Now those of you who know me more than just reading what I write here and those who read regularly enough to be deeply suspicious that I am more inclined than your average person to tell you that you need to buy a book and that I have never met a book I didn't like are saying to yourselves, "She'd sell her soul for a free book. This is just something she read for the Catholic Company's reviewer program. Why on earth would I listen to a thing she said with respect to how much I need to buy this book?" Well let me assure you that while I just might sell my soul for a free book, I recognize in myself a possibly irremediable weakness with regard to that, I have however, met books I don't like. I have….deep breath….thrown books away that made me mad or had no redeeming value whatsoever. True, I might have a very low standard for "no redeeming value whatsoever" but I do have one. And no matter how many books I think I "need", I do recognize that not everyone has the same sentiment about books. I love books and I want to see them placed in homes where they will be loved and cared for and so I do not recommend books willy nilly. As I read books I often think of people who might also enjoy reading that particular book, and this one was no different. What was different was that after a while, I started trying to think of someone to whom I would not recommend this book. I couldn't think of a single one. I don't know a one person who is old enough to read and understand the text who would not potentially benefit from the message of this book.: Heaven's Song by Christopher West

In a nutshell, it's an exploration of some recently discovered adresses that were written by John Paul II (recently discovered writings? how cool is that!?) on the Theology of the Body but were not delivered publicly because of their "delicate" nature. On the surface, they are commentaries on the the Song of Songs and the marriage of Tobias and Sarah in the deuterocanonical book of Tobit. What they constitute though is the rest of theological foundation John Paul II gave us in addresses that comprise theTheology of the Body that every catechist — and I very much mean every — bishop, priest, deacon, religious, parent, DRE, CCE teacher, husband, wife, consecrated virgin, (have I made my point yet?), etc. needs to help repair marriages in the Catholic Church and everything resting on those marriages. We will never solve the problem of a lack of vocations which are a generous giving of oneself to the Church until we repair the vocation of Marriage which is the generous giving of one spouse to another. We will not regain our footing with respect to the liturgy until we not only understand on an intellectual level that the giving of oneself to one's spouse in marriage is meant as a sign and symbol of Christ's total giving of himself in the Eucharist, but live it as well. The good news is not that the Church needs to be telling married people that conjugal love is bad, but rather helping them to redeem it from the twisted morass that the enemy has made of things and restore the joy that God intended it to have. The Theology of the Body must begin to permeate our thoughts about the family, the Faith, the Church, and the Liturgy. And that not just my opinion:

According to John Paul II, the dignity and balance of human life depend at every moment of history and at every point on the globe on who woman will be for man and who man will be for woman (TOB 43:7). The sexual relationship — the relationship of man to woman and woman to man — is the deepest foundation of human ethics and culture. (TOB 45:3). The union of man and woman builds and shapes families, families shape neighborhoods, neighborhoods shape communities, communities shape cities, cities shape states, states shape nations, nations shape the world. When the sexual relationship breaks down, eventually so does everything resting on it. (page 54)

To which I will only add. "Amen." and offer my opinion that this book offers a good introduction to the completion of John Paul II's Theology of the Body if you aren't starting from scratch with regard to his message, and that it is an excellent place for learning about the Theology of the Body if you aren't already familiar with this important Church teaching.

Through West, John Paul II reminds us that being created in the image of God means that from the beginning of creation, our bodies "have had the God-given ability to reveal divine mysteries." Chew on that for just a moment and begin to realize that to the extent that our bodies and physical relationships are not in harmony with God's plan for them, we will be unable to understand and to properly live the divine mysteries that God intended to be revealed through our bodies. Time and again in Sacred Scripture we see Jesus use the metaphor of marriage to convey his divine Love for us. The passion of marriage, the sacrifice of marriage, the life-giving embrace of husband and wife is a God-given sign to instruct us about Our Lord's s love and passion and sacrifice for us. Is it any wonder then, that in a world where Catholic divorce rates nearly match those who are not religious, where Catholics are just as likely to contracept as any other Christian, where Catholics live together before marriage nearly as much as non-Christians that we are stuggling to understand Christ's love for us? Redeemed from sin, John Paul II tells us that the marital embrace is liturgical and that the liturgy is spousal. We must understand this, live it, and teach it effectively if we are to turn back the tide of crumbling families and all that implies for society and Church alike.

Here's a news flash….the thou-shalt-not approach to teaching the message of the good news of Christian sexuality is not working. That's why it's a relief to be able to say that this is most emphatically not a book that is condemning. In a field awash with books that can make you feel guilty, West manages to deliver the heart of the message of the Theology of the Body with all of the tenderness that I imagine was in Our Lord's voice when He spoke to the woman caught in adultery. "Neither do I condemn you. Go and from now on, do not sin any more." This is not a book that anyone, no matter how diseased and dysfunctional their sexual life is, needs to be afraid of. It's full of hope and joy and quite frankly, the promise of greater things ahead for those who are married AND for those who are not. You will be able to recommend this book with confidence to those who are already hurting badly in this area and fear additional battery by well-meaning but insufficiently charitable Christians.

This is also a supremely practical book. It's already set up for those who might want to lead a book discussion in their parish with questions for reflection at the end of every chapter. It's easy to read so it's a good introduction for pretty much anyone who wants to begin to learn about the Theology of the Body both for those who are not inclined to study every point of Catholic doctrine in depth because there is plenty to meditate on for a long time and for those who are inclined to read-more-about-it since it's a good jumping off place. If you are a theologian, this book might be a little lightweight for you but then again, it might just be the help you need to put some of John Paul II's deeper theology into terms that would be easy to digest in a Sunday homily or parish study or at the dinner table with your family. Besides, I don't think these newly discovered writings of John Paul II are widely distributed yet. (Feel free to leave a link to where they ARE published in the comments, if I am wrong about that.) You've got to buy the book to get a glimpse.

And now, let me tell you that I am putting my money where my mouth is. The copy I read was an unbound galley copy. I want this book on my library shelves and an unbound galley copy just is not going to cut it. Furthermore, I am not lending my copy of this book and I anticipate lending it frequently. So I am not only going to buy this book, I am going to give this book the honor accorded very VERY few books in my library. I am going to specifically buy at least one additional "lending copy" because I am NOT parting with my own.