The Wisdom of the Saints about sexual morality

“Therefore, God gave [men] up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error.” St. Paul the Apostle (1^st century)

“Filthy talk makes us feel comfortable with filthy action. But the one who knows how to control the tongue is prepared to resist the attacks of lust.” St. Clement of Alexandria (2^nd-3^rd centuries)

“Those offences which be contrary to nature are everywhere and at all times to be held in detestation and punished; such were those of the Sodomites, which should all nations commit, they should all be held guilty of the same crime by the divine law, which hath not so made men that they should in that way abuse one another. For even that fellowship which should be between God and us is violated, when that same nature of which He is author is polluted by the perversity of lust.” St. Augustine of Hippo (4^th-5^th centuries, Doctor of the Church)

“The miserable flesh burns with the heat of lust; the cold mind trembles with the rancor of suspicion; and in the heart of the miserable man chaos boils like [hell]…In fact, after this most poisonous serpent once sinks its fangs into the unhappy soul, sense is snatched away, memory is borne off, the sharpness of the mind is obscured. It becomes unmindful of God and even forgetful of itself. This plague undermines the foundation of faith, weakens the strength of hope, destroys the bond of charity; it takes away justice, subverts fortitude, banishes temperance, blunts the keenness of prudence.” St. Peter Damian (11^th century, Doctor of the Church)

“In the realm of evil thoughts none induces to sin as much as do thoughts that concern the pleasure of the flesh.” St. Thomas Aquinas (13^th century, Doctor of the Church)

“We are living in the only period of the world’s history which has denied human guilt and sin. All other generations saw a close relationship between sowing and reaping, between freedom and responsibility. Today, ‘Be cool’ is the sophisticated way of saying ‘Do not be overly concerned with what is right because there is nothing that can be called wrong.’ The only sins in our world are social sins, such as the cutting of taxes, and spoiling of rivers; but there is nothing wrong about bed-hopping and adultery. This makes sorrow for personal sins impossible.” Ven. Fulton Sheen (19^th-20^th centuries)

“The sins which cause most souls to go to hell are the sins of the flesh.  Fashions will much offend Our Lord; people who serve God should not follow the fashions.   The Church has no fashions.  Our Lord is always the same.  Many marriages are not of God and do not please Our Lord.   Penance is necessary; if people amend their lives, Our Lord will even yet save the world, but if not, punishment will come.  Fly from riches and luxury.  Do not speak evil of people, and fly from evil speakers.  Confession is a sacrament of mercy, and we must confess with joy and trust.  There can be no salvation without confession.” St. Jacinta Marto (20^th century)

“The way to plan the family is Natural Family Planning, not contraception. In destroying the power of giving life, through contraception, a husband or wife is doing something to self. This turns the attention to self and so destroys the gift of love in him or her. In loving, the husband and wife must turn the attention to each other. Once that living love is destroyed by contraception, abortion follows very easily.” St. Teresa of Calcutta (20^th century)

“What does it matter if you can win a thousand battles if you cannot win against your own corrupt passions? It doesn’t matter. The real battle is with ourselves.” St. Carlo Acutis (20th-21st century)