MASTURBATION

 MASTURBATION AND THE CATHOLIC TEACHING ON MASTURBATION

1.0 INTRODUCTION

This is the testimony of Hugh.

Advocates of masturbation figure anybody who speaks against it is a hypocrite because they assume everyone masturbates, even those who speak against it.

My testimony clearly shows I am not one to judge. I was involved in abortions, broken hearts, and crossed gender boundaries. Even after stopping premarital sex and after becoming Christian I had periods of struggle with porn and/or masturbation. Before I became Catholic I thought masturbation was OK, except this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that something was wrong. I was very much against the Catholic position on masturbation. I almost didn't become Catholic over masturbation. I thought the Catholic Church's position on masturbation was a stupid teaching.

The interesting miracle is that the day of my Confirmation, I became free of all desire to masturbate for a year. It was a gift from God, and truly a "confirmation" that the teaching was correct and that freedom from masturbation is the great gift that comes with obedience and a profound desire to serve God. The Catholic word chastity means no sex with self or others before marriage. If you are married, it means only sex with your wife/husband (of the opposite sex). So practising chastity as a single person means no masturbation. Practising chastity as a married person means no masturbation.

I have been free of masturbation since 2002. I am a lay Catholic, which means I live in the real world, I have a job, and live a fairly normal life. On January 1, 2011, after over 20 years of being single and celibate, I married. We had a 15 month engagement without making up for our chastity by masturbating when alone.

Yes, let me stop the testimony from Hugh here. I am sure you have learnt something from this.

2.0 IS MASTURBATION A SIN? 

More than 78% of adults report masturbating on a regular basis. The Bible does not explicitly label masturbation a sin. However, masturbation is not the ideal way for people to satisfy their sexual urges. Masturbation may not be specifically labeled a sin, however, masturbation potentially fuels impurity and lust, and it is clearly outside of the ideal design of God. Also, there are several negative ramifications of masturbation that we ought to avoid.

Furthermore, asking whether some specific thing is a sin might not be the ideal approach. People often ask: Is masturbation as sin? But a better question would be: Is it wise for someone to masturbate? There are actions and activities that the Bible may never explicitly label as sin, yet such actions can be unwise. Masturbation is certainly in that category.

Masturbation is the act of individuals, in isolation, pleasuring themselves and satisfying sexual urges and desires. This does not include a man and woman, in the confines of a Christ-honoring marital relationship, consensually pleasuring each other with their hands. Such actions within marriage do not fall into the category of masturbation.

 

3.0 MYTHS ABOUT MASTURBATION

Many are of the view that Masturbation is a way of maintaining self-control for both sexes. For men, it allows release of stored sperm. And in a woman, it maintains the environment of her vagina through moist renewal. It is a pity. 

Actually, the body is quite intelligent and it adjusts easily to not masturbating. It also adapts very well the other way if that person gets married later. The body is an amazing gift from God, and God loves it when people take their sexuality seriously and try to put it in order. The body absorbs unused semen very easily. It is not like putting a bunch of semen in a bottle and leaving it there for a year. The body is a lot smarter than that.

My body can figure out how to turn an apple that I ate into all the essential enzymes, and it easily knows what to do with a few of seminal fluid. Just think about a pimple (containing harmful bacteria), the body handles it no problem, after a few days it goes away. Any doctor will say squeezing a pimple makes it worse.

When your body did not get sex, it simply adjusted. The issue really has more to do with the mind than the body. When you stop masturbating, at the beginning there may be the very occasional wet dream which is usually more of a mental thing than a physical thing.

The myth is that masturbation is purely a physical release. The truth is that the physical stimulation almost always follows some sort of visual or mental stimulus, not vice versa. And that stimulus is more often than not, some kind of unbiblical image or fantasy. (Matthew 5:28) The real problem is the mind, and that is best handled by Jesus, who is very good at removing unwanted mental images.

Likewise, women do not dry up if they do not masturbate. These are teenage myths. The body adjusts to whatever our state of life and easily adapts if that changes through marriage.

