The Joy of Knowing Christ: Meditations on the Gospels Paperback – January 1, 2009

Well written and easy to follow to even use as a daily devotional. Interesting facts I never knew and useful explanations. Excellent compilation of his homilies.

Textos cortos de la predicación del Papa Benedicto XVI. Recorre los misterios de la vida del Señor. Muy útil para meditar y rezar.

When Pope John Paul 2 passed on to Heaven, I grieved his loss for weeks. My heart rejoiced that he was with God but he was my only Holy Father, as I had converted in my 20's after seeing him in Boston. I could not imagine at the time that I could ever love another Holy Father as much....a holy religious Sister promised me I would. AND I DO! What a thrill elevated my soul when he was elected, but over the years, Pope Benedict 16th has earned his place as "my Papa" in his own right. He is a wonderful teaching Father, a guide for my growth toward union with Christ. This is only one of his many books which has enriched my prayer life and my understanding of the gift our Father has bestowed on us in His Son truly, present to us in the Holy Eucharist, as well as the Holy Spirit truly present to us in the Word. Pope Benedict is so easy to understand; he has such a gift of making the elusive known. Even my teenaged daughter and my 11 year old son understand what he is saying. We have read some of these passages at evening prayer as a family and the time spent was made richer, no, sealed in eternity for inviting the Holy Father into our home. I cannot recommend this and all of his works enough. He is never a waste of time to read and ponder and re-read!I cannot wait to read his upcoming COME MEET JESUS. The Joy of Knowing Christ will never collect dust on a bookshelf in our home. We will be re-PRAYING it over and over.Thank you Amazon for making these works availble at such a reasonalbe price.

I am an official Benedict junkie. I love the first Benedict, he of the monastic orders and I love Poe Benedict. For years I avoided his writings because of all the negative media hype. While ill last year I ran across this "He comes as a baby - defenceless and in need of our help. He does not want to overwhelm us with his strength. He takes away our fear of his greatness. He asks for our love: so he makes himself a child. He wants nothing other from us than our love,"from his midnight mass homily, 2006. From that point I fell in love with his writings and he has helped me fall in love with God. This book is a good place to discover the gentleness and progressive theology of the man. Unlike some of his more scholarly books, this is easy to read, yet coveys a lot of insightful information.

Pope Emeritus Benedict is one of the most profound thinkers of our time and of the Catholic Church. His scholarly works are such a treasure but are difficult to read on a daily basis because of the depth of his thought. These meditations give the work-a-day reader a chance to access some of Pope Benedict's teachings and apply them to our lives. They are compilation of the Holy Father's talks at audiences and other public events, and address the various feasts of the Church, which makes the book wonderful as a reference guide as well. I love reading Pope Benedict. This just makes it easier.

Imagine having the second person of the Trinity walk you through the Truth of the sacred scriptures. What must that have been like? On the road to Emmaus the apostles found out first-hand (although, typical of their situation they did not yet understand fully what was going on).Pope Benedict's "The Joy of Knowing Christ" strikes me as a way to get a sense of what that Emmaus conversation was like. Each reflection, brief and to the point, gave beautiful insight into key New Testament gospel (and some Old Testament) readings. The commentary is clear, hopeful and infused with a desire for the reader to learn to feel more at ease with getting to know scripture as a Person.Highly recommended for busy Catholics who (let's face it) perhaps don't spend as much time studying and meditating on scripture as we should.

The Joy of Knowing Christ is not just meditations on the Gospels - it is more of deepening your faith and spiritual needs. I love the passages chosen from the chapters and verses according to the four Evangelists. Any book by our beloved Pope Benedict XVI, now known as Emeritus Pope Benedict is worth keeping. Every step of the way, he invites us to open ourselves to the truth - about knowing Christ and the pure joy of being loved by our God Who created us, Who died for us, and Who redeemed us - and above all, the promise of the Heavenly Kingdom Christ has prepared for us!

We were blessed to have the prayerful and deeply intelligent reflections of this truly great man of faith presented to us over the years of his papacy. While he has now dedicated himself fully to a life of prayer, we are only beginning to know the depths of his witness for the Church. In books like this, he continues to open our hearts to the beauty of Christ and to following Christ. He continues to speak to our present moment, and all times to come.

Thank you Pope Benedict for this book.

Aother gem from the pen of Pope Benedict. His short Meditations on the Gospels are full of his wisdom. Can by used like a daily act of worship, or for quiet prayer and meditation. Highly Recommended.

Full of wisdom. A great guide to living with Christ and the Church. Emeritus pope Benedict gave much to the church and to Christianity both before and after becoming poe

Nothing could surpass the devotion in these meditations in a language easily understood but with exceptional depth of meaningful reflection

I found this little book really helpful an a joy to read - would recommend you all to take a copy to your bedside.