Children of the Light know that human sexuality is not just about the pleasures of the flesh, but about the witness of holy lives. And holy lives need be neither dull nor lacking in pleasure. So we ask not, What and how much can I get away with and still hope to see the face of God? but, How can I feel confident that my deeds and my attitudes are in keeping with human dignity so that I can act and walk confidently as a son or daughter of the Most High God? What does the Church teach? If I do not immediately understand the wisdom of a position or teaching, shall I presume that the Church is wrong and should change to share my opinion? What if I find some teachings difficult either to understand or to put into practice? These are the questions that launch Fr. Graham s investigations into this topic. Those who seek only a good time will find this book out of step with that desire. Those who seek to participate as fully as possible in what it means to be both fully human and fully alive will be both cheered and challenged here.
In your quest for love, don't lose yourself along the way. While navigating through the dating scene, every woman begins to wonder: How do I know when a guy really loves me? Am I being too picky? Do I even deserve love? Is my relationship worth keeping? Is love worth the risk? Are any decent guys left? Single women often feel left alone to find answers to their deep questions about love and intimacy. Some hang out and hook up, hoping for love. Others are afraid even to hope. At some point, every woman needs reassurance that she and her standards are not the problem. In How to Find Your Soulmate Without Losing Your Soul, you'll discover twenty-one strategies to help you raise the bar, instead of sitting at it, waiting around for Mr. Wonderful.
The notion of friendship is under broad review. A highly mobile and increasingly busy society--rootless, some might argue--means that most of our relationships can't depend solely on face-to-face contact to flourish. The increasing prominence of the virtual landscape--where the language of friendship has been co-opted to describe relationships ranging from intimate to meaningless--requires that we become fluent in ever-expanding relational technologies. It's never been easy to be a friend, but it seems to be getting tougher by the nanosecond. In Friending, Lynne Baab collects the insights, hopes and regrets of people from across the spectrum of age and life circumstance and syncs them with the wisdom of the Bible. Using Colossians 3 and 1 Corinthians 13 as touchpoints, Lynne shows us how we can celebrate and strengthen our relational ties while continuing to practice the timeless discipline of friending in our time.
Explains how the biblical gift of "the blessing" is the key to one's self-worth and emotional well-being.
Every human needs the gift of "the blessing"-the unconditional love and approval that comes from a healthy relationship with one's parents. In this update to the best-selling classic The Blessing, coauthors John Trent and Gary Smalley offer a fresh perspective on this life-changing gift with solid, practical advice on how to be a blessing as well as how to insure that your parents, spouse, and children all feel the security of family approval.
The Blessing powerfully communicates biblical truths on how to instill self-worth and emotional well-being into others based on these five essential elements:
Meaningful touch
A spoken message
Attaching high value
Picturing a special future
An active commitment
No matter the age, the approval of our parents affects how we view ourselves and how we relate to others. So what if we've missed it? The final chapters explain what happens to children who do and how they can learn to live apart from the blessing.
"Finding a man is just like finding a parking spot in New York CIty. It can be hard and take a while, but you can do it."--from Chapter One
A savvy veteran of the Christian dating scene, Amy Bonaccorso offers hard-won advice that will help you get real, get practical, and get married. Forget about Prince Charming--he doesn't exist--but plenty of good men are waiting for a woman like you to throw away the checklist of idealized mate material and settle down with a real man.
"The book that young Catholic women have been waiting for! As fun as it is informative.--Jennifer Fulwiler, founder of the Conversion Diary blog
Amy Bonaccorso converted to Catholicism in college and overcame many dating disappointments before she found her husband, Attilio. Now, she shares her lessons learned with singles so they can take charge of their lives and expertly navigate the dating scene. Amy resides in the Washington, D.C., area and is an accomplished communications specialist with the U.S. government.
"I decided to put the theology of the body to a thirty day test. If this teaching really was as revolutionary as I suspected, then it would have to change me."
The test couldn t have been more practical: Marcel LeJeune would wash the dishes every day for a month without complaint, a chore he hated and did his best to dodge. The spiritual impact of the experience changed his life as well as his marriage and led him to discover others whose lives had also been transformed by Pope John Paul II s teaching. Each of the stories in this book will help you hear the same call to live out the gift of love in your own life, in your own way. Discover the Theology of the Body your life will never be the same.
The zenith of John Paul II’s thought on the human person, marriage, and the family is found in his “theology of the body.” For the first time, William E. May provides a comprehensive yet readable overview of this work in the context of several other key writings of Karol Wojtyla/John Paul II—including Love and Responsibility, Familiaris Consortio, and his Apostolic Letters, Mulieris Dignitatem and Letter to Families—providing rich insights into the development of the theology of the body.
* Takes a closer look at the thought of John Paul II in order to get a clear and comprehensive idea of the creation of his groundbreaking work * May employs Dr. Michael Waldstein’s latest and complete translation of theology of the body: Man and Woman He Created Them * An accessible path through the theology of the body without reading the full text.
In the 20th Century three social revolutions—the industrial, sexual and technological revolutions—challenged the religious convictions of many. John Paul II’s teaching on the theology of the body was his response to the resulting societal shifts.
In this volume, Fr. Bransfield has done what no other author has: he explores John Paul’s response to the challenges raised by these revolutions. In this context Bransfield then explores how TOB leads us to live the fullness of the Christian life.
* Ideal for readers interested in Theology of the Body * Accessible and readable exploration of John Paul II’s writings * Points out how an understanding of the theology of the body leads to life in the Spirit * Reflections on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the virtues and the beatitudes
Sex Au Naturel: What It Is and Why It s Good For Your Marriage by radio host Patrick Coffin is a bracing ride across the landscape of the Catholic sexual ethic. If you re looking for intellectual ammo with which to defend and explain the teaching of Humanae Vitae, or if you reject it altogether, you ll agree that Coffin approaches the topic from a wide array of new and persuasive angles. With humor and enthusiasm and a total absence of moralizing you'll learn:
Why Paul VI s landmark 1968 encyclical was widely rejected a generation ago and why it s gaining new respectability now
Where exactly the Bible teaches against birth control
The differences between contraception and natural family planning (hint: they re more profound than you think)
The meaning of the natural law and how it applies to birth control
How the dogma of the Blessed Trinity implicit condemns birth control
That every single Protestant denomination rejected birth control until 1930
Why the myth of overpopulation is used against the Church, and how to answer it
How faithful adherence to the teaching of Humanae Vitae is causally related to marital happiness and longevity
Why it s not too late to start over, even if you ve been sterilized
How to rely on the ever-present grace of God rather than your own strength in faithfully following this challenging, life-giving aspect of Christian discipleship
