Ask Christopher West

Questions answered this episode:
 1. How do unbaptized people fit into the body of Christ? 2. 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 our marriage while I did. Two and a half years later, we have significantly decreased the frequency of our union. How can we seek healing and move forward and grow closer together in this? 3. I’m constantly worried about looking lustfully. I want to be able to appreciate sexual beauty as you describe in one of your YouTube videos but I’m afraid that opening myself to that can lead to lust. Could you explain these topics deeper? 🔥 Get 3 FREE sessions of our flagship course on Theology of the Body (https://www.tobforfree.com) 📕 Get a copy of Christopher's Eating the Sunrise: Meditations on the Liturgy & Our Hunger for Beauty (www.eatingthesunrise.com) ⚡️ Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community (https://tobpatron.com)! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com (http://www.askchristopherwest.com). Resources mentioned this week: Please reach out to Dave Sloan for info on the John Paul II Legacy Foundation: [email protected] Click here if you’d like to make a gift to the St. John Paul II Legacy Foundation (https://secure.myvanco.com/L-ZN01/campaign/C-15133) List of trusted professionals (https://tobinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/TOBI-Recommended-Psychologists-Updated-6-8-20.pdf). “How To Discern Lust and Attraction” video (https://youtu.be/C2_1QAL_t8M?feature=shared) “Is It Possible To Look At Bodies Without Lusting?” video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrgHoJrxoAw&t=29s) “TRUE PURITY: Going Beyond Just Avoiding Lust” video (https://youtu.be/ibgvvEm1Rok?feature=shared) Love & Responsibility YouTube Series (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAbqXQaOvkM4UxMiREWkgYmY-PHTEnRtn) 🎥 Check out our YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/@TheologyoftheBodyInstitute) 📚 View our COURSE SCHEDULE (https://tobinstitute.org/programs/tobi-schedule/) to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! 📘 GOOD NEWS ABOUT SEX & MARRIAGE (https://shop.corproject.com/collections/best-sellers/products/good-news-about-sex-and-marriage) by Christopher West. Use discount code MARRIAGE during checkout for 20% off one or multiple copies. 🏔️ Want to join us on one of our pilgrimages? Click here (http://tobpilgrimages.com/) 🌟 For professional Catholic Life Coaching, including Porn Recovery: https://www.stevemotylcoaching.com/ (https://www.stevemotylcoaching.com/) If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recommended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/cwestofficial) and Instagram (http://www.instagram.com/cwestofficial). Discover the Theology of the Body Institute (http://www.tobinstitute.org). If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-christopher-west/id1448699486). 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 (https://tobinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/TOBI-Recommended-Psychologists-Updated-6-8-20.pdf). Featuring music by Mike Mangione (https://www.mikemangione.com/).

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 with 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 (https://www.tobforfree.com) 📕 Get a copy of Christopher's Eating the Sunrise: Meditations on the Liturgy & Our Hunger for Beauty (www.eatingthesunrise.com) ⚡️ Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community (https://tobpatron.com)! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com (http://www.askchristopherwest.com). Resources mentioned this week: God Is Beauty Book (https://shop.corproject.com/products/god-is-beauty-a-retreat-on-the-gospel-art) Christopher’s Eating the Sunrise (https://shop.corproject.com/products/pre-order-eating-the-sunrise-meditations-on-the-liturgy-and-our-hunger-for-beauty-paperback) 🎥 Check out our YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/@TheologyoftheBodyInstitute) 📚 View our COURSE SCHEDULE (https://tobinstitute.org/programs/tobi-schedule/) to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! 📘 GOOD NEWS ABOUT SEX & MARRIAGE (https://shop.corproject.com/collections/best-sellers/products/good-news-about-sex-and-marriage) by Christopher West. Use discount code MARRIAGE during checkout for 20% off one or multiple copies. 🏔️ Want to join us on one of our pilgrimages? Click here (http://tobpilgrimages.com/) 🌟 For professional Catholic Life Coaching, including Porn Recovery: https://www.stevemotylcoaching.com/ (https://www.stevemotylcoaching.com/) If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recommended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/cwestofficial) and Instagram (http://www.instagram.com/cwestofficial). Discover the Theology of the Body Institute (http://www.tobinstitute.org). If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-christopher-west/id1448699486). 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 (https://tobinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/TOBI-Recommended-Psychologists-Updated-6-8-20.pdf). Featuring music by Mike Mangione (https://www.mikemangione.com/).

