Ask Christopher West

What light can TOB shed on separated boys and girls schools? What light can TOB shed on body image? What's the relationship between the Sacred Heart of Jesus and 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.

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Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com.

Resources mentioned this week:

Join us on a [Pilgrimage](tobpilgrimages.com)!

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

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.
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: [email protected]

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 feel that my eating disorder has ruined my body. How is God's glory revealed through MY body, which is so often shameful to me? My brother-in-law has dwarfism, and retains some anger toward God for this. How do I help him? As a new Christian therapist, what are some ways I can include TOB in my practice?

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.

Like the show and the rest of TOB Institute's work? Become a patron and get access to even more content!

This week’s questions:

Q1: I had an eating disorder growing up, and now I weigh about 330lbs, down from nearly 400, and still losing - slowly through a healthy lifestyle. As far as the world is concerned my feminine body is fat and unhealthy and disgusting, a laughingstock. I feel like I ruined the body I was given and no matter how many years I work at it, it's "too late now." When you say, "you don't have a body, you are a body" it sounds horrible, not like a gift. What can I do to see it differently?

Q2: I am a new therapist and I was wondering how a therapist can integrate TOB in a counseling setting?

Q3: How does Theology of the Body deal with permanent physical conditions? I have a brother-in-law who has dwarfisim and struggles to understand God and His plan with his condition.

Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com.

Resources mentioned this week:

Embrace - Film on Body Issues

TOB Institute Courses

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.

Produced by Sounder and Key.

If we won't be married in heaven, will we still be together as a family? How does God's command to "be fruitful and multiply" apply to us today?

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.

Access the 2020 Theology of the Body Virtual Conference with a Premium Pass!

Want to support the Theology of the Body Institute? Become a Patron!

Q1: I really enjoy Theology of the Body and its insights really help me to love my faith more. The one thing that I struggle with is how we will not be married in heaven. I understand that marriage is only a sign of what is to come, but it makes me sad that think that our families will not be the same in heaven. Will we still be together as a family in heaven? If you are able, could you explain this mystery a little more?

Q2: Can you talk about how God's command to Adam and Eve to "be fruitful and multiply" relates to us today? This command came before they had sinned. Also, a church leader said that having children in Jewish families in the Old Testament was so vital and esteemed because they were expecting the Messiah (and thus that having babies after He was born was not as vital). How do children hold a special place in God's plan today? So many people are convinced that having less children is an essential part of the solution of climate change.

Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com.

Resources mentioned this week:

Theology of the Body Virtual Conference

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:

• Would there have been dating and discernment of marriage in the garden before the fall?
• I’m a young woman soon to be engaged. Before I started dating the man I’m currently with, I had sexual encounters with 2 other guys. He is aware of the first but not the second. Do you have any advice?
• Why is the word “until” in the verse “He had no relations with her until she bore a son and he named him Jesus” in the Gospel of Matthew?

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 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!

Submit your question at AskChristopherWest.com.

Resources mentioned this week:

Are you ready for marriage? Check out Next Step: A Course for Discerning Marriage

🎥 Check out our YouTube Channel

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

📘 GOOD NEWS ABOUT SEX & 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

🌟 For professional Catholic Life Coaching, including Porn Recovery: 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 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.