The Catholic Church on Marital Intercourse traces the development of the Church's theology of marital sexuality from New Testament times to the present day. The early ecclesial leaders promoted a theology of sexuality based on Stoicism's biological perception that sexual activity was solely for the purpose of reproduction. Only in the early twentieth century did a few theologians begin to move beyond discussing 'the purposes of marital intercourse' to discussing the meaning that the marital act might have for the spouses themselves. With the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), a new and positive view of marital sexuality emerged recognizing the Pauline view that the couple's marital acts express their love for each other along the lines of Christ's love for his church (Ephesians 5). In sum, The Catholic Church on Marital Intercourse treats the way in which the Catholic Church has moved away from an attitude of conditional acceptance of marital intercourse on the basis of its utility to recognition that the dynamics of sexual union are both good and holy, not only because that is the way children are conceived, but also because the marital act enhances the love of husband and wife for each other.

A new critical translation of Pope John Paul II's talks on the Theology of the Body by the internationally renowned biblical scholar Michael Waldstein. With meticulous scholarship and profound insight, Waldstein presents John Paul II's magnificent vision of the human person. Includes a preface by Cardinal Schönborn, a foreword by Christopher West, a comprehensive index of words and phrases, a scriptural index, and a reference table for other versions of the papal texts. Recipient of a CPA Award!

Includes bibliographical references (pages 540-542) and indexes.

The Power of Forgiveness, Pope Francis on Reconciliation calls the reader to explore the mercy of God, received in a profound way by turning toward God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This heartfelt collection of the Pope's reflections on the need for repentance, awareness of sin, God's divine mercy, forgiveness of others, and confession and absolution, is a transformative read for Catholics of all vocational states!

What's wrong with Natural Family Planning? Taking a Catholic perspective on the subject, Dr. Jay Boyd explains that the use of NFP to avoid pregnancy is often promoted as "God's family planning". But is using NFP to prevent pregnancy really trusting God? If we take control of spacing births, how can be sure this is "God's plan", and that the children came "in God's time"? And most people fail to "read the fine print" that says that NFP is to be used only when a couple has serious reasons for avoiding pregnancy. The reason many people think of NFP as "Catholic birth control" is because that's how it is used by many well-meaning couples. Claiming that a couple using NFP is "open to life" while they abstain from sex during the woman's fertile period in order to intentionally avoid pregnancy - well...that's a contradiction in terms. It can easily be argued that using NFP to avoid pregnancy is an expression of a lack of trust in God's will and provision. It's an active effort on the part of the couple to second-guess God's timing for the family's new members. Dr. Boyd takes a close, objective look at NFP from the standpoint of the teaching of the Catholic Church. She examines the basic problems with NFP, along with its philosophical underpinnings; and she delves into the important concepts of marital chastity and trust in Divine Providence.

The thesis of this book is that God intends that sexual intercourse should be at least implicitly a renewal of the marriage covenant. From this it follows that the marriage covenant provides the criterion to evaluate the morality of every sexual act. Thus the title, Sex and the Marriage Covenant, is an appropriate description of the bookಙs contents. Marriage comes into being by a couple unreservedly entering God's covenant of marriage; contraceptive intercourse contradicts the very essence of the marriage covenant. From these considerations, Kippley developed the covenant theology of sexuality described in this book.

This treatise, and the following, were written against somewhat that still remained of the heresy of Jovinian. "Jovinianus," he says, "who a few years since tried to found a new heresy, said that the Catholics favored the Manichæans, because in opposition to him they preferred holy Virginity to Marriage."