From Catholic sexual ethics to biology to foreplay to positions, Catholic Intimacy’s articles are a reference point for all your Catholic sexual queries.
Articles
Making Love for the First Time: A Catholic Couple’s Guide
Whether you’re preparing for your honeymoon or looking to refresh your marital intimacy, this guide is for you. Many Catholic couples enter marriage with excitement, love, and a deep desire to share their bodies with one another—but also with uncertainty about how to prepare for sex. It doesn’t need to be that way.
The Marital Act as a Human Act
This lesson introduces moral theology in the context of marital intimacy, exploring St. Thomas Aquinas' distinction between human acts and acts of man. It covers the eight stages of a human act, the three moral elements (object, intention, and circumstances), and how ignorance and fear affect moral responsibility. Learners will gain a theological framework for ensuring intimacy aligns with God’s plan, fostering virtue, love, and unity in marriage.
Overcoming Sexual Performance Anxiety
Sexual performance anxiety is a common but often misunderstood issue that affects both men and women. It can emerge at any age, regardless of relationship length or past sexual experience. Even couples who have enjoyed a satisfying sexual life for years may suddenly find themselves struggling with feelings of pressure, self-doubt, or fear related to intimacy.
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.
Two Weeks to Valentine’s Day: Make it Meaningful for Your Marriage
As Valentine’s Day approaches, it’s the perfect time to focus on nurturing the sacred bond of love and intimacy in your marriage. This celebration of love is an opportunity to reflect on the beauty of your union, deepen your connection, and honor God in your relationship. At Catholic Intimacy, we’re here to help you make this Valentine’s Day meaningful, romantic, and spiritually fulfilling.
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.
What Catholic Sex Coaching Is and Isn't
Catholic sex coaching is a specialized ministry that helps married couples enhance their intimacy while respecting the sanctity of marriage. Unlike secular sex coaching, this approach integrates spiritual, emotional, and physical dimensions within the framework of the Church’s teachings.
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.