Love and Responsibility

Even though this book has difficult words to understand, in my opinion it opens your mind. This book is unforgettable. I love it and I wish everyone who has the chance to read it, may they crack it open. This book talks about human sexuality through a philosophical, biblical, and scientific view. It will lead you towards the view of friendship and romantic relationships between a man and woman. This marvelous book is the rock of anyone who is looking for an understanding of what is love; perhaps helping you to prepare yourself for your future Vocation: etc, marriage.

This is St. JPII's most famous philosophical work, and for good reason. If you are curious about the philosophical underpinnings of theology of the body or if you are curious about the way that John Paul II wrote in a more formal, academic context, I highly recommend this book! It is quite dense, though, and if you are just looking for a pastoral commentary on theology of the body, this may not be it.

In a world that emphasizes too much on “me me me me” ie self-centered, this is a great book to read to for anyone of any age to learn what is real love (between two individuals, and yes, love is not a feeling, it is a choice). One of the many profound writing by this great man. Before anyone starts wondering or questioning why and what would a celibate person knows and can teach ppl about love, please consider the experts you consult in, eg doctors for cancer treatment they don’t experience cancer themselves right(?), same as veterinarians, how would they know about animals’ health(?)

Good

Being a young man born unto an age rather confused about love, I must say that this book has opened my eyes to something which I can't quite put my finger onto but am certain it has planted a seed inside of me which has begun to fundamentally change my inner being... I always thought of John Paul II merely as some kind of great spiritual celebrity who routinely visited all the corners of the globe in order to promote world peace, like all social-activists should do. But this book has greatly changed my perception of just who this late JPII was as a person. I would have never imagined JPII to be so intellectually insightful or wise when it comes to man's deepest hunger for -as well as to- love. I must admit, it was a rather difficult read for a junior in college, and by no means do I claim to understand all the intricacies or hidden truths interwoven between the words of this book, yet, one thing for certain: the more I read, the more I began to understand, and the more I understood, the more I felt the hunger for the truth, which, with each passing page, seemed to nourish the core of me with something I've never tasted before. Currently I attend a rather prestigious university, and I have grown accustom to listening to finely crafted lectures and carefully planned arguments lead by professors well-respected within their areas of expertise, namely: psychology, sociology, and anthropology. And being a keen listener myself, I always found it disappointing to often hear very contradicting arguments as to why humans care to love, to reproduce, or simply care for one another. There are definitely some great theories out there in academia which attempts to explain the why's to all of this, but when one takes such a theory and tries to look at the big picture, he finds himself with a theory with holes in it; something left missing and terribly wanting. In Love and Responsibility, I found the missing piece which completes the picture of love. JPII has taken a subject arguably the most difficult to understand, and broken it down into its most essential parts. He then systematically reconstructs it step by step for the reader -chapter by chapter- in an intellectually stimulating and beautifully written manner which builds to a climactic argument and case for love as a divine gift that all men and women are called to share, to nurture, and to cultivate responsibly so as to better understand their own calling and true purpose in life. I am truly out of words for this book, and I thank God for having blessed the last century with such a profoundly insightful man.

This has to be one of the most amazing and insightful books ever written on love. After reading LOVE AND RESPONSIBILITY, I felt as if the Pope knew me better than I knew myself; he read me like a book. This book is very helpful for the understanding of the complexities of human love.Anyone who wants guidance in choosing a mate, wants to better understand what happens when a person falls in love, wants to be able to distinguish love from infatuation or lust, or suffers from the disillusionment of past relationships should read this book. The reader will learn about all the different elements of love and how they are woven together. As much as I admire the Pope, his writing style has not always appealed to me but this work is like no other.

This book provides a great understanding of sexuality and the Catholic Church. Paired with Christopher West's Theology of the Body explained, you understand how God intended sexuality to be used. It is a dense read, but not an over complicated read. By this I mean it digs down and gets to the root definition of the actual words that reference sexuality in the Bible. You don't have to be a theologian to understand what the future pope and saint is saying. Just be open to the message. And read other encyclics and books on this topic to get the full picture.

One may write a complete dissertation on whether Karol Wojtyla was more of a philosopher at heart or a theologian. In the later days of his life as John Paul II he spoke more from the side of faith with the entire Scriptures as his foundation. But it was never always like that. As a solid philosopher of the scholastic/phenomenological school, Wojtyla has left us a study of the phenomenon of love and the married life. Love and Responsibility is a treatise from the side of Wojtyla the philosopher. He lays down the anthropological foundations for what he would later on, as Pope, establish as his Theology of the Body. All in all, Wojtyla/JP II has the bases covered as he launches the oft regarded as a new revolution in the sexual revolutiion of the previous century, Love and responsiblity keenly distinguishes "using" from "loving" and plows into an analysis of personhood. Respect for the dignity of man is when one loves another. After reading through the works of John Paul II as Pope, it is refreshing to look back into his days as a philosopher and to hold in one's hand a solid philosophical work of genius. I recommend this book to anybody who wants the truth as modern man limps into the 21st century, weary of its inauthentic sexual revolution.