Some time ago one of my students asked me why "delectatio morosa" about having sex was a mortal sin. He gave the following example: someone who is going to be ordained a priest can imagine to the last detail his ordination, and no sin commited. If I'm getting married why is a sin to imagine to the last detail my marriage? It would be very interesting to have different viewpoints. Enrique

-- Enrique Ortiz (eaortiz@yahoo.com), May 11, 2000

Answers The term "delectatio morosa" has been in use by theologians by centuries. I found it in a book for youth guidance. At the time I thought this expression was commonly known, but somehow I was curious to find where it came from. I went to St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica in Internet and I found the complete text of this theological masterpiece. With a little patience I came to the definition I was looking for. Here it is for you: delectatio morosa, i.e. the pleasure taken in a sinful thought or imagination even without desiring it.

-- Enrique Ortiz (eaortiz@yahoo.com), May 13, 2000

Answers

Response to sinful tought

Hello, Enrique.
I will try to reply, though this is not easy.

Your "bottom line" question is, "If I'm [engaged to be] married, why is it a sin to imagine the last detail of my marriage?"

There probably exist some uncommon individuals who can imagine and reflect upon -- coolly, calmly, almost with a "clinical" mentality -- the acts in which they and their spouses will engage, without experiencing any sexual gratification, stimulation, etc.. For these people, no sin would be involved. [I believe that virginal fiancees, male and female, may discuss what is about to happen (in great detail) with a parent, physician, or trusted married friend -- to prepare themselves -- without incurring sin, even if some undesired stimulation results.]

But, at least among men, I think that almost all who are about to marry must avoid intentionally "imagin[ing] the last detail of [their] marriage," because such an act is likely to bring about forbidden results -- sexual stimulation/gratification that they are required to reject (not an easy thing to do). At this point, I think that it is worthwhile quoting a few paragraphs from the Catechism:

2350. "Those who are engaged to marry are called to live chastity in continence. They should see in this time of testing a discovery of mutual respect, an apprenticeship in fidelity, and the hope of receiving one another from God. They should reserve for marriage the expressions of affection that belong to married love. They will help each other grow in chastity.

2351. "Lust is disordered desire for or inordinate enjoyment of sexual pleasure. Sexual pleasure is morally disordered when sought for itself, isolated from its procreative and unitive purposes. 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.'[CDF, Persona humana 9.] '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.'[CDF, Persona humana 9.] ..."

These paragraphs clearly explain why an engaged person must avoid seeking sexual pleasure. If an engaged person intentionally imagines the details of future marriage acts, he/she must be prepared to immediately turn away from these imaginings if they should bring on temptations to sins of unchastity. Since such temptations are so likely to be felt, at least by most men, the intentional imagining would be a "near occasion of sin" that ought to be avoided to begin with.

When you first opened this thread, Enrique, I almost immediately thought to look at St. Thomas's "Summa" to look for "delectatio morosa," the meaning of which I did not know. I knew that the work was on the Internet and how to find it. When I arrived there, I was dismayed to see that there was no search engine. To search for the phrase "manually" would, I feared, take hours -- and I was very pressed for time, so I abandoned this. I am glad that you found the subject in the "Summa," but sad that you did not give us the URL or a link!!! Now that I had some spare time today, I spent a good bit of it, finally finding the subject at http://www.newadvent.org/summa/207406.htm. I then realized that, if the site had had a search engine, I would not have found this page! Instead of "delectatio morosa," it uses an English translation, "morose delectation," which surely less than 1/10 of 1% of the public has ever heard or read!!! Those words are probably mentioned only in moral theology courses in a seminary. But the concept they denote is probably familiar to most people.

St. Thomas says that "morose delectation" is a sin. The word "morose" has nothing to do with "death" ("mors" in Latin) but rather with delay ("mora"). When one begins to experience illicit sensual pleasure ("delectatio"), one must abandon it. Failure to do so makes the delectation "morosa." His actual words are so much better than my attempts to explain:

"... [human] reason [may] fail ... to check the unlawful movement of a passion; for instance, when a man, having deliberately considered that a rising movement of passion is inordinate, continues, notwithstanding, to dwell upon it, and fails to drive it away. ... Delectation is said to be morose not from a delay of time, but because the reason, in deliberating, dwells [immoratur] thereon, and fails to drive [the pleasure] away, 'deliberately holding and turning over what should have been cast aside as soon as it touched the mind,' as Augustine says."

God bless you. John

-- J. F. Gecik (jgecik@desc.dla.mil), May 13, 2000.

Response to sinful tought

Hey!

Why do you ask so many questions?? Just go for it, dont worry you can always repent later! Just say 10 ave Mary and you will be ok afterwards, dont think buddy, just go for it!!!

love Jonny Bravo, (who always repent later)

-- Jonny Bravissimo (jonnybravo@aol.com), February 22, 2003.

Response to sinful tought

It is not necessarily sinful to have thoughts about your future intimate life with the one you are marrying. Indeed, you wouldn't be marrying if you hadn't given serious consideration to all aspects of your future life together, including your physical relationship. Intentionally dwelling on mental images for the specific purpose of arousing yourself would be wrong, especially if it led to actual physical sin. That would be a private use of the sexual functions, in effect using the other person, or the mental image of them, as an object to gratify yourself. On the other hand, contemplation of a future pleasurable event is bound to involve some degree of pleasure, regardless of whether that event is a trip to Disneyland or a job promotion or sexual union with the love of your life. It would be foolish to tell someone not to think about such things. It would be equally foolish to tell someone they could think about it as long as their thoughts were not pleasurable. The key here is whether the thought itself is innately sinful, for "delectatio morosa" refers to pleasure derived from a SINFUL thought or imagination. What makes a thought sinful is largely the subject of the thought. If we are deriving pleasure from thinking about doing something sinful, such thoughts may themselves be sinful. But if we are deriving pleasure from thinking about doing something good, there is no sin in that. So, when a guy looks at a girl in geometry class, and pictures himself having sex with her in the locker room, the pleasure he derives from that imagined scene is delectatio morosa, because what he is picturing is sinful. But when a married man at work imagines what he and his wife have planned for that evening, that is not sinful. The example you provided therefore falls right on the line, and I think your student's question is a valid one. In thinking about life with the one you are about to marry, including the sexual aspects of that relationship, you are thinking about a good thing - sexual relationship as it should be. There is pleasure in that, and rightly so. Therefore, as long as you guard as much as possible against such thoughts themselves becoming a source of arousal and sin, such thoughts are reasonable and morally acceptable in such a situation. You have to be honest with yourself. Simply engaging in erotic fantasies and trying to justify them on the basis of your impending marriage is not what I am talking about. The words of Jesus on this subject have not been revoked ... "I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart". (Matthew 5:28)

-- Paul (PaulCyp@cox.net), February 22, 2003.