My priest instructed women to cover their shoulders at mass. Was this the right call? Why does God give us desires if they seem impossible to attain? How do I deal with the shame I carry over my past?

Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute Director 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.

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This week’s questions:

Q1: Someone created a post on Twitter in which they asked women to cover their shoulders at Mass, so that they are not distracting men and leading them to sin. It created significant debate. What do you think?

Q2: What advice do you have for a couple where both desire to have traditional roles (the wife at home with children, and the man working full time) and yet that does not seem possible? Why does God give us these desires if it does not seem possible or probable?

Q3: As a 30-something woman who’s made some mistakes in the area of sex and sexuality, I feel immense shame. I hope that there is a holy marriage in the future, and that has always been a deep desire, but I worry about sharing some of these areas of my shameful past, that I may be rejected. Christopher, how did you go about sharing the painful parts of your past, and is it necessary to share all? Wendy, did you have to work through disappoint or concerns related to this?

Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com.

Resources mentioned this week:

The Good News about Sex and Marriage

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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.

Produced by Sounder and Key.