Is Marriage for the Weak?
The Vocation of Marriage
Is marriage only for the weak? Are only those called to marriage who don't have a strong enough will to give themselves totally to Christ and his Church in virginity or celibacy? It could certainly seem so from St. Paul: "If his passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes: let them marry — it is no sin…. he who refrains from marriage will do better" (1 Cor 7:37-38).
Following a classic procedure, I will first give arguments in favor of this position, then my response to the question.
The saints on marriage and celibacy
In the first place, it seems that the authority of the saints indicates that marriage is only for those who are too weak to persevere in continence for the kingdom of heaven, while virginity or celibacy is for all those who have the strength of will to take it.
Marriage is attributed to weakness
Those of us who have wives we advise, with all our power, that they dare not judge of those holy fathers after their own weakness (St. Augustine, On the Good of Marriage, n. 34)
Has the apostle, think you, both shown sufficiently to the strong what is highest, and permitted to the weaker what is next best? Not to touch a woman he shows is highest when he says, "I would that all men were even as I myself." But next to this highest is conjugal chastity, that man may not be the prey of fornication. (St. Augustine, On the Morals of the Catholic Church, ch. 35)
In order to avoid an unbalanced impression of St. John's Chrysostom view of marriage, I also quote another text of his describing a holy marriage:
Some wise man in the list of blessings sets many things, and also sets this in the list of blessing: "And a wife," he says, "in harmony with her husband." And again elsewhere he puts this among the blessings, "the wife being in agreement with her husband." And from the beginning God appears to have made providence for this union, and has spoken of the two as one… There is no relationship between men as great as that of a wife to her husband, if they are coupled as they ought to be… Indeed the household is a little Church. Thus by becoming good husbands and wives, it is possible to surpass all others. (St. John Chrysostom, Homily 20 on Ephesians, PG 62, 135 & 143)Furnish your house neatly and soberly… Remove from your lives shameful, immodest, and Satanic music, and don't associate with people who enjoy such profligate entertainment… Pray together at home and go to Church… Remind one another that nothing in life is to be feared, except offending God. If your marriage is like this, your perfection will rival the holiest of monks. (Ibid.)
Virginity or celibacy is for those of strong will
Many texts of the Fathers and saints also seem to show that virginity or celibacy is for those who have the strength of will to take it, which seems to imply, conversely, that marriage is for those who are weak-willed.
Virginity is something supernaturally great, wonderful, and glorious… Chastity with men is a very rare thing, and difficult of attainment, and in proportion to its supreme excellence and magnificence is thre greatness of its dangers.
For this reason, it requires strong and generous natures, such as, vaulting over the stream of pleasure, direct the chariot of the soul upwards from the earth, not turning aside from their aim, until having, by swiftness of thought, lightly bounded above the world, and taken their stand truly upon the vault of heaven, they purely contemplate immortality itself as it springs forth from the undefiled bosom of the Almighty. (Methodius, The Banquet of the Ten Virgins, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 6, discourse 1, p. 310)
The article:
http://www.pathsoflove.com/blog/2009/02/is-marriage-for-the-weak/
#marriage #vocation #chastity
The Vocation of Marriage
Is marriage only for the weak? Are only those called to marriage who don't have a strong enough will to give themselves totally to Christ and his Church in virginity or celibacy? It could certainly seem so from St. Paul: "If his passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes: let them marry — it is no sin…. he who refrains from marriage will do better" (1 Cor 7:37-38).
Following a classic procedure, I will first give arguments in favor of this position, then my response to the question.
The saints on marriage and celibacy
In the first place, it seems that the authority of the saints indicates that marriage is only for those who are too weak to persevere in continence for the kingdom of heaven, while virginity or celibacy is for all those who have the strength of will to take it.
Marriage is attributed to weakness
Those of us who have wives we advise, with all our power, that they dare not judge of those holy fathers after their own weakness (St. Augustine, On the Good of Marriage, n. 34)
Has the apostle, think you, both shown sufficiently to the strong what is highest, and permitted to the weaker what is next best? Not to touch a woman he shows is highest when he says, "I would that all men were even as I myself." But next to this highest is conjugal chastity, that man may not be the prey of fornication. (St. Augustine, On the Morals of the Catholic Church, ch. 35)
In order to avoid an unbalanced impression of St. John's Chrysostom view of marriage, I also quote another text of his describing a holy marriage:
Some wise man in the list of blessings sets many things, and also sets this in the list of blessing: "And a wife," he says, "in harmony with her husband." And again elsewhere he puts this among the blessings, "the wife being in agreement with her husband." And from the beginning God appears to have made providence for this union, and has spoken of the two as one… There is no relationship between men as great as that of a wife to her husband, if they are coupled as they ought to be… Indeed the household is a little Church. Thus by becoming good husbands and wives, it is possible to surpass all others. (St. John Chrysostom, Homily 20 on Ephesians, PG 62, 135 & 143)Furnish your house neatly and soberly… Remove from your lives shameful, immodest, and Satanic music, and don't associate with people who enjoy such profligate entertainment… Pray together at home and go to Church… Remind one another that nothing in life is to be feared, except offending God. If your marriage is like this, your perfection will rival the holiest of monks. (Ibid.)
Virginity or celibacy is for those of strong will
Many texts of the Fathers and saints also seem to show that virginity or celibacy is for those who have the strength of will to take it, which seems to imply, conversely, that marriage is for those who are weak-willed.
Virginity is something supernaturally great, wonderful, and glorious… Chastity with men is a very rare thing, and difficult of attainment, and in proportion to its supreme excellence and magnificence is thre greatness of its dangers.
