Christendom theology professor Mary Stanford recently penned her newest work, The Obedience Paradox: Finding True Freedom in Marriage. The book, which probes the meaning and power of receptivity in a relationship, is now available for pre-order from Our Sunday Visitor.
“Mary’s book is fresh and delightful, provocative and persuasive,” says Dr. Janet Smith, popular speaker and author. “She blends biblical and theological knowledge with wisdom derived from attentiveness to the practicalities of married life and with impressive insight into the male and female psyches. She writes so beautifully that one wants to pause regularly just to appreciate her phrasing as well as her illuminating concepts. This book makes a true contribution to the ever-vexing question of right relationships between spouses. It explains well the importance of freedom and trust involved in women lovingly submitting to their husbands in marriages dedicated to following Christ in all things.”
The book is Stanford’s latest contribution to the ongoing debate over marriage in the twenty-first century, following on numerous articles, talks, and classes given on Pope Saint John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. Illuminating the subject by examining the relationship between husband and wife in marriage as an image of Christ’s relationship to the Church, Stanford’s The Obedience Paradox presents the sexual complementarity of husband and wife as an expression of gift, probing the meaning and power of receptivity in a relationship over the course of the book.
The Obedience Paradox is already garnering acclaim before even being released, with numerous scholars and religious saying the book offers a “new path forward” in the ongoing conversation on marriage and the traditional concepts of masculinity and femininity.
“For our culture, perhaps the greatest stumbling block in the Catholic faith is its emphasis on obedience,” says Fr. Paul Scalia, the Episcopal Vicar for Clergy for the Diocese of Arlington. “Drawing from the Church’s Tradition and Pope Saint John Paul II’s writings in particular, Mary Stanford brings out both the beauty and the challenge of obedience in God’s highest natural creation, the family. Her work will benefit engaged and married couples in particular and all who desire to deepen their appreciation of this great paradox, the obedience that frees and ennobles.”
Stanford is a speaker, teacher, and writer on Catholic marriage and family life. She is an adjunct professor at Christendom and has a master’s degree in theological studies from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. She and her husband, fellow Christendom professor Dr. Trey Stanford, have seven children.