Unpublished homilies of Pope Benedict XVI released in English

A new English edition of "The Lord Holds Us by the Hand” offers readers a collection of unpublished homilies by Pope Benedict XVI, allowing them to hear once again the voice of Joseph Ratzinger as preacher, theologian, and pastor.

The volume, originally published in Italian by the Vatican Publishing House under the title “Il Signore ci tiene per mano,” gathers homilies delivered between 2005 and 2017 during the liturgical seasons of Advent, Lent, and Easter.

Edited by Riccardo Bollati, Luca Caruso, and Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ, the book includes a preface by Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Pope Benedict XVI’s former personal secretary, and an introduction by Fr. Lombardi, President of the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation.

The homilies were delivered during “private” Masses celebrated by Benedict XVI with the papal household and occasional guests, both while he was Pope and later as Pope Emeritus.

Some were preached in the chapel of the Apostolic Palace, while others were given at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican, where Benedict XVI lived after his resignation from the papacy.

Although spoken in private settings, the texts open a window onto the depth and simplicity of Benedict XVI’s preaching.

They reveal his ability to read Sacred Scripture in an ever-new way, drawing from it light for faith, prayer, and daily Christian life.