Ask Christopher West

How do mental health conditions relate to Theology of the Body and the discernment of our vocations? Do you think there is a relationship between our ability to recognize the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist and His presence in souls of those we encounter? As a nurse, how should I go about carring for patients who are "transitioning genders"? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Get access to the Revealed Experience Weekend with a PREMIUM PASS. Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! Join us on our Pilgrimage to Spain and Fatima! (August 26 - September 4, 2022) Bring Made For More to your area! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

What do you recommend for teaching middle school students about the Catholic stance on modern gender issues? Do you have any advice or resources for healing mother wounds? How do you ensure purity of desire when, in giving physical affection, you are also receiveing physical affection? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Get access to the Revealed Experience Weekend with a PREMIUM PASS. Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! Person and Identity Jason Evert's Gender Resource list If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

Am I doing something wrong if I get more out of this podcast than out of prayer? I'm concerned about my boyfriend following women he's attracted to on social media – I want to feel like I am enough. What do you think of the connections between Our Lady on Islam? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. REGISTER for FREE for Revealed: Become What You Are (May 13-15, 2022) Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! ECLIPSE OF THE BODY: HOW WE LOST THE MEANING OF SEX, GENDER, MARRIAGE & FAMILY (AND HOW TO RECLAIM IT) If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

What do you recommend to priests desiring to learn Theology of the Body? How can a virgin prepare for sexual intimacy with his future spouse? My wife and I are Catholic and even though I am open to life, my wife wants me to use condoms. Would doing this make me guilty of contraception? Do my husband and I have to discern whether or not to have more children? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. REGISTER for FREE for Revealed: Become What You Are (May 13-15, 2022) Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: Good News About Sex & Marriage by Christopher West Good News About Sex & Marriage YouTube Series View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

Do you have any advice for me as a wife whose husband is falling away from the faith? As a married woman, how should I handle being attracted to men who are not my husband? Why did Jesus ascend into heaven? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. REGISTER for FREE for Revealed: Become What You Are (May 13-15, 2022) Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: Northbound With Theo by Soren West View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

How do I train my mind, heart, and body to gravitate towards good eros when I'm always fearing the near occasion of sin? What is a just reason for avoiding a baby? How can I really SEE people? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. REGISTER for FREE for Revealed: Become What You Are (May 13-15, 2022) Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

Why is Christ depicted with a loin cloth in nearly all crucifixes? Do you have any advice for finding a husband in this day and age? Do you have any insights on Jesus drawing in the dirt when the woman is caught in adultery? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. REGISTER for FREE for Revealed: Become What You Are (May 13-15, 2022) Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

Do you have any advice for husbands to mend the wounds of pornography use in marriage? How does Theology of the Body relate to priests? Am I obliged to leave my husband if he does not uphold the Church's teaching on sexuality? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. REGISTER for FREE for Revealed: Become What You Are (May 13-15, 2022) Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: GOOD NEWS ABOUT SEX AND & MARRIAGE By Christopher West View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

Do you have any advice for sharing TOB with young children? Are civil marriages between a Catholic and a non-Catholic cosidered valid by the Church? As a woman in her 30s, I desire to be married but have some inhibitions about being a mother. Do you have any advice? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. REGISTER for FREE for Revealed: Become What You Are (May 13-15, 2022) Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: The moment Matt Fradd decided to come to Revealed Christopher West on Pints With Aquinas The Body Matters Bundle from Tobet Ruah Woods Press Theology of the Body at the Movies FREE e-book The book Wendy mentioned: All Things New by Erin McCole Cupp If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

What light can TOB shed on separated boys and girls schools? What light can TOB shed on body image? What's the relationship between the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Theology of the Body? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. REGISTER for FREE for Revealed: Become What You Are (May 13-15, 2022) Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: Join us on a [Pilgrimage](tobpilgrimages.com)! View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

I have heard Christopher define suffering as "continued receptivity before God." Could you say more about this? If "arousal is a sign our bodies are made to be gifts," what are practical ways to make a gift of yourself to the other when dating? Can you explain the symbolism of the Unity Cross? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. REGISTER for FREE for Revealed: Become What You Are (May 13-15, 2022) Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: Unity Cross View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

I'm struggling to forgive my husband for looking at pornography during a difficult season of our marriage – how can I heal? Are condoms used for the prevention of sexually transmitted disease still immoral? As an 18-year-old in a relationship for the first time, I'm struggling with how easily I am aroused even just by holding hands or seeing pictures of my girlfriend – what should I do? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Register for FREE for Revealed: Become What You Are May 13-15, 2022 Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

How do I heal from pre-marital sex with my husband and unchastity in our marriage? What should I do as a Catholic who struggles with pre-mature climax in the marital intercourse? If our deepest desire is ultimately for God, how does the answer to the question, "What is my deepest desire?" lead people into different vocations? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: Be Restored by Dr. Bob Schuchts Restore the Glory Podcast with Dr. Bob Schuchts and Jake Khym, MA Desert Stream Ministries Living Waters Groups Healing the Whole Person Retreats Schedule View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

What should I do if I'm attracted to a priest or a married man? Does having had a vasectomy invalidate my marriage? What does it mean that "Christ fully reveals man to himself?" Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

As a man, how can I heal from past wounds and learn to become a gift? Why is it sinful to separate marital intimacy from procreation (i.e. contraception, IVF, etc.)? Having been sexually abused as a child, how can God heal me and prepare me for marriage? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: Learn more about our Lenten Virtual Retreat GOOD NEWS ABOUT SEX & MARRIAGE YouTube: GOOD NEWS ABOUT SEX & MARRIAGE View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

How does being born out of wedlock and raised in two homes impact my place in the Church? I'm husband has confessed pornography addiction and infidelity. . . I want to be faithful to my vows, but I don't know if I should seek an annulment. Christopher, what are you reading currently? Any recommendations? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

How do you remain authentic when being true to yourself causes isolation? Do you have any advice for someone who is more attracted to comfort than greatness? How can sexual desire truly be oriented towards love for the other? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

What does the Church say about tattoos? Is a marriage valid if it is never consumated? What does it mean that celibacy is a "higher calling" than marriage? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

How can I be merciful to myself for sinning when I was raised so well, in such a loving family? I understand the philosophical definition of love as willing the good of the other, but what does it truly mean to love someone theologically? What is the difference between lust and admiration? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! Restore the Glory: Sexual Healing with Christopher West Restore the Glory: Sexual Healing with Christopher West. . . Continued If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

How can my wife and I grow in intimacy during periods of abstinence? What is the difference between Jewish marriage and Catholic marriage? Why does Jesus call God "Father" if God is neither male nor female? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

How can I lead my partner deeper in the faith when her faith is already deeper than my own? What is the Catholic Church's teaching on circumcision? Do you have any advice for ministering to men who struggle with sexual sin? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! More on the meaning of Circumcision If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

