From Catholic sexual ethics to biology to foreplay to positions, our articles are a reference point for all your Catholic sexual queries.
Articles
Mission Sponsors
-
Walther Institute for Marital Intimacy
-
Married Dance
-
Become a Sponsor
We are a nonprofit!
Our team is made up of a handful of part-time staff. Donations are the lifeblood of our work. The more that you donate, the more we can produce. So, if you appreciate our work, help us to create more articles like these.
How to Initiate Sex in Marriage (Without Rejection or Awkwardness)
Struggling with awkward or rejected attempts to initiate sex? Most couples don’t have a desire problem, they have an initiation problem. This article breaks down the difference between verbal and nonverbal initiation, active and passive consent, and how to align with your spouse to reduce rejection. If you want a more natural and consistent sex life, it starts with how you initiate.
Intimacy When ADHD Is Part of Your Marriage
When ADHD is part of a marriage, intimacy can feel inconsistent, intense, or confusing. What often appears to be a difference in libido is frequently tied to impulsivity, emotional regulation, and the need for stimulation. This can also contribute to patterns like pornography use or pressure within the relationship. With intentional structure, clear communication, and healthier coping, couples can build a deeply connected and fulfilling intimate life.
Intimacy When Your Spouse Is Depressed
When your spouse is clinically depressed, intimacy often shifts in ways that can feel confusing and personal, but it is not a rejection of you. Depression impacts desire, energy, and emotional connection, yet intimacy does not have to disappear. With intentional communication, gentle leadership, and a focus on your spouse’s experience, sexual intimacy can remain a source of connection and even support during this season. This article offers practical guidance for navigating these challenges while honoring both spouses’ needs.
Shower Sex: Making It Safer, Simpler, and More Enjoyable
Shower sex sounds exciting in theory, but many couples quickly discover that slippery surfaces, awkward angles, and unrealistic expectations can make it surprisingly difficult. This practical guide explores how to make shower intimacy safer, more comfortable, and genuinely enjoyable through better communication, positioning, and environmental setup. Learn why water is not lubrication, which approaches work best for real couples, and how to turn shower intimacy into a playful, low-pressure way to reconnect. Great intimacy is not about perfection. It is about adapting, relaxing, and learning what works for your marriage.
One Faith, One Flesh: The Holy Fathers of Nicaea and Spiritual Intimacy in Marriage
This Sunday, Byzantine Catholics commemorate the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, who defended the truth of the faith in order to preserve authentic Christian unity. Their witness reminds us that deep communion requires shared truth, both within the Church and within marriage. While couples of different beliefs can build strong marriages through shared values and mutual love, the fullest spiritual intimacy becomes possible when husband and wife fully share the Catholic faith, pray together, and pursue holiness side by side. As the Church prepares for Pentecost, couples are invited to seek greater unity in their homes through shared prayer, worship, and openness to the Holy Spirit.
Why “She Comes First” Can Transform Your Marriage
Many couples unknowingly structure intimacy around the husband’s arousal timeline, leaving wives frustrated, disconnected, or unsatisfied. In this article, we explore Dr. Ian Kerner’s “She Comes First” framework and explain why prioritizing a wife’s pleasure and orgasm can strengthen emotional intimacy, marital satisfaction, and sexual confidence for both spouses. We also discuss the importance of clitoral stimulation, practical techniques couples can try, and how tools like vulvar vibration therapy and medical-grade vibrators may help couples struggling with orgasm difficulties. Most importantly, we frame this approach not merely as a technique, but as a meaningful expression of love, attentiveness, and mutual self-gift within Catholic marriage.
Can Intimacy Be Restored After Infidelity? A Catholic Path Forward
Infidelity can feel like the end of a marriage, whether it involves pornography, emotional attachment, or a physical affair. Many couples find themselves stuck in cycles of blame, shame, and distance, unsure if true intimacy is even possible again. The answer is yes, but only if both spouses are willing to confront hard truths. If you are willing to move beyond the pain and do the work, restoration is possible.
Are You Growing in Virtue Together, or Just Spending Time Together?
Spending time together does not automatically mean a relationship is growing. Healthy relationships should help both people develop in virtue, becoming more patient, honest, and self-giving over time. Without intentional focus, couples can settle into comfort without real growth. This article encourages both dating and married couples to reflect on whether their relationship is forming them into better people.
From Easter Joy to Ascension Mission: The Married Couple as Witness
Holiness does not come from wishing for someone else’s vocation. It comes through faithfully living the one God has given you. A husband becomes holy by becoming a holy husband, and a wife becomes holy by becoming a holy wife. I recently worked with a couple in their mid-eighties whose renewed commitment to their marriage inspired even their great-grandchildren to reassess their own relationships. One faithful marriage can influence generations.