For this reason, it requires strong and generous natures, such as, vaulting over the stream of pleasure, direct the chariot of the soul upwards from the earth, not turning aside from their aim, until having, by swiftness of thought, lightly bounded above the world, and taken their stand truly upon the vault of heaven, they purely contemplate immortality itself as it springs forth from the undefiled bosom of the Almighty. (Methodius, The Banquet of the Ten Virgins, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 6, discourse 1, p. 310)
The article:
http://www.pathsoflove.com/blog/2009/02/is-marriage-for-the-weak/
#marriage #vocation #chastity
Virginity - Perrin, Joseph Marie, O.P. & G_7135 (1).pdf
4.1 MB
"Virginity"
Authors: Perrin, Joseph Marie, O.P. & Gordon, Katherine
St. Thomas, when he considers the place given to chastity in St. Paul's list of these fruits,¹ sees attributed to it first, the human toil, second the seed whence the fruit will spring (he means the word of faith), lastly the divine savour which comes from above.
#virtues #chastity
Authors: Perrin, Joseph Marie, O.P. & Gordon, Katherine
St. Thomas, when he considers the place given to chastity in St. Paul's list of these fruits,¹ sees attributed to it first, the human toil, second the seed whence the fruit will spring (he means the word of faith), lastly the divine savour which comes from above.
#virtues #chastity
On the Vice of Impurity- Alphonsus Liguori.pdf
1.7 MB
On the Vice of Impurity
by Alphonsus Liguori
A very short and concise, but meaningful text on the nature of the sin of impurity, and the ways of combating it.
#chastity
by Alphonsus Liguori
A very short and concise, but meaningful text on the nature of the sin of impurity, and the ways of combating it.
#chastity
Chastity is the lily of virtues, and makes men almost equal to Angels. Everything is beautiful in accordance with its purity. Now the purity of man is chastity, which is called honesty, and the observance of it, honor and also integrity; and its contrary is called corruption; in short, it has this peculiar excellence above the other virtues, that it preserves both soul and body fair and unspotted.
Saint Francis de Sales
#chastity
Saint Francis de Sales
#chastity
On the vice of impurity
St. Alphonsus Liguori
First point
Delusion of those who say that sins against purity are not a great evil
It is a mortal sin; it cannot be a small evil. It is more sinful than theft or detraction or the violation of the fast. God loves purity with an infinite love; and consequently He has an infinite hatred for the sensuality which the lewd, voluptuous man calls a small evil.
Even the devils who held a high rank in Heaven before their fall, disdain to tempt men to sins of the flesh.
"Fornication and pleasure", says Saint Jerome,"pervert the understanding , and change men into beasts. He says that there is nothing more vile or degrading, than to allow oneself to be conquered by the flesh. Is it a small evil to forget God, and to banish Him from the soul, for the sake of giving the body a vile satisfaction , of which, when it is over, you feel ashamed?
Saint Thomas says, that particularly by the vice of impurity, men are removed far from God. The unchaste are guilty of an increasing torrent of sins, by thoughts, by words, by looks, by complacencies, and by touches; so that, when they go to confession , they find it impossible to tell the number of the sins they have committed against purity.
To conquer temptations, continual prayer is necessary. Commit this sin, the devil says;for you afterwards confess it. But to make a good confession of your sins, you must have true sorrow in the heart, and a firm purpose to sin no more. Where are this sorrow and this firm purpose of amend, when you always return to the vomit. If you had had these dispositions, you should not have relapsed, or at least you should have abstained for a considerable time from a relapsing. You have always fallen back into sin after confession. What sign is this?It is a sign that you were always in enmity with God.
Second point
Illusion of those, who say that God takes pity on this sin
In the sacred Scriptures we do not read of any sin so severely chastised as the sin of impurity. Saint Remigius writes, that if children were excepted, the number of adults which are saints that are saved, is few, on account of the sins of the flesh.
It was revealed to a holy soul, that as pride has filled Hell with devils, so impurity fills it with men.
Saint Isidore says that there is no vice which so much enslaves men to the Devil as impurity. Hence, Saint Augustine says, that with regard to this sin, the combat is common, and the victory is rare.
There are two great remedies: prayer and the flight of dangerous occasions. Hence, as soon as a temptation against chastity presents itself, the remedy is to turn instantly to God for help. Immediately, without listening to, or beginning to argue with the temptation.
Saint Philip Neri used to say that cowards- that is, they who fly from occasions of sin- gain the victory. Hence, you must, in the first place, keep a restraint in the eyes. Job said: "I made a covenant with my eyes, that I would not so much as think upon a virgin" ( Job 31:1). A wise man is timid, and flies away; a fool is confident , and falls.
#chastity
St. Alphonsus Liguori
First point
Delusion of those who say that sins against purity are not a great evil
It is a mortal sin; it cannot be a small evil. It is more sinful than theft or detraction or the violation of the fast. God loves purity with an infinite love; and consequently He has an infinite hatred for the sensuality which the lewd, voluptuous man calls a small evil.
Even the devils who held a high rank in Heaven before their fall, disdain to tempt men to sins of the flesh.
"Fornication and pleasure", says Saint Jerome,"pervert the understanding , and change men into beasts. He says that there is nothing more vile or degrading, than to allow oneself to be conquered by the flesh. Is it a small evil to forget God, and to banish Him from the soul, for the sake of giving the body a vile satisfaction , of which, when it is over, you feel ashamed?
Saint Thomas says, that particularly by the vice of impurity, men are removed far from God. The unchaste are guilty of an increasing torrent of sins, by thoughts, by words, by looks, by complacencies, and by touches; so that, when they go to confession , they find it impossible to tell the number of the sins they have committed against purity.
