My Mission

Perhaps you're wondering exactly what it is I'm trying to accomplish...

Obviously, you don’t just wake up one day and decide, the Catholic Church needs to change how they talk about sexuality, and I’m someone who can do that.

It was a process. Years of trial and error. Years of being told by priests, church administrators, and church members, that what I’m doing is misguided at best and heretical at worst. The truth is:

I’m bringing the church’s sexual teachings into conversation with sexology—the study of what people think feel and do sexually.

The Wesleyan Quadrilateral is a tool that describes how good theology comes from the intersection of four things: Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience. The Magisterium (the teaching branch of the Church mostly based out of the Vatican) has long forgotten to include Reason, Experience, or even an educated, historical understanding of scripture in its sexual teachings. The Tradition stands paramount. Which is to say three of the four components of good theology have been left out of the conversation.

What are the perilous results of such an attitude and teaching on sexuality? You know. The sexual abuse crisis is merely one large-scale tragedy.

There are small scale tragedies in Catholic or Recovering-Catholic bedrooms all over the world. Women and men who feel separated from their bodies, who feel guilt for experiencing pleasure, who feel even the slightest bit of shame for having a sexuality. Women who don’t feel worthy or holy wearing the gorgeous lingerie they secretly want. Men who masturbate or have sex quickly to get straight to orgasm instead of savoring the pleasure of their bodies in a way that actually leads to greater pleasure. Gay and Lesbian individuals who feel torn between love of God and Church and love of their partner. Transgender people who have been told by the Magisterium their courageous acts to feel at home in their bodies are sinful “bodily mutilation.”

If you’ve read this far and are nodding your head, I’m sure you can start to imagine the kind of Church I dream of. However, I’ve always been more satisfied by working with individuals to feel connected to their bodies and empowered through that connection to live the lives they desire and deserve. Which is where Sex with Spirit comes in.

I want *you* to feel like God looks at your sexuality and says “It is good.”

I want *you* to feel worthy of expressing your sexuality in the way that brings you the most joy.

I want you to grow spiritually, so that your image of God is bigger than what the magisterium’s sexual ethics would have you believe.

I want you to have the spiritual freedom to disagree with magisterial teachings and still feel deserving of membership in the Catholic Church

I want you to be an example of a spiritually connected sexually alive individual looks like for the rest of your community to witness and aspire toward.

If you’re already there, awesome! I’d love to hear what resources helped you get there! Let me know in the comments below.

If you’re not, I want to hear where your biggest challenge is. What you’d love help with. Either comment below or send me an email at rachel@sexwithspirit.com. And if you feel ready to commit 8 weeks to this kind of growth consider signing up for my signature course “And God Said It Was Good.”

Wherever you are on this journey, I’m thrilled to be here with you, and look forward to being a resource and guide to help you Increase Sexual Freedom and Grow Spiritually.

#mission #sexualtheology #sexology #sexualfreedom #spiritualgrowth #AndGodSaidItwasGood