Ask Christopher West

Questions answered this week: How has doing this podcast together impacted you as a couple? How can I balance intimacy in the context of dating without adopting a mentality of how far can we go? Should hormonal birth control always be avoided? 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...

Questions answered this episode: * I recently became a mother but now I feel like I lost a sense of my personhood. How can I embrace my life as a mother while still honoring my person? My wife went through medical procedures that made it impossible for her to have intercourse. What are our options for sexual intimacy as a couple? I’ve been married for 3 years but haven’t been able to conceive and...

I've been overwhelmed by the call to leadership as a husband, father, and professional. Do you have any advice? I'm going through a rough patch in my relationship with my boyfriend. I feel disappointed and anxious about the thought of losing this relationship. Could you offer some wisdom? I struggle with lust. I want to be honest with my wife, and whenever I bring these things up, she shut...

-Question 1: I'm a bodybuilder, and I see both the good and the bad in this pursuit. Is there a way to integrate my life of faith with my passion for bodybuilding? -Question 2: I went through a life-threatening condition during childbirth that is making my husband and me reconsider how we approach sexual intimacy. Do you have any advice? -Question 3: I recently started an intentional relations...

Sexual abuse is a punishment almost worse than death. How can TOB explain that Jesus truly understands the deep pain endured by people who have suffered sexual abuse? I'm a young adult man drawn to a friend. I am not as physically attracted to her. Is physical attraction less important than other aspects? Was woman punished more severly than man after the fall? Ask Christopher West is a weekly...

I want to honor my children’s gender while not imposing gender stereotypes on them. Are there any activities, clothes or toys that should be kept exclusively to a specific gender? I had sex with the woman I intend to marry. We’ve both repented and gone to confession. Is there still hope that our relationship will lead to a holy marriage? I’ve struggled with porn and lust since I was a teenager. I’...

Is there a bad type of eros or is this only a form of porneia? I had a vasectomy because my wife had a heart condition that would put her life at risk if she happened to get pregnant. I went to a priest and he left me feeling hopeless. Was the way he reacted consistent with gravity of the mistake we made as a couple? Sometimes painful memories from past relationships come to mind and I feel like I...

My wife and I practice Natural Family Planning. She thinks it’s unfair that the only time she has any interest in sex is during times of fertility. She also thinks that the Church’s stance is anti-woman. How can I respond to her? I’ve struggled with loving my body and feeling feminine. Do you have any insights? I’m a husband discerning diaconate. What does the TOB has to say about marriage and hol...

I’ve heard that couples should have a short engagement so as to not fall into sexual sin. What are your thoughts? Would artificial conception be permissible in the case of illness? Both vocations to marriage and celibacy are a call to sacrifice. How can I discern properly if I have a profound desire to give my life completely to God? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of th...

Is finding out the sex of your child in the womb wrong? I belong to a protestant group ministry and several of our members have been hurt by one of the ministry leaders who constantly objectifies men and women. Do you have any advice? I’m a young adult that studied business and worked in a top tier firm. The demands of the work made it very hard to take care of my personal life so I decided to lea...

I feel profoundly lonely and I’m desperate. How can I address this longing without turning it into an idol? I’m trying to teach my daughter to be prudent regarding poop jokes. Do you have any advice? My husband and I are trying to integrate NFP in our family life. Is it okay to use ovulation predictor kits? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President...

The bodies of some saints and holy men and women have been found incorrupt. Can you explain the miracle of incorrupt bodies and how it relates to the Theology of the Body? I struggle with gaping at women. How do I overcome the desire to look at women? How did you live your marriage with openness to the number of children God wanted to give you? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which The...

I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and have been unable to conceive. I've been suggested to take a drug that induces ovulation, but this drug may cause cancer. Am I morally bound to use this medical treatment? How do you deal with the far right movement in the Church? I have feelings for a man and I can't think of him without getting aroused, which makes me feel bad. How can I learn to thi...

I've been doing Exodus 90 for the past few years. One of the ascetic practices involves only listening to music that lifts the soul to God. Is this asceticism opposed to listening to popular/secular music? I'm a 22 year old woman in college that has struggled with pornography for a few years. I've realized how porn has affected the way I see my boyfriend whom I'm planning to marry....

I’m a young adult that struggles with same sex attraction. I was deeply wounded by my parents’ reaction when I shared my struggle. Do you have any advice? I want to continue loving my husband but I sometimes worry that I’m using him in the marital embrace. What helps you keep the spiritual reality of the marital embrace at the forefront? Secular art, when seen through the lens of our relationship...

I'm struggling with sloth and the burdens of motherhood, does the Theology of the Body have any advice? I was exposed to pornography and I'm afraid I'll bring the wounds into my marriage. Is there any way to forget these memories? I struggled with self hate and whenever men approach me I close down. I'm also drawn to religious life, how can I work through this? Ask Christopher West...

How is it that God met Moses "face-to-face" before the incarnation? I have some fears about NFP as a soon-to-be-engaged woman and I am sometimes tempted to just use contraception. Do you have any advice? Did Jesus and Mary have sexual desires? Were they able to have sex? How did their sexuality differ from ours? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Insti...

How important do you think physical fitness is in light of Theology of the Body? If Satan has no body, how can he have offspring? (In Genesis it says that God will put emnity between his offspring and Eve's.) As someone who fell for the gender ideology and got a double mastectomy, what does TOB have to offer me as I am now embracing my femininity and discerning marriage with a man? Ask Christo...

Is it normal that women desire to be mothers more than men desire to be fathers? Why does God allow sexually explicit dreams? If you were to choose a set of Theology of the Body mass readings what would they be? 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 abo...

I struggle to see the goodness in my body – only it's defects. Any advice? Is it morally acceptable as a faithful Catholic to send your kids to public school? Is it important to say "I love you" to the people you love? 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, an...

How have you instilled Theology of the Body in your children? Do you think we will be naked in heaven? Any advice for getting my boyfriend on board with using NFP as a protestant? 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...

Even though I know God loves me, infedelity in my parents marriage and rejection from my family has left me feeling unloved by God. How can I apply Theology of the Body to my life? What does Theology of the Body have to say about the claim that the soul is more important than the body? What advice would you give for engaged couples who have a past with sexual sin and pornography? Ask Christopher W...

Can you unpack the reason there is no such thing as "same sex marriage"? How do I know that my marriage is valid if the Church is able to issue a decree of nulity? Is it wrong that I'm somtimes attracted to priests? 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, answe...

Is there something wrong with me if I'm in my twenties and haven't ever dated? Is it possible to live chastely as a same sex couple? What advice do you have for creating a prayerful and reverent wedding night? 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 questio...

Why don't Catholic schools teach Theology of the Body? My husband got a vasectomy against my convictions. . . should I still insist that we abstain when we need to avoid a pregnancy? What do recommend to single women, disirng to be married but struggling with perfectionism? Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his belov...