Does sexual union in our fallen world inherently "defile" the man and the woman? How do I balance longing for eternity and cherishing the things of this world? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

I'm afraid my wife feels that my love is conditional based on her physical appearance. . . what should I do? What happens to celibate's sexual desires? Why are marriage and holy orders sacraments but not religious life for sisters, brothers, and consecrated singles? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! Order your copy of God Is Beauty by Karol Wojtyla If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

My son attends Oxford Highschool where there was a recent shooting – he is unharmed but struggling to process the horrors of what happened. Do you have any advice? Believing that Catholicism is "the ultimate religion" makes me uncomfortable. How can we be sure that Catholicism is the correct interpretation of Christ's life? Do you have a list of good movies? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: Get a FREE e-book from Christopher West Theology of the Body at the Movies View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! Professor Destroys Relativism in 4 Minutes! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

Are Adam and Eve saints? When does desiring a romantic relationship become lustful, especially when using dating apps? What do you recommend for the healing and increase of desire for marital intimacy? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: Are Adam and Eve saints? What about Cain, Abel, and Seth? If they are saints, was their gaining death in the garden merely the loss of the supernatural gift of immortality, or also a rupture in their relationship with God they later had to repent of to mend their relationship with God so they could die in his grace? Question 2: Dear Christopher and Wendy, I, a 25-year-old male, ended a long-term relationship just over a year ago and a significant reason was my former girlfriend's intent on using contraception in marriage. Shortly after, I came to this podcast for strength, education, and support and I’m confident in that decision. Thank you for your work and passionate responses to all of us listeners. My question comes about dating apps. In short, do you think it's a good idea? Long version, I recently downloaded a dating app after being against them for so long, and it's the first time it's lasted on my phone for more than 24 hours. I am ready to date again, and I want to find a future spouse. But when does it become lustful in wanting a girlfriend? I find myself giving in to temptation, and sometimes the desire of having a new relationship and the experiences that come with that seem lustful to me. Thanks for your thoughts on this. Qestion 3: Christopher and Wendy, we love you! God bless you guys with a most special blessing. You guys have been a great blessing in our life and in our marriage. My wife and I have been married for 4 years. We feel we have a very strong marriage. We’re happy, strong in our Catholic faith, raising 3 kids together. We want to grow in all areas continually but the one area we feel that is lacking is "her intimacy." She, my wife, wants her sexual desire towards me to be stronger and wants to be more loving during sex. We have revealed everything to each other about our past sexual experiences because we wanted to hold nothing back from each other before we got married. (When I heard you say this on the podcast I was so glad to hear that I did the right thing to expose my past self). Her first sexual experience was not a good one. She was also 14 at the time and there were other sexual partners after that also. She says the times she experienced sexual desire was at the beginning of a relationship with someone new. I feel that in our marriage she “does it to please me." We’ve been reading Theology of the Body and listening to your podcasts. I long for her intimacy and more of her presence during our love making. We talk about it together rather often now and she is open to ways to help or resolve whatever the issue may be. Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! Check out the John Paul II Healing Center Be Restored: Healing Our Sexual Wounds through Jesus’ Merciful Love by Dr. Bob Schuchts Naked Surrender: Coming Home to Our True Sexuality by Andrew Comiskey If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

Do you have any encouragement for bringing Theology of the Body to the Anglican Church? How should I respond, as a teacher, to one of my highschool girls who thinks she is a boy? What is the Catholic view on arranged marriages? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: Hello Christopher and Wendy! First I would like to say thank you and bless you for your wisdom and vulnerable honesty that you share on the podcast. I pray for you both and for the Institute for continued blessing and for protection from the enemy who would want to trip up your good work. I like to listen to episodes of ACW on a bike ride out in the country side here in the north of England or on nice long walk with the dog. I want you to know that the way you articulate Theology of the Body is such a blessing to me. It’s getting into my bones. It’s also getting into my PhD thesis. My research on mystagogy in the early church and listening to you guys express again and again how God wants to unite with us and how deeply that’s written into the order of our bodies is truly helping me to understand the Church Fathers and to write what I need to say in my own work. I’m an anglican and I’m married to a wonderful, faithful man who has recently bee ordained in the Church of England. We both are drawn towards Theology of the Body and feel like it articulates the precious truth about our humanity, sex and gender, and our calling to union with God. I think the Anglican Church is in desperate need of this theology and across the western world, our denomination is, in my opinion, floundering catastrophically in our understanding of sexuality and gender. Though we’ve both felt drawn towards the Catholic tradition and also the Orthodox tradition, throughout our walk with the Lord my husband has felt called to the Anglican Church and to the priesthood in it. And, I’m called to be his wife. Do you have any words of encouragement or exhortation for us who want to be faithful and forthright and bring the healing truth of God in a context that often feels like a house on fire? Question 2: Hello Christopher and Wendy. I thank you for these podcasts. I don’t know why I was always interested in the way the Church sees sexuality. As a teenager, I always wanted to explain to my friends why it was important to wait until marriage for sexual relationships but I didn’t have any arguments or knowledge. Now, I understand a lot of things and I see that the most important is the love and mercy God has for us. I don’t know if I can help others, but in the mean time, I’ve discovered this is helping me a lot. But here’s my question: I’m a high school teacher. I have a 17-year-old student. Her name is Anna, but she says she wants to become a man. In the school, she wants to be “called like a boy” and she is really serious about it. She says her family doesn’t agree with this idea. She feels they don’t understand her. I think I’m the only teacher that doesn’t want to call and treat her like a boy. Some teachers think we don’t have to say “she feels like a boy.” They think she actually is a boy in a girl’s body; she is a he, and all this gender ideology. They really think they’re helping her. I think she suffers and she feels hurt and she doesn’t really know what she wants. I don’t know how to help her or how to talk to her without her feeling rejected. I like what you always say, “become what you are,” but in today’s world, this may mean an other thing. What would you do in this situation? Qestion 3: What is the Catholic view on arranged marriages, assuming free will and consent of both parties? This has been the norm for marriages throughout history, including in the Bible itself, and still common in many eastern cultures. And one could argue that marriages focused on "romantic love" is a modern phenomena. Does the implicit transactional aspect of such an arrangement make it sinful? Does it make the union less a gift of self, since the couple may not have grown in love yet? Or is romantic love not necessary for a holy marriage, and it's precisely therefore it becomes a true gift of self? Surely, since it's been the norm through history, the Catholic church must have blessed such unions? Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! Good News About Sex & Marriage by Christopher West When Ha

