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Home , Chastity

Spirituality of the Body Chastity: Chastity is the way in which Christians are called to live as sexual beings, in a way which pleases God, and fulfills the purpose of sexuality. Chastity is not only for priests, or , or for single people. Chastity is also practiced by married people. Sometimes people confuse chastity with . Celibacy means never engaging in sexual intercourse. It is a way of life to which God calls some people, like those in Religious Life. Few are called to celibacy, but everyone is called to chastity.

Chastity is the freedom to love others in an unselfish way. It means we are not mastered by our passions, or by physical urges, or by emotional compulsions. Through the practice of chastity, we learn to control ourselves, rather than being controlled by . Chastity requires constant practice, and awareness of our thoughts and feelings. It also requires us to use the grace God gives us in the Sacraments, and through constant prayer, asking for purity of heart, mind, and body. Jesus lived a life of pure chastity, by which He freely gave His life out of love for us and for His Father in Heaven. Chastity allows us the freedom to perform the work of God, which is life-giving love.

The Apostle Paul teaches us, “Avoid . Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:18-20) Chastity is an expression of love, which respects God, and others, as well as one’s own self. Such chaste love is expressed in all of our relationships in different ways.

The most common experience of love is known as friendship. The Greek word for the love between friends is philia. While family members share friendship between themselves, there is a special bond between members of a family, and this love is very deep. It is known in Greek as storge. Then there is that kind of love which we call “romantic,” when there is sexual attraction. This love is known as eros, from which comes the word “erotic.” But the most perfect, self-giving love, is known as agape. When Jesus teaches us to love one another as He loves us, the word He uses is “agape.” This is the kind of love which lays down one’s life for one’s friends, and of this love Jesus says there is none greater. Each of these types of love should be found between a husband and wife, but above all, their love for one another should reflect “agape,” the highest form of love. When St. John says, “God is love,” (1 John 4:8), he is saying, “God is agape.”

In what is perhaps the most well-known description of “agape” in the Bible, St. Paul says: “Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, love is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” (:4-8)

So, how is chastity practiced within ? It begins by respecting and valuing the other person, seeing in them the image of God. It also involves being the image of God for the other. The goal of marriage is holiness which leads to eternal life. Spouses are partners to each other in becoming Saints, raising their children to know the love of Jesus Christ. Chastity within marriage means enjoying sexual intimacy, but never treating the spouse as an object for one’s own selfish pleasure. It also means being faithful to one’s spouse, that is, not desiring a sexual relationship with anyone other than the spouse. Today, with pornography so easily accessible through the internet, many married people are being unchaste, and unfaithful to their spouses, by lusting after images online. Chastity means keeping our minds clean of images and ideas which lead us into sin.

For all people, whether single or married, there is a danger in treating sexual activity as recreation, that is, using the gift of sexuality for the purpose of entertainment. This happens when agape love for persons is left out. Many people desire only sexual gratification for themselves, apart from a with the other person. This kind of sexual expression is not love, and it is not part of God’s plan. It is instead an abuse of God’s gift of sexuality, and it demeans our human dignity.