To conquer temptations, continual prayer is necessary. Commit this sin, the devil says;for you afterwards confess it. But to make a good confession of your sins, you must have true sorrow in the heart, and a firm purpose to sin no more. Where are this sorrow and this firm purpose of amend, when you always return to the vomit. If you had had these dispositions, you should not have relapsed, or at least you should have abstained for a considerable time from a relapsing. You have always fallen back into sin after confession. What sign is this?It is a sign that you were always in enmity with God.
Second point
Illusion of those, who say that God takes pity on this sin
In the sacred Scriptures we do not read of any sin so severely chastised as the sin of impurity. Saint Remigius writes, that if children were excepted, the number of adults which are saints that are saved, is few, on account of the sins of the flesh.
It was revealed to a holy soul, that as pride has filled Hell with devils, so impurity fills it with men.
Saint Isidore says that there is no vice which so much enslaves men to the Devil as impurity. Hence, Saint Augustine says, that with regard to this sin, the combat is common, and the victory is rare.
There are two great remedies: prayer and the flight of dangerous occasions. Hence, as soon as a temptation against chastity presents itself, the remedy is to turn instantly to God for help. Immediately, without listening to, or beginning to argue with the temptation.
Saint Philip Neri used to say that cowards- that is, they who fly from occasions of sin- gain the victory. Hence, you must, in the first place, keep a restraint in the eyes. Job said: "I made a covenant with my eyes, that I would not so much as think upon a virgin" ( Job 31:1). A wise man is timid, and flies away; a fool is confident , and falls.
#chastity
YouthandChastity_10793770 (1).pdf
8.7 MB
"Youth and Chastity"
Tihamer Toth, Ph.D
Professor at Univeristy
of Budapest
“ ..'Advise me, what shall I do' -at such times, in those inspired moments, did I learn to realize that the soul of every boy is a diamond mine of immeasurable value, a promise for the future, charged with unlimited possibilities to assist in the proper development of which is not only the sacred duty of us adults, but also comes to us as a great honor.
My dear young man, they who do not occupy themselves with t h e problems of youth little know what a multitude of questions, struggles, and- alas, also fatal
falls may a company the unfolding of your impulse racked soul , and in the storms of youth, how much is the craft of your soul in need of guidance by an experienced hand ! When on such occasions I endea ored to give strength in the struggles you were complaining of, to calm your agitated soul ,to advise you in your perplexities.."
#chastity
Tihamer Toth, Ph.D
Professor at Univeristy
of Budapest
“ ..'Advise me, what shall I do' -at such times, in those inspired moments, did I learn to realize that the soul of every boy is a diamond mine of immeasurable value, a promise for the future, charged with unlimited possibilities to assist in the proper development of which is not only the sacred duty of us adults, but also comes to us as a great honor.
My dear young man, they who do not occupy themselves with t h e problems of youth little know what a multitude of questions, struggles, and- alas, also fatal
falls may a company the unfolding of your impulse racked soul , and in the storms of youth, how much is the craft of your soul in need of guidance by an experienced hand ! When on such occasions I endea ored to give strength in the struggles you were complaining of, to calm your agitated soul ,to advise you in your perplexities.."
#chastity
Custody of the eyes
The light of the body is the eye: if therefore your eye be single, your whole body shall be full of light. But it your eye be evil, your whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness!
Matthew 6:22-23
"The thought follows the look, delight comes after the thought; and consent after delight.
Do not say that you have a chaste mind if your eyes are unchaste, because an unchaste eye betrays an unchaste heart."
St. Augustine
"The evil thought that proceeds from looks, though it should be rejected, never fails to leave a stain upon the soul. When men avoid occasions of sin, God preserves them; but when they expose themselves to danger, they are justly abandoned by the Lord, and easily fall into some grievous transgressions."
St. Alphonsus Liguori
"The beauty of a woman is the greatest snare. Or rather, not the beauty of a woman, but unchastened gazing! For we should not accuse the objects, but ourselves, and our own carelessness. Nor should we say, Let there be no women, but Let there be no adulteries. We should not say, Let there be no beauty, but Let there be no fornication.
We should not say, Let there be no belly, but let there be no gluttony; for the belly makes not the gluttony, but our negligence. We should not say, that is because of eating and drinking that all these evils exist; for it is not because of this, but because of our carelessness and insatiableness."
St. John Chrysostom
#chastity
The light of the body is the eye: if therefore your eye be single, your whole body shall be full of light. But it your eye be evil, your whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness!
Matthew 6:22-23
"The thought follows the look, delight comes after the thought; and consent after delight.
Do not say that you have a chaste mind if your eyes are unchaste, because an unchaste eye betrays an unchaste heart."
St. Augustine
"The evil thought that proceeds from looks, though it should be rejected, never fails to leave a stain upon the soul. When men avoid occasions of sin, God preserves them; but when they expose themselves to danger, they are justly abandoned by the Lord, and easily fall into some grievous transgressions."
St. Alphonsus Liguori
"The beauty of a woman is the greatest snare. Or rather, not the beauty of a woman, but unchastened gazing! For we should not accuse the objects, but ourselves, and our own carelessness. Nor should we say, Let there be no women, but Let there be no adulteries. We should not say, Let there be no beauty, but Let there be no fornication.
We should not say, Let there be no belly, but let there be no gluttony; for the belly makes not the gluttony, but our negligence. We should not say, that is because of eating and drinking that all these evils exist; for it is not because of this, but because of our carelessness and insatiableness."
St. John Chrysostom
#chastity
Ecce Verbum
On the vice of impurity St. Alphonsus Liguori First point Delusion of those who say that sins against purity are not a great evil It is a mortal sin; it cannot be a small evil. It is more sinful than theft or detraction or the violation of the fast. God…
Preservation of chastity
1. Distrust yourself and your senses
"In the matter of purity there is no greater danger than the not fearing the danger; when a man does not distrust himself, and is without fear, it is all over with him."
