Premarital Sex

[Rose101]

what are Catholics views on this? I know traditionally it is frowned upon but the world is changing and I would like to know people's views on this subject.

[cappie]

My two cents worth: Sex outside of marriage is really exploitation. In marriage the partners give themselves to each other unreservedly, and they are then entitled to physical, spiritual, emotional and material rights, and they have obligations as well. This "covenant" is the whole package -- not just sex. It is intended to last for a lifetime. And it allows a man and a woman to spend their lives entering into the mystery of the other. Because marriage is giving and receiving, the couple can learn to "lay down their lives for each other" as Jesus laid down his life for us. In a good marriage, each partner looks after the good of the other, and in a good relationship, neither partner would want to be the reason for the other to commit sin. Married people will have many days when the relationship will involve giving things up for the sake of the other; and spouses will find, if they cooperate with the sacramental grace, that some of the best parts of marriage are in those moments of sacrifice for the one you love.

[CatherineM]

There are chemical interactions that occur during sex that bond a couple together. This is especially the case for women. When sex is used like a sport or recreation rather than a lifetime commitment, it adversely affects us at a brain chemical level. Breaking that chemical bond repeatedly can make it impossible at some point to be able to form a stable attachment when a person really wants to settle down to a lifetime commitment.

Sex is the one of the most powerful gifts God has given us, and the heat of it can burn us if we don't protect ourselves by using it properly. We shouldn't treat our bodies like toys to be broken and left behind. We should treat them like precious works of a master artist.