{"id":4993,"date":"2026-01-28T22:14:35","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T21:14:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/?p=4993"},"modified":"2026-01-28T22:14:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T21:14:35","slug":"sins-against-the-sixth-commandment-you-shall-not-commit-adultery-ex-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/sins-against-the-sixth-commandment-you-shall-not-commit-adultery-ex-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Sins Against the Sixth Commandment: \u201cYou shall not commit adultery\u201d (Ex 20:14)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A clear, profound, and contemporary guide to guarding purity of heart<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. The Sixth Commandment: much more than \u201cdo not commit adultery\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Sixth Commandment is often \u2014 mistakenly \u2014 reduced to a simple external prohibition: \u201cdo not commit adultery.\u201d<\/em> However, in the constant teaching of the Church, this commandment protects one of the most sacred gifts God has entrusted to man: human sexuality<\/strong>, which is called to be an expression of true, faithful, and fruitful love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus elevates this commandment to a much deeper level when He says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cEveryone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart\u201d (Mt 5:28).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Here the key is revealed: the Sixth Commandment is not limited to actions<\/strong>, but also encompasses thoughts, desires, looks, intentions, words, and omissions<\/strong>. It is a commandment of the heart<\/strong>, not merely of the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Chastity: a forgotten virtue\u2026 yet indispensable<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In a hypersexualized culture, where pleasure is presented as an absolute right and purity as repression, the virtue of chastity is mocked or ignored. Nevertheless, the Church teaches clearly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Chastity is not the denial of love<\/strong>, but its purification.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • It is not contempt for the body, but the ordered integration of sexuality<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • It is not only for consecrated persons, but obligatory for everyone<\/strong>, according to one\u2019s state of life.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    The Sixth Commandment protects:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • The dignity of one\u2019s own body<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • The dignity of the body of one\u2019s neighbor<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • The sanctity of marriage<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • The truth of human love<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Breaking this commandment darkens the intellect<\/strong>, weakens the will<\/strong>, hardens the heart<\/strong>, and deeply damages spiritual life<\/strong>, even when the sin appears \u201cnormal\u201d or \u201csocially accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      3. Sins Against the Sixth Commandment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      An extensive and meticulous list for examination of conscience<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Below is a detailed list of concrete sins<\/strong>, organized by categories, intended to help a traditional Catholic examine his conscience with honesty and depth<\/strong> before confession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n

      \u26a0\ufe0f Important note: not all sins listed are always mortal; gravity depends on the matter<\/strong>, full knowledge<\/strong>, and deliberate consent<\/strong>. Nevertheless, all wound the soul<\/strong> and must be fought against.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      A. Sins of thought, desire, and interior consent<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      1. Willfully consenting to impure thoughts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. Deliberately indulging in sexual fantasies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      3. Entertaining sexual desires toward persons with whom one has no marital bond.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      4. Consenting to impure thoughts even without external action.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      5. Imagining sexual acts for pleasure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      6. Recalling past sins with complacency.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      7. Desiring illicit sexual acts even if they cannot be carried out.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      8. Internally justifying impure thoughts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      9. Failing to reject impure thoughts when one could do so.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      10. Seeking occasions to nourish sexual fantasies.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
        \n\n\n\n

        B. Sins of the eyes and the senses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        1. Willfully looking at another person with sexual desire.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        2. Seeking provocative images for pleasure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        3. Deliberately lingering on impure scenes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        4. Failing to avert one\u2019s gaze from clearly immoral content.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        5. Watching movies, series, or videos with explicit sexual scenes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        6. Occasional consumption of pornography.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        7. Habitual consumption of pornography.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        8. Reading erotic or sensual literature.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        9. Listening to music with explicitly sexual lyrics for arousal.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        10. Using social media to look at bodies with impure intention.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
          \n\n\n\n

