THE WRITINGS OF JOSEPH RATZINGER (POPE BENEDICT XVI)
A short course with Mark Brumley
Joseph Ratzinger – Benedict XVI was one of the most important theological and spiritual writers of the last 100 years. A theological expert at the Second Vatican Council, and longtime coworker of Pope John Paul II, Joseph Ratzinger became pope in 2005 and resigned—the first pope do to so in over half a millennium—in 2013. His writings range from deep theology to pastoral guidance on prayer, from a trilogy of books on the life and teaching of Jesus to a masterful work on Christian worship called “The Spirit of the Liturgy”. He engaged in conversation with great thinkers of our age, sifting the bad from the good in their ideas, and courageously, lovingly, and intelligently presenting Christ and Catholicism. This six-week course will explore key insights and themes from a selection of his writings. The aim is to deepen one’s Catholic faith and spiritual life through an understanding of some of the ideas and works of the man many regard as a modern Church Father.
TEXTS FOR THE COURSE
Some texts are available online—church documents, including papal encyclicals. Links are given below. Other books are available in bookstores and online at a variety of sites, including at www.ignatius.com
- Called to Communion: Understanding the Church Today. Joseph Ratzinger. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1996.
- God is Love (Deus Caritas Est), Benedict XVI’s first encyclical letter.
Online here: https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben- xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est.html - “The Hermeneutics of Reform”, an excerpt from “The Address of Pope Benedict to the Roman Curia, December 22, 2005”
Online here: https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict- xvi/en/speeches/2005/december/documents/hf_ben_xvi_spe_20051222_roman-curia.html. - Introduction to Christianity. Joseph Ratzinger. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. Revised edition, 2004.
- Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration (Volume 1 of the Jesus of Nazareth trilogy). Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 2007.
- Jesus of Nazareth Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection (Volume 2 of the Jesus of Nazareth trilogy). Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 2011.
- The Ratzinger Report. Joseph Ratzinger with Vittorio Messori. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1985
- The Regensburg Lecture. Benedict XVI.
Online here: https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict- xvi/en/speeches/2006/september/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20060912_university- regensburg.html - The Spirit of the Liturgy. Joseph Ratzinger. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2000.
Saved in Hope (Spe Salvi), second encyclical letter.
Online here: https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben- xvi_enc_20071130_spe-salvi.html - “Some Aspects of the Church Understood as Communion”, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Online here:
https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_2805
Class 1
Introduction to Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI
Readings: The Ratzinger Report, pp. 9-53; “The Hermeneutics of Reform”, an excerpt from “The Address of Pope Benedict to the Roman Curia, December 22, 2005”
Presentation Slides from Class 1-set #1 The Pontificate of Benedict XVI-slides set 1
Presentation Slides from Class 1-set #2 The Writings of Benedict XVI The Ratzinger Report-Class #1 Slides #2
Additional Info: Benedict XVI on Interpreting Vatican 2
QUESTIONS TO PONDER AS YOU READ FROM PROFESSOR MARK BRUMLEY:
- As you read the selections, do you find yourself agreeing or disagreeing with the characterization of Joseph Ratzinger as authoritarian, hyper-conservative, and opposed to Vatican 2? Why or why not? What do you think of the claim he is a “balanced progressive”?
- As you reflect on Benedict XVI’s two explanations of how to interpret Vatican 2, a hermeneutic of discontinuity or rupture and a hermeneutic of reform, which interpretation do you find yourself inclined to embrace? Which, in your experience of the Church of today, or twenty years ago, or forty years ago, was dominant?
Class 2
Class 3
Faith, Reason, and Understanding
Readings: Introduction to Christianity, “Belief in the World of Today”, pp. 39-81. The Regensburg Lecture: https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-
xvi/en/speeches/2006/september/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20060912_university- regensburg.html
Class 4
Jesus and Joseph Ratzinger
Readings: Jesus of Nazareth, “The Temptations of Jesus”, pp. 25-45.
Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week, “The Crucifixion and Burial of Jesus”, pp. 202-240.
Class 5
The Church of Christ
Readings: “Some Aspects of the Church Understood as Communion”, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_2 8051992_communionis-notio_en.html
Called to Communion, Chapter 1 (“The Origin and Essence of the Church”), pp. 13-45.
Class 6
The Spirit of the Liturgy
Readings: The Spirit of the Liturgy, Preface, pp. 7-9; “Liturgy and Life: The Place of the Liturgy in Reality”, pp 13-23; “From Old Testament to New: The Fundamental Form of the Christian Liturgy—Its Determination by Biblical Faith”, pp. 35-50.