Worth-it book: “The Power of Truth: The Challenges of Catholic Doctrine and Morals Today”, by Cardinal Gerhard Müller

See this worth-it book and ebook:

• The Power of Truth: The Challenges of Catholic Doctrine and Morals Today, by Gerhard Ludwig Cardinal Müller (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2019).
  • The paperback is available on this page of Ignatius Press and on this page of Leaflet Missals. The Nook book and paperback is available at Barnes & Noble. The Kindle ebook and paperback are available at Amazon.
  • N.B., The work consists of various essays by Cardinal Muller, including the following essays which may be read online:
    • “Faith’s Political Witness: The Demands of Justice and Love”—earlier published on this post at First Things (April 2013);
    • “Testimony to the Power of Grace: On the Indissolubility of Marriage and the Debate Concerning the Civilly Remarried and the Sacraments”—from “L’Osservatore Romano, ed. quotidiana, Anno CLIII, n. 243, Merc. 23/10/2013”, earlier published at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith;
  • See also the following essays and audio on the work:
    • “Cardinal Müller on the Truth”, by Dr. Jeff Mirus (May 10, 2019) at Catholic Culture;
    •  “May 20 –The Power of Truth: Fr. Joseph Fessio Interview” (podcast), by Amy D’Angelo (May 20, 2019) at My Catholic Faith, which summarizes it thus: “Dr. Tom Curran interviews Fr. Joseph Fessio, Founder and Editor of Ignatius Press, to discuss the book: The Power of Truth, The Challenges to Catholic Doctrine and Morals Today by Cardinal Gerhard Müller.”
    • .“A sorely needed theological justification of the truth of the Catholic faith”, by Eduardo Echeverria (June 18, 2019) at Catholic World Report, which states: “Cardinal Gerhard Müller’s book The Power of Truth addresses the challenges to Catholic doctrines and morals today—not only by the culture at large, but also by elements within the Church.”
    • “A zealous pastor of souls”, by Francis Phillips (5 August, 2019) at Catholic Herald.

For related texts, see the texts indexed in our 08 April 2018 post “Online texts: Commentaries on “Amoris Laetitia”” and on the subject index page “Marriage and the Family“, as well as the following texts:

• Apostolic Exhortation “Familiaris Consortio” on the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World, by Pope St. John Paul II (22 November 1981). May be read online at the Holy See.
• Encyclical “Arcanum” on Christian Marriage, by Pope Leo XIII (10 February 1880). May be read online at the Holy See.
  • Included in the larger work: The Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XIII: Translations from Approved Sources, with Preface by Rev. John J. Wynne, S.J. (New York, Cincinnati, Chicago: Benziger Brothers, 1903). With Imprimatur.
    • The ebook may be read online, and is available in pdf, epub, mobi, and other formats at Internet Archive, with a 2^nd copy at Internet Archive and Open Library. It may also be read online at Wikisource; and it is available in pdf format at Today’s Catholic World.
    • The audiobook, read by Maria Therese, may be listened to online and downloaded in mp3 and other formats at LibriVox and at Internet Archive. [N.B., The recording states that it is in the public domain.]
    • The LibriVox audio is also reproduced for Youtube in 2 parts at Classic Catholic Audiobooks: Part 1 of 2 (11:16:51) and Part 2 of 2 (7:70:43), said Part 2 being also available at Padre Manuel Antonio Garcia Salcedo; and in 2 parts at Full Audiobooks: Part 1/2 (9:10:55) and Part 2/2 (9:56:40); and in 13 parts at Priceless Audiobooks: Part 1/13, Part 2/13, Part 3/13, Part 4/13, Part 5/13, Part 6/13, Part 7/13, Part 8/13, Part 9/13, Part 10/13, Part 11/13, Part 12/13, and Part 13/13.  A portion of the recording (4:26:34) is available at Padre Manuel Antonio Garcia Salcedo and Free Audio Books, and likewise, a part (10:42:14) is available at GreatAudioBooks In Public Domain.
• Exhortación Apostólica “Familiaris Consortio” sobre la misión de la familia cristiana en el mundo actual, del Papa San Juan Pablo II (22 de noviembre 1981). Disponible en la Santa Sede, y Catholic.net, y la Vicaria de Pastoral, Arquidiocesis Primada de Mexico.
• The Juridical and Christian Anthropological Study of the Indissolubility of Canonical Marriage in the Light of Canon 1056, by Clothilde Ngwe Wanki (Rome, 2011). Doctoral thesis in canon law at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross – Faculty of Canon Law. 580 pages. Available in pdf format at Bibliotecanonica.
  • [N.B., This is an admirably comprehensive historical-theological overview of Catholic Christian teaching on the unity and indissolubility of marriage, which shows (i) its fidelity to divine revelation and natural law, seen in the continuity of apostolic, patristic, scholastic, and modern canonical legislation, especially on sacramental marriages; and (ii) its development on matters subject to positive law, such as the effect of privileges in favour of the faith on non-sacramental marriages.]
• Lettre Encyclique “Casti Connubii” sur le Mariage Chrétien Considéré au Point de Vue de la Condition Présente, des Nécessités, des Erreurs et des Vices de la Famille et de la Société, du Souverain Pontife Pie XI (31 décembre 1930).  Disponible sur le site officiel du Saint-Siège. [D’apres Wikipedia : « Elle forme l’essentiel de l’enseignement doctrinal de l’Église sur le sacrement matrimonial et la vie conjugale. »]

