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from Fr Hardon http://www.therealpresence.org/archives ... ty_003.htm
What is Christian Chastity?
Christian chastity is the worship of God by respecting the use of our powers of procreation according to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
It is imperative that we modify the word "chastity" by calling it "Christian chastity." In the Roman Empire, before the coming of Christ, castitas was part of the Latin vocabulary. It simply meant abstention from unlawful intercourse, where the pagan culture of the day determined what was unlawful intercourse. Concubinage and polygamy, divorce and the right to remarry were commonplace. In fact, marriage among the Romans was essentially cohabitation.
Even in pre-Christian Judaism, a plurality of wives was a recognized feature of Jewish culture. It was assumed to be necessary for the survival of the family and to provide male children. Concubinage with slave women was practiced for the same reason. Thus female slaves were considered the property of their master.
It is worth stating these obvious facts if we are to understand the meaning of Christian chastity. As a society becomes de-Christianized, it becomes paganized.
Moreover, we must stress the fact that Christian chastity is a very positive virtue. As believers in Christ, we recognize that our powers of reproduction have been given to us by God. We believe that God became man, who as the God-man, taught us how to use these powers according to His divine will. We are therefore ready to use these powers or not use them, as God wants us to. More surprising still, we are even willing to sacrifice the use of these powers where no sin is involved.
Under the guidance of the Church, we therefore believe that chastity is a virtue to be practiced by every human being, from childhood to old age, in every state of life. As Catholics, we further believe that marital chastity is the God-given enjoyment of marital relations. Marital unchastity is another name for marital infidelity and for contraceptive intercourse.
As Catholics, we believe that pre-marital chastity is the abstinence from sexual experience because this is the manifest will of God.
In a word, Christian chastity declares that no one has a right to fully deliberate sexual pleasure except two married people between themselves, when they engage in marital relations between themselves, in order to foster their mutual love which they leave open for the conception of new human life.
On these terms, Christian chastity is not the prohibition of something evil but the recognition of something very sacred. It is sacred because Christian chastity is the practice of the selfless charity proclaimed to the world by Jesus Christ. It is sacred because Christian chastity is a sublime form of divine worship. Our will commands our body to conform to the will of God.
What is Christian Chastity?
Christian chastity is the worship of God by respecting the use of our powers of procreation according to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
It is imperative that we modify the word "chastity" by calling it "Christian chastity." In the Roman Empire, before the coming of Christ, castitas was part of the Latin vocabulary. It simply meant abstention from unlawful intercourse, where the pagan culture of the day determined what was unlawful intercourse. Concubinage and polygamy, divorce and the right to remarry were commonplace. In fact, marriage among the Romans was essentially cohabitation.
Even in pre-Christian Judaism, a plurality of wives was a recognized feature of Jewish culture. It was assumed to be necessary for the survival of the family and to provide male children. Concubinage with slave women was practiced for the same reason. Thus female slaves were considered the property of their master.
It is worth stating these obvious facts if we are to understand the meaning of Christian chastity. As a society becomes de-Christianized, it becomes paganized.
Moreover, we must stress the fact that Christian chastity is a very positive virtue. As believers in Christ, we recognize that our powers of reproduction have been given to us by God. We believe that God became man, who as the God-man, taught us how to use these powers according to His divine will. We are therefore ready to use these powers or not use them, as God wants us to. More surprising still, we are even willing to sacrifice the use of these powers where no sin is involved.
Under the guidance of the Church, we therefore believe that chastity is a virtue to be practiced by every human being, from childhood to old age, in every state of life. As Catholics, we further believe that marital chastity is the God-given enjoyment of marital relations. Marital unchastity is another name for marital infidelity and for contraceptive intercourse.
As Catholics, we believe that pre-marital chastity is the abstinence from sexual experience because this is the manifest will of God.
In a word, Christian chastity declares that no one has a right to fully deliberate sexual pleasure except two married people between themselves, when they engage in marital relations between themselves, in order to foster their mutual love which they leave open for the conception of new human life.
On these terms, Christian chastity is not the prohibition of something evil but the recognition of something very sacred. It is sacred because Christian chastity is the practice of the selfless charity proclaimed to the world by Jesus Christ. It is sacred because Christian chastity is a sublime form of divine worship. Our will commands our body to conform to the will of God.