Why do our bodies suffer, can abstinence protect our marriage, and is hell the heartbreak of losing our Divine Spouse? | ACW336
Ask Christopher West
Theology of the Body Institute
4.9 • 549 Ratings
🗓️ 9 June 2025
⏱️ 67 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
- I've faced physical suffering that leaves me asking why God created us so weak. My pain has taught me compassion, but I still struggle to understand its purpose. I've read Salvifici Doloris, but I need help connecting Theology of the Body to my suffering. Why does God allow this? What meaning is there in our bodily weakness?
- After our fourth child, my husband wants to space the next pregnancy and avoid contraception—but he's unsure about relying solely on NFP. He suggests abstinence for a while, but I’m worried about the impact on our relationship. How can we honor Church teaching, respect my need for rest, and stay close as husband and wife?
- I struggled with the idea of hell after college. How could a loving God allow eternal punishment? Then Theology of the Body opened my eyes: what if hell is the eternal ache of separation from the One who made us for love? Could the torment of hell be like the anguish of losing our truest beloved?
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GOOD NEWS ABOUT SEX & MARRIAGE
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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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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. |
| 0:14.9 | Hey, Wendy. |
| 0:20.3 | Yes. |
| 0:21.5 | Tell everybody what woke me up this morning. |
| 0:26.3 | Was it a woodpecker? |
| 0:28.8 | It was, we can just leave the wood put off, wood part off because it was a pecker. |
| 0:36.5 | This is one of the perils of living in the country. |
| 0:39.0 | You've heard us talk about mice running across our floor. |
| 0:42.7 | Have we talked about our black snake issue? |
| 0:45.6 | I can't remember. |
| 0:47.7 | We've got black snakes that we deal with. |
| 0:52.4 | Yes, and woodpeckers. |
| 0:54.9 | We have an old wood home. |
| 0:57.1 | It's a log cabin built in the early 1800s. |
| 1:00.5 | Our bedroom is on an addition that is also wood. |
| 1:03.4 | The other side of the house. |
| 1:04.4 | I was thinking of this this morning when this pecker was... |
| 1:08.6 | That's what it sounds like. |
| 1:10.5 | Is it? |
| 1:10.7 | Am I not right? It's like that. |
| 1:12.6 | And you... I don't... you tend to sleep through it. |
| 1:18.6 | Or maybe you stir a little bit and then you go back to sleep. But as soon as I hear that, I'm up. |
... |
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