US$24.00 RELIGION / Biblical Meditations / New Testament RELIGION / Christianity / Catholic RELIGION / Spirituality THE GOSPEL OF LUKE A Spiritual and Pastoral Reading Pope Francis “What Francis highlights so powerfully in his preaching on this Gospel is the theme, so dear to Luke, of God’s mercy, God’s indefatigable quest for the lost, God’s unmerited and even rejected welcome of the strayed and the stubborn, and, above all, God’s endless tenderness in embracing the broken, the wounded, the rebellious, the ignorant, the resistant.” —From the Foreword by Sandra M. Schneiders, IHM “It is no surprise to find Pope Francis a truly authentic interpreter of Luke’s Gospel. From the first moments of his pontificate the Pope has always made first for the poor, the marginalized, the burdened—exactly the direction in which Jesus points us in this Gospel. Every page in this collection displays Francis’s outstanding ability to find a fresh image, coin a new metaphor to bring the ancient message alive for today.” — Brendan Byrne, SJ, author, The Hospitality of God: A Reading of Luke’s Gospel “Pope Francis proclaims the message of Jesus, as it has been transmitted to us through the Gospel of Luke. Jesus reaches out to those in need, and even in sin. The words and actions of Pope Francis continue that message. The Jesus of Luke’s Gospel is not only gentle but forgiving. Pope Francis’s reflections rightly keep asking: ‘Am I on the slippery path from sin to corruption from which there is no return?’ He challenges us with the gospel message of responsible loving. It does not come cheaply.” —Francis J. Moloney, SDB, Catholic Theological College, Melbourne, Australia Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on December 17, 1936, is the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church, having been elected Bishop of Rome and absolute Sovereign of Vatican City. Throughout his life, both as an individual and as a religious leader, Pope Francis has been noted for his humility, his concern for the poor, and his commitment to dialogue as a way to build bridges between people of all backgrounds, beliefs, and faiths. ISBN 978-1-62698-432-5 Cover design: Ponie Sheehan Cover art: [to come] ORBIS BOOKS LOGO [** Please add to the FRONT COVER: “Foreword by Sandra M. Schneiders, IHM”]