This slim is a collection of questions asked of the Pope during various public meetings, along with the Pope’s off-the-cuff answers. The questioners range from small children just making their First Communion to youths preparing for World Youth Day to diocesan priests (by far the largest group). The answers are to the point, suited to the audience, and (as always with this Pope) loving, well-stated, gentle, and insightful. My favorite moment involves a priest who, as a seminarian, was gently chided by his spiritual director for loving football (soccer) more than Eucharistic Adoration. The Pope’s answer to the priest’s question includes the following:

I would therefore be against having to choose between either playing football or studying Sacred Scripture…. Let us do both these things!

He goes on to say,

…we cannot always live in exalted meditation; perhaps a saint on the last step of his earthly pilgrimage could reach this point, but we normally live with our feet on the ground and our eyes turned toward heaven. Both these things are given to us by the Lord and therefore loving human things, loving the beauties of this earth, is not only very human but also very Christian and truly Catholic.

Recommended.