Synod on the Family and the Pope of the Family: Be Informed!

With the Extraordinary Synod on the Family scheduled for this fall, people are already talking about the way bishops from around the world might deal with the serious problems so many families are facing. That makes the next few months an opportunity for Catholics to familiarize themselves with the very positive vision our Church has about married love.

Now's the time to get acquainted with the insights of the man Pope Francis called "the Pope of the Family," Saint John Paul II.

This is the unique pastor who spent decades as the spiritual companion and guide of numerous couples from their courtship through to the grandparenting years (not one of these couples suffered a divorce). He collated their experience with his own understanding of the Bible and the spiritual life,  releasing a groundbreaking book on the philosophy of erotic love, as well as a biblical reading of "human love in the divine plan" (also known as Theology of the Body). (When you're ready, there's a low-cost 6-part online video course overview of the Theology of the Body.)

If you can attend the Theology of the Body Congress in July, the roster of speakers and topics is outstanding (too bad I can't fly in from England for those few days!). And there is also an active Theology of the Body Community on Google+ where you can raise issues and share insights based on Saint John Paul's TOB writings as well as his principle documents on the family: The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World, the Letter to Women and the document On the Dignity and Vocation of Women. While reading up on John Paul II, don't miss Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical, God Is Love, which is almost his version of Theology of the Body!