Masturbation is a mortal sin.

[Rising_Suns]

Brethren, peace be with you,

I know most of you know this already, but because this topic is not often talked about, I would like to bring it up once more. While other denominations have varrying opinions on this, the Church has always been clear on this issue; quite simply, it is a grave and disordered offense against God. And if done in full knowledge and consent, it becomes a mortal sin.

"Both the Magisterium of the Church, in the course of a constant tradition, and the moral sense of the faithful have been in no doubt and have firmly maintained that masturbation is an intrinsically and gravely disordered action." 138 "The deliberate use of the sexual faculty, for whatever reason, outside of marriage is essentially contrary to its purpose." For here sexual pleasure is sought outside of "the sexual relationship which is demanded by the moral order and in which the total meaning of mutual self-giving and human procreation in the context of true love is achieved." 139 [CCC, 2352]

To form an equitable judgment about the subjects' moral responsibility and to guide pastoral action, one must take into account the affective immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety, or other psychological or social factors that can lessen, if not even reduce to a minimum, moral culpability." [CCC,2352]

I know this is a struggle for many people, especially men. Please know that I am not on the pulpit preaching to you, but I have faced the very same struggles in my past as well, and Christ has helped me overcome this temptation.

The words of our Holy Mother Church are always wise;

"We must regard as guilty all those who continue to relapse into their sins. Since our sins made the Lord Christ suffer the torment of the cross, those who plunge themselves into disorders and crimes crucify the Son of God anew in their hearts (for he is in them) and hold him up to contempt. And it can be seen that our crime in this case is greater in us than in the Jews. As for them, according to the witness of the Apostle, "None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." We, however, profess to know him. And when we deny him by our deeds, we in some way seem to lay violent hands on him. 391

Nor did demons crucify him; it is you who have crucified him and crucify him still, when you delight in your vices and sins." 392

Please, if anyone one of you my dear friends would like to add further quotes or words of wisdom / encouragement in this thread, I would implore you to do so. This is such a great tragedy; the sexual corruption of our society has propelled so many good souls into the worst kinds of vices.

Blessings,

-Davide

 

[Dream]

I had trouble accepting this one when I first heard it. I had the attitude of "why would God care about this? It's not that big of a deal." That, my friends, is an easy trap to fall into.

 

[DJ B.K.]

It's a real hard thing to give up even when you believe it's a mortal sin that's for sure.

 

[plainswolf]

Great post!

J.M.J.
Mark

 

[Dream]

Also, if I might add, indulging in inappropriate contentography is a mortal sin:

2354 inappropriate contentography consists in removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties. It offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other. It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world. It is a grave offense. Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of inappropriate contentographic materials.

 

[WarriorAngel]

I always wondered why this act was wrong.

I suppose on the physical end of it, if a man is .....spent. Then he has no room for his wifes needs....?

I, being a female, blush at this, but was quite curious. Sorry.

 

[colleen]

I just want to add encouragement and prayers to the men who are struggling to stay chaste. I'm not saying that touching yourself isn't a struggle for women, but I think men are taught that it is something they have to do. My prayers go out to you, and as a woman I want to thank you. It lifts me up to know that men are fighting the hard fight, and the women in your life will appreciate it.

Colleen

 

[NDIrish]

Oh great, up until now I had been able to hide behind the "full knowledge" clause, and now you RUINED IT!

(JUST KIDDING!!!! )

 

[lonnienord]

if anyone wants to know why it is a mortal sin i can tell you. I wasn't taught as a youth that it was a mortal sin. It is extremely habit forming and addictive. Very hard to stop and makes one unable to function in a loving way in the marriage bed. people who touch have trouble with premature [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse] which makes sex for their partners not as much fun as it can be. plus masterbating causes the person to have many fantacies both whil masterbating and while with his wife. So masterbating is a sin and should definately be avoided!!

 

[cleopa_of_emmaus]

Frequent confession is good for the soul, and will help any person struggling with this sin, which in many ways resembles an addiction.

I read a great Orthodox book entitled "How they faced temptations of the flesh" by George Kalpouzos. I highly recommend it to everybody.

Go with God,

~cleopa

 

[marciadietrich]

It is a grave offense, but not always mortal sin. It might be a mortal sin, you should always confess it and work to eliminate it. There are circumstances that do lessen culpability, contained in the CCC quote, someone shouldn't despair if it is something they struggle to overcome.

