A heavy duty Lenten sacrifice? Abstain from marital relations.

Via CatholicCulture, a Phillipine bishop has stated that there would be many spiritual benefits deriving from abstaining from marital relations during Lent. 

“That is their own decision… but we encourage it,” said Archbishop Paciano Aniceto of Pampanga, chairman of the Philippine bishops’ commission on family and life. “It’s in the Bible that the Jewish priest cannot officiate in the Holy of Holies unless he abstains from conjugal act with the wife.”

The archbishop’s statement is reminiscent of that of the Roman Catechism (Catechism of the Council of Trent, 1566), which advised frequent abstinence from marital relations during Lent. “As every blessing is to be obtained from God by holy prayer, the faithful are also to be taught sometimes to abstain from the marriage debt, in order to devote themselves to prayer,” the catechism taught. “Let the faithful understand that this religious continence, according to the proper and holy injunction of our predecessors, is particularly to be observed for at least three days before Communion, and oftener during the solemn fast of Lent.”

So, what do you think of that?  One commenter at CatholicCulture has already opined that such a sacrifice would undermine the marital relationship and could cause strife between partners.  I don’t know if it needs to be as heavy as all that – I don’t know that I’m prepared to make this kind of sacrifice, this Lent, but I do think there has been a growing tendency among many in the Church to conflate good and frequent sex with a good and stable marriage.  Now, the marital embrace does have a powerful unitive element, but I would hazard that many of those most opposed to this kind of sacrifice would also be those least inclined to include constant openness to procreation as a completely necessary aspect of a healthy marital state.   Herein lies some of the danger I see both in the ‘Theology of the Body’ popular presentations and in the ‘Natural Family Planning’ enthusiasts.  The former seems to obsessively focus on the body and sex, and the latter often takes the form of ‘Catholic birth control‘, implying an openness to life that may not, in truth, be present. 

I think this kind of sacrifice could actually be beneficial in some cases.  I don’t know that I’d begin such a fast, however, without some good spiritual direction to insure that it is properly ordered and not something used for inappropriate reasons.   But, then, we all know I hate sex.  That’s why I have six kids.  And I’m secretly gay.  Sooooooo…….I have that going for me. 

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