1) MASTURBATION IS DEFINITELY MORTAL SIN! FIND
OUT WHY!
2) THE REALITY
3) THE ANSWER!
Why Is Masturbation Sin?
Masturbation is a sin because a person consents in their own mind to take
satisfaction from impure thoughts. It is sinful to take gratification
and pleasure by using one's imagination to FIXATE upon obscene images,
or obscene actions, or forbidden sex. Lustfully fixating upon genitals, or
sexual acts, is idolatry. This is called: the worship of obscenities. This is
the sin of those addicted to pornography. That's often a "guy" thing.
Alternatively, consenting to and consummating satisfaction in a fantasy of
forbidden sexual romance, is the sin of adultery in
the heart. That's often a "girl" thing. The act of
masturbation is an outward act that confirms that one's heart and mind has
consented to an inward act of impurity. Only by consenting to an imagined act
of impurity can one attain orgasm. To attain sexual release, a person's WILL consents to LOVE something that God HATES. THAT
IS WHAT SIN IS! In the confessional, one would say: "I
have committed sins of impurity with myself (mention a specific number)."
This particular sin is the most frequently mentioned sin by men in
the confessional. It IS a very common sin. Usually, it is a mortal
sin. If a person is in a state of grace, and is striving to remain
pure, it may not be a mortal sin if suddenly, almost spontaneously,
one looses control at a moment of weakness. In such instances a person may not
have given "full consent of the will." These unplanned venial
wounds, however, are often followed by acts that ARE mortal sins. Once
the spontaneous physical impulse has passed, a person may continue to
masturbate only to satisfy unnecessary carnal lusts that are intentionally
entertained! If these acts are done with forethought, the will has
fully consented to them. As such, they are definitely impure and mortally
sinful. Therefore, if people have committed sins of masturbation, they
should NOT receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion until they have gone
to Confession.
To fully understand why entertaining impure thoughts is
sinful, one must understand the passionate love God has for souls. He is
jealous like a lover! His love is intimately personal! God passionately,
even jealously, longs to be loved with the affection and loyalty of a
spouse! As strange as it may seem, God's divine love is so intense and
personal that it is actually more intimate than married love. God desires a spiritual,
matrimonial union with the soul! Like committing adultery within a
marriage, acts of masturbation break the souls
covenant of fidelity with God.
How would YOU feel if you knew that your spouse was masturbating, and
fantasizing about being with someone else? How would you feel if
you knew that your spouse was fantasizing about being with someone else,
calling out their name, while having sex with you? You would be
jealous! You would be angry! It's exactly the same on a personal
level with God! In a state of grace, God has literally espoused the
soul in a precious spiritual union. This spiritual union is
EXACTLY what a "state of grace" consists in. The
essence of the Christian Good News, is Gods loving
call to all human beings to accept His complete forgiveness for past sins, and
to enter into a wonderful new life of spiritual union with Him.
Masturbating, whether it be while watching a
pornographic movie, or fixating upon obscene pictures, or using one's own
imagination as a tool to focus upon a fantasy of forbidden sex, offends God's
sense of intimacy and decency: just as such actions would offend a
spouse! He considers such actions infidelities! For this reason,
such actions gravely jeopardize the soul's state of unitive
grace. By "cheating" on God, the Holy Spirit is offended by an "adultery of the heart." He flees, offended
by such sins, and the soul is left alone! The mortal sin breaks the bond of
the indwelling sanctifying grace of God! This of course, supposes that the
person has ever really understood, or undergone a true christian conversion. Adolescents may still be
"on the way."
The 10 Commandments are very clear: "I, the Lord, am a jealous
God!" "Thou shalt not commit
adultery!" "Thou shalt NOT COVET thy neighbors wife!" Jesus said: "If a
man looks at a woman with lust in his eye, he has committed adultery with her
in his heart." In another place he says: "If your right
hand offends you ... cut it off! It is better to enter into heaven with
only one hand, than to sin with your hand ... and go to hell." He
concludes this teaching in the book of Revelation: "I am the Alpha and
Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will reward with eternal life anyone
who proves victorious! Eternal life is the inheritance for everyone
who proves victorious! But, the legacy for cowards, for those who break
their word, or for murderers, or fortunetellers, or fornicators,
or those who worship obscenities-- and all idolaters, or any
other sort of liar: is the second death in the burning lake of sulphur. (Rev. 21:8)
Don't listen to some asinine
teacher, or psychologist who tells you that: masturbation is
"normal" and quite all right. It may be
"normal" in a civilization with hard-core pornography channels
available on every cable system. But it is NOT all right! Teachers
of this kind do not understand the intimate spiritual dimension of Christ's
sanctifying grace! Every opinion they have may be tainted by this
blindness. At best, they are self righteous and misguided! At worst, they
are vicious destroyers of souls: "It would be better to have a
millstone tied around your neck and be cast into the sea, than to be
responsible for leading astray any of these little ones."
