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Man, Woman, and the Meaning of Love: God's Plan for Love, Marriage, Intimacy, and the Family
Love, Marriage, And Rescued From Talk-Show Hucksters And Pop Psychology!
These days, it's hard to avoid absorbing at least some of the poisonous assumptions about love, marriage, and sex that are retailed by our hedonistic secular culture. But here's help! In this wise book, Dietrich von Hildebrand reveals the beauty and splendor of the Church's teachings on love and intimacy - teachings that are in danger of being forgotten today even among Catholics.
With remarkable practical simplicity, Von Hildebrand shows you the great truths of love, and how to apply them to your marriage, family life, and friendships in order to make them what they ought to be in God's sight. His approach is deeply imbued with his awareness of the sacramental dignity of marriage, and of how the Church's teachings on sexuality - even the most controversial ones - all flow from her profound understanding of love.
Fearlessly and incisively, Von Hildebrand also exposes the many false notions of love that abound today - including an approach to love that is widespread among Christians and yet almost always ends in failure. Nor does he stop there! He points out other common pitfalls, including basic errors concerning the meaning and value of marriage. He even reveals the mistakes that many Christian authors make about marital sexuality!
All this and more makes Man, Woman, and the Meaning of Love a valuable resource in your efforts to take back the culture for Christ - and a handy tool to help you improve your marriage and communicate the Church's wonderful vision of intimacy to those you love.
These days, it's hard to avoid absorbing at least some of the poisonous assumptions about love, marriage, and sex that are retailed by our hedonistic secular culture. But here's help! In this wise book, Dietrich von Hildebrand reveals the beauty and splendor of the Church's teachings on love and intimacy - teachings that are in danger of being forgotten today even among Catholics.
With remarkable practical simplicity, Von Hildebrand shows you the great truths of love, and how to apply them to your marriage, family life, and friendships in order to make them what they ought to be in God's sight. His approach is deeply imbued with his awareness of the sacramental dignity of marriage, and of how the Church's teachings on sexuality - even the most controversial ones - all flow from her profound understanding of love.
Fearlessly and incisively, Von Hildebrand also exposes the many false notions of love that abound today - including an approach to love that is widespread among Christians and yet almost always ends in failure. Nor does he stop there! He points out other common pitfalls, including basic errors concerning the meaning and value of marriage. He even reveals the mistakes that many Christian authors make about marital sexuality!
All this and more makes Man, Woman, and the Meaning of Love a valuable resource in your efforts to take back the culture for Christ - and a handy tool to help you improve your marriage and communicate the Church's wonderful vision of intimacy to those you love.
127 pages, Paperback
First published December 9, 1965
About the author
Dietrich von Hildebrand
81 books226 followersDietrich von Hildebrand was a German Catholic philosopher and theologian who was called (informally) by Pope Pius XII "the 20th Century Doctor of the Church."
Pope John Paul II greatly admired the work of von Hildebrand, remarking once to von Hildebrand's widow, Alice von Hildebrand, "Your husband is one of the great ethicists of the twentieth century." Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has a particular admiration and regard for Dietrich von Hildebrand, whom he already knew as a young priest in Munich. In fact, as young Fr. Ratzinger, he even served as an assistant pastor in the church of St. Georg in Munich, which von Hildebrand frequented in the 1950s and 1960s. It was also in St. Georg that Dietrich and Alice von Hildebrand were married.
The degree of Pope Benedict's esteem is expressed in one of his statements about von Hildebrand, "When the intellectual history of the Catholic Church in the twentieth century is written, the name of Dietrich von Hildebrand will be most prominent among the figures of our time." Von Hildebrand was a vocal critic of the changes in the church brought by the Second Vatican Council. He especially resented the new liturgy. Of it he said "Truly, if one of the devils in C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters had been entrusted with the ruin of the liturgy, he could not have done it better."
Von Hildebrand died in New Rochelle, New York, in 1977.
Pope John Paul II greatly admired the work of von Hildebrand, remarking once to von Hildebrand's widow, Alice von Hildebrand, "Your husband is one of the great ethicists of the twentieth century." Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has a particular admiration and regard for Dietrich von Hildebrand, whom he already knew as a young priest in Munich. In fact, as young Fr. Ratzinger, he even served as an assistant pastor in the church of St. Georg in Munich, which von Hildebrand frequented in the 1950s and 1960s. It was also in St. Georg that Dietrich and Alice von Hildebrand were married.
The degree of Pope Benedict's esteem is expressed in one of his statements about von Hildebrand, "When the intellectual history of the Catholic Church in the twentieth century is written, the name of Dietrich von Hildebrand will be most prominent among the figures of our time." Von Hildebrand was a vocal critic of the changes in the church brought by the Second Vatican Council. He especially resented the new liturgy. Of it he said "Truly, if one of the devils in C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters had been entrusted with the ruin of the liturgy, he could not have done it better."
Von Hildebrand died in New Rochelle, New York, in 1977.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 29, 2025
Hildebrand does a very important job in defending the true grandeur of spousal love. He makes his case against reductionist view of sexuality and abuse of great value of human person. I found it deep in insight but sometimes the book lacks argumentative clarity. It is rather a spiritual book than philosophical tractate as it is intended.
“Love is responsiveness to value we find in beloved. Not in any means we are using those valuable qualities as means, rather we enjoy them for their sake.”
“Love is responsiveness to value we find in beloved. Not in any means we are using those valuable qualities as means, rather we enjoy them for their sake.”
January 27, 2009
Incredibly rich.
August 25, 2022
A worthy, and down-to-earth but insightful summary of the Church's teaching on the beauty of marriage, and more generally, of the meaning of what it is to be a human person as man or as woman. A highly recommended book, brief and an enjoyable read, suitable for anyone, especially couples preparing for marriage, young adults, and those wanting to deepen their theological and philosophical appreciation of the complementarity of the sexes. The moral issues of sexuality are raised in the context of a positive affirmation of human sexuality, a guide for a pastoral approach to these issues today.
Von Hildebrand adopts a personalist anthropology, informed by Thomist-Aristotelian metaphysics, but he is by no means proficient in this respect, adept rather in his penchant for phenomenology. I appreciated his intent to challenge certain classical anthropological understandings (e.g., of the faculties of the soul, what affectivity means spiritually), but feel he is wanting in this area. Introducing new categories and distinctions (e.g., between, instrumental finality, and superabundant finality) is certainly helpful for elucidating his point, but not exactly metaphysically precise. In other words, this is a worthy read, rich with insight, but a fair bit of distilling and refining its philosophy would be needed to incorporate his insights into a cohesive philosophical anthropology.
Von Hildebrand adopts a personalist anthropology, informed by Thomist-Aristotelian metaphysics, but he is by no means proficient in this respect, adept rather in his penchant for phenomenology. I appreciated his intent to challenge certain classical anthropological understandings (e.g., of the faculties of the soul, what affectivity means spiritually), but feel he is wanting in this area. Introducing new categories and distinctions (e.g., between, instrumental finality, and superabundant finality) is certainly helpful for elucidating his point, but not exactly metaphysically precise. In other words, this is a worthy read, rich with insight, but a fair bit of distilling and refining its philosophy would be needed to incorporate his insights into a cohesive philosophical anthropology.
July 3, 2026
somebody show von hildebrand the hypergamy chart
May 30, 2016
Simply beautiful. Theology of the Body-esque with concepts to ponder over well after all's said and done.
January 22, 2024
Insightful and experientially true, but like most books of its type, lots of unsubstantiated claims. Still, I think it's very worth reading!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews