Is Suffering a Type of Spiritual Intercourse?, Anxious About Mutual Climax, How Do I Hear God About Marriage? | ACW375
Ask Christopher West
Theology of the Body Institute
4.9 • 549 Ratings
🗓️ 9 March 2026
⏱️ 49 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Questions answered this episode:
- You often say the cross is the marriage bed. If Jesus took on all suffering there, can embracing our own suffering be a marital act? When we accept daily sufferings—from trauma to small annoyances—does that become, bluntly, a kind of spiritual intercourse? What would that mean practically? I’d love your thoughts.
- My husband and I have been married three years and have never climaxed at the same time. I feel frustrated and even scrupulous about it. I’ve heard that simultaneous climax is ideal, but I don’t understand how that’s physically possible. When I’m left unsatisfied after my husband finishes, I worry it’s sinful for him to help me climax afterward. How can we pursue mutual climax without becoming scrupulous or overly technical?
- I’m almost 33 and have been with my boyfriend for five years. We’ve grown deeply in faith, and he’s a wonderful Catholic man. I long for marriage and children, but I’m stuck discerning whether he’s the one. I’ve prayed fervently, gone to adoration, and tried to surrender my anxieties to God, yet I feel no clarity. Time feels like it’s running out, and he’s patiently waiting. How do I truly hear God’s voice in such a big decision?
Resources:
Word Made Fresh Podcast on YouTube
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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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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From the Theology of the Body Institute, this is the Ask Christopher West podcast. |
| 0:20.4 | Hey, Wendy. |
| 0:22.3 | Yes, Christopher. |
| 0:23.5 | I want you to do for our listeners what you just did for me. |
| 0:26.8 | No. |
| 0:27.5 | You please? |
| 0:29.8 | We were on a road trip recently, and we were listening to a soundtrack that shall remain nameless, |
| 0:35.8 | because I want to know if any of our listeners can tell us |
| 0:38.9 | what this melody, what movie this melody comes from. |
| 0:45.1 | Okay, I'll try, but I don't trust myself. |
| 0:48.2 | You're going to do it. You're going to be great. |
| 0:49.5 | You're going to be great. but da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da |
| 0:57.0 | but da da da da da da da da da da da |
| 1:07.0 | sorry i know but that was it wendy that was it, who knows? Okay, we do really love that melody. We love this soundtrack. And you had it on a cassette tape. Yeah. I remember your cassette tape collection. You're giving me a little, you're giving them a little hint. Oh, I am. I just dated it. |
| 1:32.9 | Yeah, there is this other melody from the soundtrack we were listening to, and it came to me in my prayer, and it really, really spoke to me. |
| 1:35.9 | It's the love theme in this movie, and it goes something like, |
| 1:40.9 | ba-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-ha. like Barah Barah Barah Barah |
| 1:45.0 | da |
| 1:46.0 | da da |
| 1:47.0 | da da |
| 1:48.0 | da da |
| 1:49.0 | Okay |
... |
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