CHASTITY PRAYERS

“Chastity, simply put, is the virtue of sexual restraint and self-control, and the mastery over our sexual impulses, to order them properly, and to integrate them into faith and reason, instead of letting them control us.” *

PRAYERS

GLORY BE

☩ Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

WHEN TEMPTED

Lord, you know that I cannot remain chaste without your help. Give me the strength to resist the temptations of lust and improper desire. Help me both to want and to work for your good pleasure. Aid me in my battle. Make my hands strong for war, and fight on my behalf when my own strength is not enough. By the power of your Spirit, mortify this sin in my life. Maintain my integrity and my sexual purity, and help me to do what is righteous, honorable, and true. Turn me from sin, Lord, and keep me chaste. ☩ In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

CONFESSION OF SIN

I confess to Almighty God that I have sinned by my own fault in thought, word, and deed, in things done and left undone; especially [lust, masturbation, pornography, adultery, fornication, infidelity, homosexuality, prostitution, rape, polygamy, sexual fantasies, perversions, etc.]. For these and all other sins that I cannot now remember, I am truly sorry. I pray God to have mercy on me. I firmly intend amendment of life, and I humbly beg forgiveness of God and his Church, and ask for counsel, direction, and absolution. Amen.†

REJECTION OF PREVIOUS SINS

I completely and utterly reject, with the full force of my will [lust, masturbation, pornography, adultery, fornication, infidelity, homosexuality, prostitution, rape, polygamy, sexual fantasies, perversions, etc.]. I do this in the Holy Name of Jesus and ☩ in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.‡

FOR REPEATED FAILURES

Behold me, O my God, at Your feet! I do not deserve mercy, but O my Redeemer, the blood which You have shed for me encourages me and obliges me to hope for it. How often I have offended You, repented, and yet again fallen into the same sin. O my God, I wish to amend, and in order to be faithful to You, I will place all my confidence in You. I will, whenever I am tempted, instantly have recourse to You. Until now, I have trusted in my own promises and resolutions and have neglected to recommend myself to You in my temptations. This has been the cause of my repeated failures. From this day forward, be You, O Lord, my strength, and thus shall I be able to do all things, for “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.” Amen. §

PRAYER OF SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS

Dear Jesus, I know that every perfect gift, and especially that of chastity, depends on the power of Your providence. Without You, a mere creature can do nothing. Therefore, I beg You to defend by Your grace the chastity and purity of my body and soul. And if I have ever sensed or imagined anything that could stain my chastity and purity, blot it out, Supreme Lord of my powers, that I may advance with a pure heart in Your love and service, offering myself on the most pure altar of Your divinity all the days of my life. Amen.‖

SAINT MICHAEL PRAYER

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

“Chastity is always a virtue, regardless of whether you’re single, married, young or old. The right ordering of sexual impulses is always better than being enslaved by the temptations of your flesh.” *

REASONS TO STAY CHASTE

• To glorify God

• To honor my [wife or husband]

• I am a slave of Jesus Christ, and my Lord and Master commands it

• It is a matter of life and death

• So that my inward life matches my outward testimony

• I am not a passive victim of my sin but am responsible for putting it to death, with the Spirit’s help

• To build the virtues of temperance, patience, courage, humility, charity, and discipline

• Failure will break my [wife’s or husband’s] heart and ruin our marriage and our family

• Failure risks my reputation, relationships, vocation, and witness

“Chastity is one of the hardest decisions we can make, especially nowadays, in a world where everything around us tries to convince us to give in to degeneracy, sin, and vice. But it’s the right thing to do.” *

SCRIPTURE

In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

—Hebrews 12:4

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

—1 Corinthians 10:13

Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
—1 Corinthians 6:18–20

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

—Hebrews 12:11

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

—James 4:7–8

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