I'm not sure just announcing "if this truth is new to you, then you now have full knowledge where before you did not, and you will thus be held accountable" equates to what is meant by "full knowledge" ... which would seem to be a full understanding and realization (Baltimore Catechism calls it "sufficient reflection") . Otherwise we might say all protestants we've told that there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church "know" and meet the full knowledge requirement for simply having heard of no salvation outside of the Church.

 

[Avatar]

Brethren, peace be with you,



"The deliberate use of the sexual faculty, for whatever reason, outside of marriage is essentially contrary to its purpose."

And overeating or indulging in our sweettooth, is contrary to the purpose of our taste buds, which are intended simply to tell us what is suitable for our consumption.

Are those who deliberatley overindulge their taste facility, any less guilty than those who overindulge their sexual facility? Its all indulgence of sensation, after all.

 

[Caedmon]

Thank God for the eternally unchanging moral teachings of the Church! What a relief it is to know whether something is sin!

roflol... only a Catholic...

 

[WarriorAngel]

I know it says men should not ...but what about women?

However, I wont argue it, if I know what is said about it.

I sincerely don't know much on this subject.

 

[lonnienord]

the only thing harder than being a catholic is not being a catholic!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[InnerPhyre]

Don't leave this one off the list at confession just because it's embarassing, folks! Let the fact that it's such an embarassing thing to confess motivate you to avoid the sin altogether

 

[Gwendolyn]

I know it says men should not ...but what about women?

However, I wont argue it, if I know what is said about it.

I sincerely don't know much on this subject.

Warrior angel,

In order to properly understand why it is a sin, you have to look at our sexuality as a whole. Our sexuality isn't just one separable extension of our being. Rather, it is an integral part of who we are - it is an integral part of our very identity. In creating us as male and female, God allowed us to mirror His love for us by stamping His covenant into our very bodies and calling us to be a self-gift to one another. If we live according to the true meaning of our bodies we fulfill the very meaning of our existence, which is to love as God loves - selflessly, freely, and completely. Indeed, when we come together in that "one flesh" reality of marriage, it is a gift and symbol of God's love - and, in turn, our sharing this love with one another in and through our bodies. As humans, we experience our call to love from within. "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh." (Gen 2:24) In that sense, the two meanings of sex - love and procreation - are held in a fruitful togetherness, and this is why sex belongs within the context of a loving, committed, married relationship. The original harmony of body and soul, and of sexuality and spirituality, was sustained by the harmony between God and the first humans, and was manifested most pointedly in the original harmony of man and woman - the first marriage.

LUST is a lack of God's love in the human heart. In the sexual realm, lust refers to un-inspired sexual desire: sexual desire no longer informed by the spirit, by God's love and grace. This is the category into which masturbation falls - it is a misuse of the sexual faculty in that it is an act lacking the inspiration of God's love. Lustful acts such as masturbation treat others as objects, whether in sexual fantasy, or in actuality (mutual masturbation), treating the other as an object created for "my sake" (i.e. for the sake of my own self-gratification). Here, sexual desire is "twisted" by sin. Whereas we are called to make a selfless, self-sacrificing gift of ourselves to our spouse, lustful sexual acts do not trust the freedom of such gift and indeed, they refuse to risk becoming a gift at all. The dignity of humanity rests above all on the fact that we are called to communion with God, and lustful sexual union does not satisfy our desire to come closer to God - in fact, it pushes us farther away from Him.

The idea that the Church thinks sex is bad, even if she allows it for procreation, is widespread. Many people, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, might actually believe that such heretical thinking is official Church teaching! It is simply not true. Christianity does not reject the body! Quite the contrary - Christianity acknowledges that God has raised human flesh to the highest heights of heaven, and Christians believe this to be God's plan for everybody. The Church fathers have said, "The flesh is the hinge of salvation". We believe in God who is creator of the flesh; we believe in the Word made flesh in order to redeem the flesh; we believe in the resurrection of the flesh, the fulfillment of both the creation and the redemption of the flesh. The truth is, as Catholics we encounter God not through some super-spiritual reality, but through our bodies and the elements of the material world: through bathing the body with water; anointing the body with oil eating and drinking the body and blood of Christ; confessing with one's own lips; laying on of hands; and yes, through that reality by which a man and woman join their lives together so intimately as to be "one flesh". What God intends us to do, however, is to embrace the gift of our sexuality, and to realise that when we express sexual love according to His original plan - that is, when the expression of sexual love is manifest in the "one flesh" reality of marriage, shared between a husband and a wife in a lifelong, life-giving communion - we are living according to the true meaning of our bodies.

