The document discusses the virtue of chastity, describing it as the positive integration of sexuality within a person and in their relationships. It addresses sins against chastity, explaining that sexuality is ordered towards procreation and unity between spouses. The document also outlines the struggle to live a chaste life and resist temptation through prudence, modesty, and temperance.

1. CRANACH, Lucas (1472-1553)
Cristo y la mujer adúltera
6&9 6th & 9th Commandments
1532
Museo de Bellas Artes
Budapest

2. Compendium of the Catechism
 488. What is chastity?
 Chastity means the positive integration
of sexuality within the person. Sexuality
becomes truly human when it is
integrated in a correct way into the
relationship of one person to another.
Chastity is a moral virtue, a gift of God,
a grace, and a fruit of the Holy Spirit.
 489. What is involved in the virtue of
chastity?
 The virtue of chastity involves an
apprenticeship in self-mastery as an
expression of human freedom directed
towards self-giving. An integral and
continuing formation, which is brought
about in stages, is necessary to
achieve this goal.

3. Introduction
 St Paul writes to the Corinthians:
 Do you not know that your bodies
are members of Christ? Shall I
therefore take the members of
Christ and make them members
of a prostitute? Never! Do you
not know that your body is a
temple of the Holy Spirit within
you, which you have from God?
You are not your own; you were
bought with a price. So glorify
God in your body (1 Cor.
6,15;19-20).
 Thus, not only the Christian but
every man and woman ought to
respect his/her body and that of
neighbor, taking exquisite care of
chastity in thoughts, words, works
and desires, if he/she is to acdg to
reason.
DI GIORGIO MARTINI, Francesco
Castidad con el unicornio
1463
Convento dell'Osservanza, Siena, Italia

4. KEY IDEAS

5. 1. Sexuality is a gift from God
 Sacred Scriptures tell us that ‘God
created man in his image &
likeness, he made them male and
female…’ (cfr. Gén. 1: 27). Thus,
sex is not bad in itself, neither is it
contrary to the law of God; it is
good because it comes from God:
it is a gift from God.
 But God established an order for
its use: sexual pleasure –whether
of thought, word or deed– is licit
when sought within matrimony
and if ordered toward the end for
which God has given them: the
BOSCH, Hieronymus
El jardín de las delicias: Alegoría de la lujuria
transmission of human LIFE,
c.1500 along with mutual spousal
Museo del Prado, Madrid
support.

6. 2. The virtue of CHASTITY
 Compendium:
 490. What are the means
that aid the living of
chastity?
 There are many means at
one's disposal: the grace of
God, the help of the
sacraments, prayer, self-
knowledge, the practice of an
asceticism adapted to
various situations, the
MORELLI, Domenico , La tentación de San Antonio, 1878
exercise of the moral virtues, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Roma
especially the virtue of
temperance which seeks to 491. In what way is everyone called to live chastity?
As followers of Christ, the model of all chastity, all the baptised
have the passions guided by are called to live chastely in keeping with their particular states
reason. of life. Some profess virginity or consecrated celibacy which
enables them to give themselves to God alone with an undivided
heart in a remarkable manner. Others, if they are married live in
conjugal chastity, or if unmarried practise chastity in continence.

7. 3. Impurity destroys us!
 492. What are the principal sins against
chastity?
 Grave sins against chastity differ according
to their object: adultery, masturbation,
fornication, pornography, prostitution, rape,
and homosexual acts. These sins are
expressions of the vice of lust. These kinds
of acts committed against the physical and
moral integrity of minors become even more
grave.
 493. Although it says only “you shall not
commit adultery” why does the sixth
commandment forbid all sins against
chastity?
 Although the biblical text of the Decalogue
reads “you shall not commit adultery”
(Exodus 20:14), the Tradition of the Church
comprehensively follows the moral teachings
of the Old and New Testaments and
CANO, Alonso; Inmaculada Concepción considers the sixth commandment as
1648, Museo Provincial, Vitoria encompassing all sins against chastity.

