From Catholic sexual ethics to biology to foreplay to positions, our articles are a reference point for all your Catholic sexual queries.
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Should I Give Up Sex For Lent?
When I hear the question “Should I give up sex for Lent?” my immediate response is, “Probably not.” Lent is a season for deep prayer and reflection, but when it comes to marriage, decisions about intimacy should always be made together and with an understanding of the consequences.
Is This a Sex Toy or a Sex Tool?
Sexual devices often carry a stigma as mere “toys” designed solely for pleasure. However, a growing body of expert opinion is reframing the conversation—suggesting that many of these products function more as essential “tools” for overcoming sexual challenges rather than indulgent extras. For example, Dr. Lauren Streicher has introduced the concept of “vibrator therapy” for women who struggle to reach orgasm, emphasizing that a vibrator is not just about intensifying pleasure but about making orgasm possible.
Strengthening Catholic Marriages: Why Catholic Intimacy Should Be Part of Your Ministry
In our modern world, couples are facing incredible challenges when it comes to building and maintaining strong, faith-filled marriages. As Catholic clergy—bishops, priests, and deacons—you are often the first point of contact for couples who are seeking guidance in their relationships. Your mission to help them cultivate healthy, holy marriages is crucial. Yet, let’s be honest—addressing certain sensitive topics, especially around intimacy and marital love, can sometimes be daunting or difficult to navigate. As a former seminarian, I understand the limited focus of clerical moral theology formation to be in preparation for the confessional, not to explain to couples how to address morally common issues such as vaginismus, low-libido, erectile dysfunction, or premature ejaculation.
Stress-Free Saint Valentine’s Day: Rekindling Marital Intimacy Without the Pressure
Valentine’s Day often conjures images of red roses, heart-shaped chocolates, and candlelit dinners. But beneath the surface of this hyper-commercialized celebration lies the story of Saint Valentine, a martyr whose life was marked by sacrifice and love. As modern society pushes us to equate love with extravagant gifts and grand gestures, many couples find themselves burdened by unrealistic expectations that can strain rather than strengthen their marriages.
Understanding and Addressing Erectile Dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction (ED) refers to the consistent inability to achieve or maintain an erection sufficient for sexual activity. While occasional difficulty is normal and often tied to stress or fatigue, persistent issues may signal underlying physical, emotional, or relational concerns. For married couples, ED can affect not only physical intimacy but also emotional closeness and the overall harmony of the marital relationship. Recognizing and addressing ED in a compassionate, faith-centered way is key to restoring intimacy and strengthening the unity between spouses.
The Harmful Relational Effects of Withholding Sex in Marriage
In coaching, it’s not uncommon to hear a spouse (often the wife) say, “I won’t be intimate until we emotionally connect,” or “I don’t feel close enough for sex.” While emotional connection is crucial in marriage, using sex as leverage can be profoundly damaging. This article explores the positive role of marital intimacy, the risks of withholding it, and how couples can break harmful patterns to restore their relationship within Catholic values.
Understanding Kinks, Fetishes, and Paraphilic Disorders: A Guide for Catholic Married Couples
Catholic married couples are called to embrace intimacy as a sacred bond that deepens their union and reflects God’s life-giving love. Within this beautiful and unique space, questions about expressions of sexuality often arise. Exploring topics like kink, fetish, and paraphilic disorder through a Catholic lens can help couples understand their place within God’s design for marital intimacy. In this post, we’ll define these terms, provide examples, and consider how they align (or don’t align) with Catholic teaching.
Faith and Love: Strengthening Catholic Marriages in Military Life
The Catholic Military Ordinariate of Australia has officially recognized Catholic Intimacy as a valuable resource, marking a significant step in our shared mission to support Catholic couples in fostering faith-centered marriages—particularly within the unique challenges of military life.
Navigating Current Trends in Male Fertility: Protect Your Health, Secure Your Legacy
Guest Post by Dr. Amanda Ramirez, DPT
Catholic Doctor of Physical Therapy
Any man grounded in his masculinity and committed to creating a meaningful legacy benefits from a well-rounded perspective on his fertility—one that highlights a continuum of choices, encourages informed decision-making, and prioritizes natural, minimally invasive methods first. This approach to reproductive health embodies the core principles of Restorative Reproductive Medicine.