Our ultimate struggle, therefore, is not to tyrannise or repress our sexual passions, but to direct them with the transforming power of grace to the truth of self-giving love. Christ calls us to experience a real and deep victory over our disordered sexual passions so that we may come freely to desire the good. This freedom enables us to live our bodies in holiness and honour liberated from lust's domination. Lust passes on the ruins of the matrimonial significance of the body and aims directly at an exclusive end: to satisfy the only sexual need of the body as its precise object. The lustful individual is not concerned with the body's procreative meaning. In fact, the lustful individual often sees it as a nuisance since it impedes him or her from satisfying their lust.

We are all called to CHASTITY. Chastity is not a matter of disregarding the true value of the body and of sex in the mind by pushing natural reactions to them into the subconscious. Chastity affirms the value of the person in every situation, and it understands that reactions to the body and to sex are not evil. However, chastity also understands that indulging sexual impulses to the point where another individual is objectified - either in fantasy or in actuality - is a misuse of the gift of our sexuality. Because lust will always be a reality in a fallen world, we will always need God's mercy. But the grace of his mercy enables us to attain a mature level of purity. And the GOOD NEWS is that no matter how deep our wounds and distortions go, the cross of Christ goes deeper. Even now, through all of these distorted views of sexuality, purity of heart enables us to see according to God, to see past all of the Deceiver's counterfeits in order to see God's Truth, to desire God's Truth, and to attain it. Even the holiest of men and women will always retain a remnant of their disordered passions, but a person truly alive with the truth about good is not fooled by the devil's plagiarisms.

In short, this is the language of the loving, marital, sexual embrace: "I give myself totally to you, all that I am without reservation. Sincerely. Freely. Forever. And I receive the gift of yourself that you give to me. I bless you. I affirm you. All that you are, without reservation. Forever." This is an experience of being chosen by eternal love. Sexual union outside of marriagecannotspeak this language. If sexual union does not say this, it does not correspond to the nuptial meaning of the body. It does not correspond to the dignity of the person and can never satisfy the longings of the heart. If sexual union does not say this, it is not an expression of love but only a cheapened counterfeit. Only through that revelation of the original experience of the body can we understand that from which we have fallen and that to which we are called. And in Christ we are called to recover that happiness that comes from living according to the full truth of our bodies.

I hope this makes sense, though I fear it may only serve to make everything even foggier... :o But don't be afraid to keep asking those questions.

 

[Gwendolyn]

Don't leave this one off the list at confession just because it's embarassing, folks! Let the fact that it's such an embarassing thing to confess motivate you to avoid the sin altogether

Well, not only that, but consistently experiencing the grace bestowed upon you by receiving that Sacrament is strength enough to rise above your sin and break out of bondage!

Well, I know many people who call themselves catholics and their life is pretty easy. Live life, sin, go confess, all good for the next week to come.

Oh, come now. Surely you aren't insinuating that we are all content to live in sin so long as we have confession... that's certainly contrary to the life we are all called to live as Christians!

 

[D'Ann]

Warrior angel,

In order to properly understand why it is a sin, you have to look at our sexuality as a whole. Our sexuality isn't just one separable extension of our being. Rather, it is an integral part of who we are - it is an integral part of our very identity. In creating us as male and female, God allowed us to mirror His love for us by stamping His covenant into our very bodies and calling us to be a self-gift to one another. If we live according to the true meaning of our bodies we fulfill the very meaning of our existence, which is to love as God loves - selflessly, freely, and completely. Indeed, when we come together in that "one flesh" reality of marriage, it is a gift and symbol of God's love - and, in turn, our sharing this love with one another in and through our bodies. As humans, we experience our call to love from within. "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh." (Gen 2:24) In that sense, the two meanings of sex - love and procreation - are held in a fruitful togetherness, and this is why sex belongs within the context of a loving, committed, married relationship. The original harmony of body and soul, and of sexuality and spirituality, was sustained by the harmony between God and the first humans, and was manifested most pointedly in the original harmony of man and woman - the first marriage.

LUST is a lack of God's love in the human heart. In the sexual realm, lust refers to un-inspired sexual desire: sexual desire no longer informed by the spirit, by God's love and grace. This is the category into which masturbation falls - it is a misuse of the sexual faculty in that it is an act lacking the inspiration of God's love. Lustful acts such as masturbation treat others as objects, whether in sexual fantasy, or in actuality (mutual masturbation), treating the other as an object created for "my sake" (i.e. for the sake of my own self-gratification). Here, sexual desire is "twisted" by sin. Whereas we are called to make a selfless, self-sacrificing gift of ourselves to our spouse, lustful sexual acts do not trust the freedom of such gift and indeed, they refuse to risk becoming a gift at all. The dignity of humanity rests above all on the fact that we are called to communion with God, and lustful sexual union does not satisfy our desire to come closer to God - in fact, it pushes us farther away from Him.

