Question about Virginity

  • Thread starter Thread starter Daniel27
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
D

Daniel27

Guest
Firstly, to preface the question (of which there are many), when the Church talks about ‘chastity’ in the form of virginity, what exactly is meant by this? Does it mean those who never had intercourse during their lifetime, those who never had intercourse nor masturbated, those who never had intercourse nor masturbated nor participated in any ‘dating’ (sexual or not)?

Also, what about a person who, either by not being introduced to the Good News or trying control their sexual desires but failing, was sexually active, but ceased at a later stage in life? Would this person be deemed a virgin, chaste, or neither?

Finally, what does the Church teach about the implications of sexual abstinence when we die? Does it carry any bearing when it comes to our individual judgement at our point of death, or it just a pathway to try to ensure that we are headed towards Heaven in this world?

Sorry for the long post, but thanks for reading it.
 
Last edited:
My two cents. Chastity and virginity are different concepts. Chastity is what we do now. God wants us to live chastely, i.e. to engage in no sexual activity outside marriage, whatever we may have done in the past.

Virginity may be a more tricky concept to deal with, first of all because (as far as I know) in Catholic discourse only a woman is ever described as a “virgin,” never a man. It means a woman who has never engaged in certain sexual acts, though what acts are meant, exactly, is something I have never needed to know. Maybe others can help with that.
 
Daniel27 said:
Firstly, to preface the question (of which there are many), when the Church talks about ‘chastity’ in the form of virginity, what exactly is meant by this? Does it mean those who never had intercourse during their lifetime, those who never had intercourse nor masturbated, those who never had intercourse nor masturbated nor participated in any ‘dating’ (sexual or not)?
Click to expand...
Virginity is a complicated word that can refer to multiple different things. It can refer to those who have never willingly had intercourse, yes. Dating and masturbation are usually not considered to remove that kind of virginity, though the latter does violate chastity.
Daniel27 said:
Also, what about a person who, either by not being introduced to the Good News or trying control their sexual desires but failing, was sexually active, but ceased at a later stage in life? Would this person be deemed a virgin, chaste, or neither?
Click to expand...
A virgin, no. Chaste, yes, once they turned back towards that virtue.
Daniel27 said:
Finally, what does the Church teach about the implications of sexual abstinence when we die? Does it carry any bearing when it comes to our individual judgement at our point of death, or it just a pathway to try to ensure that we are headed towards Heaven in this world?
Click to expand...
Consecrated celibacy, when you are called to it by God, is a very good thing indeed. Abstinence outside of marriage is also good, since the alternative is sin. Sexual abstinence inside of marriage is more complicated, but is not generally a problem if both parties agree. Married couples must maintain chastity, but not celibacy.
 
“Chastity” means following the Church’s rules for sexuality according to one’s state in life.

If one is unmarried, then being “chaste” means not having any voluntary sexual activity of any kind.

If one is married, then being “chaste” means not having any voluntary sexual activity with anyone outside marriage, and having only sexual activity with your spouse that is permitted according to the teachings of the Church.

Masturbation = being unchaste.

If you are free to date (i.e. single, not in any religious order or vocation where you would promise to stay celibate, etc. ) and “dating” someone, you should not be engaging in sexual activities with them; to do so would be unchaste.

“Virginity” in the eyes of the Church means you have never engaged in voluntary sexual activity.
I thought someone who had masturbated was no longer considered a virgin, but if I’m wrong on that, someone please correct me.
 
Last edited:
2337 Chastity means the successful integration of sexuality within the person and thus the inner unity of man in his bodily and spiritual being. Sexuality, in which man’s belonging to the bodily and biological world is expressed, becomes personal and truly human when it is integrated into the relationship of one person to another, in the complete and lifelong mutual gift of a man and a woman.

The virtue of chastity therefore involves the integrity of the person and the integrality of the gift.

While virginity has a medical definition.

We are all called to chastity according to our state in life. A person may not be a virgin and live chastely, married people are called to chastity in marriage.
 
When I went looking for catholic definitions I ran across at least three ways it was used. Consecrated virgins was one. Virginity in the sense of having never had sex was the second. The observable physical state of women was the third. An example of that third was the teaching that Mary’s virginity was preserved through the birth of Jesus.
 
Yes, we’ve had many past threads on virginity and they all note that there have been multiple definitions of what the criteria are to be a virgin, often depending on the context.

