Sex and the Spiritual Life: Reclaiming Integrity, Wholeness, and Intimacy
224
Sex and the Spiritual Life: Reclaiming Integrity, Wholeness, and Intimacy
224eBook
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Overview
Winner of a third-place award in the morality, ethics, Christology, Mariology, and redemption category from the Catholic Media Association.
Are sexuality and spirituality opposed to each other? To anyone who has struggled to align their sexual desires with the call to be holy these might seem in opposition, but they don’t have to be.
Sex and the Spiritual Life will help you understand that you can experience fulfillment through sexual integrity—a way of life that affirms the presence of God and the sacred in our sexual feelings and expressions. You’ll hear from a selection of Catholic men and women—married, clergy, religious, and single—whose stories will inspire and equip you to reclaim the joy and wholeness of sexual integrity.
Addressing sexuality across a wide range of vocations, challenges, and experiences, each of the contributors to Sex and the Spiritual Life reflects upon living out the Church’s teachings about human sexuality with integrity as a means to achieving spiritual maturity. All those who want to experience the benefits of sexual integrity will be inspired by their witness, and benefit from their practical advice. Contributors include Patricia Cooney Hathaway; Timothy P. O’Malley; Deacon James Keating; Susan Muto; Eve Tushnet; Fr. John Riccardo; and Sr. Sarah Fairbanks, O.P.; as well as clinical specialists in addictions and marriage and family life.
In this groundbreaking book, you will find insights into the following topics:
- the relationship between sexual integrity and spiritual growth
- how the wounds of sexual abuse and addiction can be healed
- the link between sexual and spiritual intimacy in marriage
- how young adults can receive the formation they need to discover their vocations, navigate the complexities of being single, and live in community
- how spiritual friendship informs faithful living within the homosexual community
- the role of sexual desire in the lives of clergy and religious
This is a much-needed book for thoughtful Catholics to help them reclaim sexuality as a positive, joyful component of the human experience and to present a path of healing and hope for those who need to chart a new course.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781594719929 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Ave Maria Press |
| Publication date: | 09/11/2020 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 224 |
| File size: | 5 MB |
About the Author
Patricia Cooney Hathaway is a professor of spirituality and systematic theology and the chairperson of the licentiate in sacred theology degree committee at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, where she has worked since 1987. She is the author of the award-winning book Weaving Faith and Experience. She also serves as the associate editor of Human Development Magazine.
Cooney Hathaway earned a doctorate of philosophy specializing in systemic theology, spirituality, and human and spiritual development from Catholic University of America, where she also received a master of arts degree in religious studies. She has a bachelor of arts degree in English from Marygrove College and also earned a certificate of spiritual direction from the Consortium of Theological Colleges and Universities. Cooney Hathaway is a member of the Catholic Theological Society of America and Spiritual Directors International. She is also the recipient of the Life Directions Founders’ Lifetime Achievement Award and The Splendor of Truth Award from the Catholic Lawyers Guild. Her work has appeared in publications including Mosaic, Human Development Magazine, Seminary Journal, and America. Cooney Hathaway speaks throughout the United States and Canada.
She lives with her family in Detroit, Michigan.
Rev. John Riccardo is executive director of Acts XXIX and the host of Christ is the Answer on EWTN radio. He is a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit.
Table of Contents
Foreword: Sexual Integrity Is for Everyone | Interview Fr. John Riccardo ix
Introduction Patricia Cooney Hathaway xxi
Contributors xxxiii
1 What Is Sexual Integrity? Janet E. Smith 1
2 Educating for Sexual Integrity within the Family Timothy P. O'Malley 17
3 Sexual Integrity and the Challenge of Addiction Jeff Jay 31
4 The Joyful Dance of Sexual Connection Timothy Hogan Karen Hogan 51
5 Sexuality, Spirituality, and the Single Life Susan Muto 69
6 Hidden Treasures for Gay Catholics Eve Tushnet 83
7 Growing in Sexual Integrity as a Consecrated Man Daniel Keating 95
8 Love and Intimacy as a Religious Sister Sara Fairbanks, O.P. 119
9 Sexual Integrity and the Diocesan Priesthood Bishop John M. Quinn 133
10 Sexual Integrity in the Formation of Seminarians Deacon James Keating 153
Conclusion Patricia Cooney Hathaway 169
Notes 181
What People are Saying About This
“This book is the gift we all need to experience renewal and regeneration, both individually and as a parish.” —From the foreword by Fr. John Riccardo, Executive director of ACTS XXIX “A rethinking of the mystery and the beauty of human sexuality is important in a changing world and culture, especially for Catholics of every state and walk of life. This book asks real questions and encourages listening to the experience of others. These personal testimonies offer radical hope to Catholics to live what the Church teaches faithfully and joyfully.” —Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Archbishop of Newark “This timely book provides the antidote to the crisis we are living in as a Church and as a society. I enjoyed every chapter and learned from the insights of the contributors who represent the full gamut of sexual vocations. Sharing their stories with humility, vulnerability, and honesty, each writer draws on their personal life experience and the wisdom and healing they have gained through a lifetime of prayer, studying scripture, and connecting to the riches of our Catholic faith. Anyone who desires to live their vocation with integrity and joy should read this book. I highly recommend it.” —Bob Schuchts, Founder of the John Paul II Healing Center, Author of Be Healed“Sex and the Spiritual Life is a much-needed, mature approach to a subject that is deeply rooted in both theology and the spiritual life. That sex and the spirit are interrelated must never become a forgotten fact or bitter banality. In these pages you will find the lived experiences of those whose approach to sex and the spiritual life has a nobility and freshness that steers clear of naïveté.”Rev. Agustino Torres, C.F.R., Founder of Corazon Puro Executive director of ACTS XXIX“For more than twenty years, our work in marriage restoration has revealed that sex and sexuality is a topic that is frequently suppressed and avoided, and yet our experiences of these things shape our identity. More than ever, we need a book like this in which contributors share their stories and offer hope for others, showing how the good news of the Gospel and the teachings of the Church can give us the tools we need to untwist traumatic experiences of the past in order to learn and heal from them.” —Julie and Greg Alexander, Founders of The Alexander House “Sexuality is a great fire within us and a powerful source of energy but, like an electric line carrying 50,000 volts of energy, it needs to be handled with proper care so that it supplies light and heat without burning the house down. This excellent series of essays honors sexuality for the great and sacred gift that it is. Such an understanding erases the false dichotomy that exists between spirituality and sexuality that sadly is seen most everywhere, both in our churches and within the culture. This is a needed book.” —Rev. Ronald Rolheiser, O.M.I., Author of The Holy Longing “An evangelical friend of mine has a kind of rubric regarding sermons: I believe it is true; what I want to know is, ‘Is it real?’ Patricia Cooney Hathaway has assembled a powerful cohort of Catholic teachers, thinkers, and leaders to present us with the truth of Catholic doctrine on sexuality; and, more importantly, they make it real.” —Most Rev. Michael J. Byrnes, Archbishop of Agaña “In a culture that disfigures the beauty of an authentic Christian anthropology, this book offers an insightful and compelling response and a hopeful pathway toward healthy and holy integration. Patricia Cooney Hathaway and the highly esteemed contributors offer spiritually rich, theologically sound, and pastorally forthright wisdom regarding sexuality, spirituality, and living the Gospel as joyful witnesses of God’s unconditional love.” —Rev. Msgr. Todd J. Lajiness, Rector and President, Sacred Heart Major Seminary