The idea that the Church thinks sex is bad, even if she allows it for procreation, is widespread. Many people, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, might actually believe that such heretical thinking is official Church teaching! It is simply not true. Christianity does not reject the body! Quite the contrary - Christianity acknowledges that God has raised human flesh to the highest heights of heaven, and Christians believe this to be God's plan for everybody. The Church fathers have said, "The flesh is the hinge of salvation". We believe in God who is creator of the flesh; we believe in the Word made flesh in order to redeem the flesh; we believe in the resurrection of the flesh, the fulfillment of both the creation and the redemption of the flesh. The truth is, as Catholics we encounter God not through some super-spiritual reality, but through our bodies and the elements of the material world: through bathing the body with water; anointing the body with oil eating and drinking the body and blood of Christ; confessing with one's own lips; laying on of hands; and yes, through that reality by which a man and woman join their lives together so intimately as to be "one flesh". What God intends us to do, however, is to embrace the gift of our sexuality, and to realise that when we express sexual love according to His original plan - that is, when the expression of sexual love is manifest in the "one flesh" reality of marriage, shared between a husband and a wife in a lifelong, life-giving communion - we are living according to the true meaning of our bodies.

Our ultimate struggle, therefore, is not to tyrannise or repress our sexual passions, but to direct them with the transforming power of grace to the truth of self-giving love. Christ calls us to experience a real and deep victory over our disordered sexual passions so that we may come freely to desire the good. This freedom enables us to live our bodies in holiness and honour liberated from lust's domination. Lust passes on the ruins of the matrimonial significance of the body and aims directly at an exclusive end: to satisfy the only sexual need of the body as its precise object. The lustful individual is not concerned with the body's procreative meaning. In fact, the lustful individual often sees it as a nuisance since it impedes him or her from satisfying their lust.

We are all called to CHASTITY. Chastity is not a matter of disregarding the true value of the body and of sex in the mind by pushing natural reactions to them into the subconscious. Chastity affirms the value of the person in every situation, and it understands that reactions to the body and to sex are not evil. However, chastity also understands that indulging sexual impulses to the point where another individual is objectified - either in fantasy or in actuality - is a misuse of the gift of our sexuality. Because lust will always be a reality in a fallen world, we will always need God's mercy. But the grace of his mercy enables us to attain a mature level of purity. And the GOOD NEWS is that no matter how deep our wounds and distortions go, the cross of Christ goes deeper. Even now, through all of these distorted views of sexuality, purity of heart enables us to see according to God, to see past all of the Deceiver's counterfeits in order to see God's Truth, to desire God's Truth, and to attain it. Even the holiest of men and women will always retain a remnant of their disordered passions, but a person truly alive with the truth about good is not fooled by the devil's plagiarisms.

In short, this is the language of the loving, marital, sexual embrace: "I give myself totally to you, all that I am without reservation. Sincerely. Freely. Forever. And I receive the gift of yourself that you give to me. I bless you. I affirm you. All that you are, without reservation. Forever." This is an experience of being chosen by eternal love. Sexual union outside of marriagecannotspeak this language. If sexual union does not say this, it does not correspond to the nuptial meaning of the body. It does not correspond to the dignity of the person and can never satisfy the longings of the heart. If sexual union does not say this, it is not an expression of love but only a cheapened counterfeit. Only through that revelation of the original experience of the body can we understand that from which we have fallen and that to which we are called. And in Christ we are called to recover that happiness that comes from living according to the full truth of our bodies.

I hope this makes sense, though I fear it may only serve to make everything even foggier... :o But don't be afraid to keep asking those questions.

Thanks... good job in explaining this kind of topic... I certainly wouldn't even had attempted to ...

God's Peace,

D'Ann

 

[Gwendolyn]

Thanks... good job in explaining this kind of topic... I certainly wouldn't even had attempted to ...

God's Peace,

D'Ann

I've had lots of practice explaining... I had to organise an entire night for teens! That was so tough, explaining to teens as few as two years younger than I am that they are called "not to impurity, but to holiness" (1 Thess 4:3). Thanks to il Papa, I had a lot of help. (Everyone should pick up the Theology of the Body, or at least read Christopher West's commentary on it.)