Benedict, Francis, and Jesus

Yesterday His Holiness Pope Francis awarded the Ratzinger Prize to two theologians and spoke spontaneously on the great gift that his predecessor gave to the Church and to the world in his three-volume work Jesus of Nazareth.

In part, Pope Francis said:

No one can measure the good he has done by means of this gift; only the Lord knows! But we all have a certain perception of this, having listened to so many people who, thanks to these books on Jesus of Nazareth, have nurtured and deepened their faith, or have indeed drawn close to Christ for the first time, as adults, bringing the demands of reason alongside their search for the face of God.

I have often remarked that in the first 80 pages of the first of the three volumes, Pope Benedict offered enough until you're dead.  If you want to know Jesus more intimately grab these books which Benedict XVI described as "my personal search 'for the face of the Lord.'"

So valuable are these books that I made certain to bring them with me to Rome.  You really should read them.