8. 4. Chastity is for everyone 
 All the baptized are called to chastity. the
Christian has "put on Christ,"134 The model
for all chastity. All Christ's faithful are
called to lead a chaste life in keeping with
their particular states of life. At the
moment of his Baptism, the Christian is
pledged to lead his affective life in
chastity.
 "People should cultivate [chastity] in the
way that is suited to their state of life.
Some profess virginity or consecrated
celibacy which enables them to give
themselves to God alone with an
undivided heart in a remarkable manner.
Others live in the way prescribed for all by
the moral law, whether they are married or
single."135 Married people are called to live
conjugal chastity; others practice chastity
in continence: (CCC 2348-2349)
HOGARTH, William
Enrique VIII
Colección privada

9. 5. Sins against chastity - 6th commandment
 2351 Lust is disordered desire for or
inordinate enjoyment of sexual
pleasure. Sexual pleasure is morally
disordered when sought for itself,
isolated from its procreative and
unitive purposes.
 2352 By masturbation is to be
understood the deliberate stimulation
of the genital organs in order to
derive sexual pleasure.
 2353 Fornication is carnal union
ARMITAGE, Edward between an unmarried man and an
Fiesta del cumpleaños de Herodes
1868 unmarried woman. It is gravely
Ghildhall Art Gallery. Londres contrary to the dignity of persons and
of human sexuality which is naturally
ordered to the good of spouses and
the generation and education of
children. Moreover, it is a grave
scandal when there is corruption of
the young.

10. 5. Sins against chastity - 6th commandment
 2354 Pornography consists in removing real or simulated sexual acts from the
intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties. It
offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving
of spouses to each other. It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants
(actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base
pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the
illusion of a fantasy world. It is a grave offense. Civil authorities should prevent
the production and distribution of pornographic materials.
 2355 Prostitution does injury to the dignity of the person who engages in it,
reducing the person to an instrument of sexual pleasure. the one who pays sins
gravely against himself: he violates the chastity to which his Baptism pledged
him and defiles his body, the temple of the Holy Spirit.139 Prostitution is a social
scourge. It usually involves women, but also men, children, and adolescents
 2356 Rape is the forcible violation of the sexual intimacy of another person. It
does injury to justice and charity. Rape deeply wounds the respect, freedom,
and physical and moral integrity to which every person has a right. It causes
grave damage that can mark the victim for life. It is always an intrinsically evil
act. Graver still is the rape of children committed by parents (incest) or those
responsible for the education of the children entrusted to them.

11. 6. The struggle to live chastity
 494. What is the responsibility of
civil authority in regard to
chastity?
 Insofar as it is bound to promote
respect for the dignity of the
person, civil authority should seek
to create an environment
conducive to the practice of
chastity. It should also enact
suitable legislation to prevent the
spread of the grave offenses
against chastity mentioned above,
especially in order to protect
minors and those who are the
weakest members of society.
LEIGHTON, Frederic
Fatidica (c. 1893-94)
Lady Lever Art Gallery

12. ANGELICO, Fra
Anunciación
c. 1430
S. Maria delle
Grazie,
S. Giovanni
Valdarno
THE NINTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your
neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass,
or anything that is your neighbor's.298

13. Compendium of the Catechism
 495. What are the goods of conjugal love to which
sexuality is ordered?
 The goods of conjugal love, which for those who are
baptized is sanctified by the sacrament of Matrimony, are
unity, fidelity, indissolubility, and an openness to the
procreation of life.
 496. What is the meaning of the conjugal act?
 The conjugal act has a twofold meaning: unitive (the mutual
self-giving of the spouses) and procreative (an openness to
the transmission of life). No one may break the inseparable
connection which God has established between these two
meanings of the conjugal act by excluding one or the other
of them.
 497. When is it moral to regulate births?
 The regulation of births, which is an aspect of responsible
fatherhood and motherhood, is objectively morally
acceptable when it is pursued by the spouses without
external pressure; when it is practiced not out of selfishness
but for serious reasons; and with methods that conform to
the objective criteria of morality, that is, periodic continence
and use of the infertile periods.

14. Compendium of the Catechism
 498. What are immoral means of
birth control?
 Every action - for example, direct
sterilization or contraception - is
intrinsically immoral which (either in
anticipation of the conjugal act, in its
accomplishment or in the
development of its natural
consequences) proposes, as an end
or as a means, to hinder procreation.
 500. How should children be
considered?
 A child is a gift of God, the supreme
gift of marriage. There is no such
thing as a right to have children (e.g.
“a child at any cost”). But a child does
have the right to be the fruit of the
conjugal act of its parents as well as
the right to be respected as a person
from the moment of conception.

15. KEY IDEAS
 Because man is a composite
being, spirit and body, there
already exists a certain
tension in him; a certain
struggle of tendencies
between "spirit" and "flesh"
develops. But in fact this
struggle belongs to the
heritage of sin. It is a
consequence of sin and at
the same time a confirmation
of it. It is part of the daily
experience of the spiritual
battle… (CCC 2516).
REMBRANDT (1606-1669),
David & Urías, 1665
Hermitage, St Petersburg

16. 1. Concupiscence
 (CCC 2515) Etymologically,
"concupiscence" can refer to any
intense form of human desire.
Christian theology has given it a
particular meaning: the
movement of the sensitive
appetite contrary to the
operation of the human
reason. the apostle St. Paul
identifies it with the rebellion of
the "flesh" against the "spirit."301
 Concupiscence stems from the
PATENIER, Joaquín
disobedience of the first sin. It
Tentación de San Antonio
c. 1515 unsettles man's moral faculties
Museo del Prado, Madrid and, without being in itself an
offense, inclines man to commit
sins.302

17. 2. Purifying one’s heart 
 CCC 2517 The heart is the
seat of moral personality:
"Out of the heart come evil
thoughts, murder,
adultery, fornication....”
The struggle against
carnal covetousness
entails purifying the heart
and practicing
temperance:
 Remain simple and innocent,
and you will be like little
children who do not know the
evil that destroys man's life.305
MAESTRO DESCONOCIDO, Flamenco
La ofrenda del corazón, c. 1410
Musée de Cluny, París

18. 3. The struggle against temptations…
 2847 The Holy Spirit makes us discern
between trials, which are necessary for the
growth of the inner man,152 and temptation,
which leads to sin and death.153 We must also
discern between being tempted and
consenting to temptation. Discernment
unmasks the lie of temptation, whose object
appears to be good, a "delight to the eyes"
and desirable,154 when in reality its fruit is
death.
God does not want to impose the good, but
wants free beings.... There is a certain
usefulness to temptation. No one but God
knows what our soul has received from him,
not even we ourselves. But temptation
reveals it in order to teach us to know
ourselves, and in this way we discover our
evil inclinations and are obliged to give
thanks for the goods that temptation has
revealed to us.
CRANACH, Lucas el Mayor, La lucha de Sansón con el león,
1520-25, Kunstsammlungen, Weimar

19. 4. Prudence, Modesty, temperance…
 2521 Purity requires modesty, an
integral part of temperance. Modesty
protects the intimate center of the person.
It means refusing to unveil what should
remain hidden. It is ordered to chastity to
whose sensitivity it bears witness. It
guides how one looks at others and
behaves toward them in conformity with
the dignity of persons and their solidarity.
 2522 Modesty protects the mystery of
persons and their love. It encourages
patience and moderation in loving
relationships; it requires that the
conditions for the definitive giving and
commitment of man and woman to one
another be fulfilled. Modesty is decency.
It inspires one's choice of clothing. It
keeps silence or reserve where there is
evident risk of unhealthy curiosity. It is
discreet.
BOUGUEREAU, William (1825-1905) Modesty, 1902
Private Collection

20. 5. Chastity campaign
 2520 Baptism confers on its recipient the
grace of purification from all sins. But the
baptized must continue to struggle against
concupiscence of the flesh and disordered
desires. With God's grace he will prevail
- by the virtue and gift of chastity, for chastity
lets us love with upright and undivided heart;
- by purity of intention which consists in
seeking the true end of man: with simplicity
of vision, the baptized person seeks to find
and to fulfill God's will in everything;312
- by purity of vision, external and internal; by
discipline of feelings and imagination; by
refusing all complicity in impure thoughts that
incline us to turn aside from the path of God's
commandments;
- by prayer.
 Leah Darrow & Chris Stefanick, PH, Aug. 2012

21. 6. The battle for purity
 Compendium:
 529. How does one reach purity of heart?
 In the battle against disordered desires the baptised
person is able, by the grace of God, to achieve purity of
heart through the virtue and gift of chastity, through purity
of intention, purity of vision (both exterior and interior),
discipline of the imagination and of feelings and by prayer.
 530. What are the other requirements for purity?
 Purity requires modesty which, while protecting the
intimate center of the person, expresses the sensitivity of
chastity. It guides how one looks at others and behaves
toward them in conformity with the dignity of persons and
their communion. Purity frees one from wide-spread
eroticism and avoids those things which foster morbid
curiosity. Purity also requires a purification of the social
climate by means of a constant struggle against moral
permissiveness which is founded on an erroneous
conception of human freedom.
EL GRECO (1541-1614)
La Inmaculada Concepción y San Juan
1585
Museo de Santa Cruz, Toledo

22. Some Resolutions…
 CCC:
 2530 The struggle against carnal lust
involves purifying the heart and
practicing temperance.
 2531 Purity of heart will enable us to
see God: it enables us even now to
see things according to God.
 2532 Purification of the heart
demands prayer, the practice of
chastity, purity of intention and of
vision.
 2533 Purity of heart requires
modesty which is patience, decency,
and discretion. Modesty protects the
intimate center of the person.