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Anonymous Ally wrote:

Hi, guys —

  • Is masturbation a sinful act or not?
  • Is it possible to masturbate without having lust or sexual thoughts just simply because it feels good?
  • And if so, is that wrong and considered to be a sin according to the Catholic Church?
  • If it is not considered a sin, is it okay for the person doing it to continue the habit?

Thank you,

Ally
  { Is masturbation a sinful act; is it possible to masturbate without having lust or sexual thoughts but because it feels good? }

Eric replied:

Dear Ally,

The official teaching document of the Catholic Church, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, affirms that masturbation is sinful:

Offenses against chastity.
.
.
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." (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Persona humana 9)

"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." (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Persona humana 9)

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.

Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Ed. (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997), pp. 564–65

Since it is a grave sin, if you know it is sinful, and you freely and deliberately commit it, it cuts you off from the life of God (mortal sin) and deprives you of salvation. However, there are all sorts of circumstances, including habit and being in the throes of passion, that can mitigate this and make an act merely venially sinful.

You need to work with your sacramental confessor on this. The sacrament of Reconciliation can provide great grace to free you from this sin, which can quite insinuate itself into one's life.

Eric

Mike replied:

Hi, Ally —

In addition to what my colleague has said, let me share with you a talk I heard from a Franciscan priest, with a beard (I think) on EWTN that puts some common sense logic behind our answer.

You see, God created both man and woman, with a kind of hierarchy of pleasures to be used according to His Divine Providence.

Used in the way that the Lord has ordained for both men and women, pleasure is not only OK and very good, but intentionally built into both men and women.

When our Lord created us, he attached certain types of pleasure to things we do.

  • What am I talking about?

Well, whether you are at work or at home, I am sure there are a number of times you have to go to the bathroom during the day and it has nothing to do with grooming yourself. In our family we call this:

Taking a mother nature break.

I don't think there is one reader of this web posting that will disagree that there is a big pleasure in taking a mother nature break.

  • Why is pleasure attached to going to the bathroom?

Because if we didn't go to the bathroom, the toxins in our waste would kill us and we would die.

  • How about eating and drinking?

Surely everyone will agree that, for most of us, this is a pleasurable activity.

  • Why?

Because if we didn't eat or drink, over time, we would die.

What we see during our daily lives are various levels of pleasures attached to certain activities that both men and women do, including:

  • hugging our (boyfriend|girlfriend|husband|wife) during a date.
  • holding our (boyfriend|girlfriend|husband|wife's) hand during a date.
  • petting our (boyfriend|girlfriend|husband|wife) during a date.
  • getting our back or feet rubbed by our (boyfriend|girlfriend|husband|wife)
  • kissing our (boyfriend|girlfriend|husband|wife)

Of all the pleasures attached to all the activities we do, probably the greatest pleasure is that of sexual activity.

  • Why?

Because it has the potential each time to bring a new life, with an immortal soul, into the world!!

A new life made in the image and likeness of God, made for a specific purpose in life.

Hope this helps,

Mike
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