Crossing the Threshold of Hope

by Pope John Paul II

Book Overview

Fifteen years into his Papacy, and on the eve of the third millennium, Pope John Paul II goes to the heart of his personal beliefs and speaks with passion about the existence of God; about pain,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679440585
• Release Date: October 1994
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 1.0" x 4.7"

Customer Reviews

Lo mas cercano a una conversacion con el Papa

Este libro es lo mas cercano a haber tenido una conversacion con el Papa. El libro esta escrito por el Papa mismo, contestando preguntas hechas por un reportero con el cual no hubo tiempo de entrevistarse. Es un libro que simplemente no tengo palabras para describir; solo puedo decir, que contesta muchas de las preguntas que hubieras querido hacerle personalmente.

Thank God (which one?)

Jake Hollenberg M.D. had just finished examining me in his office (two days before he died `in harness' at age 86) and he asked me about whether the kidney stones he'd diagnosed years ago had shown any signs of return. "No, thank God!" I replied. Jake, a devout Jew -- who was personal physician and also close friend to three Catholic Archbishops of Winnipeg -- said, with a twinkle in his eye, "And what God are you thanking?" I thought of Jake today when I read again about the late Pope's best friend from childhood, a Jew named "Jerzy" who stands out in this book like a beacon to understanding between the three great religions who share the same Patriarchs, Moses and the Prophets. "A few years ago," John Paul II writes (on page 97) "Jerzy came to me to say that the place where the synagogue (in their home town of Wadowice) had been destroyed by the Germans, no longer exists." The pope says Jerzy informed him that "the place where the synagogue had stood `should be honored with a special commemorative plaque.' And . . . at that moment we both felt a deep emotion. We recalled faces of people we knew and cared for, and those Saturdays of our childhood and adolescence when the Jewish community gathered for prayer." The pope sent his friend back to their hometown with a letter supporting Jerzy's wish "as a sign of my solidarity and spiritual union" with Jerzy and his people. "That trip wasn't easy for Jerzy as he brought that letter to my fellow citizens in Wadowice. All the members of his family who had remained in that small town had died at Auschwitz. His visit for the unveiling of the plaque in commemoration of the local synagogue was his first in 50 years. . . . to this day, Auschwitz does not cease to admonish, reminding us that anti-Semitism is a great sin against humanity, (and) that all racial hatred inevitably leads to the trampling of human dignity." --- In today's Winnipeg Free Press newspaper a Canadian Muslim, Aftab Sabir of Calgary quotes from this book. After citing (in the book, page 93) seemingly irreconcilable differences with Islam, John Paul II is quoted as saying, "Nevertheless, the religiosity of Muslims deserves respect. It is impossible not to admire, for example, their fidelity to prayer. The image of believers in Allah who, almost without caring about time or place, fall to their knees and immerse themselves in prayer remains a model for all those who invoke the true God, in particular for those Christians who, having deserted their magnficent Cathedrals, pray only a little or not at all. On the opposite page from this op-ed piece, in today's lead editorial the Winnipeg newspaper reflects on "The Power of Deep Conviction" - that John Paul's "values" were more powerful that those of secular culture - money and power. "Popular artists" mused the paper, "also talk about intangible values but you never saw such a crowd turn out for John Lennon at his death or for Frank Sinatra at his. It's not enough to talk about

A simple, yet inspiring read

Crossing the Threshold is a very interesting treatise from the Holy See written in the form of an interview, where the Pope explains his views of various Christian beliefs - including his belief in God, his views of non-Christian and non-Catholic faiths, and Mariology. His views appear to negate the claims put forth by anti-Catholics and tend to look to the new millennium with hope instead of fear.An important message in this book is reiterated strongly by JPII's pontificate: Be not afraid. Great advice from probably the greatest Pope we've had in a long time.

How do you rate a pope?

First, I'm not Catholic, but I found this book to be beautifully written and articulate. In putting together a book I was working on for Putnam, I wanted to get the pope's understanding of end-time prophecies. This was the right book, but I got much more than that. One of the poignant parts of the book was the pope's explanation for all the divisions in the Church. First, he acknowledges that many of these divisions came about because of the sins of Christians against one another. (Though he doesn't say on which side, but presumeably on all sides.) The pope is surprisingly affirmative of the different denominations that have split off from Catholicism. He asks, "Could it not be that these divisions have also been a path continually leading the Church to discover the untold wealth contained in Christ's Gospel. . . ? Perhaps all this wealth would not have come to light otherwise. . . . It is necessary for humanity to achieve unity through plurality. . . ."I recommend the book to any non-Catholic who wants to get a more accurate perspective of what the Roman Catholic Church believes at its heart.

cruzando el umbral de la esperanza.

Soy profesor de Nuevo Casas Grandes Chihuahua y quiero saber que precio darían si comprara cerca de 50 libros y que facilidades darían para el pago espero pronto su respuesta. Este es un libro que vale oro, pero que debe ser accesible a todos para adquirirlo