Thanks to the Love and Responsibility Foundation

WASHINGTON, D.C. LOVE AND RESPONSIBILITY DISCUSSION GROUP

Our problem is not that we desire too much, but that we desire too little.... Sex—and by this I mean every aspect of our sexuality, our masculinity and femininity—is far grander than our seemingly sex-obsessed society could begin to conceive.

—Dave Sloan

What We Do

We meet twice a month for a reflective discussion of a wonderful and thought-provoking book Love and Responsibility by Karol Wojtyla, about what is arguably the most beautiful teaching on the gift of human sexuality. The book encourages a true reverence for this tremendous gift and challenges us to live our sexuality in a way worthy of our great dignity as persons. The book's life-transforming message of hope is a powerful antidote to our culture's dominant view that reduces the body to an object for pleasure or a machine for manipulation.

Wojtyla presents an integrated vision of the human person—body, soul, and spirit. The book probes fundamental questions about the meaning and fulfillment of human lives:

• What exactly is "Love"?
• How can I find true fulfillment in my life?
• How can I truly Love?
• What makes Betrothed Love such a special form of Love?
• What are the pitfalls that men and women face in cultivating true Love?
• Is Love more than a feeling? How does our happiness in life depend on the answer?

Participants are encouraged—but not obliged—to contribute to the conversation. Familiarity with the reading selection certainly helps in following the discussion, but the repetition of the dominant themes throughout the book makes it possible to derive benefit by listening intelligently and asking questions over the course of several meetings.

Discussions are typically illuminating and attended by a lively group, about evenly divided between men and women. This summer the size of the group has grown to about thirty. Each discussion covers two sections of the book (about ten pages) and lasts an hour and a half. Afterward, most of us go together to dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Why We Do What We Do

Following Wojtyla's own thought, the philosophy of the group is Personalism: recognition of the person as a being of supreme value, essentially an acknowledgement of Realism—not of abstract "universal essences"—but rather, of concrete beings in communion. Since human subjectivity is relational, freedom is necessarily toward the other, and that which is really true, good and beautiful is that which is realized only in their unity, that is, in Love. For that reason, the Ultimate Reality is Love Itself.

The very process of reading the text in common, that is, in communion with others, constitutes a means of forming the participants according to the group's ideals. This is implicit most especially in the group's preferred teaching and learning style of shared leadership—for teaching itself is a form of learning. The actual leadership of each meeting rotates among the participants, who volunteer to direct the biweekly discussions. The leader's role is not to dominate, but rather to liberate the discussion (participants expound on the principles contained in the text, and apply them to hypothetical or real situations in human life), opening all to the process of learning, of moral and spiritual formation. In a sense, one might say that the text is the teacher, and the leader is merely a (temporary) tutor.

Dinner after the meeting helps to build the communion of persons that is an integral part of Personalism.

The Book

Drawing from his pastoral experience counseling married couples, Wojtyla wrote Love and Responsibility long before he became Pope John Paul II. Central to his argument is the contrast between the personalistic and the utilitarian views of marriage and sexual relations. The former views marriage as an interpersonal relationship in which the well-being and self-realization of the each partner are of overriding importance to the other. The alternative, utilitarian view, according to which a sexual partner is an object for use, holds no possibility of fulfillment and happiness. The author argues that divorce, artificial methods of birth control, and extra-marital sexual relations are the sad results of the utilitarian abandonment of the personalistic view. The author's conclusions coincide with the traditional teachings of the Church, but non-Christians can also consider his arguments on their own merits.

Admittedly this book is not a light read. Aside from the topic being involved at times, the translation is a bit awkward in a few places (not to mention actual errata). Happily, study groups like ours meet in cities around the U.S. and the world. These groups provide a great opportunity not only to share the effort of understanding the text, but also practical experience in living in a communion of persons.

Ignatius Press is the publisher.

You Can Join In the Adventure

People of all backgrounds are welcome to join us on this exciting journey for truth and authentic happiness.

TIME & PLACE:
Catholic Information Center (CIC) at 1501 K St., NW in downtown DC
(directions | Yahoo!Map | Mapblast | MapQuest),
currently on the second Wednesdays and fourth Tuesdays of the month,
6:00-7:30pm.
(See schedule below for actual dates.)

We welcome newcomers. To participate fully in the discussion, you may want to look at this Brief but Helpful Summary of the book (PDF) and the latest cumulative outline (see most recent meeting on schedule, below). If you do not already have a copy of the book, they are on sale at the CIC before it closes at 6. (If you arrive late, please call my cell phone as the doorbell is broken.)

Even if you have not prepared by reading, you are welcome to come and listen.

Please contact the CIC (202-783-2062) or organizer J. Keck for more details: jwkeck15 {at} yahoo {dot} com, cell: 202-253-5282.

Meeting Schedule

Links