The second myth about masturbation is that Masturbation puts out the fire of sexual desire; it helps self control. Hmm!! I used to think that sexual desire was like a smoldering fire. I thought that I could satisfy it simply by masturbating. But that is the myth of our modern culture. Masturbation is not like throwing water on the fire of desire. It is like throwing gasoline on a fire.

Yes, it leads to inner conflict, loneliness, emptiness, more cravings for sex, an over developed fantasy life, creates conflict in relationships, and often sends the person into the head-space that life is empty and meaningless. It often becomes an addiction. The brain releases a chemical cocktail of acetylcholine, dopamine and serotonin when it sees an image and masturbation begins. These chemicals produced by the body are highly addictive.

If masturbation becomes compulsive, the brain, motor nerves, neuromuscular endings, and tissues can be drained of acetylcholine which can be replaced with an overdose of stress adrenalin. This is where memory loss, lack of concentration, and eye floaters come from. So those old nuns in the 1950's who said masturbation makes you go blind were not actually that far off.

God is quite good at balancing body chemicals. He made them. The way to quench the smoldering fire of sexual desire is with the light of God, with his intimacy, his love and his power. As a Catholic, I also find that it is very helpful to ask Mama Maria to pray for me, because she lived a chaste life and she loves all her children. When I am tempted to look at a woman with lustfully, I sense Mama Maria saying hey, do not you dare look at my daughter that way. Mama Maria is such a great mother, and all she wants is for us to give our life to her Son.

The third myth about masturbation is that it is impossible to stop masturbation. The testimony of Hugh is a living proof that, one day at a time, it is possible to be free of masturbation. There are thousands of married or single people who live happy and productive lives.

The fourth myth about masturbation is that Masturbation is normal. Most people who masturbate feel uncomfortable about it. Deep down they know that something is wrong, and are conflicted. That is a statistic. It was certainly true for me, although it took me several years to identify what in my life was wrong.

The fifth myth of masturbation is that if you do not masturbate you will go impotent. According to Hugh, he is not impotent or sexually constipated. After many years of being a single person who did not have premarital sex and who did not masturbate, he is married now. He is a normal man with normal sexual instincts, which, one day at a time, he had surrendered to God. 

The sixth myth of masturbation is that abstinence from masturbation will lead to a huge sexual explosion. This is only true if the abstinence is devoid of spiritual substance. If we surrender to God, we will find ourselves on an amazing journey that eventually leads to a new way of life that we never dreamed possible. We will realize that masturbation was a diversion that was keeping us from the fulfillment that God was calling us to. We go to new depths and intimacy with God when we surrender the diversion and selfishness of masturbation.

The seventh myth about masturbation is that Masturbation helps prevent prostate cancer. There are articles floating around the web (i.e., webMD) quoting a study conducted in 2009, published in the British Journal of Urology International. The headlines read something like Frequent masturbation in young men is linked to higher risk of early prostate cancer, but it lowers prostate cancer risk for men in their 50s, a study shows. So I decided to look up the study. The title is actually Frequent sex and masturbation in 20s and 30s linked to higher prostate cancer, but risks diminish with age. So what is the difference between what masturbation advocates quote and what the actual study found? Well here are the findings:

Men with prostate cancer had more sexual activity (intercourse and masturbation) than men in the control group, for every age group. 40% of men in the cancer group fell into the highest frequency category in their twenties (20 or more times a month) compared to 32% in the control group. Similar patterns were observed in the mens thirties and forties. By the fifties it had evened out, with 31% in each group falling into the most frequent category (ten or more times a month).

Men with prostate cancer were also more likely to masturbate frequently than men in the control group, with the greatest difference in the twenties (34% versus 24%) and thirties (41% versus 31%). The differences were less pronounced in their forties (34% versus 28%) and by the fifties the cancer group was slightly lower (25% versus 26%).