On the Feast of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist. For other online texts and legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

Online text: “Every Marital Act Ought to be Open to New Life: Toward a Clearer Understanding”, by Germain Grisez et al.

See this online text:

• “Every Marital Act Ought to be Open to New Life: Toward a Clearer Understanding”, by Germain Grisez, Joseph Boyle, John Finnis & William E. May. Reprinted from The Thomist, 52, 3 (July 1988): pp. 365-426 (copyright © Dominican Fathers, Province of St. Joseph, 1988). Available in pdf format through this page of The Way of the Lord Jesus.

On the anniversary of the issuance of the Encyclical “Humanae Vitae”. See also these related texts:

• “Allocution to the Italian Association of Large Families”, by the Venerable Pope Pius XII, January 20, 1958. Under the title “The Large Family”, from The Pope Speaks (Spring 1958), it may be read online on this page of Catholic Culture. Excerpts of the address may be found in “Family”, a collection of statements of the magisterium, on this page of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
• Apostolic Exhortation “Familiaris Consortio” on the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World, by Pope St. John Paul II (22 November 1981). May be read online (on this page) of the Holy See, and on this page of CBCP for Life.
• Birth control: A Statement of Christian Doctrine against the Neo-Malthusians, by Sutherland, Halliday (New York: P. J. Kenedy & sons, 1922). Available at Manybooks.net, Internet Archive and Open Library. Apologetics, Bioethics, Ethics, Morals.
• Carta Encíclica «Veritatis splendor» sobre Algunas Cuestiones Fundamentales de la Enseñanza Moral de la Iglesia, del Papa San Juan Pablo II (6 de agosto 1993). Disponible en esta pagina de la Santa Sede; en esta pagina de ACI Prensa; en esta pagina del Archidiocesis de Valencia.
• “Contraception and the Infallibility of the Ordinary Magisterium,” by Germain Grisez and John C. Ford, S.J., Theological Studies, 39 (1978): 258–312. Available in PDF format at The Way of the Lord Jesus (copyright 2009).
• Contraception and the Natural Law, by Germain Grisez (Milwaukee: Bruce, 1965). Available in PDF format through this page of The Way of the Lord Jesus (copyright 2009). The webpage states that the author “reserves the right to make and distribute copies for sale. But he hereby grants everyone the right to print out and distribute without charge copies of the entire work or part of it provided the source is identified and this copyright information included.”
• Cultural Apologetics (articles), by Jason Evert, Matt Fradd, Dr. Janet Smith, Ryan T. Anderson, Abby Johnson. Available on this page of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, which describes it as a series of articles “designed to help you and your disciples wrestle with teachings of the Church, which are often difficult in today’s cultural context.”
• Draft of a Dogmatic Constitution on Chastity, Marriage, the Family, and Virginity, by the Preparatory Theological Commission for the Second Vatican Council, translated by Fr. Joseph A. Komonchak (2012). Available in pdf format (on this page) at In Verbo Veritatis.
• Encyclical Letter “Veritatis splendor”, by Pope St. John Paul II (6 August 1993).  Available at the Holy See and at IntraText. [According to Wikipedia: “The encyclical is one of the most comprehensive and philosophical teachings of moral theology in the Catholic tradition”]
• Exhortación Apostólica “Familiaris Consortio” sobre la misión de la familia cristiana en el mundo actual, del Papa San Juan Pablo II (22 de noviembre 1981). Disponible en la Santa Sede, y Catholic.net, y la Vicaria de Pastoral, Arquidiocesis Primada de Mexico.
• “Familiaris Consortio: The Biblical and Theological Foundation of an Adequate Anthropology”, by Joseph C. Atkinson, Life and Learning, Volume XI (2001), p. 248, which may be read at University Faculty for Life;
• “Familiaris consortio   and   the Current Cultural and Social Change: Presentation for the Plenary Assembly Pontifical Council for the Family, Nov 30, 2011”, by Michael Maria Waldstein, which is available at the Pontificium Consilium pro Familiam; and