Screaming at Trees Counseling
Now one tool that Megan likes is having her clients scream at trees. Yes, you read that right. They are supposed to roll down their windows on a back country road and scream at the trees. Of course, there is more to it than just that, but you would have to talk to her about the details of the exercise. This may sound a bit far-fetched, but for trauma clients, it can be incredibly cathartic and a useful exercise in learning when and how to express their emotions. So, she has named her practice Screaming At Trees Counseling (SATCo).
Understanding and Overcoming Premature Ejaculation
Premature ejaculation (PE) is a sensitive but common issue that affects many marriages. For Catholic couples, addressing this challenge within the framework of faith can deepen intimacy and strengthen their spiritual connection. By combining medical knowledge with faith-based resources, couples can overcome PE in ways that honor their relationship and align with Catholic teachings.
Transform Your Life with Exodus 90: Join Our 2025 Journey!
Are you ready to embrace a challenge that will transform your life? Exodus 90 is a 90-day spiritual exercise designed to help men grow closer to God, cultivate discipline, and foster meaningful connections with others. Rooted in Catholic tradition, this powerful journey begins January 20 and concludes on Easter Sunday, April 20. This year, I’m inviting 10 men to join me in this transformative experience through a supportive group hosted via Zoom.
Reignite Your Marriage: Make This Year the Start of a Faithful, Fulfilling Sex Life
Six weeks later, he gave his wife her first orgasm in over six years. Two months later the wife told me during a session that their children had noticed the transformation, one of them telling his mother that she seemed to like dad.
Catholic Intimacy’s 2024 Year-in-Review
As we close the chapter on 2024, we are filled with gratitude for the growth, challenges, and countless blessings this year has brought. Catholic Intimacy continues to be a space for married couples to grow closer to each other and God, building healthy, holy, and intimate relationships rooted in faith. This year has been one of expansion, resilience, and exciting steps forward.
Porn and How to Overcome It
Pornography has become a pervasive issue in today’s society, affecting both men and women across all walks of life. While many may view pornography as harmless or even normal, its impact on marriage and intimacy can be deeply damaging. From the perspective of Catholic teaching, pornography undermines the dignity of the human person and distorts God’s plan for sexuality. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) states, “Pornography… offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other” (CCC 2354). For married couples, addressing this issue is critical for preserving trust, intimacy, and the sacramental bond.
Intimacy During the Christmas Season
The Christmas season is a time of joy, togetherness, and celebration, but it can also bring stress, packed schedules, and exhaustion. Between shopping, hosting, and navigating extended family dynamics, it’s easy for marital intimacy to take a back seat. However, with intention and grace, this season can become an opportunity to strengthen the bond with your spouse, fostering a deeper connection that carries you into the new year.
The Marital Debt & Marital Rape
Responses to Katie and SadTrad
“Does Pope Saint John Paul II have anything to say on the topic of martial debt?” - Katie
“Lots of people today deny the existence of the marital debt, thinking that they’re protecting women, but this is only putting them in greater danger…The older I get the more convinced I become that besides Jesus, all men are sociopaths.” - SadTrad
Erotic Lactation: Sexy or Strange?
“My question is on the theme of breastfeeding (i.e., a husband orally drawing breast milk from his wife's breasts). I have seen the act called "adult breastfeeding" and even "erotic lactation" on secular sites.”
Take the Life Ring!
Although the rates are lower than the general population, Catholics do get divorced. Far more live for years and even the rest of their lives in unhappy marriages. For many couples, including those who would say that their marriage is strong, sex is a point of division rather than unity. This can come from a variety of factors. There may be sexual trauma, sex may be painful, there may be a fear of getting pregnant, there may be emotional or physical abuse or neglect. For some couples, sex is a bargaining chip or a manipulation tool.
NFP and Intimacy
Guest Post by Haley Yeager, FCP, MA
Natural family planning is used for much more than timing conception. Time and time again, as an NFP instructor myself, I see couples starting to communicate better, gain more trust in each other, and even have better sex because of their commitment to NFP.