In other words, the over arching findings were that:

Frequent masturbation and/or promiscuity is linked to prostate cancer, not the other way around. This is true for men 20's-40's. At 50 years old it evens out (1% is statistically insignificant, and falls within the error margin).

So abstaining from masturbation decreases your chances of prostate cancer, not the other way around.

4.0 CATHOLICS ARE THE ONLY DENOMINATION AGAINST MASTURBATION

The acceptance of masturbation is actually very new, the natural outcome of the Anglican's accepting contraception in 1930. Contraception is basically mutual masturbation. Denominations which accepted contraception in the 1960's caved in on masturbation soon after. Here is a letter by C.S. Lewis, the great Protestant author of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

“For me the real evil of masturbation would be that it takes an appetite which, in lawful use, leads the individual out of himself to complete (and correct) his own personality in that of another (and finally in children and even grandchildren) and turns it back, sends it back into the prison of himself, there to keep a harem of imaginary brides. And this harem, once admitted, works against his ever getting out and really uniting with a real woman. For the harem is always accessible, always subservient, calls for no sacrifices or adjustments, and can be endowed with erotic and psychological attractions which no real woman can rival (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, quoted in Bausch, Masturbation, 35).

Some modern Evangelical leaders are catching on also. The best seller Evangelical book Every Man's Marriage by Stephen Arterburn says: ...A wife's body... is the only legitimate vessel of sexual satisfaction for her husband on the Earth. As usual, when God's standards get tough, we choose to mix in our own standards of sexual conduct to create a more comfortable mixture, something new, something mediocre. No wonder we lead mediocre lives ...God has already addressed this in 1 Corinthians. It's not your hand's duty to fulfill you sexually! (p. 241)

Catherine Doherty, a great Catholic leader who helped thousands of people said: The problem with masturbation is that it is the ultimate in self centeredness, which is a huge obstacle to spiritual growth.

5.0 THE TEACHING OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON MASTURBATION

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) no. 2352 has this to say about masturbation: 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. 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.

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.

So the Catechism is basically saying do not do it. It is difficult at times but with the grace of God all things are possible. It is a great way to live, I highly recommend it.

6.0 MASTURBATION IN THE BIBLE

There is no passage in the Sacred Scripture that directly condemns masturbation. If we are going to be good and honest Scripture Scholar, we must acknowledge this. However, the Sacred Scripture does talk quite a bit about human sexuality. Those passages absolutely need to be a part of this conversation.

There are several sections that one could apply to masturbation. In Matthew 5:28 Jesus says: You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

This is clearly a statement against masturbation even though it encompasses more than that. For almost all masturbation is accompanied by looking at a woman or man lustfully; whether it be porn, euphoric recall, memory, fantasy or whatever the source of the mental images that drive the action. St. Francis of Assisi in the 1,200's took the counsel of Jesus to heart. If he felt any lust, he would throw himself in a prickly bramble bush, ouch! The same with St Benedict of Nursia.

The Scripture tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 that we should Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. 

Furthermore, Paul advises: 'But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. (I Corinthians 7:9). He did not say if you burn with passion, masturbate and relieve yourself! There is no indication that this passage is talking about sexual sin other than masturbation. To burn with passion is clearly a self oriented manifestation of sexual sin. God is saying something like spiritually, it is better to stay single and celibate, but if you cannot control yourself then get married. 

We could also say that Galatians 5:23, 2 Corinthians 7:1; and I Thessalonians 4:4 implicitly contain a condemnation of masturbation. The tradition of the Church has rightly, and for many centuries, understood it to be condemned in the New Testament when the New Testament speaks of impurity, unchasteness and other vices contrary to chastity and continence. 

