Loving my husband after verbally abusive relationship, Friendship after bodily mutilation surgery, & Venerating icons with the body | ACW357
Ask Christopher West
Theology of the Body Institute
4.9 • 549 Ratings
🗓️ 3 November 2025
⏱️ 68 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Questions answered this episode:
- I’ve been married for almost 25 years. My husband has been verbally abusive and sexually misused me, though we’re now on a path of healing and reconciliation. Because of the deep wounds, I haven’t been able to have sex with him since our separation a year and a half ago. I’m slowly learning forgiveness, but his anger over the lack of sex makes it hard. He says things like, “No loving Christian woman would make a guy wait this long.” How can I find genuine desire again after so much damage to my heart?
- My friend, who identifies as non-binary, had masculinizing chest surgery. I knew about her plans but never dissuaded her or shared my faith. I even drove her to her first post-op appointment. Now I feel I failed to answer God’s call to speak truth. She may think I support her decision and doesn’t know I’m Catholic. I pray for her and want to reflect on what happened—how to seek God’s grace for us both and how to be a better friend in Christ moving forward.
- Coming from a Protestant background, I’m now more open to icons and statues but still struggle with the physical gestures of veneration. I understand the honor is for the person represented, not the image, yet verses like Revelation 19:10 trouble me. I love sacred art but hesitate with bowing or kissing images. How does Theology of the Body help explain this kind of devotion?
Resources:
Good News About Sex & Marriage
Love & Responsibility YouTube Series
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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. |
| 0:14.3 | It's kind of a reary, reary. |
| 0:21.9 | That's not a word. |
| 0:23.1 | No. |
| 0:23.7 | I might to say dreary. |
| 0:25.4 | Dreary, yeah. |
| 0:26.3 | Reary. |
| 0:27.3 | It's kind of a dreary day here in Pennsylvania, fall day. |
| 0:31.6 | It's raining. |
| 0:32.8 | It's cloudy. |
| 0:34.7 | But you're a bright sunshine in my life, Wendy. |
| 0:37.1 | Oh, thanks. That's very warm and comforting of you to say |
| 0:41.4 | and so are our listeners that's right hi listeners hi podcast listeners thanks for joining us today |
| 0:47.4 | yeah Wendy and I had a very interesting experience recently we thought we'd share with you both as a |
| 0:52.7 | cautionary tale and as a you never |
| 0:56.9 | know, you might think something really bad is happening, but the Lord is really looking out for you. |
| 1:02.3 | Kind of a story? Yeah. That's kind of what it is. We had such a, such a week. Yeah. So what happened, |
| 1:10.1 | it was like a weird set of circumstances where we had a little bit of car trouble. |
| 1:16.2 | Our daughter couldn't start the car, and we, yeah, it led to a lot of amazing revelations. |
| 1:24.2 | Yes. |
| 1:25.1 | Do you want to share any of that? |
| 1:26.5 | Well, okay, so let me see if I, there's no need to get into all the details. |
... |
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