Ask Christopher West

What does it mean theologically that men are always fertile while women are only fertile for a fraction of each month? My boyfriend has a past of watching porn. . . it is very hard for me to feel beautiful and confident in front around him because I know that it must have effected his ideas and expectations of what the female body should look like. Any advice? I want to love and cherish my husband and be intimate with him but I am struggling with being able to be aroused. We've been married for eight years and have two young kids with a third on the way. I find I can't separate the frustrations of the day from our intimate time and I'm constantly thinking negative thoughts about his attempts to get me in the mood. I get frustrated with him and myself for not being able to be aroused and half the time we justt give up. Why can't I be aroused by my husband anymore?

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!

Join Christopher and Wendy on the TOB Institute’s “St. Therese & the Little Way” Seine River Cruise in France from Oct. 26-Nov. 2, 2023 (optional pre-cruise extension trip to Lourdes Oct. 22-26). Get complete details and place your deposit here.

Be Restored: Healing Our Sexual Wounds through Jesus’ Merciful Love by Bob Schuchts

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.

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 reflections do you have on the sacramental view of nature and Theology of the Body? What should do when my fiancé looks at women on Instagram? Is it possible for sexual arrousal to be born out of love and deep desire for spiritual communion? If it is possible, how can I train myself to change my mind from responding to seduction to being a man able to love and give myself as a gift?

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!

Join Christopher and Wendy on the TOB Institute’s “St. Therese & the Little Way” Seine River Cruise in France from Oct. 26-Nov. 2, 2023 (optional pre-cruise extension trip to Lourdes Oct. 22-26). Get complete details and place your deposit here.

Christopher's conversation with his dad, Soren, about hiking the Appalachian Trail: https://youtu.be/UNWR5hK-NMU

GOD IS BEAUTY: A RETREAT ON THE GOSPEL AND ART by St. John Paul II

FILL THESE HEARTS by Christopher West

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.

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 know that I truly love the woman I'm dating and that it's not just the feelings of comfort she gives me? I do not want to make my wife an object for my desire, yet when she rejects me I struggle mightily. How do I unconditionally love my wife and not ask or expect anything of her when I have such strong desires? If marriage is a sacrament of Christ's love for the Church, why is marriage only until death? Christ's love for the Church goes beyond death.

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 the St. Therese and The Little Way Seine River Cruise (October 26–November 2, 2023)

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 Christopher and Wendy on the TOB Institute’s “St. Therese & the Little Way” Seine River Cruise in France from Oct. 26-Nov. 2, 2023 (optional pre-cruise extension trip to Lourdes Oct. 22-26). Get complete details and place your deposit here.

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.

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 Theology of the Body speak to what would have happend to Mary's body and soul at the end of her life? How can I, as a married man, find purpose without the joy of children? How can I introduce the themes of John Paul II's teaching on sexuality as a teacher at a secular school?

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:

Register for the St. Therese and The Little Way Seine River Cruise (October 26–November 2, 2023)

View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON!

Join Christopher and Wendy on the TOB Institute’s “St. Therese & the Little Way” Seine River Cruise in France from Oct. 26-Nov. 2, 2023 (optional pre-cruise extension trip to Lourdes Oct. 22-26). Get complete details and place your deposit here.

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.

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 priest, celebrating the mass of my cousin who is struggling with his faith? Where in the Bible does it explicitly state that it is a sin to have sex outside of marriage and where does the Catholic Church state that it is a mortal sin? What thoughts do you have on makeup and beauty standards?

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!

Join Christopher and Wendy on the TOB Institute’s “St. Therese & the Little Way” Seine River Cruise in France from Oct. 26-Nov. 2, 2023 (optional pre-cruise extension trip to Lourdes Oct. 22-26). Get complete details and place your deposit here.

Good News About Sex & Marriage by Christopher West

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.

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 spouses communicate how they feel about the issue of maintaining physical attractiveness throughout the stages of married life without adding hurt to the relationship? Regarding marriage in old age, is there a dispensation in Canon Law permitting marriage if the union is unable to be consumated due to impotence after child baring years? What does it mean to take in movies, TV shows, and other stories through a "TOB lens"?

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!

Join Christopher and Wendy on the TOB Institute’s “St. Therese & the Little Way” Seine River Cruise in France from Oct. 26-Nov. 2, 2023 (optional pre-cruise extension trip to Lourdes Oct. 22-26). Get complete details and place your deposit here.

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.

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.

Any tips on how to offer hope to my brother who struggles with same sex attraction? Wendy, could you share more about praying for Christopher while he was pursuing an other woman before you were together? Where can I find the complete works of John Paul II on 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.

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:

A Conversation with my Dad (Soren West)

God Is Beauty: A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karol Wojtyla/St. John Paul II

Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body

View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON!

Join Christopher and Wendy on the TOB Institute’s “St. Therese & the Little Way” Seine River Cruise in France from Oct. 26-Nov. 2, 2023 (optional pre-cruise extension trip to Lourdes Oct. 22-26). Get complete details and place your deposit here.

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.

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 jargon in our world today do you think is keeping us from seeing/hearing the actual Truth? What is "marriage debt"? How can I share my deep wounds of past sexual abuse with my husband without giving details that will be unhelpful?

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.

THIS EPISODE IS ON YOUTUBE

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!

Learn more about Made for More

The JPII Healing Center

Join Christopher and Wendy on the TOB Institute’s “St. Therese & the Little Way” Seine River Cruise in France from Oct. 26-Nov. 2, 2023 (optional pre-cruise extension trip to Lourdes Oct. 22-26). Get complete details and place your deposit here.

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.

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 you flesh out the concept of placing our intentions in the womb of the Blessed Mother? Isn't using NFP to avoid a pregnancy less open to life than just having sex without tracking the woman's cycle? As a young woman I sometimes find myself wishing my body was different and I feel that what God has given me is not enough. Does Theology of the Body have any help to offer?

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!

Good News About Sex & Marriage by Christopher West

Body Image, Celibacy, and Theology of the Body with Sr. Maria Gemma

Join Christopher and Wendy on the TOB Institute’s “St. Therese & the Little Way” Seine River Cruise in France from Oct. 26-Nov. 2, 2023 (optional pre-cruise extension trip to Lourdes Oct. 22-26). Get complete details and place your deposit here.

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.

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 you logically disprove misinterpretations of scripture? In the analogy between liturgy and marital intimacy, what is the symbolic equivalent of the altar? What are your thoughts on the TOB dimensions of breast feeding?

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:

Upcoming Made for More Events

If you're interested in bringing Made for More to your parish, contact [email protected]

Watch Christopher's video on Rodin and nude art.

View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON!

Join Christopher and Wendy on the TOB Institute’s “St. Therese & the Little Way” Seine River Cruise in France from Oct. 26-Nov. 2, 2023 (optional pre-cruise extension trip to Lourdes Oct. 22-26). Get complete details and place your deposit here.

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.

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.