Splitting hairs about masturbation?

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This is so sorry! Many young people struggle with this (few of them as earnestly as you do!). Take up the matter in confession. As you have read on this thread, for you, the force of the habit may be making this a venial sin, so although the ACT is matter of mortal sin, your personal circumstance could make it possible for you to receive Communion without sacrilege. Don’t presume, though. Don’t take our word for it. Listen to your confessor.

God love you. I hope you have a good priest who can work with you.

This is a habit that can sap the strength out of a marriage. I’m guessing you are a teen. Now is the time to fight the battle. God love ya!
Yes, I am a teen-and I want to stop this before it does get worse(if that is possible) But how could it be a venial sin? If it is grave matter, knowledge of consent, and the intent is there-though even clouded by the feelings you get you still consent your will to it, so how could it be venial?

I’m just so lost…I love Jesus, and thought I had a calling to be a sister…I don’t get it! That love was real-it was there! Why am I now turning away from him like this? Sometimes I feel really guilty like this-and other times I’m just so numb to it, to my spiritual life. Why do I always do this over and over I don’t get it! I’m so confused! Can you help?
 
Yes, I am a teen-and I want to stop this before it does get worse(if that is possible) But how could it be a venial sin? If it is grave matter, knowledge of consent, and the intent is there-though even clouded by the feelings you get you still consent your will to it, so how could it be venial?
Sexuality is a very powerful drive, and bad habits are especially easy to form with regard to our sexuality. If we do something out of the force of habit, this means that we didn’t have full consent of the will - which makes it a venial sin, rather than a mortal sin.

We do need to break these habits, because they are not healthy for us either spiritually or emotionally (people who masturbate gradually lose the ability to form authentic friendships - they remain emotionally immature for their age), but we also need to be gentle with ourselves, and realize that the force of habit may be stronger than we are, at least at first.

Some of the major causes of this particular habit are boredom and loneliness, so make sure you are busy and around other people as much as possible. Avoid stimulants like sugar and caffeine in the evening, look after your physical health, and get into sports, dance, or some other activity that occupies your whole body in a healthy, wholesome way.
 
Well, my reaction to the post and the following discussion is…are we discussing holding the male responsible for the female using him as an object of self-pleasure? Because it seemed to veer into a discussion of male masturbation very quickly.

If she knows she has these erogenous zones outside the normal primary and secondary sexual characteristics (genitals, breasts), then isn’t it her responsibility to guard her chastity against lust and/or masturbation (whatever y’all decided what that was)?

Especially assuming that she knows her body and he doesn’t because they are unmarried and pursuing chastity.

If she didn’t know her body and had an oopsie orgasm unexpectedly, then there would be no moral culpability because she didn’t have the knowledge to form full consnet of the will. However, she has this knowledge know and would need to take it into account in guarding her own chastity in the future.

Women are moral agents too, and can’t hand off the responsibility for their orgasms and morals to the men in their life. That’s all I’m sayin’. 😃

One point about “squirming” O’s…the powerful bonding hormone oxytocin is released at orgasm. It is binding a couple together outside of marriage, so there is a body-lie being told here. There is no sacramental and legal commitment bond to back up the biology. There is no total self-donation and no unity of the unitive and procreative. I see that as another problem of the mutual wanking, heavy petting, not-going-all-the-way mutual pleasuring activities of unmarrieds. It just isn’t truthful. (Even if society accepts it and much, much more.)

To the suffering teenagers and young adults: part of your suffering is that our society has extended adolescence and pushed back the age of marriage so far, that there is a wider gulf between biological maturity and marriage. So your burden is greater than any previous generation. Also, a lot of the compulsion is hormonal. Hormones have powerful effects on mind, drive, emotion, behavior. You can’t use it as an excuse, but I promise you, those hormones will start fading away in your thirties and you will have greater peace in your life as you are freed from the burden. You aren’t going to be tortured by your hormones this intensely for the rest of your lives, I promise! So fight the good fight, and once married, really enjoy a healthy and holy sexuality with your spouse with a clean conscience. 👍
 
Yes, I am a teen-and I want to stop this before it does get worse(if that is possible) But how could it be a venial sin? If it is grave matter, knowledge of consent, and the intent is there-though even clouded by the feelings you get you still consent your will to it, so how could it be venial?

I’m just so lost…I love Jesus, and thought I had a calling to be a sister…I don’t get it! That love was real-it was there! Why am I now turning away from him like this? Sometimes I feel really guilty like this-and other times I’m just so numb to it, to my spiritual life. Why do I always do this over and over I don’t get it! I’m so confused! Can you help?
Please do bring this up in confession. That is the grace-filled forum for handling all besetting sin.

This may be a challenge to discourage your response to a call to Religious life. Pray for the grace of tranquil continence. Or at least pray foar the grace never to give up the struggle.

Hugs.
 
I would also like to add that I once viewed a wonderful 1978 Movie – The Tree of Wooden Clogs by Ermanno Olmi.

The IMDB description goes like this:

Part of the movie depicts a young couple falling in love. The young man always keeps a careful and respectful distance throughout their courtship and the young woman is careful to watch her eyes and distance as well. At one point the young man finds her alone on a road and he asks for a kiss. She pauses and politely says “ Those are things that happen when the time comes.” She then smiles with almost veiled eyes and moves on. Sadly, the mating game today isn’t what it used to be.
By the way - The Tree of Wooden Clogs by Ermanno Olmi is on the Vatican Top 45 choice movies. You can locate this list at the USBishops website.
It has been a while…I just found your post. This ia truely a lovely scenerio. You are right…sadly times have chamged…but the church has not. Society floods our senses with provocative materials and we are expected to remain chaste…🙂
 
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