• “Familiaris Consortio—On the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World”, by Helen Hull Hitchcock (Nov 1, 2001), available at Women for Faith & Family.
• Letter to Families “Gratissimam Sane”, by Pope St. John Paul II, February 2, 1994. May be read online at the Holy See. An ebook of the text, with an Introduction by Carl A. Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus (New Haven, CT: Knights of Columbus Supreme Council, 2001), is available in pdf format (here). A shortened version or summary of the letter, by Fr Richard Aladics, is available in pdf format on this page at XT3. The text is offered for sale on this page at EWTN Religious Catalogue; on this page at Seton Educational Media. An ebook, Letter to Families: The Saint’s Reflections on the Grandeur of Marriage and Family Life, by St. John Paul II, with a Foreword, by Most Rev. Charles Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia, is offered for sale on this page at Sophia Institute Press.See also the essay “Families Get a Special Letter from Pope John Paul II”, by Father John McCloskey, at CatholiCity.
• Lettre Encyclique “Casti Connubii” sur le Mariage Chrétien Considéré au Point de Vue de la Condition Présente, des Nécessités, des Erreurs et des Vices de la Famille et de la Société, du Souverain Pontife Pie XI (31 décembre 1930).  Disponible sur le site officiel du Saint-Siège. [D’apres Wikipedia : « Elle forme l’essentiel de l’enseignement doctrinal de l’Église sur le sacrement matrimonial et la vie conjugale. »]
• Natural Family Planning: The Complete Approach, First Edition, by John and Sheila Kippley (2009, last update February 2010). With Permission to Publish from the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Available in PDF format (on this page) at Natural Family Planning International.
• The Sixth and Ninth Commandments: Sexual Morality, by Peter Kreeft (New Haven, CT: Knights of Columbus Supreme Council – Catholic Information Service, 2001). With Imprimatur. The ebook may be read online and is available in pdf format (here), and the audiobook is available in mp3 format through this page of the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council.
• Theology of the Body for Families & Single People, plus Family Chastity Formation in Virtue and Purity of Heart: Universal Truths about Human Sexuality for People of All Ages, with Extensive References to the Official Teachings of the Roman Catholic Church (Kettle River, Minnesota: Communitas Dei Patris, 2006-2017). (Rev: 1/25/2017). Available in pdf format (here) through this page of Family Prayer Night.
• Theology of the Body: Weekly Audiences on the Subject of the Redemption of the Body and the Sacramentality of Marriage, September 5, 1979 – November 28, 1984, by Pope St. John Paul II. May be read through this page of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; through this page of the EWTN Library; through this table of contents of Catechesis of the Popes, which also has a prefatory page and a list of ecclesiastical documents on marriage and the family; through this page of Average Joe Catholic; and the  Internet Archive Wayback Machine (being the 11 December 2017 snapshot of a page from the sadly defunct website Catholic Primer).
• The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality: Guidelines for Education Within the Family, by the Pontifical Council for the Family (November 21, 1995). May be read online at the Holy See, Simbahayan sa Maynila, Family Life Center,EWTN Library, Women for Faith & Family, and New Advent, with an excerpt at the National Coalition of Clergy and Laity. Available in PDF format at Super Flumina. Its principles are summarized at Women for Faith & Family and AD2000.
• World Youth Alliance White Paper on HIV/AIDS, by Meghan Grizzle, J.D., reviewed by Dr. Timothy Flanigan, Professor of Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Brown University Medical School (New York: World Youth Alliance). Available in PDF format, together with a Fact Sheet on HIV/AIDS, through this page (CLICK HERE) of the World Youth Alliance. [The document summarizes the empirical evidence on the effectiveness of various epidemiological strategies employed against the spread of HIV/AIDS. A related discussion is provided in this article of the Ugandan newspaper The Observer.]

