"The ABC's of Choosing a Good Husband" by Stephen Wood

Anyone who says that young people today are out of touch with traditional Catholic values has simply not met enough young Catholics! While the temptations of the world are the same as they've ever been, the will to resist them is stronger than ever. I hereby commend the Kitchen Sink Cafe here in Chicago for including in their lending library "The ABC's of Choosing a Good Husband" by Stephen Wood.

                                                         courtesy inhisname.com

The young women who patronize Kitchen Sink to indulge in a good ol' cup of joe may not look like they're there to drink from the lessons of St. Joseph. Their questionable hair length and unfathomable fashion choices will throw you off. But it's clear from the coffee stains on the pages of Stephen Wood's book that they care about the sanctity of marriage.

The easy-to-follow format of the book leads the reader through the alphabetized chapters- one for each letter. It frankly discusses diverse topics; "marriage-busters" such as pornography, masturbation, alcoholism, and contraception, and the perils of interfaith marriage. There are also helpful tips for the hopeful bride to follow to ensure the financial security necessary for starting a large family.

Though some of the more liberal of our Catholic sisters may hem and haw, I'll come right out and say it: I appreciate that this book was written by a man. All the better for the ladies to get a look inside a man's head, and know how to weed out the lesser of us. And Lord knows they do romanticize marriage. This book gives some valuable, level-headed perspective that will hopefully keep the reader from falling in with the first Romeo with a rock.

There's nothing my wife of 15 years, Clarice, and I enjoy more than inviting a young couple over to our house to counsel them over dinner on their path to the sacrament of marriage. They come to us nearly boiling over with mortal passion. However, we soon make our way the living room, my wife snuggling close to me, still flushed from the hearth of the kitchen. We enjoy good wine in moderation and they find release in revealing to us their struggles. My wife and I, thus reaffirmed in our own previous commitment to chastity, find all the more spiritual fulfillment in our marital embrace after they leave.

I wish we could keep the copy of "The ABC's of Choosing a Good Husband" from the lending library to inform our counseling, but good conscience dictates that I return it and get my own.

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