Let God's Light Shine Forth: The Spiritual Vision of Pope Benedict XVI (Hardcover)

~ Robert Moynihan Ph.D. (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope in April 2005, he had long been the second most powerful man in the Vatican, but his own writings had often been overlooked. This sampler of those writings--doubtless the first of many such collections--promises to give readers a taste of the theology and teachings of the man who is now Pope Benedict XVI. After a helpful biographical essay by Moynihan, the founder and editor of Inside the Vatican magazine, the book dashes through excerpts spanning Ratzinger's whole career, from his earliest days as a young professor to his first utterance as pope. Since these excerpts are undated and Moynihan gives them no historical context, the book is more useful as a devotional text than as a window into the evolution of Ratzinger's spiritual development. In any case, it would be useful to have an index that could help readers find the specific topics addressed here (Christmas, Islam, poverty, marriage, in vitro fertilization, pride, Easter, etc.). However, the reflections are loosely grouped in very general topical chapters and organized with helpful subheads. The readings are short, usually just a paragraph or two long, and representative of a wide variety of spiritual and social issues. Readers who are eager for a taste of the new pope's stance on topics like Protestant-Catholic relations, cloning, or the liturgy will enjoy leafing through this compilation.
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Review

“In Let God’s Light Shine Forth, Robert Moynihan has made an intelligent selection from [Pope Benedict XVI’s works] . . . the extracts themselves provide a useful window into the characteristic preoccupations of a thinker now uniquely positioned to translate thought into policies that will affect the lives of hundreds of millions.” —The Washington Post
 
“Let God’s Light Shine Forth is a lovely book that serves two purposes. It is a fine introduction to the pope’s personal and professional life. And the selection of beautifully written (yet relatively short) excerpts from his writings can be fruitfully used for personal meditation and reflection.” —St. Louis Review


From the Trade Paperback edition. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday Religion (June 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385507925
• ISBN-13: 978-0385507929
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,081,069 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Accurate Sense of the New Pope, June 28, 2005

By	Oswald Sobrino "CatholicAnalysis.blogspot.com" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Robert Moynihan gives us an accurate overview of the vision of Pope Benedict. The first part of the book gives us a sense of the background and values of the new Pope based on the Pope's past writings and interviews and based on Moynihan's own repeated conversations with Benedict when he was a cardinal. The second part is a topical collection of the Pope's views on many issues ranging from various theological dogmas to matters of morality to issues in the Christian life such as suffering and loneliness. The third and last part of the book consists of a reprinting of the first messages and homily of the new Pope from that extraordinary month of April 2005. You will get a good sense about the new Pope's vision from this book. Personally, I was struck by the Pope's strong views on the urgency of liturgical reform and on the centrality of defending human dignity.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Provides Great Understanding of the new Holy Father., July 19, 2005

By	D. Burch (Lexington, KY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an excellent work which provides information on the Holy Father and summarizes his views from previous written works. As then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger he published nearly 50 books on the Church. He truly is "hands-on" and clearly understands what is going on in the Church outside of Rome. A quick and easy read that will bring you up to date on Benedict XVI.

5.0 out of 5 stars B-B-B-Benny in the Dress!, December 5, 2005

By	Jeff Wagner (Asheville, NC) - See all my reviews

I always hum the great old Elton John tune whenever I think of this amiable crossdresser. He lacks the lilting charm of John Paul, yet when the rapture comes he will be dancing on the lap of Jesus.