Pocket Gospels and Acts of the Apostles

by Anonymous, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Carry the Pocket Gospels and Acts of the Apostles with you, and keep the Word of God as your constant guide and inspiration! in April, Pope Francis handed out thousands of pocket-sized copies of the Gospels and Acts. He asked the faithful to read a passage every day, saying, "This is the word of Jesus!" This small pocket-sized book, with a durable Kivar cover, has the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles with a beautiful Italian fresco on the cover just like the Pope's! Take it with you and read it anytime you have a few minutes during the day. On the bus! Waiting for an appointment! Anytime!

516 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2014

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:

* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author

Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.

See also: Anonymous

Reviews

[Scott Nvenue · Rating 5 out of 5]

A couple years ago, Pope Francis said that we should read the Gospel everyday and that we should carry the gospel in our pockets. (I'm paraphrasing there.) In response to that, I know of a few publishers who put out pocket sized editions of the Gospels. This book is one of those. In addition to the Gospels, it also contains the book of Acts.

I have read the whole Bible more than once, and I still found this little book to be intense. The Gospels are the heart of the Christian religion, so this book gives you the most important and most inspiring parts of the Bible. All of the stories by and about Jesus are here. If you are Christian, this book is one fundamental story after another. It just about overloads your emotions. If you are not Christian but are interested in learning about the Faith, this book will give you the foundations. If you are a skeptic, I dare you to read this.

I have two minor criticisms. First, this edition uses the New American Bible as its source. This is the official American Catholic translation, but it is not the most poetic. I have read that this is a very accurate translation, but a lot of the beauty of the language has been lost. Many parts of the King James version are much more inspirational.

Second, this book also has a lot of footnotes and commentary, but unfortunately they are placed at the end of each Gospel book. So, to use them, you have to keep flipping from scripture passages to the footnotes section. This can be disruptive to the flow of your reading and meditation.

Overall, I am very glad I bought and read his book. I will carry it with me often, and I recommend it to any person seriously interested in Jesus.