Other related texts are listed in the page “Marriage and the Family“. For other online texts and legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

“[I]t is never lawful, even for the gravest reasons, to do evil that good may come of it (cf. Rom 3:8) — in other words, to intend directly something which of its very nature contradicts the moral order, and which must therefore be judged unworthy of man, even though the intention is to protect or promote the welfare of an individual, of a family or of society in general” (Pope Paul VI, Humanae Vitae, No. 14, as quoted by Pope St. John Paul II, Veritatis Splendor, No. 80)

Free audiobook & ebook: “The Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XIII”

See this legally free audiobook and ebook:

• The Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XIII: Translations from Approved Sources, with Preface by Rev. John J. Wynne, S.J. (New York, Cincinnati, Chicago: Benziger Brothers, 1903). With Imprimatur.
  • The ebook may be read online, and is available in pdf, epub, mobi, and other formats at Internet Archive, with a 2^nd copy at Internet Archive and Open Library. It may also be read online at Wikisource; and it is available in pdf format at Today’s Catholic World.
  • The audiobook, read by Maria Therese, may be listened to online and downloaded in mp3 and other formats at LibriVox and at Internet Archive. [N.B., The recording states that it is in the public domain.]
  • The LibriVox audio is also reproduced for Youtube in 2 parts at Classic Catholic Audiobooks: Part 1 of 2 (11:16:51) and Part 2 of 2 (7:70:43), said Part 2 being also available at Padre Manuel Antonio Garcia Salcedo; and in 2 parts at Full Audiobooks: Part 1/2 (9:10:55) and Part 2/2 (9:56:40); and in 13 parts at Priceless Audiobooks: Part 1/13, Part 2/13, Part 3/13, Part 4/13, Part 5/13, Part 6/13, Part 7/13, Part 8/13, Part 9/13, Part 10/13, Part 11/13, Part 12/13, and Part 13/13.  A portion of the recording (4:26:34) is available at Padre Manuel Antonio Garcia Salcedo and Free Audio Books, and likewise, a part (10:42:14) is available at GreatAudioBooks In Public Domain.

• The work (audiobook/ebook) includes the following encyclicals and other letters (as listed on LibriVox):
  • On the Evils Afffecting Modern Society “Inscrutabili”;
  • Socialism, Communism, Nihilism “Quod Apostolici Muneris”;
  • The Study of Scholastic Philosophy “Aeterni Patris”;
  • Christian Marriage “Arcanum Divinae”;
  • Freemasonry “Humanum Genus”;
  • The Christian Constitution of States “ Immortale Dei”;
  • Human Liberty “Libertas Praestantissimum”;
  • The Right Ordering of Christian Life “Exeunte Jam Anno”;
  • On the Chief Duties of Christians as Citizens “Sapientiae Christianae”;
  • The Condition of the Working Classes “Rerum Novarum”;
  • Allegiance to the Republic “Au Milieu des Sollicitudes”;
  • The Pope and the Columbus Tercenary “Quarto Abrupto Saeculo”;
  • The Study of Holy Scripture “Provindentissimus Deus”;
  • The Reunion of Christendom “Praeclara Gratulationis Publicae”;
  • Catholicity in the United States “Longuinque Oceani”;
  • To the English People “Amantissima Voluntatis”;
  • The Unity of the Church “Satis Cognitum”;
  • Anglican Orders “Apostolicae Curae”;
  • The Prohibition and Censorship of Books “Officiorum ac Munerum”;
  • The Holy Spirit “Divinum Illud”;
  • True and False Americanism in Religion “Testem Benevolentiae”;
  • On the Consecration of Mankind to the Sacred Heart of Jesus “Annum Sacrum”;
  • Christ Our Redeemer “Tametsi”;
  • Christian Democracy “Graves de Communi”;
  • The Religious Congregations in France;
  • Congratulations to the American Hierarchy;
  • The Most Holy Eucharist “Mirae Caritatis”;
  • The Holy Scriptures; The Biblical Commission “Vigilantiae”;
  • The Church in the Philippines; and
  • Review of His Pontificate.