For some reason, my wife alwasy feels depressed on Sundays. . . any advice? Is masturbation permissible to obtain a semen sample for medical testing? How do I overcome lustful thoughts in marriage? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: I can't thank you enough for this podcast and the work you do with TOB Institute. Supporting you as a patron, the only organization my wife and I have ever supported in this way, was the easiest decision we've made financially. We have already made plans to attend the TOB I course/retreat in person together in the summer of 2022. My question: For some reason, on Sundays, my wife and I get this depressed feeling, like we should be doing something besides just Mass, and the only option we can think of is to clean the house and get ready for another crazy week with our four kids. Just last Sunday, I remembered what you said about pursuing good eros, so I turned on music I loved, danced with my kids, and seemed to have been lifted from that feeling, but my wife still felt "depressed." I tried to tell her about "good eros" and think of something she loves to do, but she didn't understand it nor could she think of something to do. Our youngest is 7-months-old and takes a lot of her time and energy. My response is usually to take her on a date, which helps, but I feel there should be more she can do for her. What kind of advice can you give to my wife and me who regularly experience this "depressed" feeling, specifically on Sundays. And does the pursuit of good eros play a role here? Question 2: Hi Christopher and Wendy! We're engaged and very soon to be united in the Holy Matrimony. We feel very fortunate to have learned of the great gift of Theology of the Body through your presentations in both Denmark and Brazil. We thank God for your life and your marriage, and pray for more lives to be touched by this truth. About our question: Recently we discovered a medical condition that can be a cause of male sterility. To study it properly the doctors asked for a semen test. We know how the sample is obtained for this test. We want to know in this case, if The Church allows this. We would be very happy to welcome children in our marriage, but also, don't want to go against God's plan for our lives and our bodies. Qestion 3: I have a question about lustful thoughts within marriage. I am 19 years old and right now I am dating. My boyfriend and I are waiting for marriage in order to be faithful to the Lord, and although this is hard, it isn't as hard as battling lustful thoughts. In this stage of life I push these thoughts away and focus on better things rather than lusting, but I cannot help but wonder, how does this work once you are married? With memories of past sexual encounters and fantasies for the future it seems like this is something that would cross a married couples mind. I always thought that it was okay to think about these kinds of things when you were married, but I want to know for sure. Would this be considered a sin within the context of marriage, or is it okay? Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: Check out Restore the Glory Podcast and listen to Episode 42 and Episode 43 featuring Christopher West. Saint Paul VI Institute The Cantata of Love: A Verse by Verse Reading of the Song of Songs View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

What is the morality of embryo adoption? How do you overcome sexual sin in a dating relationship? Why does God permit the blessing of chidren to come from sinful acts? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: Hi Christopher! Thank you so much for the work you do. As a young, Protestant, mother-of-two, I've learned so much from the resources you provide. It has deepened my faith as I have come to a better understanding of how I, as a Christian, am to live both body and soul together. My husband and I are looking for clarity in how to approach embryo adoption. We've noticed in our circles a trend in which a wife will feel passionately about embryo adoption and desire to help the babies that have been frozen as the result of IVF, but their husbands are not on board. Such has been our own case. My initial thought was that embryo adoption can be a way to alleviate the suffering that IVF has caused and since it is an adoption, the baby placed in the womb already belongs to the adoptive parents. My husband views this similarly to surrogacy since it separates pregnancy from the sexual act. It seems that the discomfort he and other men share is the idea that their wife would be pregnant with someone else's child. We have tried more than once to find succinct justification for embryo adoption that doesn't simplify it to an "ends justifies the means" argument, but have found nothing. It just grieves me to think that there might not be a solution for these babies that are in such a state of helplessness and abandonment. How can we think through this biblically? Question 2: Thank you for the light you have shared through your work – I’ve been fundamentally changed by your work. I am having a lot of trouble practicing chastity with my boyfriend. Both of us keep repeating sexual sins and confessing and doing it over and over again. We know the gravity of what we are doing and we debrief every time to try and work harder and do better as we discern our possible marriage to one another. I am asking for practical advice on how to really avoid non-marital sex and how to renew in hope after confession. I am always moved and healed by God’s forgiveness but I feel a sense of despair and hopelessness in our continued failure to respect each other’s bodies. I would also like to know if you have any advice for those struggling to persevere in prayer in moments of temptation, and any advice for how to continue practicing chastity in a relationship after failing so many times. Qestion 3: I know that the sins we commit come with consequences. Almost every sin I can think of has a negative consequence, but when it comes to fornication (well, obviously sometimes the consequences can be negative in terms of AIDS and other STDs) but sometimes God’s will is to give the couple who engaged in fornication a child, which I believe is always a blessing no matter the circumstances in which the child was conceived. Why do you think God would intend this, to bless people with children while all other sins have negative consequences? I can’t think of any other sin that has the possibility of giving us a blessing. Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

Can our desires reveal God's will for us? I was a sperm donor before my conversion: what should I do? Is it wrong to ask for physicaly affection when dating? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: Hello, first I would like to say thank you for your podcast. Recently I asked the man I hope I will one day be married to a question. I asked if he could see us together in the future, raising children and living for God together. We’ve been together for 3 years. We started our relationship in a carnal way and have both grown more in the Catholic faith. His response was that he doesn’t know. He said he doesn’t know what God's will is for us and he doesn’t want to say if he can see us together. So my question is, can our desires show us God's will? Can God use what we want for good? Question 2: I was a sperm donor as a younger man before I came to faith, and now follow the Church's teaching on sexual ethics. The clinic where I made my donations still has some of my “material” left over in order to be able to provide fully-related siblings if any of the women who have already received my material wish for further children from the same father. It goes without saying I won't be providing any further material, and I'm strongly inclined to tell them to dispose of whatever remains. I haven’t done it yet because I feel awful that I'll potentially be creating further fractures in families already formed outside of God's will. Any advice or comments would be hugely appreciated. Qestion 3: If affection, especially in dating, is meant to be given only to affirm the goodness of the other and not for yourself, is it wrong when you are in need of comfort to ask for a hug or some other affection? Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: There's still time to register! Join our Pilgrimage to Mexico City December 2-7, 2021. View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

How can I pursue Theology of the Body when my husband isn't on board? Will we still be male and female after the resurrection of the body? Is marriage worth fighting for? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karoly Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: While I was baptized Catholic and received the Sacraments, I was not raised in a family that practiced the faith. I’m a married mother of 3 children but felt that something was missing in my life. I had a profound conversion while attending a Cursillo weekend 3 years ago. Since then, my husband has grown further and further away from me because he says, "I have changed." We have tried 4 different marriage therapists, the last 2 being Catholic (one was from Dr. Popcak's group), but when it comes to him making changes and really putting in effort he quits going and says he doesn't need to change anything. If I go to him and tell him I want to pursue not only learning Theology of the Body but also living it out in our marriage, it may be the last straw for him. So my question is, how can I pursue this without him on board? How can I teach this to my children if they don't see it at work in their own home? Question 2: In a recent conversation about the resurrection of the body, a friend of mine told me that she doesn't believe our resurrected bodies will be male or female in heaven. Her reasoning is that, because the Bible says we are neither "married nor given in marriage" in heaven, then the sexual difference is no longer necessary in eternity. Also, since we're made in the image of God (who is pure spirit and therefore neither male nor female), she thinks that our glorified bodies will more "perfectly" image God by becoming gender neutral. In light of St. John Paul II's Theology of the Body, what is the proper response to my friend's ideas? Does the Catholic Church have any official teaching on this, and if so, is there anything in the Catechism or the Bible about it? Qestion 3: Thank you so much for your podcast. My husband is suffering from a mental health issue and lately it has made our lives difficult. I have never had any issue with fidelity in the past but the last months it has become a daily inner-fight. Could you please remind me what I am fighting for? Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