          C. Sins of speech and communication<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
            \n
          1. Telling obscene jokes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          2. Engaging in morbid sexual conversations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          3. Vulgar comments about the bodies of others.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          4. Provoking with double-meaning words.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          5. Sexting (sending sexual messages).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          6. Sending or receiving intimate images.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          7. Sexually provoking others through words.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          8. Encouraging impure conversations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          9. Glorifying sexual sin in speech.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          10. Minimizing the gravity of sins against chastity.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
            \n\n\n\n

            D. Sins of impure actions in solitude<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
              \n
            1. Occasional masturbation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            2. Habitual masturbation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            3. Justifying masturbation as \u201cnecessary\u201d or \u201cinevitable.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            4. Deliberately seeking sexual arousal.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            5. Using objects or means for self-excitation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            6. Failing to seriously fight against this sin.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            7. Willfully provoking arousal without just cause.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            8. Despising spiritual means to combat this sin.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
              \n\n\n\n

              E. Sins against chastity with others (outside marriage)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                \n
              1. Fornication (sexual relations outside marriage).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              2. Premarital sexual relations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              3. Casual sexual relationships.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              4. Sexual relations with engaged persons.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              5. Sexual relations with married persons.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              6. Adultery.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              7. Living in concubinage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              8. Justifying cohabitation without marriage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              9. Disordered sexual practices.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              10. Using another as an object of pleasure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              11. Pressuring another to sin sexually.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              12. Cooperating in another\u2019s sexual sin.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                \n\n\n\n

                F. Sins against purity in courtship and marriage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                  \n
                1. Lack of chastity in courtship.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                2. Impure acts under the pretext of love.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                3. Sexually provoking one\u2019s boyfriend or girlfriend.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                4. Use of contraceptive methods.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                5. Willfully rejecting openness to life.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                6. Onanism.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                7. Conjugal relations closed to procreation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                8. Imposing immoral sexual practices on one\u2019s spouse.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                9. Unjustly refusing the marital duty.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                10. Using marriage solely for pleasure.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                  \n\n\n\n

                  G. Grave sins against the natural order<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                    \n
                  1. Practiced homosexuality.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  2. Homosexual acts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  3. Promoting or justifying homosexual acts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  4. Gender ideology.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  5. Transsexualism.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  6. Bestiality.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  7. Incest.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  8. Prostitution.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  9. Consumption of prostitution.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  10. Production or distribution of pornography.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                    \n\n\n\n

                    H. Sins of scandal and cooperation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                      \n
                    1. Scandalizing others through impure behavior.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    2. Facilitating sexual sin in others.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    3. Failing to correct when one ought to.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    4. Normalizing sexual sin.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    5. Poorly educating children in sexual matters.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    6. Ridiculing chastity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    7. Rejecting the Church\u2019s teaching on sexuality.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    8. Mocking those who live purity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    9. Failing to avoid near occasions of sin.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    10. Despising sacramental grace for living chastity.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                      \n\n\n\n

                      4. God\u2019s mercy and the daily struggle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                      The Sixth Commandment does not exist to condemn, but to heal<\/strong>. Christ did not come to crush the sinner, but to raise him up<\/strong>. No sin against chastity is stronger than God\u2019s mercy when there is sincere repentance<\/strong> and a firm purpose of amendment<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Chastity is conquered:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        \n
                      • Through daily prayer<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • Through frequent reception of the sacraments<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • Through custody of the senses<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • Through humility<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • Through perseverance<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                        \n

                        \u201cBlessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God\u201d (Mt 5:8)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

                        Living the Sixth Commandment is not losing freedom, but recovering it<\/strong>. It is not extinguishing love, but ordering it toward its true fulfillment<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                        A clear, profound, and contemporary guide to guarding purity of heart 1. The Sixth Commandment: much more than \u201cdo not commit adultery\u201d The Sixth Commandment is often \u2014 mistakenly \u2014 reduced to a simple external prohibition: \u201cdo not commit adultery.\u201d However, in the constant teaching of the Church, this commandment protects one of the most …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,47],"tags":[1651],"class_list":["post-4993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-doctrine-and-faith","category-the-commandments","tag-sixth-commandment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4993"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4995,"href":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4993\/revisions\/4995"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}