CHASTITY
Definition:
Respect for the great dignity of human sexuality intended and reserved for self-gift in a way that brings unity to one’s body and soul.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, give me a pure heart. Help me value every part of myself, including my sexuality, as good and a gift from you, and please give me the grace to resist temptations to misuse that gift. No matter my future vocation, teach me to authentically, selflessly love others in ways that honor their dignity,
so I can always give the gift of self that You ask of me.
Amen.
SAINT
St. Augustine
“Make me chaste, but not yet,” was Augustine’s prayer as a young man before his conversion. Although attracted to Christianity by its truth, Augustine was unwilling to give up certain sins and change aspects of his life that were contrary to Christian virtue. This included living out of wedlock with his girlfriend of many years, with whom he’d even had a beloved son. One day, God revealed the beauty of chastity to him and gave him the grace to live it. Augustine was completely transformed. Though he continued to struggle with temptation for a long time, Augustine consistently chose the beauty of purity and dedicated all his energy to studying and teaching the Faith. His son, at that point a teenager, was baptized with Augustine by the bishop of Milan, another great saint from the time—an example of how even our sins can be healed and brought into the greater glory of God.
PRACTICING CHASTITY:
- I value the dignity of my sexuality and avoid actions that misuse its powers.
- I fill my mind with things that nurture my love for what is good and true, rather than what will tempt me toward impurity.
- I treat others in accordance with their dignity.
- I form warm, non-exclusive friendships.
- I treat loneliness as something having meaning.
SCRIPTURE:
Matthew 5:8, RSV
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Matthew 6:22-23
The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.
The Gift of Fear of the Lord perfects the virtue of Temperance and its related virtues.
Take a trip through the world of the virtues with the Virtue Field Guide
- Prayers, Scriptures, and Saints
- Full list of practical examples
- Discussion questions
- And more
Get Grounded in the Virtues with
Uplifted
Uplifted—What Makes You Happy? is a fresh look at our
ultimate purpose in life: union with God in whose image
and likeness we are made (Gen 1:27).
