40% off Carl E. Olson's Pick of the Week*

40% off Carl Olson's Pick of the Week*

I've chosen a book that I recommend for at least three good reasons. First, it addresses a topic of great importance to everyone. Second, it is written by a fabulous scholar who has spent most of his life studying, teaching, and writing about the topic and related subjects. Third, it is a "101" text, the sort of introductory work that is perfect for the "ordinary" lay Catholic, but also ideal for catechists, priests, teachers, and bishops. Oh, and let's not forget politicians, newspaper editors, and television pundits.
 
The book is Marriage: The Rock on Which The Family is Built (2nd Edition, 2009) by William E. May. I first read it—in its first edition—fourteen years ago for a class on family and marriage in my Masters in Theological Studies program. It was the first book I'd read by Dr. May (not the last, thankfully!), and I was impressed by his clarity of style (no words wasted!) and his masterful handling of complex theological truths and philosophical ideas (no words mangled!). Dr. May, who is now retired, taught for many years at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, D.C., and he served at one time on the Vatican's International Theological Commission. In other words, he's a smart guy! He has dedicated his great skills as a scholar and educator to explaining and defending the divinely ordained institution of marriage. Or, as he states at the start of the book's first chapter, "I shall show that marriage, the rock upon which the family is built, is a person-affirming, love-enabling, life-giving, and sanctifying reality." And he does. 
 
The first edition had five chapters with an appendix; the second edition has been expanded to seven chapters plus appendix. The opening chapter expounds on the sentence quoted above; the second chapter is about the complimentarity of male and female, and what it means. Chapter three is titled, "Pope Paul VI: A True Prophet", and is about Humanae Vitae; the fourth chapter discusses the serious moral problems with the "laboratory generation of human life". Chapter five explains why the family is "the domestic church" and chapter six is on Blessed John Paul II's theology of the body. The final chapter is on Pope Benedict XVI's teaching on marriage and family life. The appendix is an overview of John Paul II's "Letter to Families". 
 
Marriage is, as you well know, increasingly and directly under attack in many ways. For anyone who wishes to understand and appreciate more deeply the truth about the person-affirming, love-enabling, life-giving, and sanctifying reality of marriage, this book is a perfect place to start.

And it is available in three formats: in paperback, as an electronic book download, and as a downloadable audio file.


Carl E. Olson is the editor of Catholic World Report and IgnatiusInsight.com, and the moderator of the Insight Scoop weblog. Carl is the author of the best-selling book Will Catholics Be "Left Behind"? (2003), available as an e-book, and is the co-author, with Sandra Miesel, of The Da Vinci Hoax: Exposing the Errors in The Da Vinci Code. Carl is the former editor of Envoy magazine and has written dozens of reviews and articles for periodicals including Catholic Parent, Crisis, Envoy, First Things, National Catholic Register, Our Sunday Visitor, Saint Austin Review, and The Catholic Answer.


*Employee Pick of the Week program features savings of 40% off a book, movie, or compact disc personally chosen and recommended by an Ignatius Press employee.  Each week, an Ignatius Press employee will select a favorite book, movie, or other Ignatius Press product and write a few sentences about why he/she thinks customers will enjoy the particular selection. A short bio of the selecting employee will also be included, giving customers a chance to learn a bit more about the people who are Ignatius Press. Email blast items below are not 40% off, but 20% off