Ask Christopher West

Questions answered this episode:
 How do unbaptized people fit into the body of Christ? My husband and I are new Catholics. We both have a past in regards to sexual sin. While dating we frequently had to stop ourselves in times of passion and it seemed like he was always aroused when we were together. Then we got married and all of that went away. He never wanted to have sex in the earlier part of...

Questions answered this episode: I’ve been fighting the good fight for chastity and I was managing well but it’s become much more difficult now that I have a girlfriend. Do you recommend I break up with her? If we are freed from original sin at our baptism, why do we still experience labor pains? What is the role of beauty in the life of a Christian? How can beauty help me deepen my relationship w...

Questions answered this episode: I’m familiar with what the TOB teaches about the marital embrace and the mutual self giving that occurs there. It’s difficult to understand this in my heart. Prior to marriage I experienced multiple episodes of sexual abuse. I engage in relations with my husband to be a gift to him. I know it is important to love him in that way. However, in my heart it doesn’t fee...

Questions answered this episode: I’m a 21 year old college student. I’m struggling to make peace with my girlfriend’s sexual past. I’ve experienced healing but remain very wounded. My girlfriend repents of her past but has also lied to me about some of the details she has shared. Some of those details I find deeply troubling. On the one hand, I understand we should show mercy, embrace the wounds o...

My girlfriend and I have been dating for almost 2 years now. She’s in her second year of medical school. We both desire a chaste relationship. We both have a good understanding of the TOB but also fail to live it at times. Now that we've started to talk about marriage, sometimes she feels like she’s ready but there are also times when she shares that she thinks she doesn't want to have chi...

Questions answered this episode: What role does lingerie have in the intimate union of man & wife? Can it be a beautiful & holy part of the marital embrace? If so, how? My wife and I have had our first baby recently and along with that blessing there have been some difficult changes for our early 20’s. My wife is struggling with body image issues. Unfortunately she has severe stretch marks...

Questions answered this episode: My fiancé shared more with me about his past and surprisingly I was calm and received him with mercy. I’m not sure if it was the initial shock of hearing him share these vulnerable moments of his past or because I had previously wondered and assumed there was some sexual brokenness there. I thank God for my response and hope that my fiancé seeing me receive him wit...

Questions answered this episode: Is there a particular theological significance of Eve being created from a rib out of Adam’s side? My boyfriend enjoys watching videos & movies that fall into the comedy category, which is not my favorite genre. This is not something I enjoy. There are times when I find these movies painful to my heart because of the content they have. Am I just being too uptig...

Questions answered this episode: What is a good elevator pitch for the Theology of the Body? I became pregnant at 17. With the help of my parents and a pregnancy resource center, my son and I have been able to have a very happy life. He’s now 2 and I’m about to turn 20. I’m not with the father of my child. He sees his son from time to time but I’m the one who cares for him. I’m okay with this, but...

Questions answered this episode: When JPII talks about using another person as a means to an end I always imagine a couple but what happens in the case of a single person who seeks to give pleasure to him or herself? Is the person using him or herself? To what extend does that affect the person or others? Why does this sin leaves a feeling of loneliness? How do I make steps to open those places to...

Questions answered this episode: What is one way each of you has grown since you got married and what was that growing process like? What your number one tip for people when discerning a future spouse? What is the experience of writing a book like for you? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share th...

Questions answered this episode: I’m part of a conservative Catholic group on Facebook. I was surprised to find that many Catholics there believe NFP is contraceptive except in the gravest circumstances. When I questioned this philosophy, they said that the fact that God gave them each of their many children is that it would've been sinful if they had abstained during those fertile times. This...

Questions answered this episode: How can I bring Jesus into the marital embrace without envisioning him sexually and in a pure and holy way? I’ve been struggling to find my wife attractive. Am I justified expecting my wife to shape up for looks’ sake or even for health’s sake? How much of this is the impact that porn has had on me and my perception of beauty? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podca...

Questions answered this episode: How can we love Jesus on earth when he doesn’t have a body? How can prayer feel more like a full relationship and not just long distance communication I was homeschooled and raised in a close knit immediate family. We never spent much time with relatives or friends and my parents always sought to solely invest in each other and their children. On the other hand, my...

Questions answered this episode: What does JPII mean when he talks about Ordinary Mysticism? What would your answer be to when people ask “are you done having kids?” Is there a preferred method when buying books from Catholic authors? 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,...

Questions answered this episode: I’ve heard Christoper say many times “Christian know thyself” and thought I knew what it meant but have been searching for the quote and can’t seem to find it. Where does this quote come from and what does it mean? How do you respond to the arguments about how homosexuality, masturbation and pedophilia are natural because animals do it? I’ve heard you mention that...

Questions answered this episode: How can I show my nieces and nephews my true delight in them and help them feel truly loved and desired in the way that I never felt growing up? I would like to prepare my husband’s body for burial after death. I think I misunderstood the biblical teaching of uncleanliness and handling the dead. Can you help me sort out the fear of being unclean by touching a dead...

Questions answered this episode: Can TOB shed any light on the sin of racism? Is it wrong to give a kiss if there’s even the slightest bit of arousal present as a dating couple? I’ve struggled with the sin of masturbation for the past 10 years. It comes and goes in seasons. Recently, I’ve experienced great temptations while I’m asleep. I awaken in the night with urges I can’t control. Do you have...

Questions answered this episode: I’ve always heard that as long as the sexual union ends in intercourse anything goes but I’ve never heard any guidance on what happens next and what could be considered masturbation in marriage. Do you have any guidance? Are boudoir photoshoots immoral? I’d like to go deeper into the topic of chastity. Which book would you recommend? Ask Christopher West is a weekl...

Questions answered this episode: Would there have been dating and discernment of marriage in the garden before the fall? I’m a young woman soon to be engaged. Before I started dating the man I’m currently with, I had sexual encounters with 2 other guys. He is aware of the first but not the second. Do you have any advice? Why is the word “until” in the verse “He had no relations with her until she...

Questions answered this episode: What happens to children and infants in the Second Coming? My husband and I have been married for over a year. He’s in his early 50’s and I’m in my early 40’s. Even though we’ve been married for a year, we still haven’t had intercourse because of my husband’s sexual trauma. What would you recommend for our healing? As a future high school English teacher, what are...

Questions answered this episode: I struggle with comparison. I feel like I don’t have the joy that other christians have. This makes me wonder why I feel like I should have more than what the Lord has already given to me. Why do I think I’m so special as to receive more? If there was no original sin, could we still feel pain in our bodies? I’m a wife & mother. For a while I’ve been feeling res...

Questions answered this episode: What does TOB have to say about folks whose natural personality don’t always line up with archetypes of male and female? I’m in a relationship with a man who is in active recovery from sexual addiction. How can I support him as his girlfriend? What led you (Christopher) to return from protestantism to Catholicism? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which T...

Questions answered this episode: Does striving to live out TOB affect the decisions we make for our pet’s fertility? My mother recently had a surgery that required a hysterectomy. This brings about sadness even though she was already past child bearing years. Does TOB have any insights into this? I’m due with my second child very soon. I feel there’s minimal talk around birthing in Catholic circle...

Questions answered this episode: I’m a young woman happily dating a catholic man. The thought of having times of abstinence in marriage is a little sad. Could you speak on the beauty of abstinence? Is the ability to be physically intimate even in times of abstinence without it leading to intercourse something that is learned only in marriage? Is this something that can be learned as an engaged cou...