Dear Catholic Exchange:

Madian

Dear Madian,

Greetings in Christ. First, God bless you on maintaining your virginity and sharing your faith in a culture that is often hostile to both! It is important to continue to cultivate friendships that will support you in your walk as a disciple of Christ as well as, more fundamentally, a good prayer life.

Regarding masturbation, yes it is a sin and, potentially, a mortal sin. The Catechism of the Catholic Church addresses this important moral issue:

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.” “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” (no. 2352, emphasis original, footnotes omitted).

Because masturbation is “an intrinsically and gravely disordered action,” it becomes a mortal sin when done with “full knowledge” (i.e., sufficient reflection) and “complete consent.” As the Catechism indicates, one should seek guidance from a solid spiritual director if he or she has a problem with the sin of masturbation:

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 lessen, if not even reduce to a minimum, moral culpability (no. 2352).

Regarding whether one who commits the sin of masturbation could still be considered “pure and chaste,” some important distinctions need to be made. Masturbation can never be considered a pure or chaste act, irrespective of the level of one’s culpability in committing this moral transgression. In committing the sin of masturbation, a person becomes impure to one extent or another and needs to repent. The reality of the sin illustrates that one has room to grow in cultivating purity and chastity.

Yet, one who commits this sin—especially one who is maintaining his or her virginity and witnessing otherwise to chastity in various ways—should not become depressed and conclude that he or she is hopelessly “unchaste” or “impure.” Chastity is a virtue and, like all virtues, must be cultivated to perfection. While one may infrequently commit the sin of masturbation, or even struggle with a habit of masturbation, he or she may act chastely in other ways. It’s important to concentrate on and emphasize the virtue one has cultivated, while continuing to work on areas where the virtue can be better cultivated with God’s grace. Even a single person who has never committed the sin of fornication or masturbation has to struggle with impure thoughts, that is, with at least avoiding the sin of fornication or adultery in his or her heart, diligently practicing custody of the eyes, thoughts and heart (cf. Mt. 5:28, Catechism, nos. 2336, 2390, 2513, 2528).

The proper response to masturbation is to repent and continue to engage the struggle, rooting out occasions of sin and working—with the aid of a good spiritual director—to combat the sin otherwise. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a great blessing in this regard. In addition, such a moral struggle can help a person to seek God’s help more, not be as self-reliant or prideful, and also be more merciful to others, helping them along the road to repentance instead of self-righteously judging them. In the process, God will lead one to perfection amidst his or her weakness. Such fruits are reminders that all things work to the good of those who love the Lord (cf. Rom. 8:28).

In struggling to be pure, Mary is our great intercessor and Mother, for she is a paragon of chastity par excellence. Seek out her comfort and aid, for her Son has blessed us greatly in giving her to us as our Mother, too (cf. Rev. 12:17).

In summary, chastity is a lifelong journey, and we must not become discouraged if we fall in thought, word, or deed along the way. The journey is, of course, well worth the struggle, both regarding our life on earth and our prospective life in Heaven. Chastity enables us to master ourselves (cf. Catechism no. 2339), leading us to authentic freedom. True freedom involves the power to choose what is good and reject what is bad. Indeed, chastity is an essential part of experiencing Christ’s freeing truth (cf. Jn. 8:32), His way, truth and life (Jn. 14:6) that provides an abundantly blessed life, now and forever (Jn. 10:10).

For your further reading, we suggest reading prayerfully the Catechism’s presentation on chastity and purity: nos. 2331-2400 and 2514-33.

I hope this answers your question. If you have further questions on this or would like more information about Catholics United for the Faith, please contact us at 1-800-MY-FAITH (693-2484). Please keep us in your prayers as we endeavor to “support, defend, and advance the efforts of the teaching Church.”

United in the Faith,

Thomas J. Nash

Senior Information Specialist

Catholics United for the Faith

827 North Fourth Street

Steubenville, OH 43952

800-MY-FAITH (800-693-2484)