Ask Christopher West

A podcast explores topics such as healing for stoics, the dilemma of sharing past virginity, struggles with natural family planning, and challenges in early marriage. Hosts offer practical tools for addiction recovery, discuss theology of the body, and encourage faithfulness in relationships. They also address the limitations of technology in natural family planning.

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 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 3 FREE sessions of our flagship course on Theology of the Body! Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karol 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: Paul VI Institute NaPro Technology View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! GOOD NEWS ABOUT SEX & MARRIAGE by Christopher West 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. Cruise Promo If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recommended on this podcast, contact: michele@tobinstitute.org 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.

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 feel betrayed by my body. 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. Get 3 FREE sessions of our flagship course on Theology of the Body! Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karol 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: Paul VI Institute NaPro Technology View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! GOOD NEWS ABOUT SEX & MARRIAGE by Christopher West 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. Cruise Promo If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recommended on this podcast, contact: michele@tobinstitute.org 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'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 shuts down. Can you help me? 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 3 FREE sessions of our flagship course on Theology of the Body! Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karol 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: Conversation with Jay Wonacott Made for More Event Contact: events@tobinstitute.org View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! GOOD NEWS ABOUT SEX & MARRIAGE by Christopher West 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. Cruise Promo If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recommended on this podcast, contact: michele@tobinstitute.org 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.

-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 relationship, and I know that at some point we'll need to have more intimate conversations. Do you have any advice on how to talk about sex without it being an occasion for 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 3 FREE sessions of our flagship course on Theology of the Body! Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karol 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 copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karol Wojtyla/John Paul II. Available now for the first time in English. Pope Paul VI Institute: FertilityCare and NaProTechnology Good News About Sex & Marriage YouTube Playlist GOOD NEWS ABOUT SEX & MARRIAGE by Christopher West View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! GOOD NEWS ABOUT SEX & MARRIAGE by Christopher West 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. Cruise Promo If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recommended on this podcast, contact: michele@tobinstitute.org 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.

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 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 3 FREE sessions of our flagship course on Theology of the Body! Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karol 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: “When the hour had come for him to fulfill the Father’s plan of love, Jesus allows a glimpse of the boundless depth of his filial prayer.” We see this depth “in his last words from the Cross, where prayer and the gift of self are but one … until the ‘loud cry’ as he expires, giving up his spirit. All the troubles, for all time, of humanity enslaved by sin and death, all the petitions and intercessions of salvation history are summed up in this cry of the incarnate Word. Here the Father accepts them and, beyond all hope, answers them by raising his Son. Thus is fulfilled and brought to completion the drama of prayer in the economy of creation and salvation” (CCC 2605-2606). View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! GOOD NEWS ABOUT SEX & MARRIAGE by Christopher West 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. Cruise Promo If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recommended on this podcast, contact: michele@tobinstitute.org 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 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’m approaching 40 now and I’m a husband and father. How do I get to the point where attractiveness becomes an occasion of grace instead of an occasion of 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 3 FREE sessions of our flagship course on Theology of the Body! Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karol 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: Flannery O'Connor Conversation View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! GOOD NEWS ABOUT SEX & MARRIAGE by Christopher West 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. Cruise Promo If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recommended on this podcast, contact: michele@tobinstitute.org 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 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’m betraying God. Is this normal? 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 3 FREE sessions of our flagship course on Theology of the Body! Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karol 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: Saint Paul VI Institute The Dark Night: Psychological Experience and Spiritual Reality by Marc Foley View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! GOOD NEWS ABOUT SEX & MARRIAGE by Christopher West 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. Cruise Promo If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recommended on this podcast, contact: michele@tobinstitute.org 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 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 holy orders as a deacon. 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 3 FREE sessions of our flagship course on Theology of the Body! Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karol 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: Sweden Video View our COURSE SCHEDULE to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! GOOD NEWS ABOUT SEX & MARRIAGE by Christopher West 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. Cruise Promo If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recommended on this podcast, contact: michele@tobinstitute.org 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’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 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 3 FREE sessions of our flagship course on Theology of the Body! Get a copy of God Is Beauty, A Retreat on the Gospel and Art by Karol 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 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. Cruise Promo If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recomended on this podcast, contact: michele@tobinstitute.org 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.