This remarkable study offers a comprehensive explanation of the Catholic Church’s teaching on the sacrament of marriage. Incorporating the rich insights found in St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, Dr. Cahall presents a theology of marriage that incorporates the biblical, systematic, pastoral, and historical traditions which have shaped our understanding of this sacrament.

This unique book will assist those called to marriage to live out the wonderful, beautiful, and challenging mystery of married love by presenting a theology, spirituality, and morality of marriage in a widely accessible level. Dr. Perry Cahall encourages both engaged and married couples to understand the real nature and purpose of marriage as God has created it. He includes insightful "Self-Discovery" discussion questions to help couples process presented information. "Questions That Might Be on Your Mind" will also engage the reader through the "real world" issues couples confront today.

Peter Jeffery explores in depth the Catholic tradition which has shaped our teaching and our living, following two principal themes--marriage as covenant and family as a domestic church. He shows how the family, with all its relationships, is sacramental.

An internationally respected Roman Catholic leader on the mystery-sacrament of marriageMarriage and the family are at the forefront of the burning questions being debated by civil society and the church today. Cultural changes in our increasingly secularized society have dire consequences in the family sphere, requiring a Christian response that is faithful to the Church's tradition, says Marc Cardinal Ouellet.In Mystery and Sacrament of Love Ouellet clearly expounds a theology of marriage and the Catholic Church's understanding of the sacrament celebrated between spouses and God. Developed with influences from Pope Francis, the theological intuitions of Vatican II, the contributions of Saint John Paul II (the "pope of the family"), and the innovative thought of Hans Urs von Balthasar, Ouellet's study lays the foundations for a faithful resurgence of well-being for families in our contemporary day and age.

Christopher West makes John Paul II's theology of the body available for the first time to people at all levels within the Christian community. Love, sexuality, and human flourishing are inseparable. Those who doubted this will find West's book a transforming experience, and those who have been wounded will find liberation and peace. A wonderful education on the meaning of being human. Christopher West teaches the theology of the body and sexual ethics at St John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver. He is also visiting faculty member of the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Melbourne, Australia.

An in-depth look at what it means to be created in the image of God and how our bodies serve as icons that illuminate God's purposes instead of ours. The human body is an amazing gift, yet today, many people downplay its importance and fail to understand what Christianity teaches about our bodies and their God-given purposes. Many people misunderstand how the body was designed, its role in relating to others; and we lack awareness of the dangers of objectifying the body, divorcing it from its intended purpose. Timothy Tennent covers topics like marriage, family, singleness, and friendship, and he looks at how the human body has been objectified in art and media today. For the Body offers a biblical framework for discipling people today in a Christian theology of the body. Tennent—theologian and president of Asbury Theological Seminary—explores the contours of a robust Christian vision of the body, human sexuality, and the variety of different ways we are called into relationships with others. This book will reveal a theological vision that: Informs our self-understanding of our own bodies. Examines how we treat others. Reevaluates how we engage today's controversial and difficult discussions on human sexuality with grace, wisdom, and confidence. For the Body is a call to a deeper understanding of our bodies and an invitation to recapture the wonder of this amazing gift.

Much has been written about marriage from the sociological and psychological point of view and as an object of civil and canon law. But in terms of systematic theology this treatment of marriage as a sacrament may very well be unique. Every effort has been made to keep the text from becoming too academic while at the same time providing the average educated reader with a wealth of original insights into the "mystery" of marriage: in creation and as transformed by Christ. Chapters cover sacramental consent, bond, and covenant as well as the quest for the sign. Such thorny problems as the role of faith in the sacrament, marriage with an unbaptized person, the most pressing ecumenical questions and the relationship between the sacrament and contraception are studied in depth. Finally, the "sacrament of family" is treated at some length with an eye to its social and redemptive dimensions.