Loving the Church: Spiritual Exercises Preached in the Presence of Pope John Paul II

by Christoph Schönborn

In this series of retreat meditations preached to Pope John Paul II and the papal household during a Lenten retreat, Cardinal Christoph Schonborn uses the Catechism of the Catholic Church (of which he was the general editor) and Sacred Scripture to lead us to a deeper union with Christ by helping us to understand and love the Church, His bride. To love the Church, which the Catechism calls "a living communion with Jesus Christ," we must see her with the eyes of Jesus, who "loved the Church and gave Himself up for her."As he draws us into a deeper understanding of the Church, who she is and where the deepest wellsprings of her being lie are the theme of his meditations. He also illustrates many points by using the thoughts of the new doctor of the Church, St. Therese of Lisieux. She found her vocation to be "love in the heart of the Church" and can offer us a renewed and vital vision of the Church.

Genres: Faith, Catholic, Religion

218 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Christoph Maria Michael Hugo Damian Peter Adalbert Graf von Schönborn, O.P.
is a Bohemian-born Austrian Dominican friar and theologian, who is a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He serves as the Archbishop of Vienna and President of the Austrian Bishops' Conference. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1998. He is also the chaplain of the Order of the Golden Fleece (Austrian branch), of which he has been a member since 1961. He is a member of the formerly sovereign princely House of Schönborn, several members of which held high offices of the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic Church.

Reviews

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A RETREAT PREACHED IN JOHN PAUL II’S PRESENCE

These spiritual exercises were preached from February 25-30, 1996. Christoph Schönborn explained in this 1997 book, “At the beginning of this retreat, we are being invited… to look back at the first moment when WE met our Lord, when he addressed the question to us, ‘What is it you seek?’ … And yet the goal and quest of these spiritual exercises should not be just a PERSONAL meeting with our Lord… Everything in the Church is at once… a personal vocation and a common vocation, and so, during this retreat, our eyes should be not only on our own vocation but on the mission of the Church.”

Each sermon is followed by four Meditations.

This book may appeal to Catholics seeking written material from/for a retreat.

[Brother Gregory Rice, SOLT · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the words of Dr. Fastiggi, a "questionable disciplinarian" as Cardinal but the star pupil of Ratzinger and a "beautiful and orthodox theologian."

This series of meditations is a wide-ranging reflection on the Church and the tradition of devotion and theology surrounding her.