"We should be less alarmed for one who is tempted in the flesh, and who resists by avoiding the occasions, than for one who is not tempted and is not careful to avoid the occasions."
St. Philip Neri
"Be extremely prompt in turning away from all that leads and lures to impurity, for this evil works insensibly, and by small beginnings progresses to great mischief. It is always easier to avoid than to cure this".
St. Francis de Sales
2. Choose your company wisely
"If young men would preserve their purity, let them avoid bad company."
St. Philip Neri
"Never permit anyone to trifle with you. Either from folly or vanity, although chastity may be preserved amidst such actions, which are rather light than malicious, still the flower and freshness of chastity suffer some hurt and damage: but all impure contact is the utter ruin of chastity".
" It is impurity to behold, to hear, to speak of, to touch impure things, if the heart takes delight therein".
"And such should the devout soul be, chaste, pure, and modest in hands, lips, ears, eyes, and the whole heart."
"Do not associate with immodest persons, above all if they are imprudent, as for the most part is the case: for just as the stag causes the sweet almond tree to become bitter by licking it, so these infected souls can scarcely speak to anyone without injuring their purity."
"Associate with chaste and virtuous persons: read and often think on sacred things, for the Word of God is chaste, and renders those who take delight therein chaste also: wherefore David compares it to the topaz, which has the property of deadening the ardor of concupiscence."
St. Francis de Sales
3. The Law of Presumption
"Let us consider the question of impure thoughts. It is morally impossible for a person who is habitually careful about purity to give consent to impure thoughts without being fairly certain of it... Uncertainty is, therefore, a clear sign that there was no full consent. In this matter we should go by what the theologians call "the law of presumptions". If a person regularly gives way to sins of impurity, in case of doubt it is morally impossible that there was serious sin, for the reason just given."
Bad or impure thoughts are only sinful when we consent to them, or entertain them.
Saint Francis de Sales says: "Do not be disturbed about bad thoughts; it is one thing to have them and quite another to consent to them."
4.Charity
"Chastity without charity is a lamp without oil."
St. Bonaventure
5. Prayer
"To preserve chastity unstained neither vigilance nor modesty suffice. Those helps must also be used which entirely surpass the powers of nature, namely prayer to God, the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist, a fervent devotion to the most Holy Mother of God."
Ven. Pope Pius XII, Sacra Virginitas
“He who trusts in himself is lost. He who trusts in God can do all things.”
“What does it cost us to say, ‘My God help me! Have mercy on me!’ Is there anything easier than this? And this little will suffice to save us if we be diligent in doing it.”
St. Alphonsus Liguori
"Abide ever nigh to Jesus Christ crucified, spiritually, in meditation, and actually in Holy Communion...If you rest your heart upon our Lord, who is the chaste and Immaculate Lamb, you will speedily find that your heart and soul will be purified from all stains and lusts."
St. Francis de Sales
"In temptations, a Christian ought to have immediate recourse to God, make the sign of the cross over his heart three times and say; "Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me."
St. Philip Neri
6. Discipline your body
"Fasting cleanses the soul, raises the mind, subjects one’s flesh to the spirit, renders the heart contrite and humble, scatters the clouds of concupiscence, quenches the fire of lust, and kindles the true light of chastity."
St. Augustine
#chastity
1. Distrust yourself and your senses
"In the matter of purity there is no greater danger than the not fearing the danger; when a man does not distrust himself, and is without fear, it is all over with him."
"We should be less alarmed for one who is tempted in the flesh, and who resists by avoiding the occasions, than for one who is not tempted and is not careful to avoid the occasions."
St. Philip Neri
"Be extremely prompt in turning away from all that leads and lures to impurity, for this evil works insensibly, and by small beginnings progresses to great mischief. It is always easier to avoid than to cure this".
St. Francis de Sales
2. Choose your company wisely
"If young men would preserve their purity, let them avoid bad company."
St. Philip Neri
"Never permit anyone to trifle with you. Either from folly or vanity, although chastity may be preserved amidst such actions, which are rather light than malicious, still the flower and freshness of chastity suffer some hurt and damage: but all impure contact is the utter ruin of chastity".
" It is impurity to behold, to hear, to speak of, to touch impure things, if the heart takes delight therein".
"And such should the devout soul be, chaste, pure, and modest in hands, lips, ears, eyes, and the whole heart."
"Do not associate with immodest persons, above all if they are imprudent, as for the most part is the case: for just as the stag causes the sweet almond tree to become bitter by licking it, so these infected souls can scarcely speak to anyone without injuring their purity."
"Associate with chaste and virtuous persons: read and often think on sacred things, for the Word of God is chaste, and renders those who take delight therein chaste also: wherefore David compares it to the topaz, which has the property of deadening the ardor of concupiscence."
St. Francis de Sales
3. The Law of Presumption
"Let us consider the question of impure thoughts. It is morally impossible for a person who is habitually careful about purity to give consent to impure thoughts without being fairly certain of it... Uncertainty is, therefore, a clear sign that there was no full consent. In this matter we should go by what the theologians call "the law of presumptions". If a person regularly gives way to sins of impurity, in case of doubt it is morally impossible that there was serious sin, for the reason just given."
Bad or impure thoughts are only sinful when we consent to them, or entertain them.
Saint Francis de Sales says: "Do not be disturbed about bad thoughts; it is one thing to have them and quite another to consent to them."
4.Charity
"Chastity without charity is a lamp without oil."
St. Bonaventure
5. Prayer
"To preserve chastity unstained neither vigilance nor modesty suffice. Those helps must also be used which entirely surpass the powers of nature, namely prayer to God, the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist, a fervent devotion to the most Holy Mother of God."
Ven. Pope Pius XII, Sacra Virginitas
“He who trusts in himself is lost. He who trusts in God can do all things.”
