(purity, consecration).
Deliver to the Lord the most intimate desires of the heart: “Eunuchs for love” of Mat 19:12. To the daughter, if the house is good, if not, the better, 1Co 7:8, 1Co 7:38.
It is required even in desire and in looking, Mat 5:27-28.
In marriage: The body is not yours, but the spouse’s. Give it to him with all your enthusiasm and love.
1Co 7:4-6.
The wicked lack it: Rom 1:29, Eph 4:19, 2Pe 2:13. and she excludes from heaven, Gal 5:19-21.
Paul was chaste, 1Co 7:8; and Jesus and Joseph and the Virgin Mary, Luke 1:27, Luke 1:34 and Timothy, and Titus.
How to get it: Consider that your body is “the temple of God”, 1Co 6:19, 1Te 4:7. and “struggle”: Mat 5:27-30, Mat 18:8-9.
Christian Bible Dictionary
Dr. J. Dominguez
http://bible.com/dictionary/
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
Purity. The Greek term is agnos. And it is used in passages such as: “In all things you have shown yourselves clean” (2Co 7:11); “…to present you as a pure virgin to Christ” (2Co 11:2); “all that is pure” (Phil 4:8); “Keep yourself pure” (1Ti 5:22); “…to be prudent, chaste” (Tit 2:5). Although modernly the word appears as linked exclusively to cleanliness in sexual matters, originally it was not so, but its meaning was broader.
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
vet, Originally the word meant pure in a ritual sense, but later it acquired a moral connotation: virtuous, pure in thought and deed (1 Pet. 3:2; Tit. 2:5).
Source: New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
Christian virtue that has as the intelligent and meritorious regulation of the procreative faculty of man. As a virtue, it should not be identified with continence, celibacy, virginity, purity and any other terms that allude to the regulation of the sexual tendency.
As a virtue, chastity supposes sexual exercise when it must be carried out, so that it is unchastity to deny the sexual satisfaction of the other party when living in the right order of marriage; and it supposes continence and deprivation of sexual pleasure when it cannot be obtained in the right matrimonial plan.
Chastity is in itself natural, as government of the body by the intelligence in the free being; and it is a supernatural virtue when it rises to the fulfillment of God’s plan in the order of grace and from the perspective of marriage as a sensible sign of grace.
That is why it is not right to reserve the term of continence for non-sexual exercise and “perfect chastity” when it is done for a higher reason, as if marital sexual exercise for love and surrender was not, or could, also be perfect chastity.
The catechesis of the virtue of chastity implies profound approaches from firm anthropological bases. This implies the need for clear and timely sexual information, since in ignorance there can be no virtue, not even in relation to chastity. But knowledge is not enough to speak of virtue. The formation of feelings, the appreciation of nature and clarity of intention are necessary.
(See Virtues and see Sexuality)
Pedro Chico González, Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy, Editorial Bruño, Lima, Peru 2006
Source: Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy
Human and Christian virtue
The virtue of human and Christian chastity indicates an integration of sexuality in an interior unity (of body and spirit) that is expressed in the attitude of domination, respectful relationship and donation, self-education of love. It is, then, the virtue that, in the context of temperance, values human sexuality by inserting it into the divine project of interpersonal maturation (cf. Saint Thomas, II-II, q.151, a.1-2).
The Christian has “put on Christ” (Gal 3,27) and is “the temple of the Spirit” (1Cor 6,19). There is, then, “integrity of the person and integrity of the gift” (CCC 2337), which is concretized, with the help of grace, in self-control, in temperance, in true friendship.
Gift of God and human collaboration
In the light of faith and in the perspective of hope and charity, chastity is a gift from God, which guides sexuality (being a man or a woman) towards authentic love. Then affectivity becomes a loyal and respectful interpersonal relationship. Because it is a virtue and a gift of the Holy Spirit, chastity is a donation of the person as he is, in harmony of values. Christ’s redemption makes it possible to overcome human weaknesses. So chastity is spiritual energy that frees love from selfishness and communicates the joy of living the gift of God above all selfish slavery.
Depending on the state of life
This human-Christian reality is lived according to the various states of life before marriage (as respect for oneself and others), in marriage (as fidelity and mutual giving) and in evangelical or consecrated virginity (as a strong sign of virginity of Christ and of the Church).
Means to be faithful to chastity
Due to the human situation after original sin, the virtue of chastity needs the collaboration of the person especially through prayer, the sacraments, Marian devotion, self-control, the balance of the components of one’s own character, the spirit of sacrifice, joy of heart, attitude of service, prudence and vigilance, modesty and modesty, healthy friendship and fraternity. The sin against chastity is the use of sexuality against the divine project of donation and true love.
missionary dimension
In apostolic life, chastity becomes missionary availability and apostolic zeal, serenity, intimacy with Christ, selfless service, capacity for coexistence and friendship, the joy of feeling fulfilled, an evangelical sign in a hypersexualized society.
References Affectivity, homosexuality, marriage, morality, sexuality, virginity (consecrated or evangelical chastity).
Reading of CEC 2331-2400 documents.
Bibliography R. BARBARIGA, Chastity and vocation (Barcelona, Herder, 1963); M. BELLET, Christian sexual and moral reality (Bilbao, Desclée, 1973); T. GOFFI, Christian sexual ethics (Salamanca, Follow me, 1974); A. PIE, affective life i castedat (Barcelona, Estela, 1965). See more bibliography on virginity and other references.
(ESQUERDA BIFET, Juan, Dictionary of Evangelization, BAC, Madrid, 1998)
Source: Dictionary of Evangelization
DJN
A
SUMMARY: 1. Chastity in the OT and in general. – 2. Chastity according to Jesus in the Gospels and the NT.
1. Chastity in the OT and in general
By chastity is meant the virtue that orders the person’s sexual conduct, which, in a broader sense, can also be designated by the name of continence. It is distinguished from celibacy and virginity by which marriage is renounced temporarily or forever, while chastity must always be practiced, both in married and celibate life. Chastity can be considered positively as it requires certain actions and the observance of certain rules or negatively as it prohibits sins and attitudes opposed to it.
All religions have tried to regulate, in some way, the sexual behavior of their followers. For monotheistic religions, the sexual instinct is part of creation, for which religion and sex are not systematically opposed in them, although certain people, due to their religious function or circumstances, may be obliged to observe chastity.
In ancient Israel, only female prostitution and the sexual relationship of the master with his slave were tolerated (Gen 16,1-2). Prostitution in the pagan temples of the Canaanite god Baal, on the other hand, was ruthlessly combated by the prophets, since it was considered apostasy from the Yahwist faith (Hos 1,2; 2,4-15; 4,12-14; Jer 3, 1-13; 5,7-8; Ez 16,1-58). From this implacable fight against the prostitution or apostasy of the people of Israel, as a result of the Canaanite influence, comes the subsequent prohibition of all kinds of prostitution in Israel: “You shall not profane your daughter by prostituting her; lest the earth become prostitutes and be filled with incest” (Lev 19,29). This does not mean that there was not a daily practice of prostitution in Israel, even in the times of Jesus, as the Gospels themselves indicate.
In the OT, adultery was considered a sin against chastity (Ex 20,14.17; Dt 5,18.21), although the woman was punished more severely than the man (Jn 8,1-11). The temporary observance of chastity could be imposed for cultural reasons (Lev 18). In the wisdom books, chastity within marriage is praised (Sap 3,13-14; 4,1; Si 26,14-15). Joseph (Gen 39,7-23); Sara (Tob 3,14) and Susana (Dan 15,23) among others are set as an example of chaste life.
2. Chastity according to Jesus in the Gospels and the NT
Chastity is, according to the NT, an essential aspect of the evangelical message of Jesus, without which there can be no true Christian life or eternal life, although it is not explicitly highlighted in the Gospels. This is due to the fact that the value of chastity is not in itself as an ascetic method, as in dualistic religions that consider the sexual instinct bad, but is based on the creation or will of God, whose practice Jesus ratifies in his preaching : “You know the commandments: You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery…” (Mk 10,19; cf. Mt 19,18-19; Lk 18,20). According to the tradition that goes back to Jesus, chastity is not reduced to the merely external observance of the sixth and ninth commandments, but rather affects the heart, that is, the deepest intentions of the person: already in the firm intention and desire determined to sin, one can seriously sin against chastity (Mt 5,28; Mt 15,10-20 Mk 7,14-23; cf. also Mt 5,8; 6,22-23).
According to Jewish law, prostitutes, like publicans, were excluded from the people of God and salvation (Mt 21,31; Lk 7,37-39; cf., however, Heb 11,31; Jas 2,25) . The difference between the Jewish law and Jesus is that, although it is true that Jesus does not mitigate the seriousness of prostitution (Mk 7,21), Jesus grants forgiveness to repentant prostitutes and does not exclude them from salvation (Lk 7 ,47; Jn 8,10-11).
Jesus absolutely rejects divorce, unlike the rabbis of his time, who admitted it, although some, following Rabbi Sammai, demanded serious reasons and for others, like the more liberal supporters of Hillel, slight reasons sufficed. According to Jesus, divorce is absolutely prohibited for both men and women, both being equally obliged to guard chastity (Mt 19,9/Mk 10,11-12; Mt 11,32/Lk 16, 18Q) . Jesus like John the Baptist absolutely condemned divorce and adultery (Mt 14,3-4; Mk 6,18).
In the EvMt there is a clause that allows divorce in case of “prostitution” or “extramarital sexual relations” (in Greek) of the woman (5,32; 19,9). The exegetes do not agree to which of the two cases the Matthew text refers. If it should be understood in the sense of “prostitution” it would mean that, if after the marriage is consummated it is discovered that the woman before the marriage had…