Many feel that the story of Onan is partially about masturbation. Masturbation has often been called Onanism. As a nod to this passage:...[Onan] spilled his semen on the ground whenever he went in to his brother's wife, so that he would not give offspring to his brother. What he did was displeasing in the sight of the LORD, and he put him to death also. (Genesis 38:6-10)

In the Sacred Scripture, all infertile methods of intercourse were subject to the death penalty: bestiality in Leviticus 20:15-16, homosexuality in Leviticus 20:13, withdrawal in Genesis 38:6-10. Other passages to be considered are Deuteronomy 23:1, Luke 23:28-29. Masturbation is definitely infertile sex. When we consider the purpose of sex, which is to bond, and procreate as presented in the Sacred Scripture, we can see the wisdom of the constant and consistent position of the Church on masturbation over the centuries.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

In the New Testament we see various instructions that are pertinent to this conversation. We are commanded to:

Offer our bodies as a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1)

Flee from sexual immorality (1 Cor. 6:18)

Glorify God in your body (1 Cor. 6:20)

Not gratify the desires of the flesh (Gal. 5:16)

Not allow even a hint of sexual immorality (Eph. 5:3)

Put to death any sexual immorality or any impurity (Col. 3:5-6)

Think about whatever is noble and pure and lovely and admirable (Phil. 4:8)

Set the example in purity (1 Tim. 4:12)

Abstain from the passions of the flesh (1 Pt. 2:11)

Imitate good (3 Jn. 11)

It is very odd that some people read this list of Biblical exhortations and still think: Yeah, sure, masturbation is fine.

In addition, the Bible commands us to pursue wisdom and apply it to our lives (cf. Job 12:12; 28:28; Ps. 37:30; 107:43; Pr. 1:7; 3:7; 4:6-7; Mt. 10:16). When we examine masturbation, there is significant evidence that engaging in such self-pleasure is unwise because of the potentially harmful effects.

The Bible helps us see that sexual desires are part of the design of God for mankind. Sexual urges are not (usually) inherently sinful. These desires are designed by God to be met within the framework he created, that is, consensual intimacy between a man and woman within a covenantal Christ-honoring marriage.

God created sexual desires and the marriage bed is the place God designated for those desires to be satisfied. Masturbation is an attempt for a person to satisfy his or her sexual desires outside of the framework that God designed for humans.

God created sex. This is a gift from God to humanity, one of his many gifts to us. Therefore, we ought to refrain from seeking to satisfy ourselves outside of the framework that God designed for us. God made us, he knows what is best, and therefore we ought to submit to his ways.

7.0 HOW TO STOP THE HABIT OF MASTURBATION

Surprisingly, or perhaps not, this is all about our spiritual growth. Ultimately this is a spiritual journey. But the truth is you can stop masturbating right now.

i. Surrender your life to God: Honestly, without God, it is impossible. But for God, all things are possible. With a surrender to God, you can do it. Many of us have.

ii. Avoiding temptation: The Lord's prayer says Lead us not into temptation. A big challenge is to avoid lust in general. Stay away from racy scenes on TV, YouTube, and in movies, and of course, no porn. 

iii. Maintain soft eyes at malls, looking generally downward instead of checking out the sights.

iv. Try not to glance at the sexual organs of people when you see them or meet them.

v. Look away from provocative billboards.

vi. Avoid spending time alone in a closed environment with someone of the opposite sex (or someone you are sexually attracted to).

vii. Recite a prayer whenever temptated. It is called the shield prayer, which can be used dozens of times a day, memorize it so it is automatic: Lord come into this temptation, please remove any desire to look or fantasize in this situation."

viii. Get into an accountability group: If you cannot find one, start one. Find someone with the same ideas and make daily accountability phone calls. This breaks a habit of isolation. Get honest with others who are sympathetic but commited to your success. It will really help. If you do not know anyone, pray to Jesus to bring people into your life who can help. He hears your prayers and will help. If you do not have a group then you can join ours.

ix. Confession: For Catholics, it starts with making confession with a priest who understands masturbation is wrong (some are too "pastoral"). Don't go looking for a different priest to confess with every time. For Evangelicals, talk to your pastor, but unfortunately most pastors these days do not understand the seriousness of it.

