"God [is] infinitely perfect and blessed in himself." These are the first words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the first words of this series of retreat meditations preached by Archbishop Christoph Schnborn to Pope John Paul II and the papal household during a five day Lenten retreat. Basing his conferences on the Catechism (of which he was the general editor) and on sacred scripture, Archbishop Schnborn seeks to lead us to a deeper union with Christ by helping us to understand and love the Church, his bride. To love the Church, which the Catechism calls "a living communion with Jesus Christ", we must see her with the eyes of Jesus, who "loved the Church and gave himself up for her."

As he draws us into a deeper understanding of the Church, Schnborn helps us contemplate her beginning, her place, her path and her final goal. Who she is and where the deepest wellsprings of her being lie are the theme of his meditations. He also illustrates many points by using the thoughts of the new doctor of the Church, St. Thrse of Lisieux. She found her vocation to be "love in the heart of the Church" and can offer us a renewed and vital vision of the Church. Archbishop Schnborn concludes his introduction to this retreat with the same first paragraph of the Catechism he opened with, "For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church."

"It is an awesome task to preach a retreat in the presence of the Pope. Archbishop Schnborn does it successfully by presenting the methods of St. Ignatius Loyola's famous retreat in a fresh way using the Catechism, the Bible, and St. Thrse of Lisieux."
- Fr. Ken Baker, S.J.
Editor, Homiletic and Pastoral Review

Christoph Cardinal Schnborn is the Archbishop of Vienna, Austria. He was the general editor of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and is the author of several other books including The Mystery of the Incarnation, God's Human Face and Living the Catechism of the Catholic Church.