“What does it cost us to say, ‘My God help me! Have mercy on me!’ Is there anything easier than this? And this little will suffice to save us if we be diligent in doing it.”
St. Alphonsus Liguori
"Abide ever nigh to Jesus Christ crucified, spiritually, in meditation, and actually in Holy Communion...If you rest your heart upon our Lord, who is the chaste and Immaculate Lamb, you will speedily find that your heart and soul will be purified from all stains and lusts."
St. Francis de Sales
"In temptations, a Christian ought to have immediate recourse to God, make the sign of the cross over his heart three times and say; "Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me."
St. Philip Neri
6. Discipline your body
"Fasting cleanses the soul, raises the mind, subjects one’s flesh to the spirit, renders the heart contrite and humble, scatters the clouds of concupiscence, quenches the fire of lust, and kindles the true light of chastity."
St. Augustine
#chastity
Ecce Verbum
Chastity is the lily of virtues, and makes men almost equal to Angels. Everything is beautiful in accordance with its purity. Now the purity of man is chastity, which is called honesty, and the observance of it, honor and also integrity; and its contrary is…
"Purity of heart is a quality which attracts everybody, even those who are evil themselves. It makes a man seem like an angel in human form, for it shines from his countenance. Unfortunately, the virtue of purity is as difficult as it is beautiful. It is fatal for anyone to cast himself into the mire. The first sin of impurity is a disaster, because it is often the first link in a tragic chain which makes him a slave of his lower impulses and of the tyrannical enemy of souls, the Devil."
Cardinal Antonio Bacci
#chastity
Cardinal Antonio Bacci
#chastity
Ecce Verbum
Love and Responsibility (1).pdf
The Phenomenon of Shame and its interpretation
Chapter III- The Person and Chastity, pages 174-181
Taken from
Love and Responsibility by Karol Wojtyła
#love #chastity #shame
Chapter III- The Person and Chastity, pages 174-181
Taken from
Love and Responsibility by Karol Wojtyła
#love #chastity #shame
Ecce Verbum
theology_of_the_body (1).pdf
Adultery vs the ethos of the Gospel
notes based on The Redemption of the Body
and Sacramentality of Marriage, John Paul II
1)"For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so" (Mt 19:8). 'Hardness of heart' indicates what, according to the ethos of the people of the Old Testament, had brought about the situation contrary to the original plan of God.
"Hardness of heart"-The Greek term sklerokardía was formed by the authors of the Septuagint to express what in the Hebrew meant: "non-circumcision of the heart" (cf. e.g., Dt 10:16; Jer 4:4; Sir 3:26f.) and which, in the literal translation of the New Testament, appears only once (cf. Acts 7:51). Non-circumcision meant "paganism," "immodesty," "distance from the covenant with God"; "non-circumcision of the heart" expressed unyielding obstinacy in opposing God. This is confirmed by the exclamation of the deacon Stephen: "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you" (Acts 7:51).
source
2) John 2:16-17: "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever." In these three forms of lust there fructifies the breaking of the first covenant with the Creator. The heart is affected by lust, but this inner being of man also decides exterior human behavior. No study of human ethos can ignore the interior dimension.
source
3) Over the centuries the authentic content of the Law was subjected to the weaknesses of the human will. Jesus speaks more precisely about a certain human interpretation of the law, which negates and does away with the correct meaning of right and wrong as specified by the will of the divine legislator. Christ desires such justice to be "superior to that of the scribes and Pharisees, which was a casuistic interpretation, superimposed on the original version of right and wrong connected with the law of the Decalogue. If Christ tends to transform the ethos, he does so mainly to recover the fundamental clarity of the interpretation: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish but to fulfill" (Mt 5:17).
It is confirmed by the books of the Bible in which we find the Old Testament legislation fully recorded as a whole. If we consider the letter of such legislation, we find that it takes a stand against adultery, using radical means, including the death penalty (cf. Lv 20:10; Dt 22:22). It does so, however, by effectively supporting polygamy, even fully legalizing it. Adultery is not understood as it appears from the point of view of monogamy as established by the Creator.
source
source
4) Christ talks about adultery committed in the heart, in contraposition to adultery committed in the body. Sirach 23:17-22 talked about the incessant fire that will consume a lustful man — his passions and then his heart, suffocating conscience. Giving in to the passion doesn’t extinguish it, but makes it stronger until it kills man’s spirit. Lust separates the body from its real meaning as the basis of communion. Lust in the heart obscures the significance of the body and the person. ”Man’s original desire “for” the other is distorted; he becomes a “taker” of the other, no longer a “giver to and for” the other.
source
5) Christ’s statement aims at constructing the new ethos of the Gospel and the rediscovery of those values lost by historical man. Christ wants the heart to be a place for the fulfillment of the law. The commandments must be kept in “purity of heart.” He wants to remove lust from the relationship between man and woman so that, in purity of heart, the nuptial meaning of the body and the person can shine in mutual self-giving and sacramental unity.
source
Adultery committed in the heart can and must be understood as “devaluation,” or as the impoverishment of an authentic value
#marriage #chastity #love
notes based on The Redemption of the Body
and Sacramentality of Marriage, John Paul II
1)"For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so" (Mt 19:8). 'Hardness of heart' indicates what, according to the ethos of the people of the Old Testament, had brought about the situation contrary to the original plan of God.
