Pagadian Diocesan Schools

SAN ISIDRO HIGH SCHOOL OF TAMBULIG, INC.

Lo. Lodiong, Tambulig, Zamboanga del Sur
SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE IN CHRISTIAN LIVING EDUCATION 9

Code #: Grade & Section:

Name: Name of Teacher:
Student’s Contact #: Teacher’s Contact #:

QTR. 3 - MODULE 2
PART II: THE VIRTUE OF CHASTITY

Module Overview:
In this module, you will seek to rediscover and appreciate the gift of sexuality in order to grow in the virtue of
chastity and make good responsible choices with regard to various sexual issues. We hope to gain a deeper insight
into the gift and responsibility that is our human sexuality by: reflecting on our basic experience of growing up;
understanding the virtue of chastity in relation to the virtues fostered by the sixth and ninth commandments, as well
as the sixth beatitude; and discussing issues related to human sexuality.
Learning Competencies: At the end of this module, you can:
1. Understand that our human sexuality is God’s gift. It is good, beautiful, and is directed towards growing in
greater love for others.
2. Identify the 6th and 9th commandments to promote and uphold the value of chastity and our sexuality.
3. Understand that Chastity is the virtue of using the gift of our human sexuality according to God’s plan.
Instructional Materials:
1. Noel P. Miranda and Philip S. Javier III, “Called to Follow Christ in True Freedom” (Sibs Publishing
House, Inc., Quezon City)
Pre - Assessment
Direction: Before going any further, answer first this pre-assessment section to gauge your prior knowledge. What
is your idea for the following acts and commandments?
1. Masturbation

2. “You Shall not commit adultery”

3. Premarital Sex

4. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife”

5. Contraception

6. Pornography and Prostitution

7. Homosexual

There you go!

You got it; keep up the great. Now, be ready to learn something
great in this module.
 INTRODUCTION

INTERACTION
I. THE VIRTUE OF CHASTITY
 Many teenagers have an inaccurate idea of the meaning of chastity. It is common for teenagers, for example,
to view chastity as a threat to their freedom because the media often depict chastity as the unhealthy
repression of sexuality. Sometimes, chastity is presented merely as a burdensome list of don'ts. On other
occasions, chastity is equated with celibacy, the choice to refrain from engaging in the sexual act.
 As Christ's disciples, however, we must assert that the virtue of chastity. Like all the other virtues of Christ,
upholds rather than destroys our true freedom. Chastity, in fact, creates in us an inner harmony and a unity
of body and spirit that allow us to use our sexuality to become truly loving persons.
 A chaste person, in essence, is someone who is master of his or her sexual appetite, not its slave. He or she
understands the true value of sexuality, disciplines his or her feelings and sexual drives, and expresses his or
her sexuality in accordance with God's plan.
 The virtue of chastity can be likened to the virtue of truthfulness or honesty. Just as honesty puts order to
what we say, chastity puts order to our sexual drives and energies, directing our thoughts and actions toward
attitudes and behaviors appropriate to our state in life (CFC 1096).
 As growing adolescents, we are called to grow in self-awareness and mastery of our sexual drives and
energies. Priests, religious sisters and brothers, and individuals who have chosen to remain single are called
to channel their sexual energies toward their mission and work of serving God and others.
 For married couples, living in chastity means genuinely loving one's spouse with exclusive and permanent
faithfulness. This conjugal love finds expression in different ways: through the intimacy and self-giving
nature of the couple's sexual union, in their genuine respect and concern for their spouse's needs, by
continually nourishing and deepening their relationship through loving fidelity and commitment to their
spouse unto death. In short, the virtue of chastity is a challenge to grow in authentic love of God and others.
Blessed John Paul Il expressed the beauty and power of chastity Familiaris Consortio 33
Old Testament Significance
 The virtue of chastity is protected by two commandments: the sixth commandment, "You shall not commit
adultery" (Ex 20:14; Dt 5:18 (1066). The sixth commandment reminds us that the only proper context by
which children, the fruit of sexual union, ought to be raised and cared for is a loving family. By protecting
the family, the sixth commandment draws out the interrelationship of the values of family, life, and chastity.
 The ninth commandment, "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife" (Ex 20:17). The ninth commandment
"completes the sixth ... by going to the interior root and source of [the] disorders of the flesh: covetousness
of the heart" (CFC 1089). The ninth commandment reminds us that the source of our sinful acts is our
disordered desires and appetites. Living chastely therefore means so much more than simply avoiding sinful
sexual acts. It also demands that we become more keenly aware of our emotions, thoughts, and desires.
New Testament Significance
 Jesus Christ proclaimed the virtue of chastity by word and deed. By preaching the sixth beatitude, "Blessed
are the clean of heart, for they will see God" (Mt 5:8), Jesus taught us that those who strive to live chaste
lives-to be clean of heart-will experience the great reward of personally seeing God in perfect joy and
 freedom.
 The sixth beatitude upholds and perfects the sixth and ninth commandments. The sixth commandment
ensures the protection of the human family from acts that can threaten the conjugal love of couples and the
harmony within the family. The beatitude then places the virtue of chastity at the service of the family. Thus
the virtue of chastity not only makes us more wholesome, integrated individuals but also binds the human
family together, making our families one concrete way of encountering God in our lives.
 Through the sixth beatitude, Jesus affirms and intensifies the ninth commandment by focusing on the source
of all self-centered sexual acts – the disordered desires of the heart. In His teachings, Jesus taught us how a
person's covetousness can alienate him or her from God and from others. "You have heard that it was said,
'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already
committed adultery with her in his heart" (Mt 5:27-28).

