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From the Depths of Our Hearts

Original price $19.95
Original price $19.95 - Original price $19.95
Original price $19.95
Current price $12.95
$12.95 - $12.95
Current price $12.95
Publisher: Ignatius Press
Publication Date:
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 152
Availability: In Stock
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The Catholic Church faces a major crisis and the turmoil in priestly ministry is at the heart of it. “The priesthood is going through a dark time,” write Pope Emeritus Benedict and Cardinal Robert Sarah. “Wounded by the revelation of so many scandals, disconcerted by the constant questioning of their consecrated celibacy, many priests are tempted by the thought of giving up and abandoning everything.”

In this book, Pope Emeritus Benedict and Cardinal Robert Sarah give their brother priests and the whole Church a message of hope. They honestly address the spiritual challenges faced by priests today, including struggles of celibacy. They point to deeper conversion to Jesus Christ as the key to faithful and fruitful priestly ministry and church reform.

From the Depths of Our Hearts is an unprecedented work by the Pope Emeritus and a Cardinal serving in the Vatican. As bishops, they write “in a spirit of filial obedience” to Pope Francis, who has said, “I think that celibacy is a gift for the Church... I don’t agree with allowing optional celibacy, no.”

Responding to calls for refashioning the priesthood, including proposals from the Amazonian Synod, two wise, spiritually astute pastors explain the biblical and spiritual role of the priesthood, celibacy, and genuine priestly ministry. Drawing on Vatican II, they present priestly celibacy as more than “a mere precept of ecclesiastical law”. They insist that renewal of the Church is bound to a renewed understanding of priestly vocation as sharing in Jesus’ priestly identity as Bridegroom of the Church.

This is a book whose crucial message is for clergy and laity alike.

Robert Sarah:

Cardinal Robert Sarah is currently the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and was appointed to that position by Pope Francis in 2014. Before that, he also occupied prominent positions during the papacies of Pope Benedict and Pope John Paul II.

Cardinal Sarah is known for being particularly outspoken in defending traditional Catholic teaching when it comes to issues such as abortion, sexuality, and Islamic radicalism. He has continuously promoted pre-Vatican II practices, such as having the priest face ad orientem in an effort to bring the focus of the Mass back toward the Eucharist. However, he also also encouraged that proponents of the different liturgies work together to find a middle ground.

Cardinal Sarah is also known for speaking up and being particularly critical of Western culture when most other prelates are silent. He places particular emphasis on the subjection of women, gender ideology, and he has stated that in general life in western society is organized as if God does not exist, which has led to a tremendous "silent apostasy".

Editorial Reviews

"Benedict XVI and Cardinal Sarah have written the best kind of food for the Catholic soul: concise, elegantly readable, rich in substance, and passionately pastoral in its message. Don't be fooled by its brevity: This is an immensely important book not just for priests, but for laypeople committed to sustaining and renewing the life of the Church they love."
--Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Philadelphia

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