Catholic Review of: The Temperament God Gave Your Spouse

"The human person is a mysterious unity of body, mind, and spirit," write Art and Laraine Bennettin in The Temperament God Gave Your Spouse, their second book on God-given temperament. Man is a mystery, comprised of innumerable layers, and to fully understand even one component of the human person is an enlightening and riveting experience, for God’s handprint is indisputably present.

The Bennetts offer a wonderful introduction to the effect our own temperaments, as well as the temperaments of others, have on our day-to-day relationships, especially relationships between spouses. Their deep-seated Catholic faith is an undercurrent of their discussion and explanation of the four classic temperaments-choleric, sanguine, melancholic, and phlegmatic.

The book’s simple outline makes it a crisp and clear read. The Bennetts define temperament, discuss the characteristics of each individual temperament, and explain how to communicate effectively with persons of each temperament. They also explore the relationship strengths and weaknesses between each pair of temperaments.

What the Bennetts reiterate, and what is pivotal to the topic of temperament, is our responsibility as Christians striving to live in virtue to rise above our temperament’s negative tendencies for the good of others. Above all, the spirit of charity calls us to delve into the understanding of ourselves and others and to use this knowledge as a means to holiness.

-Meredith Koopman (from Laywitness Magazine. www.cuf.org)

You can purchase this book here.