x. Restitution: Clean up every aspect of our lives. Return stolen things, pay off old debts, stop cheating on taxes, make apologies to people we've hurt, stop cheating on work hours etc...

xi. Eliminating selfishness: and dishonesty and trying to help others, particularly others with the same problem

xii. Prayer and meditation: Spend a lot of time with the Lord. Many of us go to Mass every morning, Rosary every evening. Join a prayer group and spend time alone in prayer every day.

xiii. Sit up front, or keep your eyes to yourself in Mass: The devil loves to get men to look at young attractive women in Church during Mass. Especially, before taking communion. Do not fall for it. Avoid looking at the bodies of women in the pews in front of you, or in the communion line. Keep your eyes down in prayer until your pew has its turn. Keep your eyes down in line, and look down in prayer after receiving communion.

xiv. If you are Catholic, stay close to the Sacraments. If you are a Protestant, try to find a Church where they understand the problem. If you cannot find one, perhaps join us in the Catholic Church.

NOTE: If the cravings continue to persist uncontrolably, look for a priest who does deliverance, which target spiritual strongholds of the devil in the lives of the faithful.

8.0 CHASTITY AND MASTURBATION

Dearly beloved in Christ Jesus, you and your sexuality are worth more than you can imagine. The Catholic teaching on masturbation is centered on a virtue called chastity. It means giving sexuality its proper place in our lives. Not snuffing it out, but not giving it free reign. A proper place. Chastity is one of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit. (See Catechism, 2337 - 2359)

The deep truth of the Catholic teaching on masturbation is confirmed by the enormous damage this so-called private act causes in peoples lives and marriages. Large numbers of men and women are starting to name their habit of masturbation for what it is: sexual addiction.

If we tell our teens that masturbation is normal and healthy, we are setting them up with a habit that can yield a lifetime of difficulty. We are telling them that self-indulgence and lack of self-control are positive things. This cannot form a strong foundation for mature, loving sexuality.

The Catholic teaching on masturbation says that masturbation is a grave sin, what we call a mortal sin, by which we reject the offer of life from God. However, Catholic morality also acknowledges that the force of habit can reduce or even eliminate our responsibility for our actions. We have to freely consent in order to be fully responsible.

If a habit makes something less than a free choice, it also reduces our responsibility for our actions. This does not give us free reign if we just call something a habit! Sinful actions still harm us greatly, even if we may not be fully charged with the guilt of committing them.

We have a responsibility to seek help and diligently strive to overcome our habits. The Lord is patient and merciful. He desperately wants to free us from the slavery of sin. But we have to do our part, too.

If you think you are trapped in the habit of masturbation or one of its close cousins (pornography, infidelity, prostitution, etc.), seek the competent help of a priest who supports the Churchs sexual morality, and specifically the Catholic teaching on masturbation. Do not be shy! They have heard it all before. Sadly, it is quite common.

DOES THE CATHOLIC TEACHING ON MASTURBATION SAY WE SHOULD REPRESS OUR SEXUALITY?

There is a difference between repression and self-control. Repression means to stuff those feelings down when they arise, denying them and wishing they were not there. Repression does not work. Many people try this route and fail.

Self-control is different. You do not deny the reality of your sexual drive, but seek to control it according to your will. This is called being free! If you are a slave to your urges (sexual or otherwise), you are not free. For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another. (Gal 5:13)

The key to this is to redeem our sexuality, not to repress it. Christopher West makes this point about the Catholic teaching on masturbation in Good News About Sex and Marriage:

“When sexual feelings, desires, and temptations present themselves, as they inevitably do, instead of trying to ignore them or stuff them by pushing them down and under, we need to bring them up and out. Not up and out in the sense of indulging them, but up and out and into the hands of Christ our Redeemer. You might simply say a prayer such as this: Lord Jesus, I give you my sexual desires. Please undo in me what sin has done so that I might know freedom in this area and experience sexual desire as you intend. Amen. The more we invite Christ into our passions and desires and allow him to purify them, the more we find were able to exercise proper control of them. And we begin more and more to experience our sexuality, not as the desire for selfish gratification but as the desire to give ourselves away in imitation of Christ. This is what redemption is all about. (Good News About Sex and Marriage, p.81)

The Catholic teaching on masturbation reminds us that we need to redeem our self-centered, disordered desires. It is a matter of bringing our disorders to Christ, naming them for what they are, and letting Christ heal us. We experience that healing as the gradual increase of self-control. It is possible. You are worth far too much to live according to a lie about yourself. For your freedom was bought at a great price: the price of the blood of Christ.

