Couples in Love: Straight Talk on Dating, Respect, Commitment, Marriage, and Sexuality [Paperback]

John R. Waiss (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2003

This resource for young couples, parents, and teachers features dialogues between a young couple and a Catholic priest and addresses a wide range of topics including dating, building a relationship, deciding on a vocation, and the issues associated with traditional sexual ethics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: The Crossroad Publishing Company (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824521307
• ISBN-13: 978-0824521301
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,085,613 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid, Clear and Engaging, November 18, 2004

By 

Craig K. Galer (Michigan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Couples in Love: Straight Talk on Dating, Respect, Commitment, Marriage, and Sexuality (Paperback)

Fr. John Waiss' "Couples in Love" is a solid, clear presentation of Catholic teaching on sexuality and related topics. Fr. Waiss grounds his presentation in John Paul II's personalist philosophy, focusing on the intrinsic meaning of sexuality as created by God, which is much more helpful than enumerating lists of "dos and don'ts".

The dialogue format gives the book an engaging, easy-going feel, and yet Waiss is completely faithful to what the church has taught "always, everywhere, and by all". Waiss' great strength is to present Church teaching positively. He calls on the reader's love of God, and emphasizes the abundant life to be had by living in correspondence to God's design for human sexuality. As I read the book, I was inspired.

The dialogues are composites drawn from Fr. Waiss' pastoral experience, so they have an "authentic" feel to them, although at times "Margie" and "Sam" seem to accept "Fr. JP's" input a bit easier than I would expect in "real life" (I am sure this is mainly due to space considerations, and the fact that in "real life", there would be a lot more repetition and restatement than would be tolerable in a book).

While the main focus of the book is in the first three-quarters, focusing on sexuality, marriage, and dating, the final section on vocation (and the discernment thereof) presents valuable insights that don't get much "airplay" these days. Thanks to Fr. Waiss for including them.

This is a solid book, and I highly recommend it for teens or twenty-somethings dating and/or thinking of marriage, their parents and youth ministers, and to anyone who wants to clearly and faithfully understand what the Church teaches us about our sexuality.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Primer on Marriage and Sexuality for Everyone, June 17, 2004

By 

"jeisenbrand" (La Canada Flintridge, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Couples in Love: Straight Talk on Dating, Respect, Commitment, Marriage, and Sexuality (Paperback)

I highly recommend this book for everyone! This book is presented in a casual conversational style, yet through these discourses can be found some key insights for understanding our human sexuality and the institution or sacrament of marriage. Face it: today's media and culture present a complicated, confusing, and frankly immoral picture of sexual relationships. Few of us truly understand how to "love" in a human or Godly way. Our culture confuses sex with love. This book simply and beautifully helps us to see what truly loving relationships can and should be. We are lifted to a higher emotional, physical and spiritual level. Through eavesdropping in on these sincere conversations, we get a glimpse of what is possible, what each of us can attain, and what each of us rightfully deserves! What a wonderful world this would be if all marriages lived the simple truths that Fr. Waiss illuminates.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Waiss Rocks, August 11, 2004

By 

James F. Kane (Washington, D. C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Couples in Love: Straight Talk on Dating, Respect, Commitment, Marriage, and Sexuality (Paperback)

Waiss makes controversial statements -- statements that will make you say, "How could he believe that?" And then he goes on to show why, and by the end, you say, "Why didn't I believe that before?"

Also, it's well formatted, so you can read what you want to read and skip what you don't. But there's not much you'll want to skip. And he answers most questions that people ask.