What resources would you recommend for women longing to be married who cannot find a man? What are some good reasons to stop having kids? What is the best way to help a friend who is repeatedly falling into sexual sin? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Comment Hi! This is actually not a question, rather I just want to tell you how much I appreciate the work that you do. And I just want to share that I am so happy to be a part of this community. I’ve been watching your YouTube channel and listening to your podcast for months now. And this month I have finally become a Patron! This is actually my birthday gift to myself :) God is so amazing; He provided me resources to be able to pay for the subscription. God bless you Christopher and Wendy and the whole team behind this community. Patron Question: Dear Christopher and Wendy, A situation I often face in my ministry is that of a woman wishing to get married and have a family, but not finding a man. I’ll see this person as years pass and realize how far away I am, as a man, from really understanding the depths of this suffering; that these women are somehow facing a countdown. I’m actually hoping you can recommend some Theology of the Body resources for a woman in such a situation. Any suggestions? Question 2: I am discerning marriage with a strong Catholic woman, and we are trying to be really practical with our conversations about children. I have always been so moved by the call to be fruitful in marriage. I find it so close to the heart of God and how he wants to teach us about his creative love. It’s really hard for me to consider anything other than continuing to try over the course of our marriage, every couple years, until menopause. She is more specific in her thinking than I am, and anticipates that between her body and capacity to love her kids and spouse, she really doesn’t expect to be able to handle more than 4 (which is reasonable, she’s 31 years old). I know we can’t predict if we will even be able to have kids, but there is something that just doesn’t sit right with me about projecting limits. I honestly believe that we can pull off whatever we need to financially, and I want to lay down my life down for her and as many kids come our way. It makes me sad to anticipate that putting her needs above my own might include stopping having kids when we could have more. I don’t know how I could ask my wife to throw out her back or have more kids if I’m really laying my life down for her, but I’m so moved by the thought of continual openness to sacrifice to have more children, in love. Perhaps the question is, what are some good reasons to stop having kids? Qestion 3: Hi Christopher and Wendy! I want to briefly say thank you to Wendy, for extending your motherly warmth and compassion to all of us during this podcast, it has been so healing for me. My question is, how do you help a friend who was raised Catholic and intellectually knows the church’s teachings and even desires to live them and be in relationship with the Lord. . . how do I help them when they keep falling into sexual sin, go to confession, and continue to fall in the same way? I don’t know how to best lead them to the merciful love of the Father. Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: National Catholic Singles Conference Theology of the Body for Beginners by Christopher West Freedom Coaching View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

Did the Holocaust influence St. John Paul II's writing? My parents are on the brink of divorce because of my father's pornography addiction. . . what can I do? Why did God make me this way if He knew I would hate it so much? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: I am a college student taking a class on the Holocaust, and I have been struck not only by the horror of the atrocities against human life but also the overall idea of personhood specifically in the forced sterilizations of the so- called "feeble minded." There was a book written in 1920 called "Allowing the Destruction of Life Unworthy of Life." Just that title breaks my heart. I can see how Theology of the Body speaks so much into this topic, and I am wondering if the events of the Jolocaust and eugenics movement had any impact on Pope John Paul II. I know he played a role in healing after WWII, but is there anything in his writings that would suggest the holocaust might have played a role in his talks on the Theology of the Body? Question 2: This is urgent. My parents have been married for 32 years and just recently my dad finally told my mom that he has had a porn addiction and has been masturbating for over 20 years. His admission has set off a huge destructive bomb in their relationship. My dad went to confession and they had the priest from our hometown come over and meet with both of them. My dad is going to be getting counseling but at this point, I still really do not know what is going to happen. I am so deeply worried and concerned that my parents are going to get a divorce. My mom says she doesn't know if she can ever recover from this damage. I know I cannot do anything about it other than pray because this is not really my issue. It is greatly impacting me, though. Despite what my dad has done, I still love him. I want to offer him mercy because he seems like he wants to get help to overcome his addiction now. I gave my dad a couple books to read. One of them was your book "Theology of the Body for Beginners" and the other one was the 33 day consecration to St. Joseph written by Fr. Calloway. I want to believe that my dad can find healing and recovery from his addictions. Is there any way that you can help me? I am 23 years old and I am so hurt by this and I have no idea what to do. Qestion 3: I have hated my body for about half of my life now. No matter how hard I try, I can’t get over the idea that I need to be stick-skinny or else I’m ugly. I wish desperately I could see myself how God sees me. I just don’t know why He made me like this if He knew I would hate it so much. Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: Join us on our Pilgrimage to Mexico December 2-7, 2021 Hope's Garden Ministry Freedom Coaching View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

How do we ensure our marital embrace is still open to the Holy Spirit if conception is not possible? Do you have any recommendations for healing from father wounds? How can my fiance and I prepare for a marriage free from lust? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: Dear Christopher and Wendy, God bless you. I am writing to you from Colombia in South America. My wife Marta and I proudly belong to the first TOB1 online class. What a blessing for our Christian and married life. We have already registered, as a refreshment, for the coming TOB1 online course in October. We strongly encourage those all and new podcast listeners to take part in the course. This beautiful truth about what it means to be human and how to live our lives in a way that we experience true happiness is what our spirits and our hearts need to hear. Now to my question. Marta and I have been married over 26 years and since the beginning of our marriage we did NFP. We have two children ages 24 and 23. We also had a loss 22 years ago and after that Marta´s womb needed to be removed for health reasons. Since in our marital embrace we have no more the ability to give life, how can we be sure every time we are together that we still have fully communion with the Trinity and that we are not putting aside the Holy Spirit, the Giver of Life? Question 2: Our oldest son who is 26 has recently admitted he struggles with depression. He lives in another state so we don’t get to see each other very often but we do talk regularly. He is not practicing the Catholic faith and he has deep father wounds. My husband, in the last few years, has been actively dealing with his porn addiction and his own father wounds and has come very far in his recovery journey. This has helped our marriage immensely. But the fallout has been with our seven children. They all have been affected to varying degrees by their father’s very rigid and sometimes harsh behavior while growing up. Can you recommend some suggestions for helping our oldest son deal with these issues? Qestion 3: Hello Christopher and Wendy. My fiancé and I have been growing more and more in love with the Theology of the Body both through this podcast and our own personal reading. I come from a background that looks very negatively on sex and so I have always lived on the "starvation diet" believing that I was practicing chastity. My fiancé on the other hand has struggled with porn for much of his life. Praise be to God, he has found freedom in that area within the last year after a four-year long fight against it. However, after being on the "fast food" diet for so long, he has now gone to the other extreme in order to avoid the temptations that could arise. My question then, is this: how can we both overcome our intense fears of lust and set our desires free in order to partake of the banquet? I don't ever want to put myself in a position where I could hurt him through lust. How can we overcome this obstacle? Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