The definition I see most frequently is that a virgin is someone who has never willingly engaged in sexual activity. Bodily integrity usually is not a factor these days, because for men there is no bodily integrity, and women could lose their hymens in a variety of ways that don’t involve voluntary sexual activity.
 
Last edited:
There’s a consecrated virgin in our parish and although I have never (knowingly) met her, she is rumoured to be very unique. I Don’t wish to be uncharitable so make of that what you will. I’ve never come across them in other walks of life, but I have met a few nuns who have all been very down to Earth, warm and funny. Just shows we are all called to chastity in varying ways
 
BartholomewB said:
Virginity may be a more tricky concept to deal with, first of all because (as far as I know) in Catholic discourse only a woman is ever described as a “virgin,” never a man.
Click to expand...
My understanding is that in the book of Revelation, the 144,000 men are referred to as ‘virgins’. I do not know the original Greek word though.
 
Answering the last part of your question, considering that any way of exerting sperm outside one’s wife’s vagina is a mortal sin, as long as you go to confession and are truly sorry for that, one’s soul is believed to have been healed. Because sex is for two reasons: 1. To create children 2. To show one’s love for their spouse. If one continually has sexual intercourse outside of marriage or masturbation, then that would be very dangerous territory that only the Lord can judge.
 
That is why I believe a commitment to chastity is more important than virginity. After all, where is the virtue in not having sinned for lack of opportunity?
 
poche said:
That is why I believe a commitment to chastity is more important than virginity. After all, where is the virtue in not having sinned for lack of opportunity?
Click to expand...
I think those who seek opportunity will always find it. So unless you are maybe talking about some awkward teenager who doesn’t know even the basics of talking to the opposite sex, anybody who is open to unchaste behavior can get it, and at some point will. Thus in my opinion, deciding to live a chaste lifestyle and being succesful in that endeavour are ultimately the same thing. Or if not truly identical, sufficiently correlated that we can call them the same thing.

Isn’t there a place in the Gospel where Jesus says something like “any man who looks upon a woman with desire has already committed adultery in his heart”.?
 
Last edited:
Modern Catholic Dictionary:

VIRGINITY. The state of bodily integrity in either sex. This integrity may be physical or moral, and either factual or intentional. Physical virginity is sometimes defined as the absence of any sinfully experienced lustful sensation. But, strictly speaking, a person is physically a virgin unless he or she has had sexual intercourse with a person of the opposite sex. Moral virginity means the absence of any willful consent to venereal pleasure; again, strictly speaking, with a person of the opposite sex. Virginity is factual when, de facto, a person has not in the past sought or indulged in sexual pleasure; it is intentional when a person intends never to experience such pleasure, according to the previous distinctions made. (Etym. Latin virgo , maiden, virgin.)
 
Dan_Defender said:
My understanding is that in the book of Revelation, the 144,000 men are referred to as ‘virgins’. I do not know the original Greek word though.
Click to expand...
It is the same word as is used for female virgins – parthenos, or in this case, because it is plural, parthenoi.

D
 
Inquiry said:
Firstly, to preface the question (of which there are many), when the Church talks about ‘chastity’ in the form of virginity, what exactly is meant by this? Does it mean those who never had intercourse during their lifetime, those who never had intercourse nor masturbated, those who never had intercourse nor masturbated nor participated in any ‘dating’ (sexual or not)?
Click to expand...
I get all the rest, but how in the world could there even be a question of whether “dating” could compromise virginity?

I know the modern, colloquial expression “we’re dating” has come to mean “we sleep together”, but when I think of “dating”, I think of something that, in and of itself, does not compromise chastity, much less virginity, in any way whatsoever. To me, it means spending time, usually an evening (though it does not have to be an “evening”), in the pleasant and exclusive company of a member of the opposite sex. That’s all it is. Dating couples are well-advised to conduct most, if not all, of their companionship in a public or semi-public place. For two unmarried Catholics to go to Mass together as part of a date is highly commendable — it might be good to ask the question “do they joyfully embrace the idea of going to Mass with me?”. If you can’t answer “yes” to that question, this might not be a person you should date. There is also the phenomenon of group dating, where several couples get together and enjoy one another’s company. This, too, is chaste by its very nature — if it’s not, you need to find different friends.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
The Holy Apostle John the Beloved Disciple and Theologian has also been called in Catholic literature “the virgin Apostle”.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top