Product Description

Sex and the Sacred City takes the Theology of the Body to a new level. Unlike previous treatments on the Theology of the Body that narrowly focus on a few dozen Wednesday audiences, this book looks at a wide range of papal writings, from Pope Pius X's "On Chaste Marriage"(Casti Connubii) through Pope John Paul II's "On the Dignity of Women", "Letter to Families", "The Family in the Modern World", "Guardian of the Redeemer" and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

By weaving all these strands together, these nine meditations are able to illuminate not only the relationship between spouses, but also the relationship between parents and children and between family and school/parish.

Best of all it is concise. Since it lays this broadening foundation in just 100 pages, the busy Catholic can easily gain not only a basic undestanding of the structure inherent to the Theology of the Body, but can also see immediate applications in family and parish life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #205499 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 104 pages

Review
Steve Kellmeyer's Sex and the Sacred City is a marvelous tool! -- Greg Schleppenbach, State Director of the Nebraska Catholic Bishops' Pastoral Plan for Pro-life Activities

About the Author
Steve Kellmeyer has graduate degrees in theology and history, and undergraduate degrees in education, medical technology and computer science. He has published dozens of articles in Catholic Press, including magazines like This Rock, Envoy, Lay Witness, Homiletics and Pastoral Review and Social Justice Review. His first book, Bible Basics published through Basilica Press in 1999, is still among the most thorough apologetics for Catholic Faith in existence.

Customer Reviews

Our Bodies--God's Plan
Sex and the Sacred City

If you think that "original sin" means to be born of a sinful act, you've got it wrong, but this book will set you straight. Even if you know your catechism, Sex and the Sacred City will take you on a surprising journey through the mysteries of Divine love, marriage and human sexuality. In this slim volume, Kellmeyer distills Pope John Paul II's "Theology of the Body." He writes with a lucid style, using contemporary analogies, humor and persevering logic to bring to the lay reader the pope's meditations about the human person.

Beginning with an explanation of the Trinity-a "communion of persons, a family whose life is love" (cf. Eph. 3:14-15)-the book skillfully navigates through such mysteries as the meaning of "nature" and "person," God as Pure Existence and God as Perfect Love, how we are "made in His image and likeness" and why we need, therefore, to love. Furthermore, it delineates how this love must be lived out in the body and how conjugal love mirrors God's love for us.

"When we consider Adam and Eve," Kellmeyer writes," when we consider how God has inscribed Himself both upon our very bodies and upon the communion of persons that our bodies make possible, we realize that we must allow that same grace to teach us how to live out in our bodies the power God has given. Having the power is not enough. We have to learn how to use it. We learn this by service."

But service does not mean servile. Quoting from the Italian movie, Life is Beautiful, Kellmeyer give an example of the uncle who explains to his nephew, a waiter who bobs up and down excessively, "Think of sunflowers. They bow to the sun. But if you see some that are too bowed down, that means they are dead. You are serving; you are not a servant. Serving is a supreme art. God is the first servant. God serves man but He is not a servant to men."

Using the communal love within the Trinity as a model, Kellmeyer carries us through a study of Creation, The Fall, The Incarnation, The Sacraments, Married Life, Family Life and even Celibacy (an earthy archetype for the spiritual ecstasy everyone will experience in the Beatific Vision). In his rich meditations we discover the sanctification of the family and what it means to use our bodies in God's original holiness.

Kellmeyer provides a reflection in every line of Sex and the Sacred City. It is a book to study at your leisure, savor, read and re-read. At the end of each chapter there are several questions for discussion, Bible verses for contemplation and references to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The best easy-read on the Theology of the Body
If you are looking for an introduction to the Theology of the Body, this is the shortest, easiest book to read on the subject that I have seen so far. The first chapter on the Trinity is profoundly beautiful. Subsequent chapters discuss the implications of the theology of the body on our understanding of God's actions in creation, man's fall, and our redemption, and the implications this new way of looking at these events has on our everyday lives. The discussion questions and scripture and CCC references at the end of each chapter and the references from encyclicals and other papal letters make the book ideal for use in study groups. If people in every parish studied and lived this teaching, our culture and the world would be transformed. Accept the challenge to share this with everyone! The catchy title is sure to attract the young people who seem to be most receptive.

A Must - Read
Writing with clear conviction in a personal, poetic style, Steve Kellmeyer presents beautiful meditations on the Trinity, Creation, the Fall, the Incarnation, the Sacraments, Married Life, Celibacy, and Family Life. This is theology at its best - presented in an easy to understand way - not taxing the intellect, but gently tugging at the reader's heartstrings.

Sex and the Sacred City is a must-read for every Catholic adult - single or married - who desires to grow in his or her faith and to see it from a fresh, new perspective.