The following message from Fr. Fessio, S.J., was published on the inside cover of the Fall 2008 Ignatius Press catalog:
Dear Ignatius Press Reader,
As you can see in the photo above, I was blessed with the opportunity of personally presenting to the Holy Father the Ignatius Press paperback edition of his book Jesus of Nazareth. The occasion was appropriate because it was just before the first session of the annual meeting with his former students at which we discussed central themes for the 2nd volume he is now working on.
He was pleased but not surprised because he knew that Ignatius Press was in the process of publishing the paperback edition. But he was both pleased and surprised when I gave him the new Study Guide to his book and explained why we had written it.
The Holy Father has a great gift of making the mysteries of our faith understandable to ordinary Catholics. But they are mystery and there are depths of insight and meaning in Jesus of Nazareth which many will miss without some sound guidance. That's why we published this Study Guide: so that everyone can derive the maximum benefit from this foundational and important work. And we've designed it both for individual use and for study groups.
We all have much to learn from this extraordinary Pope, and Ignatius Press is honored to be able to provide you with so many good books both by and about him. This Fall season we're delighted to offer a full menu for a real spiritual feast. In addition to Jesus of Nazareth and the Study Guide, you'll also find Pope Benedict's Church Fathers, the continuation of his Wednesday talks on the saints of the early Church; Christ Our Hope, the official record of his historic visit to the United States; and Peter Seewald's Benedict XVI: An Intimate Portrait (beautifully illustrated). Peter Seewald is the former fallen-away Catholic, Marxist atheist, journalist who, after a book-length interview with then-Cardinal Ratzinger (Salt of the Earth), returned to the Faith.
May these books be a source of many blessings to us all.
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J.
Editor, Ignatius Press
As you can see in the photo above, I was blessed with the opportunity of personally presenting to the Holy Father the Ignatius Press paperback edition of his book Jesus of Nazareth. The occasion was appropriate because it was just before the first session of the annual meeting with his former students at which we discussed central themes for the 2nd volume he is now working on.
He was pleased but not surprised because he knew that Ignatius Press was in the process of publishing the paperback edition. But he was both pleased and surprised when I gave him the new Study Guide to his book and explained why we had written it.
The Holy Father has a great gift of making the mysteries of our faith understandable to ordinary Catholics. But they are mystery and there are depths of insight and meaning in Jesus of Nazareth which many will miss without some sound guidance. That's why we published this Study Guide: so that everyone can derive the maximum benefit from this foundational and important work. And we've designed it both for individual use and for study groups.
We all have much to learn from this extraordinary Pope, and Ignatius Press is honored to be able to provide you with so many good books both by and about him. This Fall season we're delighted to offer a full menu for a real spiritual feast. In addition to Jesus of Nazareth and the Study Guide, you'll also find Pope Benedict's Church Fathers, the continuation of his Wednesday talks on the saints of the early Church; Christ Our Hope, the official record of his historic visit to the United States; and Peter Seewald's Benedict XVI: An Intimate Portrait (beautifully illustrated). Peter Seewald is the former fallen-away Catholic, Marxist atheist, journalist who, after a book-length interview with then-Cardinal Ratzinger (Salt of the Earth), returned to the Faith.
May these books be a source of many blessings to us all.
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J.
Editor, Ignatius Press
• Biography of Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI
• All books by or about Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI
• Excerpts from books by Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI
• Articles about Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI
the Holy Father looks happy! The study guide is a very good idea -- the book is so insightful yet can still at times be baffling, given the mysteries of the faith
Posted by: Tal | Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at 02:06 AM
Great work, Fr. Fessio.
Posted by: Jackson | Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at 01:39 PM