When my students look like the walking dead, I’m no longer interested in the marital act, and Am I Loved as a Priest or as a Man?” | ACW364
Ask Christopher West
Theology of the Body Institute
4.9 • 549 Ratings
🗓️ 22 December 2025
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
–This episode is sponsored by Truthly–
Questions answered this episode:
- I am a theology teacher of high school students at a Catholic school. How do I joyfully proclaim Theology of the Body—or any Church teaching—when my students look like the walking dead? A coworker calls them spiritually dead. They don’t seem to care and they fall asleep in class. Satan has used all of that to make me question whether I’m in the right career. I think, if I was truly called, my students’ faith would come alive. How can I share this beautiful message with anyone who seems spiritually dead?
- At age 60, I’m no longer interested in the marital act, and it is most painful and unpleasant—therefore, not happening. I am TOB savvy and preach it to everyone, but I’m not living it. I know the marital act rocks my husband’s world, but I cannot tolerate it. I’ve had medical procedures contributing to the unpleasantness. I probably should seek medical attention, but would rather not.
- I am a priest and a religious. Throughout my formation, the emphasis was mostly on the challenging, sacrificial dimension of celibacy, but TOB has brought joy into living it. Celibacy feels like a continual discovery of God’s closeness and of living with the people entrusted to me. But I don’t know whether this fulfillment brings joy to the parts of me that desire a deeper, more personal gaze—and whether that gaze is reserved only for God. I’m not sure if I’m loved for my vocation or if I, Andrea, am worthy of love as a person. Can you help me understand this?
Resources:
JPII Legacy Foundation Website
Donate to the JPII Legacy Foundation
Colorado Ski Retreat with Christopher
Litanies of the Heart by Dr. Gerry Crete
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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 | We have a new relationship with Truthly. Truthly is a Catholic AI platform where you can harness all of the incredible technological power of artificial intelligence for the good of the faith. |
| 0:18.9 | It draws from the writings of the saints, scripture, the Catholic |
| 0:23.6 | Magisterium over 2,000 years, the fathers of the church, what the saints have said throughout |
| 0:28.5 | the centuries, and you can put any question you have. Type it right into truthly. I'll give you |
| 0:34.3 | an example. This is a common objection. I'm just typing it into Truthley. Why do Catholics worship Mary? Okay, here's Truthley's response. Catholics worship Mary because she's the fourth person of the quadrinity. No, it does not say that. Oh my goodness. No, it does not say that. Catholics do not worship Mary. |
| 1:00.0 | Here's what Truthley actually says. Catholics do not worship Mary. Rather, they venerate her. |
| 1:06.0 | Worship is due to God alone, while veneration or honor is given to Mary and the saints. This distinction |
| 1:12.5 | is rooted in the different types of honor expressed in the Latin terms Latria, worship or |
| 1:17.8 | adoration, which is given to God alone, while Dulia, veneration is given to the saints. And a special |
| 1:24.4 | veneration called Hyperdulia is reserved for Mary due to her unique role in |
| 1:30.3 | salvation history. There's much more that I won't get into in terms of what truthly says, |
| 1:34.3 | but I'm just scrolling here and it's quite impressive how in one second when I typed that |
| 1:40.3 | question in, what came up? So we're inviting all of our listeners to give it a try. |
| 1:46.1 | You can get a seven-day free trial. You can get it wherever you get your apps. Google Play, |
| 1:50.4 | if you're an Android person, or the Apple App Store, if you're an iPhone guy or gal. So check it out. |
| 1:59.0 | I think they're doing really good work, and we just want to let our listeners know about it, since you guys listen to this and you're interested in answers to questions about the Catholic faith. |
| 2:09.7 | And we're grateful to Truthly for sponsoring this episode. Thank you, Truthely. |
| 2:14.5 | From the theology. so thank you truthfully. |
| 2:23.3 | From the Theology of the Body Institute, this is The Ask Christopher West Podcast. |
| 2:29.3 | We are just a few days away from the grand celebration of the incarnation. |
| 2:41.5 | Thank you, God, for taking flesh. Merry Christmas, everybody, a few days early on the release of this podcast, Monday the 22nd. |
| 2:52.6 | And today, tell everybody what we're doing, Wendy. |
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