"There is an astonishing amount of learning ... gathered here"

George Weigel writes of participating in the station church pilgrimage of Lent in Rome, then says this about the Holy Father's new book:

Along with some classic studies of the liturgy, one new book has been an invaluable companion on this year's station church walk: Pope Benedict XVI's recently published study, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection (Ignatius Press). Father Raymond de Souza has written that this second volume of the Pope's projected three-volume masterwork on Jesus firmly establishes Joseph Ratzinger as the most learned man in the world. It's a title the Holy Father would doubtless dismiss with his usual shy smile. A close reading of the book suggests that Father de Souza was not exaggerating.

There is an astonishing amount of learning, distilled over a lifetime of reading and prayerful reflection, gathered here. Benedict XVI is fully in command of contemporary biblical scholarship. Rather than dissecting the biblical text, though, he deploys that critical historical knowledge in a richly theological and spiritual presentation of the Passion narratives that invites the reader into the mystery of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen—and does so in a way that is accessible to everyone.

For which he deserves the gratitude of the entire Christian world.

Read the entire piece, "Companions On the Road to Easter", on the First Things site.