So go on: Let yourself be redeemed. Live in the glorious freedom of the children of God (Rom 8:21).

9.0 SUMMARY OF THE CATHOLIC TEACHING ON MASTURBATION

The full Catholic teaching on masturbation seems to be a secret to most people. It is a challenging teaching. But because this teaching calls us to live in a fully human way, it is good news! Is masturbation wrong? Yes. The Catholic teaching on masturbation says that masturbation is always morally wrong. Sex is intended to be both an expression of love for your spouse, and a beautiful means of procreation. Sex is so special, powerful, and valuable that it is properly used only within marriage. If youre not married, you should abstain from sexual activity.

Sex is the ultimate gift husbands and wives can give: a total gift of self, body and soul. Sex is how you fulfill your wedding vows to love totally, freely, and completely. As long as you both shall live. The secret of life is hidden in that intimate sharing.

The Catholic teaching on masturbation says that masturbation denies every aspect of that promise of sex, of that promise of your vows! 

Masturbation is: Focused on yourself; A withholding from your spouse; A statement that sex is only about pleasure, your own pleasure; Inherently sterile; Often accompanied by adultery in your heart through pornography and fantasy

Catholics do not condemn masturbation just because of some lofty idea of what the natural purpose of sex is. We speak the truth about the harm it does to people. This is the true reason for the Catholic teaching on masturbation: it denies the meaning of sex. It makes you less than fully human.

But everyone else says masturbation is healthy! Yes, they do. You know that the world has a way of saying that a lot of disordered things are good.

Masturbation is radically self-centered, and radically un-Christian. This is why the Catholic teaching on masturbation says it is wrong. 

Masturbation turns us and our sexuality away from God and toward ourselves by:

- Training our sexuality in the habit of self-indulgence, not self-giving

- Divorcing the pleasure of orgasm from union with the other, your spouse

- Turning away from the risks of loving another

- Refusing fertility & the full responsibility of sex

SAMPLE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: ONE

IS MASTURBATION ALWAYS WRONG?

Q. I am 78 years old and have been married to my wife for 53 years. Lately I have begun to experience periodic impotence. My doctor recommends masturbation as he thinks my problem is psychological. Under these circumstances can masturbation be legitimate? Thank you. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 2325 has this to say about masturbation: 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. 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 [internal quotes from Persona Humana, 9]

The Catechism defines masturbation here, in fact two times, as the deliberate stimulation of the genitals in order to derive sexual pleasure. So the desired end is sexual pleasure, and the means by which that end is pursued is the stimulation of the genitals. And the Catechism teaches that choosing these means for that end is gravely disordered and always wrong. 

Now you ask whether it could be licit to self-stimulate at the recommendation of your doctor. I suspect your doctor is recommending this in the hopes that you will achieve sexual satisfaction through the behavior; and that this will help you overcome whatever psychic block he thinks might be present. I also suspect he assumes you will use erotic images, certainly sexual thoughts, to facilitate this. If so, then he is prescribing as a treatment for overcoming periodic impotence self-stimulation to achieve sexual pleasure, a prescription that would be gravely immoral for you to carry out. The Catholic Church teaches that it is never morally good to seek sexual pleasure outside of the marital act.

Pleasure of itself is neither good nor bad. Its value derives from that in which it is taken, usually from some kind of action. 