Why Porn Doesn’t Make You a Better Lover
Many people assume that watching porn will make them a better lover, but the opposite is often true. Porn is designed for visual performance, not mutual pleasure, and it trains habits that undermine real intimacy in marriage. What actually leads to satisfying, meaningful sex is not imitation, but attentiveness, connection, and love. When couples let go of porn-influenced expectations, they often discover a deeper and more fulfilling experience of intimacy. There is a better way forward, rooted in God’s design for marriage.
Why Catholics Should Stop Calling Pornography Struggles “Sex Addiction”
Many Catholics describe pornography struggles as a “sex addiction,” but that label may be misleading. The problem is real, but using the wrong term can lead to ineffective solutions. This article explains what’s actually happening and how couples can pursue real, lasting healing.
When Anxiety Is Impacting Intimacy in Your Marriage
When anxiety is present in a marriage, intimacy often becomes one more source of pressure rather than a place of connection. Many couples fall into patterns of avoidance or tense, unfulfilling experiences that only reinforce the problem over time. This article breaks down how clinical anxiety affects sexual intimacy and offers clear, practical steps to begin changing that dynamic. You will learn how to reduce pressure, rebuild safety, and reintroduce intimacy in a way that actually works. If anxiety has been shaping your marriage, there is a path forward.
Saint Michael and the Battle Against Accusation in Marriage
This week’s feast of the Apparition of St. Michael gives married couples a clear spiritual focus: resist accusation before it settles into the home. Pope Francis warned that the devil seeks to separate us from God and from each other, and marriage is one of the places where that division can quietly grow. Harsh interpretations, repeated blame, and silent contempt can do real damage long before a major conflict appears. St. Michael reminds us to guard communion with prayer, humility, and hope in grace.
Your Wedding Night: Letting Go of the Pressure
The wedding night carries a lot of pressure, but it does not have to be perfect to be meaningful. Many couples are too exhausted, overwhelmed, or simply not ready, and that is completely normal. Whether intimacy happens that night or later, what matters is beginning your marriage with patience, generosity, and realistic expectations. Your first experience may be awkward or even uncomfortable, but this is something you will grow into together. And if you need guidance along the way, you do not have to figure it out alone.
The Weekly Reset: 30 Minutes That Strengthen Your Marriage
Strong marriages do not drift apart overnight, but they can slowly lose connection without intentional time together. A weekly reset offers a simple way to stay connected through a short, focused conversation each week. By prioritizing even 15 to 30 minutes of intentional check-in, couples can strengthen communication and prevent small issues from growing. This habit keeps your marriage grounded, consistent, and moving forward together.
When Marriage Feels Stuck, Christ Still Comes Near
Across three liturgical calendars, this Sunday speaks to couples who feel spiritually or emotionally stuck. The risen Christ does not avoid places of weakness. He steps into them, asks whether we want healing, and begins to restore what has grown tired or immobile. With Saint Joseph the Worker and Saint Athanasius in view this week, married couples are invited into quiet fidelity, patient endurance, and one concrete act of healing grace.
What If It’s Been Too Long Since You’ve Had Sex?: Breaking Relational Inertia in Marriage
It’s been months, maybe even years, since you’ve had sex with your spouse. You both want it, yet nothing happens. This article uncovers the hidden force of “relational inertia” that keeps couples stuck and challenges you to make a simple but powerful choice. If you’re tired of waiting for the perfect moment, it’s time to break the cycle and start rebuilding intimacy.
Good Isn’t the Goal: Why Your Marriage Needs Intentional Growth
Many marriages settle into a place that feels “good,” but good is not the goal. Without intentional effort, even stable relationships can slowly drift into complacency. Growth in marriage does not require major changes, just small, consistent choices to prioritize connection and pursuit. This article invites couples to move from autopilot to intentional love, building something deeper over time.
Our First In-Person Talk and What Comes Next
This past week, Theo gave our first in-person talk for the Apostolate for Marital Intimacy, focusing on emotional intimacy and communication in marriage. The response made one thing clear: couples are looking for practical, faithful guidance they can actually use. We are now opening the door for parishes and ministries to host in-person or virtual events. Join us tonight at 7 PM CDT for our live Q&A on YouTube, where we will also be giving away a copy of Love and Responsibility. We are also just under $400 from our monthly goal, and your support helps us continue this work.
Healing from Chastity Culture in Marriage
You did everything right… so why does intimacy still feel so difficult? Many couples carry hidden messages from chastity culture into marriage, where fear, guilt, and confusion around sex don’t simply disappear after the wedding. If you’ve ever struggled to reconcile “sex is bad” with “sex is holy,” you’re not alone. The good news is that healthy, joyful intimacy can be learned. Here’s how to begin moving from fear to freedom in your marriage.