"Hardness of heart"-The Greek term sklerokardía was formed by the authors of the Septuagint to express what in the Hebrew meant: "non-circumcision of the heart" (cf. e.g., Dt 10:16; Jer 4:4; Sir 3:26f.) and which, in the literal translation of the New Testament, appears only once (cf. Acts 7:51). Non-circumcision meant "paganism," "immodesty," "distance from the covenant with God"; "non-circumcision of the heart" expressed unyielding obstinacy in opposing God. This is confirmed by the exclamation of the deacon Stephen: "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you" (Acts 7:51).
source
2) John 2:16-17: "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever." In these three forms of lust there fructifies the breaking of the first covenant with the Creator. The heart is affected by lust, but this inner being of man also decides exterior human behavior. No study of human ethos can ignore the interior dimension.
source
3) Over the centuries the authentic content of the Law was subjected to the weaknesses of the human will. Jesus speaks more precisely about a certain human interpretation of the law, which negates and does away with the correct meaning of right and wrong as specified by the will of the divine legislator. Christ desires such justice to be "superior to that of the scribes and Pharisees, which was a casuistic interpretation, superimposed on the original version of right and wrong connected with the law of the Decalogue. If Christ tends to transform the ethos, he does so mainly to recover the fundamental clarity of the interpretation: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish but to fulfill" (Mt 5:17).
It is confirmed by the books of the Bible in which we find the Old Testament legislation fully recorded as a whole. If we consider the letter of such legislation, we find that it takes a stand against adultery, using radical means, including the death penalty (cf. Lv 20:10; Dt 22:22). It does so, however, by effectively supporting polygamy, even fully legalizing it. Adultery is not understood as it appears from the point of view of monogamy as established by the Creator.
source
source
4) Christ talks about adultery committed in the heart, in contraposition to adultery committed in the body. Sirach 23:17-22 talked about the incessant fire that will consume a lustful man — his passions and then his heart, suffocating conscience. Giving in to the passion doesn’t extinguish it, but makes it stronger until it kills man’s spirit. Lust separates the body from its real meaning as the basis of communion. Lust in the heart obscures the significance of the body and the person. ”Man’s original desire “for” the other is distorted; he becomes a “taker” of the other, no longer a “giver to and for” the other.
source
5) Christ’s statement aims at constructing the new ethos of the Gospel and the rediscovery of those values lost by historical man. Christ wants the heart to be a place for the fulfillment of the law. The commandments must be kept in “purity of heart.” He wants to remove lust from the relationship between man and woman so that, in purity of heart, the nuptial meaning of the body and the person can shine in mutual self-giving and sacramental unity.
source
Adultery committed in the heart can and must be understood as “devaluation,” or as the impoverishment of an authentic value
#marriage #chastity #love
Ecce Verbum
Adultery vs the ethos of the Gospel notes based on The Redemption of the Body and Sacramentality of Marriage, John Paul II 1)"For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so" (Mt 19:8). 'Hardness…
politics_of_chastity_edward_feser_2021_edward_of_annas_archive_2.pdf
10.2 MB
The politics of chastity
Edward Feser
The article is part of a symposium on Reinhard Hütter’s "Bound for Beatitude" book.
The article addresses the nature of chastity, vices contrary to chastity, the effect such vices (and in particular pornography) have on society at large, and the implications all of this has for political philosophy and in particular for the question of integralism."
more:
Cooperation with Sins against Prudence and Chastity, on the way in which sexual vice tends to corrupt moral understanding.
How to be a pervert [On the connection between perversity and irrationality]
Mired in the roiling tar pits of lust [On the mechanism by which sexual immorality corrupts the intellect]
Bad lovin' [How the nature of love, romantic and otherwise, is widely misunderstood in modern times]
Psychoanalyzing the sexual revolutionary [On the psychological factors underlying hostility to traditional sexual morality]
#chastity
Edward Feser
The article is part of a symposium on Reinhard Hütter’s "Bound for Beatitude" book.
The article addresses the nature of chastity, vices contrary to chastity, the effect such vices (and in particular pornography) have on society at large, and the implications all of this has for political philosophy and in particular for the question of integralism."
more:
Cooperation with Sins against Prudence and Chastity, on the way in which sexual vice tends to corrupt moral understanding.
How to be a pervert [On the connection between perversity and irrationality]
Mired in the roiling tar pits of lust [On the mechanism by which sexual immorality corrupts the intellect]
Bad lovin' [How the nature of love, romantic and otherwise, is widely misunderstood in modern times]
Psychoanalyzing the sexual revolutionary [On the psychological factors underlying hostility to traditional sexual morality]
#chastity
Contemplation and chastity
"There is finally a fourth consideration, which this time concerns contemplation itself, I say Christian contemplation, and which furnishes in relation to the latter a certain nuance or attenuation to the statement (however valid it still remains) that the contemplative life in itself does not require chastity of the body.
Christian contemplation in reality is inseparably the contemplation of the uncreated Trinity and of Jesus, God and man; the humanity of Christ -- that humanity which belongs to the second divine Person, and all of whose properties are therefore also attributes of this divine Person Himself -- is always present in it in a manifest or hidden manner, and cannot be detached from it. That to which the Christian contemplative has his eyes constantly attached is, at the same time as the one and triune God, a man perfectly chaste, born of the most chaste of Virgins, and who Himself is God.
How would the Christian who aspires to contemplation not feel himself drawn also to a life of continence or of chastity -- not, once more, as to a necessary condition (except, for some, because of the religious state), but as to something which better accords with his desires?
Moreover, there is in Christian contemplation a certain innocence of approach, a sweetness and delicacy of the hands, if I may venture to speak thus, a certain candid demeanor and a certain matchless simplicity, and also a certain winged liberty which familiarity with the Holy Spirit gives, and that intimacy with the divine Persons and the heart of Jesus for which without a perfect purity the ardor of love does not suffice -- which, without requiring it however, are, so to speak, connatural with chastity of the body."
source -Jacques Maritain's Notebooks
#chastity #priesthood
"There is finally a fourth consideration, which this time concerns contemplation itself, I say Christian contemplation, and which furnishes in relation to the latter a certain nuance or attenuation to the statement (however valid it still remains) that the contemplative life in itself does not require chastity of the body.