In remembrance of Pope Leo XIII (d. 20 July 1903), vicarius Ss. Petri et Pauli, faithful shepherd and teacher. For other online texts and legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

Online ebook: “Theology of the Body for Families & Single People”

See this online ebook:

• Theology of the Body for Families & Single People, plus Family Chastity Formation in Virtue and Purity of Heart: Universal Truths about Human Sexuality for People of All Ages, with Extensive References to the Official Teachings of the Roman Catholic Church (Kettle River, Minnesota: Communitas Dei Patris, 2006-2017). (Rev: 1/25/2017). Available in pdf format (here) through this page of Family Prayer Night.
  • [The text states: “This free pdf version of Theology of the Body for Families & Single People plus Family Chastity Formation in Virtue & Purity of Heart is a gift from parents to parents with the blessings of the Church. Any reproductions, full or partial, are not to be sold; sales, as such, are strictly forbidden.”]

See also the ecclesiastical documents relating to holy purity and chastity listed on Catechesis of the Popes and listed below:

• Apostolic Exhortation “Familiaris Consortio” on the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World, by Pope St. John Paul II (22 November 1981). May be read online (on this page) of the Holy See, and on this page of CBCP for Life.
• Declaration “Persona Humana” on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics, by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (29 December 1975). Available at the Holy See.
• Exhortación Apostólica “Familiaris Consortio” sobre la misión de la familia cristiana en el mundo actual, del Papa San Juan Pablo II (22 de noviembre 1981). Disponible en la Santa Sede, y Catholic.net, y la Vicaria de Pastoral, Arquidiocesis Primada de Mexico.

• Letter to Families “Gratissimam Sane”, by Pope St. John Paul II, February 2, 1994. May be read online at the Holy See. An ebook of the text, with an Introduction by Carl A. Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus (New Haven, CT: Knights of Columbus Supreme Council, 2001), is available in pdf format (here). A shortened version or summary of the letter, by Fr Richard Aladics, is available in pdf format on this page at XT3. The text is offered for sale on this page at EWTN Religious Catalogue; on this page at Seton Educational Media. An ebook, Letter to Families: The Saint’s Reflections on the Grandeur of Marriage and Family Life, by St. John Paul II, with a Foreword, by Most Rev. Charles Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia, is offered for sale on this page at Sophia Institute Press.

• Lettre Encyclique “Casti Connubii” sur le Mariage Chrétien Considéré au Point de Vue de la Condition Présente, des Nécessités, des Erreurs et des Vices de la Famille et de la Société, du Souverain Pontife Pie XI (31 décembre 1930).  Disponible sur le site officiel du Saint-Siège. [D’apres Wikipedia : « Elle forme l’essentiel de l’enseignement doctrinal de l’Église sur le sacrement matrimonial et la vie conjugale. »]
• Pastoral Letter to Young People on Chastity, from the Episcopal Commission on Doctrine of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (Ottawa: Concacan, 2011). Available in pdf format at Archdiocese of Vancouver.

See also other texts on holy purity and chastity listed at the Project’s page on Marriage and the Family and listed below:

