Thursday, April 26, 2007
Roman Catholic Morality & The Virtue of Purity
This post is in line with the previous one on homosexuality.
The Purpose Of The Sexual Powers:
The social unit of mankind is the family; in other words, the human race is built up of families as a house is built of bricks, or living tissue of cells and the family rests on the sacred institution of Holy Matrimony - a divine institution from the beginning in the book of Genesis and raised by our Lord Jesus Christ through Holy Mother Church to the dignity of a Sacrament.
God has put into human nature certain sexual powers, passions and instincts, all meant to be used within the holy state of matrimony. If the sexes were without these instincts, if men and women were not strongly and agreebly drawn to each other, then there would be no marriage and the human race would perish. Since these sexual powers, passions and instincts were given by God for the purpose of prcreation, establishing the human family and continuing the human race, they therefore must be kept for these divinely instituted purposes only. To use them in any other way, merely for one's own sexual pleasure, erotic satistfaction and carnal gratification, would be a in a true sense a perversion and thus a mortal sin against human nature and the will of God as expressed in the 6th and 9th Commandments.
A reasonable and healthy curiosity about these sexual powers implanted in our nature by God is quite right and natural and if a young man or woman feels themselves unduly ignorant, they should seek information from their parents or some older person whom they trust. If they wish to inquire on the moral aspects of such matters, they are always welcome to see a priest, preferably a priest from their own parish who would know them and be able to guide them more effectively.
Purity & Chastity Is A Most Beautiful Virtue:
In a world obssessed by perversion, immorality and the darkness of all types of sexual sin, God Himself tells us in Scripture, "Oh, how beautiful is the chaste generation with glory: for the memory thereof is immortal" (Wisdom Of Solomon 4:1). Our Blessed Lord Himself in the Beatitudes said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). The practice of chastity and purity brings a delightful peace to the soul and infuses courage to do and to dare great things for God and our fellowmen.
Every Sin Against Purity & Chastity Is A Mortal Sin:
The guilt and shame that arises out of sexual immorality of any kind is far greater than the very act of impurity that has been committed. Some sins of impurity are more grievious than others and may vary according to the persons with whom they are committed. All sins of incest, beastiality, homosexuality, lesbianism, prostitution and pornography are abominable and detestable in the sight of a Holy God.
Impurity & Unchastity Desecrates The Human Dignity:
A man or woman who does not ennoble the sexual appetite by the spiritual power of the will, sinks down to the level of an animal and if he or she keeps on giving into such impure and unnatural practices, he or she sinks lower still. Impure lust, once it is pandered to, grows ever more imperious and makes the vilest slaves of its victims. The resistance of the will grows weaker with every defeat and eventually the complete loss of will-power often results. nature, which is God's servant, takes an awful toll for the transgression of its laws. One would do well to heed the Scriptural warning that "the wages of sin is death."
Impurity & Unchastity Is A Sin Against Human Society:
Impurity and unchastity poisons the wellspring of life and undermines the foundations on which society is built, that is, the propogation of the human race in moral purity and strength through the state of marriage and the practice of wholesome family life. When impurity and unchastity is legalized and becomes a national vice in the form of strip clubs, gay bars and legalized prostitution, this spells both spiritual and moral ruin for whole states, nations and people groups.
The only way that men and women everywhere should walk in is the way of purity and holiness that God has set forth for the human race to follow through the teaching of Holy Scripture and by the life and words of our Lord Jesus Christ. One would do well to heed the words of the prophet Isaiah as both a rule and a way of life, "A path and a way shall be there and it shall be called the holy way. The unclean shall not pass over it. The redeemed of the Lord shall walk there and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads" (Isaiah 35:8).
Acknowledgements:
The Society of the Seven Dolours
Labels: Catholic Belief, Christian Virtues, Morality
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