Christian contemplation in reality is inseparably the contemplation of the uncreated Trinity and of Jesus, God and man; the humanity of Christ -- that humanity which belongs to the second divine Person, and all of whose properties are therefore also attributes of this divine Person Himself -- is always present in it in a manifest or hidden manner, and cannot be detached from it. That to which the Christian contemplative has his eyes constantly attached is, at the same time as the one and triune God, a man perfectly chaste, born of the most chaste of Virgins, and who Himself is God.
How would the Christian who aspires to contemplation not feel himself drawn also to a life of continence or of chastity -- not, once more, as to a necessary condition (except, for some, because of the religious state), but as to something which better accords with his desires?
Moreover, there is in Christian contemplation a certain innocence of approach, a sweetness and delicacy of the hands, if I may venture to speak thus, a certain candid demeanor and a certain matchless simplicity, and also a certain winged liberty which familiarity with the Holy Spirit gives, and that intimacy with the divine Persons and the heart of Jesus for which without a perfect purity the ardor of love does not suffice -- which, without requiring it however, are, so to speak, connatural with chastity of the body."
source -Jacques Maritain's Notebooks
#chastity #priesthood
Ecce Verbum
"Purity of heart is a quality which attracts everybody, even those who are evil themselves. It makes a man seem like an angel in human form, for it shines from his countenance. Unfortunately, the virtue of purity is as difficult as it is beautiful. It is fatal…
Blessed Are the Pure in Heart, for They Shall See God
Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 277, 15-16
"Let us make every effort to purify our hearts, exert ourselves to stay alert, and as far as in us lies gain this grace by constant prayer.
And if we wonder about external purity, the Lord tells us: Clean the inside, and then the outside will be clean as well.
Some may think that Scripture refers to the body as much as to the heart, for it is written: All mankind will see God’s salvation.
How then can there be any doubt that the sight of God is promised to us, unless there is doubt as to the meaning of God’s salvation. But since there is no uncertainty about this, there is no doubt: God’s salvation is Christ the Lord. The divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ can be seen by the eyes of the heart when they are pure, perfect, and full of God.
And he was seen also in the body according to the text: Afterward he was seen on earth and lived among men.
Thus the meaning of the text: All mankind will see the salvation of God is clear: let no one doubt that it means that we shall see Christ. […] All mankind will see God’s salvation is said to mean that all mankind will see God’s Christ.
But Christ was also seen in a body that was no longer mortal, a body that had undergone a spiritual transformation.
After his resurrection he himself said to those who saw and touched him: Handle and see, for spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have. This is how he will be seen: not only how he was seen in the past but how he will be seen in the future.
[…] All mankind, then, will see God’s salvation. Both those who see and he who is seen will be in the body because it is in his real body that he will come to judge.
But to those placed on his right and sent to the kingdom of heaven he will show himself in the way he promised when he was already seen in the body:
Those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and show myself to them.
#chastity
Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 277, 15-16
"Let us make every effort to purify our hearts, exert ourselves to stay alert, and as far as in us lies gain this grace by constant prayer.
And if we wonder about external purity, the Lord tells us: Clean the inside, and then the outside will be clean as well.
Some may think that Scripture refers to the body as much as to the heart, for it is written: All mankind will see God’s salvation.
How then can there be any doubt that the sight of God is promised to us, unless there is doubt as to the meaning of God’s salvation. But since there is no uncertainty about this, there is no doubt: God’s salvation is Christ the Lord. The divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ can be seen by the eyes of the heart when they are pure, perfect, and full of God.
And he was seen also in the body according to the text: Afterward he was seen on earth and lived among men.
Thus the meaning of the text: All mankind will see the salvation of God is clear: let no one doubt that it means that we shall see Christ. […] All mankind will see God’s salvation is said to mean that all mankind will see God’s Christ.
But Christ was also seen in a body that was no longer mortal, a body that had undergone a spiritual transformation.
After his resurrection he himself said to those who saw and touched him: Handle and see, for spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have. This is how he will be seen: not only how he was seen in the past but how he will be seen in the future.
[…] All mankind, then, will see God’s salvation. Both those who see and he who is seen will be in the body because it is in his real body that he will come to judge.
But to those placed on his right and sent to the kingdom of heaven he will show himself in the way he promised when he was already seen in the body:
Those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and show myself to them.
#chastity
Telegram
Ecce Verbum chat
Ecce Verbum
Adultery vs the ethos of the Gospel notes based on The Redemption of the Body and Sacramentality of Marriage, John Paul II 1)"For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so" (Mt 19:8). 'Hardness…
Adultery commited in the heart
St. Thomas Aquinas, De Malo, Q.XV, On Sexual Lust
"...every act of sexual lust is a sin either because of the disorder of the act or even because of the disorder of the desire alone, which disorder primarily and intrinsically belongs to sexual lust. For Augustine says in the City of God: "Sexual lust is not the sin of beautiful and pleasant bodies but of souls wickedly loving bodily pleasures to the neglect of moderation, which makes us fit for things that are spiritually more beautiful and pleasant."
(p. 422)
"Consent to what is a venial sin by reason of its kind is not a mortal sin. But pleasure in thinking about fornication is a mortal sin by reason of its kind just as much as fornication itself. And that pleasure in thinking about fornication happens to be a venial sin is accidental to it because of the incomplete nature of the act, the deliberation of reason being lacking. And at the advent of deliberation, deliberate consent restores the act to the nature of its kind so as to constitute a mortal sin.
(p. 429)
#chastity
St. Thomas Aquinas, De Malo, Q.XV, On Sexual Lust
"...every act of sexual lust is a sin either because of the disorder of the act or even because of the disorder of the desire alone, which disorder primarily and intrinsically belongs to sexual lust. For Augustine says in the City of God: "Sexual lust is not the sin of beautiful and pleasant bodies but of souls wickedly loving bodily pleasures to the neglect of moderation, which makes us fit for things that are spiritually more beautiful and pleasant."
