So, I spent most of late last week and the weekend working on this study guide for The Apostles, finishing up today with suggestions for opening and closing prayers for each of the twelve sessions.

The study guide will be available free, online at the OSV site – obviously it’s not there yet, since I just turned it in. It will also be printed and bundled up, probably in packs of 10 or 20, for sale. I’ll let you know when that hits.

If you read the talks as the Pope gave them last year and earlier this year, you know that it’s typical Benedict: great content with meaningful and insightful application to the lives of Christians and the Church. An adult ed session centered on this book can bring it all in: content centered on Christ, his mission, his continuing presence on earth in the Church, the identity and unique mission of the apostles, solid points in which participants will encounter the Pope as teacher – as well as wonderful bits that might inspire thoughtful discussion about living all this out in the reality of today. Some – just a few –  quotes I’ve pulled:

Communion’ is truly the Good News, the remedy given to us by the Lord to fight the loneliness that threatens everyone today, the precious gift that makes us feel welcomed and beloved by God, in the unity of his People gathered in the name of the Trinity; it is the light that makes the Church shine forth like a beacon raised among the peoples.

Peter could not yet imagine that one day he would arrive in Rome and that here he would be a ‘fisher of men’ for the Lord. He accepted this surprising call, he let himself be involved in this great adventure; he was generous; he recognized his limits but believed in the one who was calling him and followed the dream of his heart. He said ‘yes,’ a courageous and generous ‘yes,’ and became a disciple of Jesus.

The Apostle Andrew, therefore, teaches us to follow Jesus with promptness, to speak enthusiastically about him to those we meet, and especially, to cultivate a relationship of true familiarity with him, acutely aware that in him alone can we find the ultimate meaning of our life and death

Closeness, familiarity and habit make us discover the true identity of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Philip reminds us precisely of this. And thus he invites us to ‘come’ and ‘see,’ that is, to enter into contact by listening, responding and communion of life with Jesus, day by day.

It was people who interested him, not social classes or labels! And the best thing is that in the group of his followers, despite their differences, they all lived side by side, overcoming imaginable difficulties; indeed, what bound them together was Jesus himself, in whom they all found themselves united with one another. (This is by way of comparing the backgrounds of Matthew/Levi and Simon)

…the possibilities to pervert the human heart are truly many. The only way to prevent it consists in not cultivating an individualistic, autonomous vision of things, but on the contrary, by putting oneself always on the side of Jesus, assuming his point of view. We must daily seek to build full communion with him.

Hence there are also disputes, disagreements and controversies among saints. And I find this very comforting, because we see that the saints have not "fallen from Heaven". They are people like us, who also have complicated problems. Holiness does not consist in never having erred or sinned. Holiness increases the capacity for conversion, for repentance, for willingness to start again and, especially for reconciliation and forgiveness…Consequently, it is not the fact that we have never erred but our capacity for reconciliation and forgiveness which makes us saints. And we can all learn this way of holiness

A further lesson we cannot neglect to draw from their example: every home can transform itself in a little church. Not only in the sense that in them must reign the typical Christian love made of altruism and of reciprocal care, but still more in the sense that the whole of family life, based on faith, is called to revolve around the singular lordship of Jesus Christ.

Therefore, through the apostolic ministry it is Christ himself who reaches those who are called to the faith. The distance of the centuries is overcome and the Risen One offers himself alive and active for our sake, in the Church and in the world today. This is our great joy. In the living river of Tradition , Christ is not 2,000 years away but is really present among us and gives us the Truth, he gives us the light that makes us live and find the way towards the future.

12 sessions (there are more chapters than that, of course, but to help out parish planners, we combined chapters. They can easily be subdivided and expanded.), questions for study, questions for reflection, a "how to effectively lead an adult education discussion," and opening and closing prayer suggestions. As I said, when it’s online, I’ll let you know.

The Amazon link is to the right, and you can buy it from the fine online Catholic bookstore Aquinas and More here. Or order in bulk through your local Catholic bookstore and get your parish discount!