Sexual acts, according to design of God, and as recognized by common sense reasoning, are meant to express two things: the one-flesh love of committed married persons; and the orientation of this love, that is, its opennessto new life. 

Masturbation, not directed toward another in love, but self-directed, seeks isolated pleasure. And it is not and never can be open to new life. 

Thus the constant teaching of the Catholic Church since apostolic times is that all deliberate use of the sexual faculties should be reserved to marital intercourse. 

What then should you do? I recommend you seek out a medical practitioner who is both skilled in treating the condition in question as well as committed to the moral teaching of the Catholic Church, and explore morally good options for achieving the desired outcome.

 

SAMPLE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: TWO 

WHAT ABOUT SELF-STIMULATION FOR REASONS OTHER THAN PLEASURE  SAY, PURELY FOR COLLECTING A SPERM SAMPLE? 

Notice the second internal quote above in the text from the Catechism: The deliberate use of the sexual faculty, for whatever reason, outside of marriage is essentially contrary to its purpose. This would seem to include self-stimulation for purposes of sperm testing. 

At the same time, it is true that in the modern period, the Church has not taught specifically on the question of masturbation for clinical purposes. But let us think the scenario through in light of what is clearly taught. 

We know that self-stimulation for the sake of pleasure is wrongful, because it inverts the order of sexuality, turning something that should be directed to another, to whom I am committed for life and with whom I am ready to bear the responsibility of parenthood, into a solitary act of self-pleasuring. We also know that fostering sexual fantasies is wrongful, falling under what moral theology calls sins of thought.

Now if one could self-stimulate to the point of ejaculation without seeking sexual pleasure and without fostering impure thoughts, then that act would seem fall outside of the act description condemned by the Church. 

But is this ever realistic? It seems that if a man begins to stimulate his genitals, he is very likely to turn to impure thoughts to assist the process; and after the train gets revving, as it were, it is extremely likely that he will begin to seek pleasure in the ensuing orgasm. These become even more likely if he has struggled with masturbation.

Therefore, adopting this mode of behavior, that is, choosing self-stimulation unto ejaculation, would be placing himself willingly in a near occasion of serious sin; and we solemnly resolve at the end of every act of contrition to avoid such near occasions. 

It therefore does not seem that masturbation can be safely recommended.

 

SAMPLE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: THREE 

WHAT THEN MAY A MAN DO IF HE NEEDS TO OBTAIN A SPERM SAMPLE: THE QUESTION IS ON MORAL LICIT OPTIONS FOR SPERM COLLECTION?​

Married Men — If he is married he may use a perforated condom in marital intercourse, so that the act both consummates a true one-flesh union through the depositing of semen, while at the same time leaving semen behind in the sheath for collection and testing. Or he may collect sperm from his wifes birth canal after a conjugal act with no condom.

Single Men  I do not know what clinical alternatives are available. These should be explored with a physician. I therefore offer the same advice that I offered above: Explore morally licit options for collecting semen samples with a competent physician who respects Catholic values.

Following sound moral principles, the following conditions should guide this exploration and any accompanying behavior: 

1. Serious reasons

Because of the complexities discussed above, there should be serious reasons before a single man decides to collect a sperm sample. For example, he has had chemotherapy for a dangerously enlarged prostate, is planning to get married and believes he has an obligation to let his fiancé know whether or not he is infertile. 

2. Upright intention

Whatever procedure is chosen for collection, it must not be performed with the intention of deriving sexual pleasure. For this is reserved for marital intercourse. 

3. Upright means

The collection must not involve sins of thought.

4. Avoid near occasions of sin 

The procedure should not place the man in a near occasion of sin; for example, if he struggles with pornography and masturbation, he should be confident before he consents to any procedure that it will not elicit within him an irresistible desire to masturbate.

5. Avoid scandal

Accepting and carrying out the procedure should not lead anyone else to conclude that masturbation, as defined by the Catechism, is sometimes legitimate.

© Rev Fr Utazi Prince Marie Benignus 

June 12 2024

Feast of Saint Leo III