II. OBSTACLES TO GROWING IN CHASTITY

Masturbation
 Masturbation, the act of arousing oneself by touching one's sexual organs or other similar means, is an
obstacle to chastity that confronts many teenagers. Because of the many physical changes teenagers
undergo, they are naturally curious about their bodies and bodily processes. Sometimes, this curiosity leads
them to seek solitary sexual pleasure that may eventually become a negative habit.
 We need to understand, however, that masturbation contradicts the very meaning and purpose of our
sexuality because it reinforces the wrong notion that sex is merely for one's personal pleasure. Instead of
being ordered toward self-giving love and the service of life, one's sexuality is reduced to an object for
personal gratification.
 To succeed in overcoming this obstacle, teenagers need to be aware of the motivations, feelings, and
situations that often lead to masturbation. By consciously avoiding such occasions (for example, being idle
or viewing suggestive images) and nurturing our prayer and sacramental lives, we are strengthened to
overcome our negative, self-centered habits.
Premarital Sex
 Another impediment to growing in chastity is premarital sex (fornication), or entering into sexual union
outside of marriage. This can refer to a single act or even a long-term exclusive relationship outside of
marriage (living in). Because of the negative influence of media, many young people today are led to
believe that premarital sex is morally acceptable or that protecting one's virginity is a lost cause.
 The Catholic Church has always taught, however, that the sexual act is God's gift and that sexual union
finds its fullest meaning only in the service of conjugal love and the transmission of life. In other words,
God gave us the ability to enter into sexual union for two reasons:
1. To express conjugal love (the unitive purpose) the sexual act, first and foremost is an intimate act of
self-giving between husband and wife. It is an act they both freely enter into and whose meaning
goes beyond mere bodily contact or physical gratification. It is an act that should embody the depth
and quality of the love between a man and a woman. As such, the total and intimate nature of the
sexual act is only proper to a couple that has promised an exclusive and permanent commitment to
love one another in marriage.
2. To generate offspring (the procreative purpose). God created us to be capable of entering into sexual
union in order to procreate, to "multiply and fill the earth." Because children ought to be raised in
the context of a loving, committed family, it is important that every sexual act be in the context of a
loving marriage the foundation of a truly loving family.
 The Church teaches us that if either one of these dimensions of the sexual act is missing, then the sanctity of
the sexual act is violated.
 Premarital sex ignores the true meaning of the sexual act because it fails to serve its real purpose of drawing
persons to become truly free and loving. It is important for growing teenagers to understand that the virtue
of chastity means so much more than just saying "no" to premarital sex.
The Use of Artificial Contraception
 In recent years, there has been much discussion regarding the Church's teaching on the morality of artificial
contraception. Amidst the debates and arguments, it must be said that the Catholic Church's position on this
issue is not an arbitrarily chosen stand that all the faithful must now simply accept. Rather, it is the product
of reasoned discernment guided by a long tradition of upholding the fundamental human values of chastity,
human life, and marriage.
 Today, our Church offers us her wisdom so that we may be guided in our moral choices as we strive to
follow Christ. The Church teaches us that the love between a husband and a wife is naturally oriented
toward the begetting and proper education of children, "for conjugal love naturally tends to be fruitful"
(CCC 2366). This is the reason why the Church affirms the wisdom of reasonably spacing the births of
children within a family. However, the Church rejects artificial means of contraception and birth control.
 Instead, the Church promotes and enjoins married couples to use only natural means of family planning.
Pornography and Prostitution
 We need to first define and distinguish between the interrelated issues of pornography and prostitution.
Pornography refers to any material (e.g., pictures, periodicals, films, websites, etc.) that violates the private
and intimate nature of the human sexual act by exposing it to other persons and leads the viewer to sexual
excitement.
 Prostitution, on the other hand, is engaging in the sexual act for money. In our present national situation,
both prostitution and pornography are violations not just of chastity but also of social justice because both
acts are rooted in the extreme poverty faced by many Filipinos today.
 People who engage in prostitution and pornography fail to live according to their basic human dignity.
Because of financial need, they expose themselves to risks such as sexually transmitted diseases, physical or
psycho-emotional abuse, or even imprisonment.
 Moreover, their acts abuse God's gift of sexuality, debase their self-worth, and lead others to the false notion
that sexuality is about pleasure, not loving and lasting relationships. Prostitutes and pornographic actors are
often exploited and treated as objects for sexual gratification rather than as persons with intrinsic worth and
dignity.
 How then do we confront these issues? As individuals, we must reject pornography and prostitution and
realize that sexual activity without a close, lasting relationship is not only sinful but also empty and
meaningless. But beyond our individual response to these issues, various sectors of society must make a
consistent and concerted effort to end these abuses.
Homosexual Acts
 We first need to establish the difference between a homosexual orientation and an actual homosexual act. A
homosexual orientation refers to the sexual attraction of a person toward members of the same sex. It is
distinct from mere effeminate tendencies in some males or masculine tendencies in some females because
these tendencies do not necessarily indicate a person's sexual orientation. A homosexual act, on the other
hand, refers to having sexual relations with another person of the same sex.
 Research suggests that homosexuality is an issue more complex than we think. To this day, the causes or
roots of a homosexual orientation are largely unexplained. Factors believed to contribute to a homosexual
orientation biological problems, parental abuse, false education, and other psychoemotional factors—are
often beyond a person's conscious and complete control. This implies that for many homosexuals, perhaps,
their orientation was not something they freely or consciously chose.
 For this reason, our Christian Faith reminds us that we must accept persons who have a homosexual
orientation with genuine respect, compassion, and sensitivity. This is especially important in our society,
where people who seem "different"—the elderly, the mentally ill, the physically handicapped-often become
victims of hatred and discrimination. At the same time, all homosexual persons are called to lead chaste
lives. Like all persons, Jesus invites them to deepen in their faith and grow in holiness by uniting their
difficulties with Christ's own sacrifice on the Cross (CCC 2358).

