Thanks to Therese, I am now reading Dietrich von Hildebrand’s Purity: The Mystery of Christian Sexuality, originally published under the title In Defense of Purity by Sheed and Ward in 1938. I have decided to blog a bit on the book as I read it. I thought I might publish a post on each chapter.
In fact, I believe that von Hildebrand’s contribution is extraordinarily important for the proper understanding of John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. When I received von Hildebrand’s book, I was elated to find the following endorsement on the back by Dr. Josef Seifert, who helped to clarify some points about shame when I was engaged in a discussion on The Linde several weeks ago:
When first published, von Hildebrand’s books on marriage and purity rediscovered the essence of the true Catholic understanding of sexuality and thereby revolutionized the dominant view of sexuality, which was almost 2000 years old and which was often negativistic and puritan.
Today, von Hildebrand’s thoughts on the spiritual meaning of sex and love are also a key to understanding Pope John Paul II’s grandiose and audacious theology of the body.
This book opened the eyes of countless young people to the mystery and fulfillment of spousal love—and to the horror of impurity which desecrates the mystery.
Together with the theology of the body of Pope John Paul II, von Hildebrand’s writings on purity and sexuality may merit for the Twentieth Century the title of greatest century in Church history with respect to the philosophy and theology of marriage.
Von Hildebrand’s lively and fascinating analysis of love and sexuality will strike you by their beauty and depth, as much today as when the young von Hildebrand wrote this book, which already has made Church history.
If you are looking for an utterly positive understanding of love and sex, which throws into light the great virtue of purity and the greatness of marriage as love-community, this is the book for you.
Interestingly, Dr. Seifert acknowledges and revolutionary quality to both the work of von Hildebrand and John Paul II. However, of course, the meaning of the word “revolution” as it is used here can only be understood in a Catholic sense, as I am sure Dr. Seifert meant it, that is, in the context of the development of doctrine or the hermeneutic of continuity. This is an important point and it is essential for the understanding of the difference between virtue and vice relative to human sexuality and between true modesty and prudery. I am looking forward to a prayerful reading of this masterpiece of a pure and reverent mind.
I will be reading from the 1989 edition, published by Franciscan University Press, Steubenville, under the title Purity: The Mystery of Christian Sexuality. The work is divided into two books, the first having three parts, the second, two:
Book I: Purity
- Sex (3 chapters)
- Purity (3 chapters)
- The Attitude of the Pure in Marriage
Book II: Virginity
- The Nature of Consecration
- Why the Virgin is the Bride of Christ
Of particular note, von Hildebrand gives his reason for considering purity and virginity in the same work:
The reason for uniting in one study purity and virginity is of a practical nature. Although virginity represents in its significance and value something completely new and autonomous with respect to purity, its inmost nature is only intelligible when we have understood that of the person, which is also the decisive factor for purity.
I will provide parenthetical references to page numbers in my posts.
Posted in Catholicism, Fatherhood, Husbands, Men, Mothers, Wives, Women Tagged: Chastity, Dietrich Von Hildebrand, Dr. Josef Seifert, Human Sexuality, In Defense of Purity, John Paul II, Modesty, Prudery, Purity, Shame, Theology of the Body 
I have read this work recently, and Hildebrand confirms some of my own thinking about sexuality. I feel that this work corrects some of the gaps that exist in the popular presentations of TOB today, which do not tend to get into the dangers and pitfalls of sex (that would make it sound too negative). But Hildebrand discusses some of them which exist even for married couples.