CMW-WB-CH08

characterization of looking lustfully at another as “adultery of the heart,”
it is clear He intended to prohibit all sexual acts outside the marital covenant
— including premarital sex.
We must take care to understand Jesus’ prohibition of all sexual
acts outside of marriage not as prudish or oppressive, but rather as loving
direction toward our true purpose as human beings made in God’s
image, which is love. The Vatican document, The Truth and Meaning of
Human Sexuality, beautifully summarizes our vocation of love:
As the image of God, man is created for love. This truth
was fully revealed to us in the New Testament, together
with the mystery of the inner life of the Trinity: “God
is love (1 John 4:8) and in himself he lives a mystery
of personal loving communion. Creating the human
race in his own image... God inscribed in the humanity
of man and woman the vocation, and thus the capacity
and responsibility, of love and communion. Love
is therefore the fundamental and innate vocation of
every human being.” The whole meaning of true freedom,
and self-control which follows from it, is thus directed
towards self-giving in communion and friendship
with God and with others. 2
As the image
of God, man is
created for love.
Jesus always lovingly directs
us to our true purpose.
Christ and the Woman of Samaria by Guercino (1620).
© Sophia Institute for Teachers Unit 3, Chapter 8: Premarital Sex and Cohabitation
157