Activity # 1
Directions: Critique each of these sexual moral issues based on the interrelated twofold purpose of sexual act.
A. Masturbation

B. Premarital Sex

C. Artificial Contraception

D. Prostitution and Pornography

E. Homosexual Act
Activity # 2
 Identify some sexual moral issues in your society. What are those?

 What can you do to help people overcome the impediment in growing in chastity?

Processing Question/s:
Directions: Relate the moral demands presented by the sixth beatitude and the sixth and ninth commandments.
1. “Blessed are the clean of heart for they shall see God.”

2. “You shall not commit adultery.”

3. “You Shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.”

……
INTEGRATION

Let’s now see what you have learned on this module.

I noticed

One question I have is

I’m not sure

I realized

Great! Reflect on this!

“To follow Christ is to respect and use God’s gift of human sexuality, integrate one’s sexuality within one’s person
(cf CFC 1093)”
How does Christ heal and perfect our human sexuality?
…………
INTERVENTION
Assignment: Create a slogan that depicts the cause and effect for doing each of the following acts. Write your
answer on a bond paper.

MASTURBATION PREMARITAL SEX

ARTIFICIAL CONTRACEPTION PORNOGRAPHY / PROSTITUTION

HOMO SEXUAL ACTS

Post-Assessment
Directions: Write TRUE if the statement is correct and if False change the underlined word/s and write the correct
answer on the space provided.
__________________1. Many teenagers have an inaccurate idea of the meaning love.
__________________2. The virtue of Chastity is protected by two command mints: the fifth commandments and
ninth commandant.
__________________3. Premarital Sex, the act of arousing oneself by touching one’s sexual organs.
__________________4. The Church rejects artificial means of contraception and birth control.
__________________5. The Church promotes and enjoins married couples to use only natural means of family
planning.

Awesome! You did great in Module 2! CONGRATULATIONS!