However, most dreams are not God-inspired and can even involve sin and horrors of all kinds. "Wet dreams" are vivid dreams that cause males to become sexually excited during sleep to the point of a nocturnal emission. ; see also 2514-16). It must be committed with full consent. Anthony Saroki explains what the Catholic Church teaches about temptation. If in the dream we did something that in a waking state would have been a sin, we are not guilty of a sin, even though we may have a certain sense of shame or remorse for even having dreamed it. Therefore, one cannot be sinning during dreams. This article is reprinted with permission from Arlington Catholic Herald. wet dreams are not sinful (unless you are looking for them), if they happen they just happen. so the choice is pretty much simple. And if in the dream we did something meritorious, there is no merit. In the Catholic Answers radio show I heard the speaker associated depression with pornography viewing in some (and with masturbation as well). When one dreams, he has no control over his unconsciousness. Q. I am 78 years old and have been married to my wife for 53 years. Is it wrong to dream about sinning? However, some Catholic couples mistakenly believe that, within marriage, a husband and wife can make use of any kind of sexual acts with one another. ), lust and masturbation (CCC 2351-52), and purity of heart (CCC 2517ff. My doctor recommends masturbation as he thinks my problem is psychological. According to the moral teachings of the Church, "wet dreams… The Author. In addition, see also our resources at the Catholic Answers website (Catholic.com). Nonetheless, dreams do reveal to some extent where our heart is in real life. It is always a serious sin against God to have sex of any kind outside of marriage. Father William Saunders is pastor of Our Lady of Hope parish in Potomac Falls, Virginia. [quote=scc11]Thanks for the info. But if u think wet dream [come out by itself while u sleeping] is a sin, then u should think why god create that kind ability to our body to make it come out by itself. The Bible refers to dreams and visions interchangeably, and often the people themselves were not sure if they were living in reality or in a dream (see Acts 12:9). I recommend sleeping with a rosary under your pillow to help reduce these sorts of dreams. It shouldn't be a sin to have wet dream, but i guess masturbate or sex before marriage considered as sin cause our society have their paradigm bout it, like it's not a good thing. (Catechism of the Catholic Church # 1857) Condition # 2 & 3 above cannot be met in dreams. That’s right, a thirteenth-century theologian tackled this problem long before any psychologist or therapist, but St. Thomas’ reasoning has nothing to do with condoning any kind of sexual sin. He says that wet dreams are not sinful. Thankfully, and perhaps to your surprise, St. Thomas Aquinas answers this question in Summa Theologiae. It must be committed with full knowledge that it is a mortal sin; 3. masturbation is. That’s not to say that wet dreams are sinful, but I do believe that they are “unnatural” (they are a grave matter, but the necessary full-consent is missing from the act which negates it’s sinfulness). 2. The above article is a "Straight Answers" column he wrote for the Arlington Catholic Herald. He is dean of the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College. But since lusting is obviously a sin, don’t you think that it is better to mastrurbate without lust every 3 weeks than have lustfull wet dreams and a lust problems day before wet dreams? 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