From the Catechism
of the Catholic Church:
2351 Lust
is disordered desire for or inordinate enjoyment of sexual pleasure. Sexual
pleasure is morally disordered when sought for itself, isolated from its
procreative and unitive purposes.
2352 By masturbation
is to be understood the deliberate stimulation of the genital organs in order
to derive sexual pleasure. ‘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.’ (In other words: a grave sin). ‘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.”
To form an
equitable judgement 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 lessen or even extenuate moral culpability.
THE CHURCH AS
THE PILLAR AND GROUND OF TRUTH:
The above
statement was produced in the Catechism of the Catholic Church by the Pope and
all the bishops of the Catholic Church throughout the world. Christ gave them a
mandate to teach the truth when he said: “Whatever you bind on earth, will be
considered bound in Heaven”. (Matt 18:18). The Church is the “pillar and the
ground of truth”, the teacher of right conduct and should be listened to
seriously when she teaches on moral matters. (See 1 Tim 3:15). As for example
on the problem of masturbation. Masturbation or self stimulation of the
genitals (or ‘wanking’ as it is contemptuously called in popular circles) has
always been regarded as the lowest form of sexual activity- a selfish, solitary
sin of self gratification. It is morally wrong and can damage one’s self esteem
and can cause a loss of self worth.
Bible Consideration: In the Bible
(Gen 24:2 and 47:29) the genitals are regarded with great respect and reverence
as they are the source of new life- life that is destined to live eternally
with God. The expression ‘put your hand under my thigh’ in Gen 24:2 and 47:29 is
a euphemistic expression which refers to an old Hebrew custom of touching the
genitals and calling upon God, the author of life, to witness an oath being
sworn. The Planned Parenthood (or Planned Barrenhood!) Lovelife campaign
and the LIFESKILLS books in our schools are anti life and of the devil
and should be read with great care if we value our faith and aspire to eternal life.
Jesus asked what is the point of gaining the whole world and losing our souls
in hell. (Mark 8:36).
MASTURBATION: This is
virtually always closely connected with lustful thought life and sexual
fantasies which a Christian must avoid. (Matthew 5:27 says if you look
lustfully at another you have already committed adultery). Masturbation is
something that the normal person has dealt with or is dealing with- one must
trust God and break with the habit. Break habits by repentance, confession,
getting convinced in oneself that one does not want it or need it. One needs to
be convinced to avoid Satan’s lies that it’s necessary or unavoidable and that
one will be a better marriage partner and be free and happy etc. etc.
One of the
most glorious fruits of the Holy Spirit is self control (Gal 5:23). If we want
it we must pray for it. It allows us to live a victorious life in the Holy
Spirit and not a slave to passion.
Joy Magazine: Masturbation
can be addictive if self control is not exercised. It can lead to self-love and
block a true loving marital relationship with a future spouse.
“An individual
whose life is centred around fantasies is not likely to do well when
attempting to relate with a real flesh-and-blood marriage partner and the
demands of adult life and godliness.
God did not
design sex to be a solitary experience. It is supposed to be shared with
another, and only in marriage.
The Bible is
clear that sexual activity is always wrong outside of marriage. Yet today’s
society promotes, encourages, and teaches young people to explore their
sexuality and to become active in early adolescence”. (Joy
Magazine, April 2000)
FEMINA
MAGAZINE:
An article
from Femina Magazine would seem to confirm this:
“Excessive
masturbation can detract from male pleasure during sexual intercourse,
according to a recent conference of sexologists. Men are so good at pleasuring
themselves that the real thing becomes a bit of a let down. The reason is that
the natural pressure exerted by the vagina during intercourse is not match for
the firm grip by men when they masturbate. This results in spells of impotence
and ejaculation problems during intercourse with partners. Men who masturbate
excessively are also likely to fall out of touch with their partner’s
sensitivity to stimulation. This condition is known as traumatic masturbatory
syndrome – causes men to ejaculate so forcefully that intercourse is painful
for their partners. These men are incapable of gauging a partner’s sensitivity
and are thus worse lovers”. Femina Magazine, February 2000 (Femina
is a secular, non Christian South African magazine)
C.S. LEWIS ON MASTURBATION
C.S. Lewis
never shied away from confronting people’s often raised questions regarding
sexual temptation and sin. He argued that marriage is important for many
biblical reasons. It is ordained of God. And one of the reasons is “the
biological aspect.” Many people cannot consistently remain chaste as God
requires. Therefore, one excellent alternative is marriage.” Lewis gave no
ground to the person who saw masturbation as an option for how to cope
with sexual temptation. After discarding all the humbug about the physical harm
from autoeroticism, he got to the core of the matter: “For me the real evil of
masturbation would be that it takes an appetite which, in lawful use, leads the
individual out of himself to complete (and correct) his own personality in that
of another (and finally in children and grandchildren) and turns it back; sends
the man into the prison of himself, there to keep a harem of imaginary brides.”
Lewis went on to say that “this harem, once admitted, works against his every
getting out and really uniting with a real woman. For the harem is always
accessible, always subservient, calls for no sacrifices or adjustments, and can
be endowed with erotic and psychological attractions which no woman can rival.”
Finally among these fantasies the man “is always adored, always the perfect
lover; no demand is made on his unselfishness, no mortification ever imposed on
his vanity. In the end, they become merely the medium through which he
increasingly adores himself.” From Lewis’s angle of vision, any sexual
activity, including homosexuality, outside of monogamous heterosexual marriage
is outside the will of God.”
(L.W. Dorsett,
Seeking the Secret Place: The Spiritual Formation of C.S. Lewis, Brazos Press,
2004, pg 123)
PRAYERS:
1. Create in me a pure heart, O God. (Ps 51).
Help me to be like Job, who made a
covenant with his eyes not to look
lustfully at others. (Job 31:1)
Forgive me for pampering lust in my life; help me to
guard against it faithfully. May the ‘meditations of my heart be pleasing in
your sight, O Lord my God’. (Ps 19:14)
2. Jesus, help me to love as you do. Make me
pure of body, pure of mind, and pure of
heart that I might see God and enjoy his
plan for me. Make me clean, and heal me
from the wounds of sin. Strengthen me to
live the love that you call me to each day.
By myself, I am weak and my heart is not
pure, but in you I can be strong and pure.
Mary, I want to be pure like you are.
St Joseph, I want to have your courage to
guard the purity of others and myself.
Please help me in my walk with Jesus, so
that I can glorify God in my body, and join
you all in heaven one day.
Hail Mary, ......
St Joseph, pray for us.
St Raphael the Archangel, pray for us.
St Maria Goretti, pray for us.
