What did Pope Benedict XVI teach and preach when he was out of the limelight, behind closed doors, among friends? In his late years, after the noise of the papacy had quieted down, how did he understand Scripture—Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Christian life? When he had the room to be vulnerable, what did he say about the heart of his own spirituality?

In The Lord Holds Us by the Hand, we experience a different side of Joseph Ratzinger. This collection of private homilies—all delivered off the public record in small chapels, during his years as pope and pope emeritus—reveals not a “detached exegete”, as his longtime secretary Archbishop Gänswein notes, but a Christian in “lively participation” with God. In these meditations, never before published in English, “exegesis, theology, catechesis, and spirituality intertwine and join together, leading the listener to enter in depth into the heart of the mystery of Christ.”

The Lord Holds Us by the Hand touches on many of the complex truths of the Catholic faith, from the Immaculate Conception to the mystery of our salvation on the Cross, yet it distills them into simple, personal, human terms, refined by a lifetime of prayer and experience. This book would make a wonderful gift for priests and deacons, as well as for anyone devoted or indebted to Pope Benedict XVI.

“A rare glimpse into the mind and soul of a spiritual master. We encounter something fresh: an intimacy, a more conversational quality, a pastoral touch. Anyone interested in developing a deeper relationship with the Lord will benefit from these marvelous homilies.”
—Bishop Robert Barron, Founder, Word on Fire

“Pope Benedict XVI was, inarguably, one of the Church's finest homilists. This evocative book will help readers experience biblically rooted homiletic wisdom.”
—George Weigel, Author, Pomp, Circumstance, and Unsolicited Advice

“These homilies capture Pope Benedict XVI at his most approachable. He distills complex theological brilliance into simple, soulful truths that resonate with the heart. Immense in spiritual depth.”
—Margaret Turek, STD, Author, Atonement: Soundings in Biblical, Trinitarian, and Spiritual Theology

“These homilies exude a spontaneity and freshness of tone, yet lack none of the penetration into the mystery of Christ and the sheer power of illumination we’ve come to expect from every utterance of Joseph Ratzinger.”
—Father Simeon Leiva-Merikakis, O.C.S.O., Author, The Way of the Disciple

“Pure gold. Without sacrificing Pope Benedict’s profound understanding of the sacred scriptures, his remarkable erudition and scholarship, and his deep ecclesial sense, we hear a man who enjoyed a deep personal relationship with the Lord.”
—Bishop James Conley, DD, STL, Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska

“Benedict XVI lived a tremendously public life, but his greatness consists in the simplicity of his interior life. What an unexpected treasure to have these homilies.”
—Matthew Levering, PhD, James N. Jr. and Mary D. Perry Chair of Theology, Mundelein Seminary

“In these last homilies we encounter evangelical freshness. Joseph Ratzinger's doctrinal clarity and passionate commitment to preaching the Gospel stayed with him till the end.”
—Aidan Nichols, O.P., Author, The Thought of Pope Benedict XVI

“Beautifully crafted. A distillation of Benedict XVI’s lifetime search for God, his spirituality rooted in the Cross, and his courageous missionary zeal to offer to us what he discovered: the truth that sets us free.”
—D. Vincent Twomey, S.V.D., Author, The Dynamics of Liturgy: The Theology of Benedict XVI