Reading, Praying, Living Pope Francis's The Joy of Love: A Faith Formation Guide

by Julie Hanlon Rubio

Overview

This guide is designed to help readers work through Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation by providing necessary context (or “back story”), highlight key points (“front story”), suggestions for prayer, and reflection questions about what it means to live out the Christian vision of marriage and family. Since it assumes no background knowledge, Reading, Praying, Living Pope Francis's The Joy of Love is an ideal resource for adults, married couples, students, and faith formation groups. This is the most extensive and helpful commentary on the encyclical available anywhere. It does not include the full text of the encyclical.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814645802
Publisher:	Liturgical Press
Publication date:	01/31/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	96
File size:	778 KB

About the Author

Julie Hanlon Rubio is professor of social ethics at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, California. Previously, she taught for nineteen years at St. Louis University. Her research focuses on marriage, family, sex, and gender. She is the author of four books, including Family Ethics: Practices for Christians (Georgetown, 2010). She speaks to a wide variety of public audiences and writes for popular venues such as America magazine, National Catholic Reporter, the Washington Post, and US Catholic.

Table of Contents

Contents
Introduction: Front Story and Back Story
Assessing: Where Are We?
  1 “In the Light of the Word”: A Biblical Vision
  2 Experiences and Challenges: Family Life Today
Seeking Wisdom: What Is Marriage?
  3 Beginning with the Gaze of Christ: Looking Again at Tradition
  4 Looking In at Couples: Love in Marriage
  5 Looking Outward with Couples: Love Made Fruitful
Applying: How Can We Accompany Those in Imperfect Situations?
  6 Can the Church Be a Field Hospital for Families?
  7 Can the Church Help Parents Raise Their Children Well?
  8 The Tough Issues: Accompanying, Discerning, and Integrating Weakness
Conclusion: Why Get Married? Why Stay Married? A Spirituality for Marriage and Family
Notes
For Further Reading

Editorial Reviews

Pope Francis' recent text, The Joy of Love, is one of the most significant and inspirational church documents ever published on marriage and family. Yet reading such documents can often be a daunting prospect for ordinary Catholics. Julie Hanlon Rubio provides an immensely helpful "readers guide" to assist ordinary Catholics in recognizing the pope's many remarkable insights on marriage and family life. Her extensive theological background, and engaging writing style, coupled with the helpful discussion questions/suggestions for prayer, make this an excellent resource for the training of those engaged in pastoral care to families/married couples, and a wide range of parish discussion groups.
Richard Gaillardetz is the Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology at Boston College


In Reading, Praying, Living Pope Francis's The Joy of Love, Dr. Julie Hanlon Rubio walks readers through Amoris Laetitia. Like an excellent tour guide, she points out what is important about this apostolic exhortation by providing the history behind it and the relevance of it for people's lives today. The result of following Dr. Rubio through the text is a rich appreciation of the pope's vision of love in the family. It is a journey I would highly recommend for everyone.
Jason King, Professor and Chair of Theology, Saint Vincent College, Editor, The Journal of Moral Theology


Julie Hanlon Rubio deftly summarizes and reviews Pope Francis' important apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, allowing readers to understand both the pope's key points and the surrounding controversies. Anyone looking to better understand Francis' teachings on family life will find this engaging book an extraordinarily useful tool.
Joshua J. McElwee, Vatican Correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter

From the Publisher