Masturbation...

[MONTGOTM]

So I have a new question... but similar topic.

What if you (I'm a female) are exercising... (crunches/ leg lifts/ ab workout stuff) and can have an orgasm from exercising. I would presume this is not immoral or a sin but what if you cannot stop thinking about sex and then do these exercises for a release. I am not sure if I explained this well enough feel free to ask questions to verify before you can answer but I am struggling with chastity and this seems to be the solution I have come to. Am I sinning?

[quote name='littleflower+JMJ' post='28569' date='Sep 15 2003, 12:32 AM']""What about masturbation?"5

Selfishness and masturbation both amount to loving only yourself, which isn't love at all. There are two key purposes of making love: union and procreation (bonding and babies). Masturbation achieves neither, since the center of the sexual act becomes "me" instead of "we." Rather than suppressing sexual desires, masturbation excites lustful thoughts, causes you to expect immediate sexual gratification, and trains you to look to yourself for sexual fulfillment.

Think of it this way: Love is a gift of self. You cannot give what you do not possess. So, if you do not have self-control, you cannot truly give yourself to another.

Though sexual sins are highly addictive, God's healing grace is stronger. Like any other sin, this one can be overcome. Take courage and keep your eyes on Jesus, who will complete the good work he has begun in you (Phil. 1:6)."

catholic.com

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>[b]CATECHISM:[/b]</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>
[b]2352:[/b] 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." "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."

To form an equitable judgment about the subjects' moral responsibility and to guide pastoral action, one must take into account the affective immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety, or other psychological or social factors that can lessen, if not even reduce to a minimum, moral culpability.


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+JMJ
God BLess![/quote]

[MissyP89]

It seems it all comes down to compulsion.

I've always been of the school of thought that says if you stop before the sin is complete (ex. climax), it's venial at best. If you realize, "hey--this isn't right", and stop, I don't think you would have severed yourself from grace, because you've obeyed your conscience.

Similarly, if a couple were being a little too affectionate and stopped before having sex, they wouldn't be held accountable for fornicating...

Not trying to rock the boat here, just trying to form an understanding of what we consider a compulsion. How can you touch yourself and not [i]know[/i] you're doing it, when alert and awake?

Any help here? Thanks!

Edited September 22, 2008 by MissyP89