In his weekly editorial Fr Federico Lombardi reflects on how the Pope is spending
his vacation:
“Days
ago the Pope began working on the third volume of his great work on Jesus. The manuscript
for the second volume, dedicated to the Passion and Resurrection, was handed in for
publishing some months ago. Currently we are preparing the translations and editions
in different languages, which are expected to arrive in bookstores next spring. Now
Benedict XVI has put his hand to the third and last part, devoted to the "Gospel Infancy
Narratives". As the faithful can see for themselves at the Sunday Angelus, after
a few days at Castel Gandolfo Benedict XVI already appears refreshed and smiling.
He immediately began to devote himself to reading and study, which although demanding,
is not tiring. And now - as I mentioned – he has started working towards the completion
of his work on Jesus. It is clear that it is particularly important for him to bring
this great project, which he first began years ago, to a conclusion. In the Preface
to the first volume, the Pope recalled that he started to work "during the summer
of 2003”, that he gave final form to the first four chapters in August 2004, and he
continues: "After my election as Bishops of Rome, I used all my free time to pursue
the book". Many interventions at the Synod of Bishops on the “Word of God" highlighted
the crucial importance of the Pope's book as a model for a theological and spiritual
reading of the Gospels, as a guide for believers to meet - through the Gospels - the
person of Jesus. As the Pope himself affirms, "the real Jesus, the historical Jesus
in the proper sense". Help us to encounter Jesus! We are at the heart of the service
of St Peter’s Successor to the Church and men of all time. This is what Benedict XVI
has dedicated his "vacation time" to”.