Catholic Review of: Called to Love
Authors:
Carl Anderson
Fr. Jose Granados
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(06/10/2009)
Orthodoxy: Completely orthodox.
Reading Level: Intermediate

By Jillian Singer (OH) -
See all my reviews
Synopsis
A fuller view of Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body
Evaluator Comments
Carl Anderson and Father José Granados have done an amazing job interpreting and explaining Pope John Paul II's "Theology of the Body". Mr. Anderson and Fr. Granados have presented in Called to Love, a mature and all-encompassing understanding of the "Theology of the Body" that underscores the true subject of Pope John Paul II's catechesis: the vocation of every Christian person to love. In this reviewer's opinion, the authors here have one up on Christopher West-- Mr. West presents a kind of introduction to the "Theology of the Body" that gets your feet wet. Here is the rest of the story. Carl Anderson and Fr. Granados have presented the main attraction: how the vocation to love transforms and informs our understanding of human sexuality and human love.
My favorite aspect of Called to Love is that the authors incorporate not only Pope John Paul II's Wednesday Audiences which comprise the "Theology of the Body" but Mr. Anderson and Fr. Granados also reference Pope John Paul II's poetry, his plays, and his other major work on love (the real point of the "Theology of the Body"): Love & Responsibility. Mr. Anderson and Fr. Granados see that the "Theology of the Body" is not just the Wednesday Audiences of catechesis, but that this vision extends throughout the whole of Pope John Paul II's theology; it permeated everything he wrote. The "Theology of the Body" is the manner of understanding human sexuality and love in the light of Divine Love. Called to Love is then able to present a fuller view of Pope John Paul II's "Theology of the Body" based on the nature and meaning of love.