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 feel like a gift to me. It’s only a reminder of how my body has been used by other people. When people talk about this being a pleasurable experience, their words sound non-sensical to me. Then I feel guilt and shame because I don’t experience these as I “should”. Do you have any advice? If a woman is dressed inappropriately, shouldn’t I look away? In the union in one flesh, should the man because of what he represents always be focusing on making his wife feel loved or is it okay sometimes to focus on receiving? Would that distort the sign he’s called to represent? 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 (https://www.tobforfree.com) 📕 Get a copy of Christopher's Eating the Sunrise: Meditations on the Liturgy & Our Hunger for Beauty (www.eatingthesunrise.com) ⚡️ Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community (https://tobpatron.com)! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com (http://www.askchristopherwest.com). Resources mentioned this week: TOBI Event Calendar (https://tobinstitute.org/live-events/) List of trusted professionals (https://tobinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/TOBI-Recommended-Psychologists-Updated-6-8-20.pdf) 🎥 Check out our YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/@TheologyoftheBodyInstitute) 📚 View our COURSE SCHEDULE (https://tobinstitute.org/programs/tobi-schedule/) to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! 📘 GOOD NEWS ABOUT SEX & MARRIAGE (https://shop.corproject.com/collections/best-sellers/products/good-news-about-sex-and-marriage) by Christopher West. Use discount code MARRIAGE during checkout for 20% off one or multiple copies. 🏔️ Want to join us on one of our pilgrimages? Click here (http://tobpilgrimages.com/) 🌟 For professional Catholic Life Coaching, including Porn Recovery: https://www.stevemotylcoaching.com/ (https://www.stevemotylcoaching.com/) If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recommended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/cwestofficial) and Instagram (http://www.instagram.com/cwestofficial). Discover the Theology of the Body Institute (http://www.tobinstitute.org). If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-christopher-west/id1448699486). 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 (https://tobinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/TOBI-Recommended-Psychologists-Updated-6-8-20.pdf). Featuring music by Mike Mangione (https://www.mikemangione.com/).

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 of those we love and remind them that they are not defined by their mistakes. On the other hand, I can’t help but feel disgusted. I’m invaded with thoughts of her past actions and I feel no desire for her any more. I want to love her well but I can’t seem to overcome this. Do you have any advice? I’m 48 and in the world of dating after divorce and annulment. While I know that life & pregnancy is the purpose of the marital embrace, at my age it is unlikely to happen. How do I convey that to someone who is likely thinking that at our age the act is purely for pleasure. Is it enough for a spouse to just “respect me in the bedroom”? How do you pray for your favorite musicians? How can heaven be heaven if there’s a possibility of my favorite musicians not being there? 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 (https://www.tobforfree.com) 📕 Get a copy of Christopher's Eating the Sunrise: Meditations on the Liturgy & Our Hunger for Beauty (www.eatingthesunrise.com) ⚡️ Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute and have a better chance of us answering your question? Join our Patron Community (https://tobpatron.com)! Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com (http://www.askchristopherwest.com). Resources mentioned this week: COURSE SCHEDULE (https://tobinstitute.org/programs/tobi-schedule/) Click here if you’d like to make a gift to the St. John Paul II Legacy Foundation (https://secure.myvanco.com/L-ZN01/campaign/C-15133) Love & Responsibility YouTube Series (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAbqXQaOvkM4UxMiREWkgYmY-PHTEnRtn) 🎥 Check out our YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/@TheologyoftheBodyInstitute) 📚 View our COURSE SCHEDULE (https://tobinstitute.org/programs/tobi-schedule/) to register for a course, ONLINE or IN-PERSON! 📘 GOOD NEWS ABOUT SEX & MARRIAGE (https://shop.corproject.com/collections/best-sellers/products/good-news-about-sex-and-marriage) by Christopher West. Use discount code MARRIAGE during checkout for 20% off one or multiple copies. 🏔️ Want to join us on one of our pilgrimages? Click here (http://tobpilgrimages.com/) 🌟 For professional Catholic Life Coaching, including Porn Recovery: https://www.stevemotylcoaching.com/ (https://www.stevemotylcoaching.com/) If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recommended on this podcast, contact: [email protected] Find Christopher West on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/cwestofficial) and Instagram (http://www.instagram.com/cwestofficial). Discover the Theology of the Body Institute (http://www.tobinstitute.org). If you enjoy the podcast, help us out by writing a review (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-christopher-west/id1448699486). 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 (https://tobinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/TOBI-Recommended-Psychologists-Updated-6-8-20.pdf). Featuring music by Mike Mangione (https://www.mikemangione.com/).