(p. 422)
"Consent to what is a venial sin by reason of its kind is not a mortal sin. But pleasure in thinking about fornication is a mortal sin by reason of its kind just as much as fornication itself. And that pleasure in thinking about fornication happens to be a venial sin is accidental to it because of the incomplete nature of the act, the deliberation of reason being lacking. And at the advent of deliberation, deliberate consent restores the act to the nature of its kind so as to constitute a mortal sin.
(p. 429)
#chastity
Ecce Verbum
Contemplation and chastity "There is finally a fourth consideration, which this time concerns contemplation itself, I say Christian contemplation, and which furnishes in relation to the latter a certain nuance or attenuation to the statement (however valid…
De bono coniugale
St. Augustine of Hippo 🧵
1.Continence and Obedience
Augustine argues that obedience is a greater virtue than continence.
He states: “The good of obedience is better than of continence.” And why? Because “marriage is in no place condemned by authority of our Scriptures, but disobedience is in no place acquitted.” In other words, marriage is permitted, but not required of everyone, whereas obedience to lawful authority is required of every person. Then he asks, “If therefore there be set before us a virgin about to continue so, but yet disobedient, and a married woman who could not continue a virgin, but yet obedient, which shall we call better?” (29)
He notes that “obedience is in a certain way the mother of all virtues,” for obedience is the virtue “whereby precepts are complied with.” However, he observes that there may be obedience without virginity and virginity without obedience.
First, regarding obedience without virginity, he says: “There may be obedience without virginity, because virginity is of counsel, not of precept.” (30) Celibacy is a counsel because its external practice is not required of every person, but only recommended, as Christ said, “Whoso can receive, let him receive” (Matt 19:12).
St. Augustine distinguishes between the virtues of continence and chastity: “There may be obedience to precepts without virginity, but not without chastity. For it pertains unto chastity, not to commit fornication, not to commit adultery, to be defiled by no unlawful intercourse: and whoso observe not these, do contrary to the precepts of God.” (30) Chastity is the virtue whereby one abstains from unlawful sexual intercourse, whereas continence is the virtue whereby one abstains from all sexual intercourse. Chastity is a precept required of every person, whereas continence is a counsel pertaining to those who have chosen the celibate state of life. Married spouses are called to practice conjugal chastity; those who are not married are called to practice chastity by continence.
Secondly, regarding virginity without disobedience, St. Augustine notes that “there may be virginity without obedience...We have known many sacred virgins, talkative, curious, drunken, litigious, covetous, proud: all which are contrary to precepts.” Therefore, while affirming the three goods of chastity, continence, and obedience, he is led to conclude: “Not only is the obedient to be preferred to the disobedient, but a more obedient married woman to a less obedient virgin.” (30)
🔗source: A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Vol. III, ed. Philip Schaff (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1886).
🔗 2. Continence in Spouses and Virgins
#chastity
St. Augustine of Hippo 🧵
1.Continence and Obedience
Augustine argues that obedience is a greater virtue than continence.
He states: “The good of obedience is better than of continence.” And why? Because “marriage is in no place condemned by authority of our Scriptures, but disobedience is in no place acquitted.” In other words, marriage is permitted, but not required of everyone, whereas obedience to lawful authority is required of every person. Then he asks, “If therefore there be set before us a virgin about to continue so, but yet disobedient, and a married woman who could not continue a virgin, but yet obedient, which shall we call better?” (29)
He notes that “obedience is in a certain way the mother of all virtues,” for obedience is the virtue “whereby precepts are complied with.” However, he observes that there may be obedience without virginity and virginity without obedience.
First, regarding obedience without virginity, he says: “There may be obedience without virginity, because virginity is of counsel, not of precept.” (30) Celibacy is a counsel because its external practice is not required of every person, but only recommended, as Christ said, “Whoso can receive, let him receive” (Matt 19:12).
St. Augustine distinguishes between the virtues of continence and chastity: “There may be obedience to precepts without virginity, but not without chastity. For it pertains unto chastity, not to commit fornication, not to commit adultery, to be defiled by no unlawful intercourse: and whoso observe not these, do contrary to the precepts of God.” (30) Chastity is the virtue whereby one abstains from unlawful sexual intercourse, whereas continence is the virtue whereby one abstains from all sexual intercourse. Chastity is a precept required of every person, whereas continence is a counsel pertaining to those who have chosen the celibate state of life. Married spouses are called to practice conjugal chastity; those who are not married are called to practice chastity by continence.
Secondly, regarding virginity without disobedience, St. Augustine notes that “there may be virginity without obedience...We have known many sacred virgins, talkative, curious, drunken, litigious, covetous, proud: all which are contrary to precepts.” Therefore, while affirming the three goods of chastity, continence, and obedience, he is led to conclude: “Not only is the obedient to be preferred to the disobedient, but a more obedient married woman to a less obedient virgin.” (30)
🔗source: A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Vol. III, ed. Philip Schaff (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1886).
🔗 2. Continence in Spouses and Virgins
#chastity
Telegram
Ecce Verbum chat
Continence in Spouses and Virgins
St. Augustine of Hippo shows how the same virtue is at the heart of both marriage and celibacy.
He begins by affirming that each human person “is a part of the human race, and human nature is something social,” and that…
St. Augustine of Hippo shows how the same virtue is at the heart of both marriage and celibacy.
He begins by affirming that each human person “is a part of the human race, and human nature is something social,” and that…
Ecce Verbum
politics_of_chastity_edward_feser_2021_edward_of_annas_archive_2.pdf
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM