Just a reminder: my book Who is Jesus Christ? Unlocking the Mystery in the Gospel of Matthew is now available for pre-order. The current price at Amazon is $10.08, or you can buy a signed copy from my website for $12+$3 shipping. And if you want free shipping from Amazon, just buy three copies and give two to family and friends!

Here is what Fr. Benedict Groeschel had to say about the book:

“Who is Jesus Christ? Unlocking the Mystery in the Gospel of Matthew is a very serious and well-thought-out attempt to teach us once again just who is being proclaimed in the Gospel of Saint Matthew. It is a slow, steady journey through this Gospel, a journey that pauses over and over again to examine in a thoughtful and prayerful way the names and titles given to our Lord in this Gospel… I hope that in the years to come [Sammons] will follow this book up with later volumes on the other evangelists. I also hope that we will see more and more books like this, intelligent, erudite, yet accessible, on our Divine Savior and his life and personality.”

And for those who are wondering, I do plan to make this a series; in fact, I am currently writing the volume on the Gospel of John. Talk about some power-packed titles for Jesus!

More details about the book can be found here. Orders will ship in September.

A few updates regarding my book, Who is Jesus Christ? Unlocking the Mystery in the Gospel of Matthew:

First, I am now taking pre-orders for signed copies on my website via Paypal. The cover price for the book is $14.95, but I’m making it available at a discounted price of $12. Recently, Amazon dropped their price to $10.17, so you can also pre-order it there. If you order it now, I will ship it to you as soon as I receive copies, which should be in early September.

Also, I recently received the Foreword to the book, written by Fr. Benedict Groeschel. I was very humbled by the kind words he wrote. A few excerpts:

As I read Who Is Jesus Christ? Unlocking the Mystery in the Gospel of Matthew, it seemed to me that I was in the presence of someone who was hard at work on the creation of a beautiful mosaic or an exquisite tapestry.  In this book, Eric Sammons presents us with a fascinating and truthful picture of our Lord Jesus Christ.  It is a picture he fashions for us step by slow step from material found primarily in the Gospel of Saint Matthew but with fitting additions taken from other parts of Holy Scripture, both the Old and New Testaments, and from many writers in the Catholic tradition, as well…

I suggest that no one read this book quickly, for although it is not lengthy, it contains a great deal of information as well as many opportunities for prayer and meditation…Working through Sammons’s book is like taking a course by a well informed and highly intelligent teacher.  At the same time it is like making a retreat led by a prayerful and spiritual retreat master…

Sammons’s work is a very serious and well-thought-out attempt to teach us once again just who is being proclaimed in the Gospel of Saint Matthew. It is a slow, steady  journey through this Gospel, a journey that pauses over and over again to examine in a thoughtful and prayerful way the names and titles given to our Lord in this Gospel.  In each name we find something significant.  Every title, we learn, offers us a slightly different way to look at Christ, a new prism through which to see him. What we glean from each name or title contributes to the total picture of our Savior, a picture that gradually becomes clearer and clearer until it is luminous…

I hope that in the years to come [Sammons] will follow this book up with later volumes on the other evangelists.  I also hope that we will see more and more books like this, intelligent, erudite, yet accessible, on our Divine Savior and his life and personality.

I was also quite honored to have Archbishop Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington, D.C., recommend my book:

Drawing on his own faith journey and his personal experience, Eric Sammons demonstrates how the lived Word of God — reflected in the lives and writings of the saints and prayers of the Church can help us to better know Jesus and to strive to form our daily lives into his likeness. Who Is Jesus Christ? is a work of devotion and readers should find it both inspiring and encouraging.

Needless to say, I’m getting more and more excited as we get closer to the publication date!

I just discovered that my book is now available for pre-order on Amazon! I’ll be selling signed copies online when it comes out in September, but if you just can’t wait to make the order, go to Amazon today!

One of the unheralded aspects of Pope Benedict’s papacy (as well as his legacy before becoming pope) is his emphasis on Scripture. Yet those who follow him closely have seen how much he desires to bring Scripture to the forefront of Catholic theology as well as daily Catholic life. His committment to making the inspired Word of God a central focus of our Faith and a sure means of drawing closer to the incarnate Word of God was a main inspiration for my book Who is Jesus Christ? Unlocking the Mystery in the Gospel of Matthew. And I am not the only one who has noticed this emphasis of our Holy Father. Scott Hahn writes,

As I write this, I’m looking at the cover of one of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s books, now reissued under his papal name. The book is titled God’s Word, and the cover shows a photograph of the Holy Father.

He’s slightly off-center because he’s holding up the book of the Gospels — covering himself, as it were, with the word of God.

For me, that cover is emblematic of his pontificate thus far. His hallmark is the centrality of the word of God. That’s where he has kept our focus — not on fads or scandals or the world’s alarms. Christ, the Word Incarnate, is the solution to every world crisis. Pope Benedict has invited us, insistently and consistently, to encounter Christ in the word inspired, the sacred Scriptures.

And he has done this through some very large labors.

In 2008 he summoned the world’s bishops to a Synod on “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.”

From that synod, a post-synodal apostolic exhortation on the Scriptures will soon be published — a major act of the Pope’s teaching office.

In 2007, he declared a Year of St. Paul, in which he dedicated himself and the Church to intensive study of the great apostle. But even before that, he had devoted his weekly audiences to close-up studies of the individual men and women of the New Testament. Afterward, he went on to the Church Fathers and the medieval teachers, considering them especially as biblical interpreters.

Meanwhile, he has spent every moment of his “spare time” writing his multivolume study Jesus of Nazareth.

These acts of Benedict’s papacy are certainly continuous with the labors of his pre-papal lifetime. It’s as if God’s grace has brought his life’s work as a theologian to a kind of completion, or perfection, with the gift of Petrine authority.

As a theologian, Joseph Ratzinger had proposed some astonishing and radical ways of looking at Scripture. He said “Catholic dogma … derives all its content from Scripture,” and “Dogma is by definition nothing other than an interpretation of Scripture.”

He taught that the “normative theologians” are not the tenured faculty at any Catholic institution, but rather “the authors of holy Scripture.”

One of the greatest gifts God has given the Church is the Holy Bible, and He wants us to use it to draw into a deeper relationship with His Son. Follow the Pope’s lead and spend some time today with the Sacred Scriptures.

One of the inspirations for my book “Who is Jesus Christ? Unlocking the Mystery in the Gospel of Matthew” (coming this September) is the Christology of Pope Benedict XVI. The depths in which the current pontiff has delved into the mystery of Christ is quite remarkable and has helped me in my own understanding of the person of Christ. His book “Jesus of Nazareth” introduced much of the world to his Christology, but he has been exploring the reality of the person of Jesus for decades.

Amy Welborn, author of numerous books and host of the popular “Charlotte was Both” blog, has just published a book entitled Come Meet Jesus: An Invitation from Pope Benedict XVI which explores the Pope’s Christology in some depth. I’m sure it will be very insightful. Click on the link of the book title to read more details from Amy.

I received an email today from my editor and he told me that Our Sunday Visitor had decided to change the title of my book (because it was being used in over 10 other books). I admit, my first thought was “No!” But after I saw the new title, I thought “Yes!”

Without further ado, it will be called:

Who Is Jesus Christ?
Unlocking the Mystery in the Gospel of Matthew

I am very pleased with this title because I think it succinctly encapsulates what I am trying to do with this book: help people to know Jesus better through the reading of Sacred Scripture. It also implies that fact that for many, the Bible is a mystery and help is often needed to understand it. Hopefully, come September, help will be on the way.

In my previous post, I listed the various saints, doctors, Fathers, and other Christians whose work I quote in “Who Do You Say That I Am?” As I mentioned in that post, I don’t want to invent any new interpretation or new doctrine; instead, I want to stand on the shoulders of the giants who have gone before us in the Faith.

But the greatest literary giants of Christianity of course are the authors of Scripture itself. These men were theologians of the first order, and unlike any other authors, their work was inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Bible is the primary source for theology and any Catholic work should be soaked in the Sacred Page. And this is true of any Scriptural study as well: you must use the Scriptures to understand the Scriptures. One must always recognize the context in which a biblical book was written – not only the cultural context, but the canonical context. By placing these books in one Bible, the Church tells us that they are all interrelated on a deep level. So if we want to understand what Matthew is saying about Jesus, we must look also to the other biblical books to see what they also say about Jesus.

