was out of the limelight, behind closed doors, among friends? In his late years, after the noise of the papacy had quieted down, how did he understand Scripture, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Christian life? When he had the room to be vulnerable, what did he say about the heart of his own spirituality?
In The Lord Holds Us by the Hand, we experience a different side of Joseph Ratzinger. This collection of private homilies--all delivered off the public record in small chapels, during his years as pope and pope emeritus--reveals not a "detached exegete", as his longtime secretary Archbishop Gänswein notes, but a Christian in "lively participation" with God. In these meditations, never before published in English, "exegesis, theology, catechesis, and spirituality intertwine and join together, leading the listener to enter in depth into the heart of the mystery of Christ."
The work touches on many of the complex truths of the Catholic faith, from the Immaculate Conception to the mystery of our salvation on the Cross, yet it distills them into simple, personal, human terms, refined by a lifetime of prayer and experience.
Author: Pope Benedict XVI
Publisher: Ignatius Press
Published: 04/24/2026
Pages: 342
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.09lbs
Size: 8.26h x 5.60w x 1.13d
ISBN: 9781621649182
About the Author
Pope Benedict XVI is widely recognized as one of the most brilliant theologians and spiritual leaders of our times. As pope he authored the best-selling Jesus of Nazareth trilogy. Prior to his pontificate, he wrote many influential books that continue to remain important for the contemporary Church, including Introduction to Christianity, The Spirit of the Liturgy, The Divine Project, and Called to Communion.
Description
What did Pope Benedict XVI teach and preach when he was out of the limelight, behind closed doors, among friends? In his late years, after the noise of the papacy had quieted down, how did he understand Scripture, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Christian life? When he had the room to be vulnerable, what did he say about the heart of his own spirituality?
In The Lord Holds Us by the Hand, we experience a different side of Joseph Ratzinger. This collection of private homilies--all delivered off the public record in small chapels, during his years as pope and pope emeritus--reveals not a "detached exegete", as his longtime secretary Archbishop Gänswein notes, but a Christian in "lively participation" with God. In these meditations, never before published in English, "exegesis, theology, catechesis, and spirituality intertwine and join together, leading the listener to enter in depth into the heart of the mystery of Christ."
The work touches on many of the complex truths of the Catholic faith, from the Immaculate Conception to the mystery of our salvation on the Cross, yet it distills them into simple, personal, human terms, refined by a lifetime of prayer and experience.
Author: Pope Benedict XVI
Publisher: Ignatius Press
Published: 04/24/2026
Pages: 342
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.09lbs
Size: 8.26h x 5.60w x 1.13d
ISBN: 9781621649182
About the Author
Pope Benedict XVI is widely recognized as one of the most brilliant theologians and spiritual leaders of our times. As pope he authored the best-selling Jesus of Nazareth trilogy. Prior to his pontificate, he wrote many influential books that continue to remain important for the contemporary Church, including Introduction to Christianity, The Spirit of the Liturgy, The Divine Project, and Called to Communion.