THE REALITY
Remaining pure is NOT easy. Living a pure life is the hardest thing
in the world to do! So, it is NO surprise that people find it extremely
difficult live up to Christian ideals. God is a loving father who understands
this! He loves His children, and patiently nurtures them. He's always picking
them up, dusting them off, and helping them along. But, it must be very
clear what is right and wrong! Masturbation is wrong! If you could shoot
heroin just once it wouldn't be so bad. But it never works out that way.
Likewise, masturbation is not something people just do
"occasionally." If the urge is not resisted, it quickly becomes a
habit. It's a nasty habit of continually consenting mentally and spiritually to
acts of sexual impurity.
It is very true that sexual tension's can be almost impossible to endure!
Sometimes they feel unbearable. This is the most difficult generation in
human history for widespread, unbridled sexual promiscuity. Human
beings ARE sexual creatures! The instinct for sex can seem overwhelming!
Sexual images, and pornographic enticements are
everywhere! It is a slippery slope! From gorgeous fashion models,
to the M-TV culture: the whole civilization is enticed into pride,
lust, fornication, adultery, addiction to
pornography, and consequently masturbation.
God told the great St. Catherine of Sienna that
if He did not uphold her by his grace, there would be no way that she
could resist the powerful sexual temptations presented to her by the devil!
It was revealed to the Spanish mystic, Venerable Mary of Agreda,
that anyone who resisted a powerful sexual temptation
overcomes a more difficult test than the test which caused Satan and the
other angels to fall! Anyone who resists such a temptation gains more
heavenly glory on that one occasion than the angels have! That's why
the inheritance of the victorious is eternal glory! At the First
Council of the Church in
THE ANSWER!
The saints teach that the grace of purity is only
given to the humble! "Knowing" what is right-living, and
actually living right, are two very different things. Conquering
temptation against purity is the work of a lifetime! Everyone, married or single, young or old, is challenged in
this area. People fall continually! But, they must not loose
heart. Everyone sins. Every human being who has ever lived has suffered
identical problems or temptations. Sexual impurity is something that should be
rejected, but it is not something to be horribly ashamed of. It's just a very
common sin which - like all sin - must be conquered. It is conquered through
confession. If someone has contracted the habit of masturbation, sometimes the
sudden physical impulse is unavoidable! But consenting to a
life style of sin IS avoidable! Consenting to a lifestyle of sin, is damnable! So, the object is to fight the
fight! When someone has contracted a habit, they need to recognize it
and admit it to themselves and to a confessor. Most of all, they must target
that area of their life with continual prayer that they be delivered from
temptation! No one can resist such temptations if they entertain them. St.
Francis DeSales said that every other temptation must
be fought - but the only victor in the war against impurity is the coward - who
quickly runs away from the temptation as fast as he can.
St. Therese the Little Flower stated that whenever she felt tempted, she
would immediately turn away from the temptation and RUN to Jesus. She would
immediately tell Jesus that the enemy was attacking His kingdom! She called to
him desperately to defend his kingdom. That "kingdom" was her soul.
The "
God's grace will prevail ... if
a person will fight the fight! A person must be prepared to fall a hundred
times, and to confess their sins each time, to admit their weakness, to
continually pray not to be put to the test. As people become convinced
of their own weakness, they grow in sincere humility. Then, Gods grace
prevails! Remember, the grace of purity is only given to the
humble! To "prove victorious" in anything, one
needs to continually pray to be delivered from temptation! Human
beings are dependent upon God in every aspect of their emotional lives. As one
grows in his dependence upon God, one learns that he can only be victorious
when God Himself delivers. This applies to all temptations, anxieties, or
addictions! Vigilance must remain the work of a lifetime! People must
never stop seeking the forgiveness and grace of God, asking for his help,
getting up and trying again. God forgives a million times a million
times! He anticipates men with his grace. He continually gives new
strength. He perfects men a step at a time! Not in a month, or a
year, but in a life time!
"What ever you are sure of, be sure of this: that you are
dreadfully like other people" - James Russell Lowell
"Humility is to make a right estimate of ones own self" -
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
"Good people are good, because they've come to wisdom through
failure." - William Saroyn
"I am a man. Nothing human is alien to me." - Terence
"There is no meaning to life except the meaning man gives to his
life by the correct use of his powers." - Eric Fromm
"My offenses: truly I know them." - Psalm 51
"We find peace only by resisting our passions, not by giving in
to them." - Imitation of Christ (Chap.6)
"If you would conquer the world, then conquer yourself.
There is nothing more a man can do, and nothing greater." -Unknown
"If you yourself live in continence, do not judge the one who
lusts. For if you do, just like him you
disobey the law. The one who said "do not lust" also said: "do
not judge." - A desert Father
"Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore, seek not
to understand that you may believe, but to believe that you may
understand." -
"Turn to me and be safe all you ends of
the earth, for I am God - there is no other. By my own self I swear it,
uttering my unalterable decree: to me every knee will bend, and every
tongue shall confess saying, 'only in the Lord are there just deeds and
power'." - Isaiah 45:20
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