With that in mind, here is a list of all the biblical books I quote, along with the number of times the book was quoted:

Old Testament

• Genesis (13)
• Exodus (5)
• Leviticus (1)
• Deuteronomy (1)
• 1 Samuel (3)
• 2 Samuel (3)
• 1 Kings (3)
• 2 Maccabees (1)
• Psalms (5)
• Proverbs (1)
• Song of Songs (1)
• Isaiah (7)
• Jeremiah (4)
• Ezekiel (2)
• Daniel (1)
• Hosea (2)
• Micah (1)
• Zechariah (1)
• Malachi (2)

New Testament

• Matthew (109)
• Luke (8)
• John (9)
• Acts (6)
• Romans (6)
• 1 Corinthians (11)
• 2 Corinthians (2)
• Galatians (4)
• Ephesians (2)
• Philippians (5)
• Colossians (5)
• Hebrews (1)
• James (1)
• 1 Peter (1)
• 2 Peter (1)
• 1 John (4)
• Revelation (4)

I’m happy I was able to include such a wide breath of biblical texts. The only omission that might stand out is that I didn’t quote the Gospel of Mark at all. This is mostly because whenever I had a text which was shared by both Matthew and Mark, I always chose Matthew, since that is the basis of the book. No slight was intended to Mark!

The moral of the story: if you want to understand Scripture, read Scripture!

When I was writing “Who Do You Say That I Am?” I was consciously trying not to say anything “new”. Too often in Scripture studies you find everyone trying to make a name for themselves by advocating some new theory or interpretation that no one has ever heard of before. This will make them stand out and, they hope, help them sell more books. In my view, if a Scripture interpretation is brand new, it is probably faulty. This is because for almost 2,000 years we have had saints, Fathers, doctors and scholars pouring over the words of Scripture – do we really have the arrogance to think that we have some new interpretation that no one has ever thought of?

This does not mean, of course, that old views cannot be said in new ways. I hope I have done this with “Who Do You Say That I Am?”. But always with the recognition that I am standing on the shoulders of those who came before me and that my interpretation of the Holy Scriptures is only an extension or restatement of what they have already taught the Church. Furthermore, I wanted to include the entire Tradition of the Church, not just one aspect of it; so saints from both the East and the West and throughout the centuries have been consulted.

With that in mind, I recently had to go through my manuscript and check all the references to make sure all were properly noted. While I did that, I kept track of the various people I quoted in my book, and I was pleased to see that I was able to include a broad spectrum of Christian voices from both the East and the West and throughout the centuries. Here is the list of people quoted in my book (the number following a name indicates multiple quotations):

• Aphrahat
• St. Augustine (4)
• St. Basil
• St. Bernard of Clairvaux
• Blessed Theophylact
• St. John Chrysostom (4)
• St. Clement of Alexandria (2)
• St. Cyprian
• St. Cyril of Alexandria (2)
• The Didache
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
• Divine Liturgy of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark
• Fyodor Doestoevsky
• Eusebius of Caesarea
• St. Gregory the Great (2)
• St. Ignatius of Antioch
• St. Jerome (3)
• St. John of Damascus
• St. John of Karpathos
• St. John of the Cross
• St. Justin Martyr (2)
• St. Maximus the Confessor
• Origen
• St. Polycarp
• Pope John Paul II
• Pope Pius XI
• Psalm of Solomon
• St. Teresa of Avila
• Theodore of Mopsuestia
• St. Thomas Aquinas

As I mentioned, I was very pleased with the results: I included the voices of a wide variety of Christians and hopefully their voices will allow readers to enter more deeply into the words of Scripture. This list does not, of course, include all the quotations from Scripture in the book, which numbers almost 500 different verses from throughout the Bible. I’ll try to make a list of the different Biblical books I quote as well and post that later.

In the technology world, everyone has been looking forward to Apple’s Tablet device. That wait will soon be over.

In the movie world, everyone has been wondering who will play Bilbo in The Hobbit. Perhaps now we know.

In the Catholic book world, everyone can’t wait for my the Pope’s book about Jesus. Looks like it will soon be released. (You’ll have to wait until September for mine).