• Cultural Apologetics (articles), by Jason Evert, Matt Fradd, Dr. Janet Smith, Ryan T. Anderson, Abby Johnson. Available on this page of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, which describes it as a series of articles “designed to help you and your disciples wrestle with teachings of the Church, which are often difficult in today’s cultural context.”
  • [It is composed of the following articles: “Sex and Sanctity”, a discussion of sex before marriage by Jason Evert; “Porn and Relationships”, a discussion of the problem of porn by Matt Fradd; “The Pill: No Small Matter”, a discussion about contraception by Dr. Janet Smith; “Same-Sex Marriage?”, a discussion of  marriage and public policy by Ryan T. Anderson; “The Abortion Debate”, a discussion about abortion with Abby Johnson.]
• Draft of a Dogmatic Constitution on Chastity, Marriage, the Family, and Virginity, by the Preparatory Theological Commission for the Second Vatican Council, translated by Fr. Joseph A. Komonchak (2012). Available in pdf format (on this page) at In Verbo Veritatis.
• Purity, by Rev. Bede Jarrett, O.P. (+1934) (London, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Brighton, Cardiff, Newcastle, Derby: Catholic Truth Society, 1929). Pamphlet. May be read online on this page at e-Catholic 2000. Available in PDF format on this page of Catholic Pamphlets.net. Another edition (London: Catholic Truth Society No. 293, 1973) is readable online and available in PDF format at Catholic Truth Society Pamphlets.
• The Sixth and Ninth Commandments: Sexual Morality, by Peter Kreeft (New Haven, CT: Knights of Columbus Supreme Council – Catholic Information Service, 2001). With Imprimatur. The ebook may be read online and is available in pdf format (here), and the audiobook is available in mp3 format through this page of the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council.
• Theology of the Body: Weekly Audiences on the Subject of the Redemption of the Body and the Sacramentality of Marriage, September 5, 1979 – November 28, 1984, by Pope St. John Paul II. May be read through this page of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; through this page of the EWTN Library; through this table of contents of Catechesis of the Popes, which also has a prefatory page and a list of ecclesiastical documents on marriage and the family; through this page of Average Joe Catholic; and the  Internet Archive Wayback Machine (being the 11 December 2017 snapshot of a page from the sadly defunct website Catholic Primer).
  • [N.B., The addresses constituting the Theology of the Body, proposed by Pope John Paul II in a non-magisterial capacity, seek to explain Christian sexual ethics from a theological-exegetical framework informed by personalist philosophy. For a balanced perspective on debates concerning it, see “Noodling the Theology of the Body” by Mark P. Shea, on Crisis Magazine.]
• The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality: Guidelines for Education within the Family, by the Pontifical Council for the Family, December 8, 1995. May be read online at the Holy See and beginning on this page at Domestic-Church.com. Highlights of the text are provided in the NFP Forum (Diocesan Activity Report), vol. 7, nos. 1-2 (Winter/Spring 1996), which is available in pdf format (on this page) at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

On the Memorial of Saint Maria Goretti and in advance of the Memorial of Blessed Peter To Rot. For other online texts and legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

“You have heard that it was said, Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I tell you that he who casts his eyes on a woman so as to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If thy right eye is the occasion of thy falling into sin, pluck it out and cast it away from thee; better to lose one part of thy body than to have the whole cast into hell. And if thy right hand is an occasion of falling, cut it off and cast it away from thee; better to lose one of thy limbs than to have thy whole body cast into hell.” (St. Matthew v, 27-30)

“And now, brethren, I appeal to you by God’s mercies to offer up your bodies as a living sacrifice, consecrated to God and worthy of his acceptance; this is the worship due from you as rational creatures. And you must not fall in with the manners of this world; there must be an inward change, a remaking of your minds, so that you can satisfy yourselves what is God’s will, the good thing, the desirable thing, the perfect thing. (Romans xii, 1-2)

“Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, Nor the effeminate, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor railers, nor extortioners, shall possess the kingdom of God…. Know you not, that your bodies are the members of Christ?… Or know you not, that your members are the temple of the Holy Ghost, who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a great price. Glorify and bear God in your body.” (I Corinthians vi, 9-10, 15, 19-20)

“And that is how husband ought to love wife, as if she were his own body; in loving his wife, a man is but loving himself. It is unheard of, that a man should bear ill-will to his own flesh and blood; no, he keeps it fed and warmed; and so it is with Christ and his Church; we are limbs of his body; flesh and bone, we belong to him. That is why a man will leave his father and mother and will cling to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. Yes, those words are a high mystery, and I am applying them here to Christ and his Church. (Ephesians v, 28-32)

Online video & text: “Discovering Sexual Equality in Our Shared Response to Human Dependency”, by Erika Bachiochi

See this online text and video:

• “Discovering Sexual Equality in Our Shared Response to Human Dependency”, lecture by Erika Bachiochi (2016, 2017)
  • The text of the lecture delivered at the Wheatley Institution’s 2017 Roundtable on the Family (posted 15 February 2017) may be read online at the Wheatley Institution. The video of the same lecture (published 16 March 2017) may be viewed at the Wheatley Institution’s Youtube channel.
  • The video of the lecture delivered at the 2016 Sexuality Integrity and the University National Conference (published 30 January 2017) may be viewed on this page at the Love & Fidelity Network’s website and on this page at the Love & Fidelity Network’s Youtube channel.

