Brandon digs out a fantastic text from STA’s commentary on Corinthians:
…that the conjugal act is sometimes meritorious and without any mortal or venial sin, as when it is directed to the good of procreation and education of a child for the worship of God; for then it is an act of religion; or when it is performed for the sake of rendering the debt, it is an act of justice. But every virtuous act is meritorious, if it is performed with charity. But sometimes it is accompanied with venial sin, namely, when one is excited to the matrimonial act by concupiscence, which nevertheless stays within the limits of the marriage, namely, that he is content with his wife only. But sometimes it is performed with mortal sin, as when…So guess: what is he going to say? Is sexual activity a mortal sin when “it is not open to procreation” (an answer that is at hand from what he says at the head of the quotation) or when “it is performed in an unnatural way”? Don’t we expect St. Thomas to mention some obvious perversion? Yet, in the casual way that he says all his revolutionary things, he says that sexual activity is a mortal sin when…
…the husband approaches the wife with the idea that he would just as gladly or more gladly approach another woman.
Which is to say, when viewing/using his wife as a masturbation machine.
ReplyDeleteThis is also an amazingly practical distinction. Any counsellor or psychologist will tell you that a partner will always perceive it when he or she is just being used to work off lust, and that that is a sure sign that a marriage or relationship is going to die. Because sin is not only paid in the next world, but in this one too.
ReplyDeleteLet's not forget the women; let's not pretend that only men are sinners in regard to sex.
ReplyDeleteNow, certainly, women can and do commit just this sort of sin as described above ... especially in this age, which encourages all persons to view sex and sexual activity as of no more consequence than blowing one's nose.
Nevertheless, the more common way that women sin in regard to sexual activity with their husbands is to view him as no more than a "sperm donor".
Absurd.
DeleteYou're pretty ignorant about reality, aren't you?
DeleteDo you stop to think about what you post? I mean, really: You seem so full of hate and rage. It would do you a world of good to stop yourself from posting something, preceding it with a moment of prayer.
DeleteBut maybe this is just absurd mindreading, in which case I of course apologize.
You you stop to think about your mindless-and-logic-free reaction to truth you do not want to hear?
DeleteYou seem so full of irrationality and illogic. How do you get through the day, much less the month?
I am open to the fact that I am mindless and logic-free in reactions against truths I do not want to hear. Are you?
DeleteOh, dear Lord, Illion, quit trying to mindread.
ReplyDeleteYou have no more F*ing clue about what "women" mentally sin than you do of what "men" mentally sin-- your sample size is so small as to be ludicrous, even if you assume that those you have asked have been accurate in reporting.
If you want to opine that a woman viewing intercourse with her husband as no better or worse than any other man as being a sin, fine. But quit trying to claim you have a blessed clue what a large number of women, let alone the most common women, do as a sexual sin.
I do not waste my time with fools.
DeleteDoesn't stop you from wasting everyone else's time.
DeleteYou're bitter about women and defensive about men. We get it. Horse is solidly dead. You don't make the case any better with accusations that are unsupported at best and flatly assume the worst about the majority of half the entire species when you're faced with a simple statement of a way the other half CAN sin.
Self-unaware persons make for comedy ---
DeleteSilly person at time t1: "Oh, dear Lord, Illion, quit trying to mindread."
Silly person at time t2: "You're bitter about women and defensive about men. We get it."
They also frequently "project".
I think it's more of a tragedy. You're so busy being pissed that you never will get around to actually fixing the problems you have, so you'll always be angry and blaming others.
ReplyDelete