Customer Reviews

The Splendor of Love

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George Weigel has described Theology of the Body as "one of the boldest reconfigurations of Catholic theology in centuries." He says it is a "kind of theological time bomb set to go off with dramatic consequences... perhaps in the 21st century."

Weigel believes that it has barely begun to "shape the Church's theology, preaching, and religious education" but when it does "it will compel a dramatic development of thinking about virtually every major theme in the Creed

Fr. Schu's work is an essential summary and study guide of the work of John Paul II on Theology of the Body. It clearly shows that God's plan for marriage and family does not include contraception or sterilization.

Marriage and the "marriage embrace" is all about generosity and total self-giving. The contraceptive mentality is selfish and utilitarian in nature.

Fr. Shu sums it up "Nothing less than the Christian heritage of our dignity as persons is on the line in the silent drama of contraception. Will we view others and ourselves as utterly unique beings, open to the trancendent nature of the divine? Or will we begin to consider persons as nothing more than material individuals of the human species, members who possess their own bodies as mere objects which can be manipulated at will?

A workbook is also available for small group study.

This book is great for group studies of marriage as a part of marriage enrichment. I hope many parishes implement discussion forums based upon it!

If you're already convinced that John Paul II's Theology of the Body is a wonderful and brilliant thing and that birth control is the cause of most of society's problems, this book will make you feel good about those beliefs.

As an orthodox Catholic who would really like to understand why birth control is morally wrong, I find this book a tiresome and somewhat smug repetition of not-very-convincing arguments.