How should a woman deal with feelings of attraction to a priest? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: How should a woman deal with feelings of attraction to a priest? Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

How do I process and release feelings of resentment about my fiance's sexual past? How can I help my husband who does not agree with the Church's teaching on chastity in marriage? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Pre-Order God Is Beauty by Saint John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla)! Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: Hello Christopher and Wendy, thank you both for all the work you do. Your ministry is truly amazing! My question is this: How do I process and release feelings of resentment about my fiance's sexual past? I am ashamed that I feel so upset about something that happened before we even met each other, especially because, for many years now, he's been a beautiful example of virtue and selflessness. I know I need to let this go, but I just can't release these feelings of self-consciousness, pain, and betrayal when I think about how I waited for him, but he didn't wait for me. Please help. Question 2: Thank you so much for your beautiful insight into marriage, NFP, and Theology of the Body. My husband and I are practicing Catholics, married in the church. We have 4 beautiful children here on earth and 4 children that we miscarried waiting in Heaven. We are reluctantly practicing NFP. I say reluctantly because my husband does not fully agree with the churches teachings on NFP and Chastity within marriage. He does not understand why (when we have decided that more children are not a good idea right now) we can’t be together in other ways during fertile times. I feel like I have exhausted all avenues in trying to help him understand, he is completely closed off to seeking out answers for himself. He seems set in his ways and I know only God can change his heart. My rosary intention every day is that he will accept chastity in marriage. I guess my question is, what can I do in the meantime, without falling into sin, while I’m waiting for his heart to be softened by God. I know he resents me during times of abstaining and during those times it feels as though our marriage is crumbling and not growing. I should also add that I am open to more children, but he feels that we are not ready for more. So to respect that, I feel like I am always having to say no even though I would be willing. Thank you for any advice at all. Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: Good News about Sex & Marriage View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

Is there such a thing as being a "gay Christian"? What resources do recommend for addressing the issue of homosexuality? Does the age gap matter when it comes to dating? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Pre-Order God Is Beauty by Saint John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla)! Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: Dear Christopher and Wendy, I've been an avid listener of your exceptional offerings to the body of Christ. God continues to use you in the way I think, believe and trust in Jesus. Thank you! I've come out of a gay identity that defined me for over two decades, which intersected with my marriage. Back in 1995 I confessed to my wife of 7 years that I was unfaithful to her for most of our marriage at that time. My struggle was inward and silent, yet with very destructive and sinful behaviors. After confessing to her I soon began walking the narrow path of healing with the help of Desert Stream/Living Waters. God has done miraculous work in me and my marriage: now 32 years and counting with 4 amazing children. Praise God! I offer this background for context of my question. There is a relatively new movement within the Catholic and Protestant church that offers a place for those struggling with same-sex-attraction to be labeled or identified as "gay Christian celibates." These ones want to follow Jesus and the orthodox teachings on marriage, yet they remain resolute in their belief that they are gay. Can you speak to two things: 1. Is celibacy an avenue to NOT pursue an integrated anthropology rooted in our creation as God's image bearers? What are your thoughts on being a "gay Christian?" Question 2: I have listened to your audiobook on OUR BODIES TELL GOD'S STORY, it's really good. Could you please direct me to some of your material or podcasts that address the current worldview on what I think is misguided reality in discussing sexuality and gender identity. With the books out there like TORN or GOD AND THE GAY CHRISTIAN, they don't even come close to describing how or what God designed our sexuality to be. What can you recommend that addresses these issues? Qestion 3: Hi Christopher and Wendy. First, thank you for the gift of your podcast and insight, the Lord has used you as a platform to speak truth to me. My question is in relation to dating. I am a 27 year old woman and consider myself devoted to the Catholic faith. I recently met a man at my church who, through talking with him, how he speaks of his faith experience and seeing him at daily mass, is also "on fire" for the faith. He is 39 years old. Given our conversations and friendship which is very solidified in our shared devotion to the Lord, I can tell that he is interested in potentially pursuing something more with me beyond just friendship. I have been praying to God for a holy, Catholic man who challenges me personally and in the faith, which I feel this man has done so far as my friend. My only hesitation is the age difference. I don't know if the Lord is calling me to date this person and I worry that my rumination on the age difference of 12 years is clouding my ability to truly discern what the Lord is trying to speak to me. I my biggest concern is what others think, which I know sounds silly and I am praying that the Lord releases me of this anxiety. Could you offer any insight about dating somebody who is this much older ? Does age difference truly matter in dating if both are bringing each other closer to the Lord? Thank you again. Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: Pre-Order God Is Beauty by Saint John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla)! Register for Sexual Integration & Redemption offered by Theology of the Body Institute and Desert Stream Check out more from Desert Stream Ministries Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body by Saint John Paul II Theology of the Body Explained by Christopher West Theology of the Body for Beginners by Christopher West Fill These Hearts by Christopher West View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consu

I had a very good family growing up – why do I feel so wounded? Are all sexual sins mortal? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: I grew up in a relatively good home. I did lose my mother when I was 9-years-old to ovarian cancer which certainly had an impact on my life. But, otherwise, there weren’t any alarming markers of major dysfunction. That being said, I am so hurt and broken. Much of my pain comes from seemingly small childhood wounds and current wounds within my familial relationships. I used to blame it on my sensitivity; that I was hurt too easily. My question is, is it wrong to think that perhaps my pain and woundedness seems more than it ought to be because even a “relatively good home” is still far from what God intends family to be? I was listening to Dr. Bob Schutes talk about wounds and just became overwhelmed at the amount of pain and brokenness even people from good homes may harbor. I would love to hear your thoughts. Question 2: Thank you so much for this podcast and all you do at the Theology of the Body Institute. My question has been troubling my mind and heart for quite some time now. In various Catholic materials I’ve read, for example guides to an examination of conscience, I’ve been told that “every sexual sin” is a mortal sin or at least a grave matter. I can never get a straight answer on whether this statement is theologically accurate. If it’s true, then I fear that each and every sexual union with my spouse, if God calls me to marriage, would be a near occasion of sin instead of an opportunity for grace. I’m worried that if I enter the embrace with even a tiny shred of lust or selfishness I will be committing a mortal sin. Do you have any thoughts or clarifications on the dilemma of mine? If I never get to a state where I am 100% lust free, is it better not to marry at all? Qestion 3: In the Theology of the Body Institute Store, there are some beautiful art pieces by Beth West. Is this Beth your daughter? Could we hear from her what inspired her to paint each of these pieces? As a woman in formation, I am particularly interested in “The Bridegroom in the Garden.” The description of the art piece alone contains a whole lecture of Theology of the Body in it. I would love to know how Beth was inspired and what the process of painting it was like for her. Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! Bridegroom in the Garden by Beth West Instagram: @beth_rose_art If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: My 4-year-old son asked me if the Blessed Mother died. I didn’t know how to answer that so I asked my husband. He told me that I can choose what to believe because she didn’t have to die but she could choose to die like her son, we only know that she went to sleep. What do you think? Did she die or not? Does she already have her glorified body? Question 2: How should I respond when someone is speaking about their physical attraction to another person? I always feel unequipped to navigate such conversations. I believe there is goodness to be discovered but am often inclined to cut it short. What do you think is going on in me? Qestion 3: Hi Christopher and Wendy! Could you please define eros and agape? I watched Christopher’s video on YouTube where he says that eros is meant to express agape. I also gathered from the video that eros is the desire for unification and that it is meant to change us. Is that correct? But how do you live eros, this desire for unification, when physical unification is not possible? Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: The Two Faces of Love: Eros and Agape View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

