For Christopher West:
“I’ve known and respected Christopher for many years. He served with good effect on my staff in Denver early in my tenure there. He’s done a wonderful job translating John Paul II’s Theology of the Body into popular practice.”
Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
Archbishop of Philadelphia
“John Paul II’s Theology of the Body is a treasure for the Church, indeed a gift of the Holy Spirit for our time. Yet, its scholarly language needs to be ‘translated’ into more accessible categories if the average person is to benefit from it … and we believe that Christopher West … has been granted a particular charism to carry out this mission. With great skill as a presenter, with keen insight as a thinker, and with profound reverence for the mystery of human sexuality, he has been able to reach thousands in our sexually wounded culture with the Gospel of salvation in Christ.”
Joint statement of support by: Cardinal Justin Rigali and Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades
“In my biography of the Pope, I wrote that the theology of the body needed explication for those who weren’t specialists in biblical studies, theology, or philosophy. I am delighted that Christopher West has taken up that challenge. With intellectual care, with the experience bred of long years of teaching this material in the classroom and the parish, and taking account of his own experiences as a husband and father, Christopher West has put us in his debt by making the ‘theology of the body’ available to a wide [audience].”
George Weigel
Distinguished Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center, Washington D.C.
“Christopher West is a pioneer in reaching today’s culture with the Gospel.”
Fr. Benedict Groeschel, Franciscan Friars of the Renewal
For Christopher West and The Cor Project:
Through his careful and thorough study of the teachings of Saint John Paul, Mr. West makes a unique contribution by his amazing gift of translating the profound truths of the Theology of the Body into language that is precise, compelling and clearly understandable to every reader and listener. His gift of teaching is totally faithful to the theological and spiritual legacy of our late Holy Father, now a canonized saint.
As his Diocesan Bishop, I eagerly express my deep respect for Mr. West and I recommend him as one who lives faithfully the message he so effectively communicates. I am confident that, as countless others have, you will discover rich catechetical treasures through his ministry, The Cor Project, which exists to help men and women across the globe learn, live, and share the teachings of Saint John Paul Il’s Theology of the Body.
Most Rev. Ronald W. Gainer
Bishop of Harrisburg, Pa.
Click here for a 2017 letter of appreciation from Phoenix Bishop Thomas Olmsted and the Deacon Community of the Diocese of Phoenix.
For Fill These Hearts:
“Christopher West is a gifted and effective evangelist with a passion for tackling one of the greatest obstacles to belief today: the heresy that Christianity is a joyless, rule-bound religion. Not so, argues West, in this timely, powerful book. Drawing upon Scripture, the saints, and the glimmers of truth in pop culture, West reminds us that Christianity is essentially a love story, and Christian sexual ethics exist to help us fulfill, not repress, our deepest desires. For anyone who has ever doubted that Christ’s call to purity of heart is good news, Fill These Hearts will prove a surprising and consoling read, one with the potential to change your life as well as your mind.”
Colleen Carroll Campbell
Author of My Sister the Saints: A Spiritual Memoir
“Well done! Christopher West has done masterful job of confronting the inherent dualism lurking in much of modern Western theology, exposing the deepest longings of the human soul as an authentic yearning for union with God.”
Wm. Paul Young
Author of The Shack and Cross Roads
“Christopher West has a great gift for theological exploration. In this book, he weaves lessons from classical and contemporary art, pop music, movies and the Christian mystical tradition to explore the ancient idea that the yearnings we feel in our bodies and spirits reveal the cry of our hearts for God.”
Nicky Gumbel
Vicar and bestselling author of Questions of Life
“In Fill These Hearts, Christopher West explains the nature of desire, freedom, and love, including erotic love. He does so as a believing Catholic, yes. But if you come to this book with the typical prejudices aimed at what Catholics believe about these things, you are likely to be shaken to your very core. Be warned: this book is unlike any other you’ve ever read. It holds up the spirit of our age – as expressed in modern, presumed “secular” idioms like rock ‘n’ roll and popular movies – and places it under the searchlight of the most fundamental understandings of human nature. What emerges is a book that is as knowing about the modern world as it is about the teachings of Christ and the mystic-saints who have followed him throughout the ages. In fact, West brings these phenomena together in a way that has never been done before, and does so without a false note on either score.”
John Waters
Columnist, The Irish Times and author of Lapsed Agnostic
“Fill These Hearts is a cultural balm. Christopher West writes with great love, of great love, drawing readers into His Sacred Heart.”
Kathryn Jean Lopez
Nationally syndicated columnist and editor-at-large, National Review
For At the Heart of the Gospel:
“The light of the Gospel, which is a clear but at times painful light, can illumine human sexuality to its very depth in order to transform it and bring it to its full beauty. Here lies the great strength of Blessed John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. In this peaceful and positive response to critics, Christopher West proves once again that he is a faithful and inspiring interpreter and communicator of this great pope’s teaching, a teaching so urgently needed for an effective proclamation of the Gospel.”
