By: Ricardo Valle Andrés (seminarist)

We must recognize that we are sexed beings, that means, we have important biological needs and we have to learn to control them, that is something we must learn since we are little. Sometimes masturbation temptation is too big, and we may fall or we can abstain with heroic strength, through the faith and prayer. Other people cannot abstain because of their bad habits from childhood, but this does not mean that God cannot forgive us. His mercy is infinite and He sees in our hearts, denying his mercy is attempting against the Holy Spirit, which is the greatest sin of all.

The Catholic Church Catechism says: (2352) 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."137 "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."138 (CDF, declaration “The Human Person” 9).

In order to express a fair judgment of the moral responsibility of the individuals and to orient the pastoral action, it is necessary to take into consideration the affective immaturity, the habits power, the state of anguish and other psychic or social factors that reduce or even annul the moral guilt.

It is important to consider this, there are factors that reduce or annul the seriousness of the fact, but let us not allow it. If we are aware of a contracted habit, it is necessary to ask for professional help to overcome it. But that does not mean that we are so far away from God that He cannot forgive us. We have to be careful and do not doubt of God’s mercy, or deny His understanding and forgiveness because that is a very serious sin, His mercy is infinite but we have to try, as hard as we can, to overcome all this deficiencies that lead us to the pleasure dependency through masturbation.

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