What are your insights on tying in Theology of the Body, the Eucharist and the Assumption of Mary? What advice do you have for grieving a miscarriage? What is meant by, "wives submit to your husbands"? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: This year's readings bring us into the Bread of Life discourse, culminating in conjunction with Ephesians 5, the Great Mystery. This year, however, the readings are broken up with the Assumption of Mary. I'm doing teachings on the Eucharist, and plan to bring up the marital component with Ephesians 5. What are your insights on tying in Theology of the Body, the Eucharist and the Assumption of Mary? Question 2: Hi Christopher and Wendy. Recently, my husband and I found out at my 20-week ultrasound that our son has a deformity incompatible with life. I will be carrying him however long he survives in the womb or until my due date, and he will die shortly after. We are devastated as this was our first child and the pregnancy up to this point was perfectly normal. I sometimes feel that we’ll never find true joy again in life when such a sorrowful thing is happening to our family. Any advice at all that can help us grieve and get through this time would be appreciated. Qestion 3: I saw your video about wives submitting to their husbands: to be submissive to his mission. What if your husband is not Catholic? I don’t want to give up my faith for his mission. Please tell me I don’t have to give up the fullness of my faith. Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

How do you give someone a chance without leading them on? How do I explain the difference between sacred nude art and pornography Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: I am a freelance video producer working mainly with advocacy groups and I recently received an invitation to bid on a project about HIV. I expressed my interest to bid and went on to do my research. In the middle of doing the sample storyboard, I found out that the project was not only about treatment of HIV but also about prevention in the form of daily medicine called PrEP. It's a pill that an HIV-negative person takes along with condoms so he or she can go on with his or her chosen lifestyle. That stopped me for a while. Would this project be good for me? Would I be advocating for same sex activities by doing this? Would I be committing a sin? Thank you so much for reading this and God bless you. Question 2: Christopher and Wendy, thanks so much for sharing your wisdom and helping us understand the world and our relationships in the light of God's Word! I’m wondering, what is the role of attraction in a romantic relationship? I certainly believe that faith and character are more important in a potential spouse than looks or personality. When I am pursued by a man with excellent character, I'll give him a chance even if I'm not initially attracted to him. If that attraction never develops and I find myself dreading spending time with him, I'll end things. But then he'll be upset and say I led him on. I feel guilty for hurting him, and I feel selfish for giving up on someone who is godly and maybe would even make a great husband and father. Is it selfish to value personality, interests, and looks in a potential spouse? And how do you give someone a chance without unintentionally deceiving or hurting them? Qestion 3: How do I explain to someone the difference between looking at art, say in the Sistine Chapel, of the naked body versus a playboy centerfold? They feel there is no logic to one being good, and one being bad. How do I show them the difference? How do I give them an answer that is logical? Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: Dustin Hoffman on Tootsie View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

How can NFP bring healing in marriage? What can I say in a short conversation to introduce people to TOB? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: Christopher and Wendy, Thank you for all the work you put into this podcast. I always learn so much from you both and frequently recommend your show to others. I have returned to my faith within the last five years, and have a dark sexual past that I am still struggling to heal from. Thanks be to God, I was recently engaged to a wonderful, holy man that has shown me so much about the love of Christ in our relationship. Something that has brought me a lot of distress lately is trying to implement Natural Family Planning as my fiancé and I prepare for marriage. A lot of the responsibility of NFP falls on women since they are the ones tracking their fertility signs, and this greater amount of responsibility scares me and makes me feel resentful. It reminds of times where I had to take control of my fertility to protect myself from men who used and discarded me. I know my fiancé has the best intentions with our family life, but I am struggling to see how NFP can bring cohesion in marriage as I feel it creating confusion, isolation, and disconnection in my life based on m y past wounds. Question 2: I’m a new listener to your podcast and I am devouring it. I have been on a journey over the last four years trying to understand the churches teaching on sexuality and marriage after my oldest daughter announced to me that she was in love with a woman and is actively in a gay relationship. I finally found the courage last December to stand firm in front of my daughter and share with her my belief that sex is intended by God to be sacred conduct between a man and a woman in a marriage. It was the hardest conversation I’ve ever had in my life. Since then, I found that not all Catholics believe the Church’s teaching on marriage and chastity. What can I say in a short conversation to get these Catholics thinking? I feel I can’t remain silent on this beautiful teaching of the Church. I want all Catholics to understand it and see it for its beauty. Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

Do you have any resources to recommend for approaching body image and an eating disordered past with Theology of the Body? What is the definition of masculinity and femininity? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: Dear Christopher and Dear Wendy, thank you for the wonderful work you do. I love to listen to you two while driving; I feel you are part of my family. My husband and I are practicing catholics and saved ourelves from sex until we were married. My husband is a holy man, I think of St. Joseph when I see him. He is always giving his life for me and our children through loving sacrifice and gift of himself. This is why I want to make him happy and I struggle with the following situation. During our marital embrace, my husband has never felt his own climax even though he ejaculates, he cannot feel anything. I often suggest to him that we look for help to figure out what is wrong, but he insists he accepts this as a mortification, that helps him not focus on the pleasure but on the love he has for me. I know the end of the sexual embrace is not the pleasure, but God wanted that pleasure to be there for a reason. Should we look for help? Should we accept it and let it be? Is it wrong to let it be? Thank you and God bless you. Question 2: Do you have any resources to recommend for approaching body image and an eating disordered past with Theology of the Body? Although I do not have an eating disorder any more, praise God, I still have wounds from my past in these areas and after praying about this for some time and listening to your podcast, I am certain that Theology of the Body and the healing of Jesus in the Eucharist are a necessary part of the healing process. I would love some guidance on where to start with this. Thank you so much for considering my question and God bless you. Qestion 3: My question is this: What is masculinity and femininity? a definition perhaps? What does the Church say? Are they complete binaries only found within their corresponding gender? I have often observed that sometimes a man may seemingly possess more feminine characteristics than other men and that some women seem more masculine than other women, not just on a superficial level but more so in their character. Why might this be? If both masculinity and femininity come from God would it make sense to find aspects of each "intertwined" within one person regardless of gender? Lastly, does masculinity and femininity become more pure the holier we become? I have a feeling that my understanding of these concepts is a little mixed up and I would love to hear your thoughts on these mysteries. Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

