It honestly kind of feels like we just started the 2018 Catholic Reading Challenge. Is it just me?? How is it the middle of November?! I am continuing to share what I am reading for the challenge. I’m a little behind schedule on reporting back to you…so onward to the next pick…

Category: “a book about a social or moral teaching of the Church”

My Pick: Love and Responsibility by Karol Wojtyla (St. John Paul II)

One of my reading strategies for this year’s challenge has been to “shop from my shelves.” There are numerous books on my physical and digital walls that have yet to be cracked; so it has been a fun added challenge to find unread books that fit this year’s categories.

My husband was reading Love and Responsibility earlier this year for a class in his Philosophy M.A. program, and our conversations pulled me in. I will go ahead and say that this book falls into “heavier” reading, at least I think the average person would say so. It’s more of an in-depth look a the framework for the Church’s teaching on sexual ethics, rather than a summary/easy-read text. I don’t say that to dissuade you from reading it — because it is profound — I just want you to know what you are getting into. It’s well worth your time.

Originally published in Polish in 1960, St. John Paul II wrote this back before his papacy, as Karol Wojtyla. There is a lot here, and I’m not going to summarize it all. I will just focus on what is most primary and why you should read it. He’s unpacking the philosophical and theological foundation for the Catholic understanding of sexual love’s role, which is very much contrary to mainstream society’s view of sexuality.  Continue reading →