What is Reddit's opinion of Men, Women and the Mystery of Love: Practical Insights from John Paul II's Love and Responsibility?

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I think you should totally read Ed Sri's Men, Women, and the Mystery of Love too. It's probably the friendliest and more engaging explanation ever of JPII's teaching on attraction, relationships, marriage, and sexuality. You'll probably find in it a very useful roadmap for navigating anything and everything related to this topic 👌🏼

Nah Love and Responsibility is also a very dense read 😅😆. You know what? You should totally start with Edward Sri's Men, Women and the Mystery of Love. It's an awesomely narrated chapter by chapter explanation of L&R that includes a lot of very engaging examples and references (ex. the Titanic movie). It is so good that it's probably the only book I've actually read through in a single sit--although it caused me a university event that day 😆.

Hmm.. great question. I did work a lot on myself, but when I had to go through something similar it was good old philosophy that gave me the biggest mindset change in moving from something lust-driven (with all the anxiety and powerlessness it makes you feel) to the freedom to admire the radiance of another with gratitude--and unchained from the feeling of 'need' that desire can easily cause. The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius taught me to stop paying too much mind to what happened outside of me, Karol Wojtyla's Love and Responsibility gave me new eyes to start seeing the sexual sphere with wonder as opposed to an enslaving form of lust (though the book is terribly dense and a more accessible explanation can be found in Edward Sri), and Nietzsche's The Gay Science gave me the spark of anger I needed in order to stand with power in the midst of any storm [though I can only recommend Nietzsche with a caveat, given that one can easily go overboard into a resentment-based mindset which is just as unhealthy as its opposite (and he's also not the best author to read if you're religious and haven't gone first into the classics)].

I really enjoyed this breakdown of JPII's Love and Responsibility - it's the foundation/precursor to his TOB writings:

Edward Sri "Men, Women, and the Mystery of Love: Practical Insights from John Paul II's Love and Responsibility" https://www.amazon.com/Men-Women-Mystery-Love-Responsibility/dp/0867168404

Not subtle, but Saint JP2's Love and Responsibility lays out an absolutely beautiful vision for love and marriage. Men, Women and the Mystery of Love is my favorite secondary source. Dr. Sri provides insight that would be immensely valuable for the marriage.

In my experience though, couples really appreciate practical gifts. So I'd pair anything you get with either cash or an item off their registry.

But yes, (sexual) attraction is what starts drawing you to someone- however, the love that blossoms from it is something much more than just attraction.

If you haven't read it yet, this is answered in Love & Responsibility by JPII. You can read that book, or be like me and read the summary version which I HIGHLY recommend: https://www.amazon.com/Men-Women-Mystery-Love-Responsibility/dp/0867168404

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PS: I would caution you about rebutting any advance from someone you have no attraction to, unless you know the person. I've met people who, at first, seemed really unattractive but after hanging out with them once or twice became attractive in my eyes due to their personality or something else. In the same vein, I've had attractive people instantly become unattractive because of an ugly personality or view on the world. But if it'll NEVER work out, then yeah, don't just date because someone asked you out.

Dr. Edward Sri's Men, Women, and the Mystery of Love is probably the best introduction to John Paul II's Theology of the Body. It's very accessible, while also giving a thorough explanation. Here it is on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Men-Women-Mystery-Love-Responsibility/dp/0867168404

Augustine's autobiography, Confessions, is the great classic on finding forgiveness and allowing God to heal wounds. He's pretty theological about talking about his own life, though, which might be difficult for someone just getting in. Luckily, Louis de Wohl's The Restless Flame adapts the story into a modern novel, and it's super awesome. Here that is on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Restless-Flame-Novel-about-Augustine/dp/0898706033/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1509815450&sr=1-1

The lives of the saints is a fantastic way to get a better understanding of what a Catholic's life looks like. St. Therese's autobiography, Story of a Soul, ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/0935216588/sr=1-1-spons/qid=1509815650/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1509815650&sr=1-1-spons ) is probably the easiest modern autobiography of a saint to read. Some other great biographies include St. Athanasius' Life of St. Anthony ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/1536859249/sr=1-1/qid=1509815706/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1509815706&sr=1-1 ), and G. K. Chesterton's St. Francis of Assisi ( https://archive.org/details/francisofassisi00chesuoft ).