Several weeks back, I got a nice e-mail from Deacon James Keating, Director of Theological Formation for the Institute of Priestly Formation at Creighton University, asking if I’d like to give a listen to a couple of CDs that he’s produced, one on prayer, another on marriage. I’m a sucker for free stuff, so said, “Sure!”

The good deacon, of course, sent them to me, and they sat on my desk, under piles of mail (I’ve learned that the diocese never runs out of creative ways to use dead trees), bills, notes to self, and phone messages from the rectory receptionist. The CDs sat unopened and unheard.

Until now.

I’ve started working my way through Deacon Keating’s “Marriage in the Lord: Poured Out for Love,” a collection of eight 25-minute conversations (with radio host Chris McGregor) on marriage, love, home life and (of course) sex. This is really a remarkable, and remarkably valuable, collection of work that draws on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, philosophy, theology, and simple human experience to weave a nuanced and sensitive portrait of what it means to live in a truly Catholic marriage. “The goal of Catholic marriage,” Deacon Keating says at one point, “is to die as saints under the tutelage of one another’s great love.” If that’s not a conversation-starter, I don’t know what is.

And, indeed, these CDs would be wonderful tools to spark conversation among those who are engaged, or preparing for marriage; I imagine they’d be great for pre-Cana retreats or as part of a Marriage Encounter weekend. Parishes could also use them as resources for days of recollection. Each set also comes with booklets to help guide discussion. (You could also just download them onto your iPod and get a spiritual jumpstart on the way to work in the morning.)

I’m looking forward to hearing what else Deacon Keating has to say — and especially listening to his prayer CDs, “Communion with Christ: Practical Prayer.” Check them out.

(And, while you’re at it, check out his book, “The Deacon Reader,” which you can find over on my Deacon Bookshelf. As a certain deacon I know says in a blurb for the book: “The Deacon Reader is a comprehensive, informative and inspiring overview of the diaconate — and may well prove to be the definitive work on the subject.”)