One thing I don’t think the average Catholic (or non-Catholic) realizes is how steeped in the Bible are the teachings of Pope Benedict. I have been reading his works for over 15 years now, and one thing you recognize quickly is how biblical his theology is. Furthermore, his pontificate has been marked with numerous calls for laity and clergy to become more intimate with the Word of God. In fact, it has been his teachings that inspired me to write Who Do You Say That I Am?

Recently, Pope Benedict renewed this call when he asked all the faithful for a more prayerful and attentive reading of the Gospels, which are the heart of the Bible. The best way to do this is through Lectio Divina, in which we mediate slowly and carefully on the text in silence. The heart of Lectio Divina is letting the Holy Spirit guide you, as the Pope says, “A purely theoretical, profane reading is not enough in order to reach the heart of sacred Scripture. One must read it in the spirit in which it was written and created.” I encourage everyone to spend at least some time every day – even five minutes – practicing this ancient form of biblical reading.

If you are more interested in the Pope’s biblical theology, be sure to read Scott Hahn’s book Covenant and Communion: The Biblical Theology of Pope Benedict XVI. I haven’t read it yet, but I have heard great things about it and I hope to read it soon (if anyone is feeling generous, it’s on my Amazon wish list, and I wouldn’t turn it down as a gift. ).

When writing Who Do You Say That I Am? Encountering Christ in the Gospel of Matthew, I was consciously not trying to write anything “new”; instead, I firmly believe that any interpretation of Scripture must be grounded in our Tradition and consistent with the teachings of the Church. After all, the same Spirit that inspired the Bible also has guided the Church through the centuries.

Pope Benedict made exactly this point recently to the Pontifical Biblical Institute:

A number of people recently have asked me about the status of my book, Who Do You Say That I Am? Encountering Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. I turned in the completed manuscript to Our Sunday Visitor back in June, but the book will not be published until September 2010. Why the delay? Our Sunday Visitor publishes a lot of books, and their schedule is to release their books twice a year: in the Spring and in the Fall. Their Spring line-up was already set by the time I turned in my book, so I was put in the Fall 2010 lineup.

Soon my editor will be going through the manuscript and I’m sure giving me a thousand ways to improve it. Right now I am collecting endorsements for the book (BTW, if you are a big muckity-muck Catholic and want to endorse the 2nd-best Catholic book about Jesus in 2010 [Pope Benedict's 2nd volume of "Jesus of Nazareth" being the best of course - but I doubt he'll ask anyone to endorse his book], feel free to contact me!).

So now you know!

I am so seriously excited:

Pope to publish 2nd part of Jesus of Nazareth in spring

I find it quite appropriate that my book and the pope’s will come out in the same year, as the first part of “Jesus of Nazareth” was one of the main inspirations for writing my own book about Jesus.

So if you can only buy one book about Jesus next year, then buy “Jesus of Nazareth, Part II”. But if you can buy two books about Jesus in 2010, buy the Pope’s book as well as “Who Do You Say That I Am?” by your blog host (coming in September 2010). After all, what is more important than knowing Jesus better?

Mark Shea has a nice article over at Catholic Exchange about Pope Benedict’s emphasis on fostering our relationship with Christ over simply following rules (“Benedict is About Relationship with Christ, Not Rules“).

Many people miss this aspect of B16′s pontificate, but it has been an inspiration for my writing Who Do You Say That I Am? My main goal for this book is that Catholics (and all Christians) will use it to know Jesus better and thus develop a deeper relationship with him. Often Catholics cringe when they hear Evangelicals talking about a “personal relationship with Christ,” but the fact is that they are right to emphasize it. Where they err is that they reject many of the gifts Christ has given us to foster that relationship – the Eucharist, the Blessed Mother, even periphery items like Canon Law are intended to deepen that relationship.

There is no dichotomy between Christ and the Church; in fact, the Church is our means in which we draw closer to Christ. As Mark mentions in the article, the elites of this world look at the Church as just another political entity and the rules the Church enforces are just ways to keep the faithful in line. But if you really listen to Pope Benedict’s words, you will see that his whole ministry is an effort to bring us each closer to our Lord Jesus Christ.

I just sent off the complete manuscript for Who Do You Say That I Am? Meeting Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew to my editor at Our Sunday Visitor! The book will not be published until 2010, but this was a major milestone for me. Needless to say, I’m pumped.