Catholic Review of: The Apostles

I highly recommend The Apostles by Pope Benedict XVI. It was not written as a book; rather it is a compilation of some General Audiences of the Pope--speeches he made to the general faithful for the purposes of instruction. The Apostles begins with a chapter about the origins of the Church and it in the Holy Father discusses the apostolic origins of the Church and quotes and references scripture to support his points. He has chapters about communion, both meaning the Eucharist and meaning the community and relates it to both scripture and Tradition. The Pope also deals with Apostolic Succession, saying about it "It is Christ who reaches us: in the words of the Apostles and of their successors, it is he who speaks to us; through their hands it is he who acts...."

The second part of the book devotes a chapter to each of the twelve apostles (except Simon and Jude who share a chapter and Judas and Matthias who share another). The chapter reviews how each appears in scripture (with references)and, if there is noted tradition about the apostle, that is referenced too. For example we learn the traditional belief that Peter was crucified upside down, and that Thomas was a missionary to India. The Pope also reviews what we can learn from each apostle. For example, in discussing Nathanael, Pope Benedict XVI said "Nathanael's reaction suggests another thought to us: in our relationship with Jesus, we must not be satisfied with words alone....we ourselves must then be personally involved in a close and deep relationship with Jesus...."  As someone who really didn't know much about any of the apostle except Peter, John, and Thomas, I enjoyed getting a run-down on the lesser-knowns. Jesus had two apostles named James, and this book differentiates between them, and explains that while one was referred to as Jesus' brother in scripture, per Semetic custom, he was a kinsman. The Pope references the scripture naming the parents of each James.

This is a highly readable text which will teach most people something.