Posted on International Women’s Day, 2019, in advance of the Feast of Saint Frances of Rome in the Roman Rite, and in belated observance of the Feast of Saints Perpetua and Felicity. For other online texts and more legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

Online ebook: A Comparison of the Theology of the Body by Pope John Paul II with St. Thomas Aquinas, by Thomas Petri

Fresco of Marriage at Cana, Annunciation Cathedral (Jerusalem). Photo by See The Holy Land. Image from Wikimedia Commons

See this online ebook:

• Locating a Spousal Meaning of the Body in the Summa Theologiae: A Comparison of a Central Idea Articulated in the Theology of the Body by Pope John Paul II with the Mature Work of St. Thomas Aquinas (Dissertation), by Thomas Petri, S.T.D. (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America, 2010). 452 pages. Copyright and All Rights Reserved by Thomas Petri. Available in pdf format (on this page) at the Catholic University of America University Libraries.

On the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite and of St. Agnes in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. See also our posts: “A Beginner’s Guide to Saint Thomas Aquinas” and “Free eBooks by (and about) Saint Thomas Aquinas“.

Online text: “On Chastity, Marriage, the Family, and Virginity”, by the Vatican II Preparatory Commission

Fresco of Marriage at Cana, Annunciation Cathedral (Jerusalem). Photo by See The Holy Land. Image from Wikimedia Commons

See this online text:

• Draft of a Dogmatic Constitution on Chastity, Marriage, the Family, and Virginity, by the Preparatory Theological Commission for the Second Vatican Council, translated by Fr. Joseph A. Komonchak (2012). Available in pdf format (on this page) at In Verbo Veritatis.

On the Feast of St. Egwin of Evesham.

“To the unmarried, and to the widows, I would say that they will do well to remain in the same state as myself, but if they have not the gift of continence, let them marry; better to marry than to feel the heat of passion. For those who have married already, the precept holds which is the Lord’s precept, not mine; the wife is not to leave her husband, (if she has left him, she must either remain unmarried, or go back to her own husband again), and the husband is not to put away his wife.” (I Corinthians vii, 8-11)

Online text: “Engaged Couples Guide to Marriage Preparation”

See this online text:

• Engaged Couples Guide to Marriage Preparation, Fall 2016 to Summer 2017 (Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls – Office of Marriage, Family & Respect Life). Available in pdf format (on this page) at the Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls.

On the Memorial of the Engagement of the Virgin Mary to Saint Joseph in the Maronite church. For other legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

Online ebook: “The Catholic Home”, by Father Alexander, O.F.M.

See this online ebook:

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  Image from Wikimedia Commons

  The Catholic Home, by Father Alexander, O.F.M., with a Foreword by the Bishop of Salford (London, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow: R. & T. Washbourne, 1914). With Imprimatur. May be read online, and available in epub, mobi, pdf, and other formats at Internet Archive.

Posted on the Feast of Saints Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie Guérin.

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the Church, and delivered himself up for it, that he might sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of water in the word of life, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, nor any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.

“So also ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife, loveth himself. For no man ever hated his own flesh: but nourisheth and cherisheth it, as also Christ doth the church: for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother: and shall adhere to his wife, and they shall be two in one flesh.

“This is a great sacrament: but I speak in Christ, and in the church.”  (Ephesians v, 25-32)

Online text: “Women, Sexual Asymmetry & Catholic Teaching”, by Erika Bachiochi

See this online text:

• “Women, Sexual Asymmetry & Catholic Teaching”, by Erika Bachiochi (November 13, 2012), Christian Bioethics (Oxford University Press), Forthcoming. Available at the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) and at the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.

On the occasion of the International Day of Action for Women’s Health, 2018.

“[F]rom the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female. For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife. And they two shall be in one flesh. Therefore now they are not two, but one flesh.” (St. Mark x, 6-8)