Christoph Cardinal Schönborn
Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna
General editor, Catechism of the Catholic Church
Grand chancellor, International Theological Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family
“Christopher West is to be commended for the courage and strength of conviction with which he proclaims, upholds, and defends the spousal vision of the Church, particularly as it’s articulated in John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. It’s with great enthusiasm as his diocesan bishop that I endorse this magnificent book and recommend it to a wide, wide readership.”
Most Reverend Joseph P. McFadden
Bishop Emeritus of Harrisburg, Pa.
Former Chairman, USCCB Committee on Catholic Education
At the Heart of the Gospel takes Christopher West’s unpacking of John Paul II’s Theology of the Body to exciting new frontiers. It so important to remember that to witness the Gospels is to follow ‘the way of beauty.’ I am appreciative of all that he has done over the years to bring souls to Christ through his preaching of this foundational teaching.”
Most Rev. Michael J. Sheridan
Bishop of the Diocese of Colorado Springs, Colo.
“Inspiring, compelling, faithful and compassionate – At the Heart of the Gospel invites us to follow in the footsteps of Blessed John Paul II as authentic witnesses of the truth and beauty of the Gospel amid the many challenges of contemporary culture. A must read for everyone involved in the new evangelization!”
Most Reverend Kevin C. Rhoades
Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend
Former Chairman, USCCB Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth
“Christopher West has gone to the desert … and come back stronger than ever. Those who may previously have thought his work was one-sided in its celebration of the body and sexuality will find here, brought out more clearly than ever, the deep balance and integration that has always been the foundation of his work.”
Most Reverend Robert J. Carlson
Archbishop of Saint Louis
Former Chairman, USCCB Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations
“As a former professor of West’s, I may be biased in his favor, but I can honestly say that he has taught me a great deal through this magnificently developed and theologically sound work. His balanced and insightful analyses make it clear that West has immersed himself in the great mystics, Fathers, and doctors of the Church. His treatment of a delicate question of foreplay by married couples is perhaps the finest I have ever read. In short, this is a magnificent theological work that ought to be widely read by all interested in the Theology of the Body and the new evangelization.”
William E. May
Emeritus Michael J. McGivney Professor of Moral Theology at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America
“West’s highly anticipated work At the Heart of the Gospel is in keeping with the man I have come to know and respect since our close collaboration on the new English translation of TOB. In short, this balanced and judicious work demonstrates what I have long understood: West knows John Paul II’s TOB as few others do and he shows great theological skill in presenting, explaining, and upholding the late Pope’s teaching. He grasps its letter with remarkable completeness and is led faithfully by its spirit. He is to be commended for his courage in defending John Paul II’s teaching (and the theological tradition upon which it’s based) in the face of strong opposition.”
Michael Waldstein
Max Seckler Professor of Theology, Ave Maria University
“The beatification of Pope John Paul II is more than the Church’s official recognition of his sanctity. John Paul II’s teaching is now bequeathed to the Church in a new way – not only by his authority as Pope, but also by his personal experience of sanctity. Christopher West is an authentic witness to the transformative power of John Paul II’s teaching and this book accurately captures the meaning of his Theology of the Body and its critical importance for the new evangelization.”
Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete
Theologian, Author, and Founding Professor of the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, Washington D.C.
“At the Heart of the Gospel presents the wisdom and knowledge of an evangelist who’s been on the front lines for nearly twenty years. With great humility, clarity and charity, Christopher West unpacks the life-giving teachings of the Catholic Church on what Blessed John Paul II considered the most pressing issue of our day – what it means to be a person made in God’s image as male and female – and teaches us how to communicate this life-saving truth to a world starving for love.”
Matthew Pinto
President, Ascension Press
For The Love That Satisfies:
“What is this book? Like the love it sings, this book is a gift. What does it give us? Not emotional manipulation but joy, genuine inspiration. Not intellectual manipulation but seeing, insight, the ‘big picture.’ This is a beautiful, beautiful book. It reminds me of Something Beautiful for God, the book about Mother Teresa. Nothing in it is new, yet everything in it is new. Old, previously ‘known’ (but not known) truths suddenly light up in new ways and become arrows of light that pierce into the middle of our heart. This book is good news. It is the Gospel applied to the aching sore in the heart of modern man.”
Peter Kreeft, Ph.D.
Professor of Theology, Boston College
“Christopher West’s talent for making the Theology of the Body accessible is equally matched in these moving reflections on Benedict XVI’s first encyclical. West explains the pope’s thought with insight, humor, disarming honesty, and a fire of conviction. No one who reads this book can fail to be captivated by the Christian vision of sexual love (eros) fulfilled and transfigured by self-giving (agape).”
Mary Healy, S.T.D.
Author, Men & Women Are from Eden