How do you advise we teach our children the solid and clear truth about same sex attraction with mercy? How do I heal from my husband's pornography addiction? Is it immoral for someone to take birth control as hormone therapy if she is naturally infertile? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: I'm one of the lucky people that attended the Theology of the Body 1 course in Madrid. It was both a blessing and a dream came true being there with you. I have a work coleague with same sex attraction, who has become a father through a surrogate pregnancy. Being honest, I don’t feel comfortable having him and his child visiting with my children, as I find his way of life wrong and can confuse my kids, but at the same time, I also think this is not merciful. He and his child are dearly loved by God. The children are not guilty of the sins of their parents. How do you advise we teach our children solid and clear truth with mercy so they can learn to deal with these people. Question 2: I've been looking for resources to recover from the porn addiction of my husband. I found good psychological resources that helped a little but I'm in need of something more. I have trauma because of my husband's acting out and it brings a lot of trouble into the relationship because my husband is unable to help me and support me. The psychological resources have a lot of ''focus on you first'' kind of approach. Boundaries, self-care, expectations of what a betraying husband should do to repair the damage done etc... As time goes by I feel more and more that I will need a ''sacrificial love'' kind of approach but it is not taught anywhere. I'm a little afraid of the future. I feel that I can't trust him and never will. I want communion with him. I want the marriage that God wants for us but I'm not sure that my husband thinks this deep. Aside from focusing on me and taking care of me, what should I do to heal, or at least be able to give myself the most I can even if my hurt is never healed? Qestion 3: Hi Christopher and Wendy! Thank you for your diligent work applying the Theology of the Body to Christian life. It has been such a blessing to me! My sister has a genetic disorder called Turner's Syndrome. It means that she’s missing the full genetic material for her second sex chromosome. Because she was born with this disease, she is naturally infertile and will never have biological children. As a part of her treatment, she has begun hormone therapy using birth control. Her doctors say this treatment is necessary, otherwise she could have more serious health problems from not having a menstrual cycle each month. Here are my questions: Since she is already infertile and is not intentionally intervening with her fertility, is there a moral wrong with her being on birth control as a hormone treatment? I have talked many times with my mother about church teachings on contraception and my personal skepticism of the effectiveness of this sort of treatment. Do you know of any resources I could share with my mother and sister on alternative hormone treatments? Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: Matt Fradd Freedom Coaching Dr. Bob Schutes [Pope Paul VI Institute](www.popepaulvi.com) View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

How can sex be unitive when it's used so often as a weapon? Is there and real freedom from sexual sin outside of death? How can marriage be a path to holiness? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: After six years in a sexually and emotionally abusive relationship, full of porn, manipulation, and rape, I struggle with the concept of sex as a unitive act. The procreative part makes sense, but I cannot see sex as unitive. I am getting married (not to the abuser) soon and I am terrified I will disappoint him by failing to give him a meaningful experience, but I just don't see how it can be meaningful. My question is, why and how is sex unitive? How can couples call it "the most profound form of communication"? I see praying together as a far higher form of communication, intimacy, and bonding than anything sexual. How does one make an act that is so easily used as a weapon a means of love, intimacy, and unity? Question 2: Hi Christopher and Wendy, I had a weird thought: I think that because I have masturbated in the past I cannot say for sure that I have stopped it forever. I'm trying to control myself and with God's grace and mercy I'm sort of controlling myself but still I think that the only way to come out of it is to die. Am I wrong? Qestion 3: Hi Christopher and Wendy, gosh I can’t begin to thank you for how you have impacted my spiritual journey. What a blessing! Here is my question: Sometimes when I think about marriage, it seems hard that it unlocks some kind of mystery or provides a language to speak of how I am destined to be in complete union with God. It seems that a marriage would shift my focus from this ultimate goal to providing what seems like unnecessary attention to my spouse. I understand that loving others is a form of loving God but I worry that if I am called to marriage, it would be more of a distraction from the ultimate goal rather than being an aid in getting there. How have you worked through this question? Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: [Hope's Garden](www.hopesgarden.com) View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

Can a Catholic marry a Muslim? Is it possibly to cohabitate chastely? What light can Theology of the Body shine on aging? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: Can a Catholic marry a Muslim? If so, how? And if not, why not? Question 2: I have two questions. The first is in regards to chaste cohabitation and whether this is permissible or not. For context, my partner and I converted and came to faith last August (in 2020). At the end of September we made the decision to live chastely and hope to marry. I homeschool my children from a previous relationship and do not work. We plan to get married, but my partner was in a civil marriage and he’s in the process of divorce. So for us to live separately would mean me stopping my kids’ homeschool program and going back to work. My second question is whether this civil union still needs to be annulled? Qestion 3: Thank you Christopher and Wendy, for sharing this Good News so beautifully with all of us. I wonder if you could share some of your reflections on the theology of the aging body. I work as a primary care provider in the medical field and spend a lot of my time with the elderly, many of whom are struggling with the aging process and the pain and suffering that often accompanies old age. Dementia is particularly difficult on the person and loved ones as the person seems to become almost a shell of their former self, in some way. I Would appreciate any reflections on what light the Theology of the Body can shine on this issue. Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: GOOD NEWS ABOUT SEX & MARRIAGE View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

Everytime I meet a guy, I can't help wondering if he's "the one." What's wrong with me? If a woman takes the pill for health reasons, is it immoral? Can you shed some light on grieving through the lens of Theology of the Boday Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: Dear Christopher and Wendy, I started praying about my future and asking God what he wants for my life. I feel like I’m called to marriage. The thing is, since realising that marriage is my vocation, I’m incapable of seeing members of the other sex primarily as a beautiful human being made in the image of God. When I meet a guy I think, “God, is this him?” I feel like I should be able to control my thoughts better. What should I do? Question 2: Many doctors prescribe the birth control pill to women as a treatment for irregular periods, hormone imbalance, and acne. If a woman takes these pills as prescribed for health reasons, is it a sin? Would it depend whether she is a single woman or a married woman? Qestion 3: My grandfather recently passed away and the grieving process has been hard for all of us, especially for my grandmother who has been married to him for over 60 years. I know from the Theology of the Body that death is a rupture between body and soul, but that we have hope in the resurrection of the body. There’s been conversation among the members of the family that visiting the grave doesn’t make sense because he’s not “really there,” he’s in heaven. After listening to you recently I’m thinking it would be proper to mourn his body at the grave because the body is not just a shell that held his soul. Can you shed some light on the proper understanding and response to grieving and feeling our loved one’s presence during this time of unnatural separation in the light of Theology of the Body? Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! Pope Paul VI Institute If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

Was the Incarnation plan B? Did God know we would sin? How do I talk to my 5-year-old who has been exposed to the LGBTQ ideology? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: I'm confused about God’s original plan and you saying that the Word made flesh wasn't God’s secondary plan after the original sin. What does this mean? Why would God send His son if there was no sin? Question 2: Did God know that human beings were going to sin and was original sin in his plan? Qestion 3: My oldest daughter attended a Catholic preschool and kindergarten at a charter school. The reason I share this is because I thought she would be protected from LGBTQ issues there, more than if she were to attend public school. I must be naive. In preschool, my daughter was told by a peer that her mother told her “girls can marry girls and boys can marry boys.” After the first week of kindergarten, my daughter overheard a teacher telling students that she grew up with two dads. Even though I have a deep passion for John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, I feel unprepared to address these issues at such a young age. Do you have advice for how to answer questions like these from my 5-year-old? Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: Pull Yourself Up By Your Booty Boot Straps by Troy B. Norman (Author) and Beth R. West (Illustrator) Beyond the Birds and the Bees by Greg and Lisa Popcak THE TRUTH AND MEANING OF HUMAN SEXUALITY View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

How do I help a loved one who has been sexually abused? Is it still wrong to have premarital sex if we know we want to be with each other forever? Is it sinful if my eyes are drawn to those parts of the body that reveal fertility? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: A friend of mine who was abused in her childhood recently told me, “If God would ask me, I would ask to be non-binary, because beeing a woman is too dangerous and I don‘t want to be a man either.” How can I help her? She is already trying to read Theology of the Body for Beginners. Question 2: If I have premarital sex with my boyfriend whom I love but we just don’t want to get married yet because of the economy but I love him and we’re sure we both want to be together forever, is it still wrong? Qestion 3: Hi Wendy! Hi Christopher! I thank both of you for the blessing you have been in my life. My question is about someone who has already experienced a significant degree of sexual redemption. I would consider myself to be a part of that group, but when I go for a walk, or shopping my eyes are still often drawn to the female body parts that reveal their fertility. I don't really have lustful thoughts after them, and I always try to see the whole person, and thank God for all the beauty he created around me, but the fact remains, that this is what catches my eye, and I partly ascribe that to my sexual past. Should I overcome this? What would be the most dignifying way to look at the women around me? Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: **Our Sponsor: **We can't say enough about Rose Sweet and her ministry! Be sure to learn more about her work by clicking the link. Titles by Rose Sweet View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

Are wet dreams sinful? Are there any exceptions in which getting a vasectomy would be permitted? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: I submitted a question to you a few weeks ago but I HAD to thank you for recommending John Paul IIs "Jewelers Shop." It has changed me, maybe forever. Utterly. Also, your beautiful words regarding Elisabeth Leseur: I was aware of her but it was wonderful to hear. She is one of my “special saints.” Finally, I'm doing a doctorate on spirituality, embodiment, and dementia. I see so much in Theology of the Body that relates. Maybe I can someday work with you on issues related to aging. It’s a challenging field, dementia and TOB. God bless! I Adore you both! Question 2: Christopher, how would you approach the topic of wet dreams? To me they seem involuntary or uncontrolled, and the sometimes very lustful content of them shocks me. Since I don't masturbate or watch porn anymore, and desire to live chastely. I have them about once a week, and when I wake up, I'm usually a little bit confused about my body and my mind. Qestion 3: I just listened to Matt Fradd's latest interview with you and found it beautiful. I'm a father of four who's just coming up on forty this year and was really struck by your reflections on parenting, growing older, and God's Grace throughout it all. My wife and I both really enjoyed it. Speaking of my wife, we have been married for almost twelve years and have four beautiful children. We met in church and were, right out of the gate, practitioners of and advocates for the Theology of the Body and Natural Family Planning. Yet now, I find myself waiting for a urologist consultation to get a vasectomy. I'm in a position where it is unsafe for my wife to become pregnant. In fact, my doctor said he normally dissuades young men from getting them but is making an exception because of my wife's situation. Being married for over a decade and being around other long-lasting marriages has revealed a lot of otherwise conservative Catholic couples with lots of kids who use contraception. I cannot see any demonstrable reason why it's bad, in an otherwise healthy marriage, unlike abuses like porn or alcohol addiction. So, between our medical situation and my lived experience, I'm struggling. I understand there's Natural Family Planning, but we’ve experienced two surprise pregnancies and we honestly view it now with suspicion. That's where I'm at. I've talked to priests about this and other strong Catholics. Their advice always is, "The Church's teaching is clear but you are right to protect your wife." Again, it was a wonderful talk with Matt Fradd and I'm sure God led us to it for multiple reasons. I hope you can give me some clarity to square my conscience with Church teaching. Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: **Our Sponsor: **We can't say enough about Rose Sweet and her ministry! Be sure to learn more about her work by clicking the link. View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.

If a married couple is able to have children of their own, is it morally wrong to adopt children instead? Is having had a hysterectomy an imprediment to marriage? Why is Natural Family Planning permitted by the Catholic Church but contraceptive birth control is not? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body. Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community! Patron Question: If a married couple is able to have children of their own, is it morally wrong to choose to adopt children instead? Question 2: Hi Christopher and Wendy, Years ago, I attended a Theology of the Body conference, and have recently discovered your podcast and love listening to you both! During your May 3rd podcast, in response to a sensitive question, you responded, in part, that, “The man’s seed only belongs in the garden.” This is where my sensitive question comes in. What if the woman no longer has her “garden?” Would it be an impediment to marriage if the wife no longer has her garden where her husband can plant his seed? Qestion 3: I am considering Catholicism from a Lutheran background but there is an issue that I have not been able to come to terms with as a young married mother of 3 children who are 3 and under. Why is Natural Family Planning allowed and not contraceptive birth control that does not abort? What is the difference other than a technicality? Both are being used to prevent life at that time; both are (somewhat) effective. It would be easier for me to swallow that there should be no family planning than, “NFP is fine but birth control is not.” Also, why in Theology of the Body do I keep hearing that sex is never separated from procreation? By nature, much of a woman’s cycle makes her not capable of procreating. Should we then only have sex during the fertile time? Help! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com. Resources mentioned this week: **Our Sponsor: **We can't say enough about Rose Sweet and her ministry! Be sure to learn more about her work by clicking the link. View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! GOOD NEWS ABOUT SEX & MARRIAGE If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook and Instagram. Discover the Theology of the Body Institute. If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review. Thanks for listening! Christopher and Wendy hope their advice is helpful to you, but they are not licensed counseling professionals. If you are dealing with serious issues, please consult our list of trusted professionals. Featuring music by Mike Mangione.