The Moral Evil of Contraception According to St. John Chrysostom

The Marital Mystagogy of St. John Chrysostom

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Perhaps emphasizing morals more than any of the other ancient mystagogues, John was insistent that our reception of the sacraments should deeply affect the way we live our lives.
“Baptism and the Eucharist,” he explained, “unite us with the mystical body of Christ.” And because of that, we should be living our marriages with the same self-giving love with which Christ lives his.

Chrysostom went on to apply this truth in very practical terms to the lives of the married couples in his congregation.

Of course, the truth that we are to image God and follow his laws doesn't just apply to marriage, but to every area of our lives. It's vitally important to live holy lives because as Chrysostom says, we don't want to do things that would render us unworthy of the glory we're receiving in the sacraments. We have to be worthy of the life we're drawing from that font.

Not surprisingly then, in addition to contraception, Chrysostom also condemns other immoral behaviors. Among other things, he called out usury, the abuse of power, domestic violence, abortion, and adultery. He said all these things render us unworthy to receive Christ. How can we expect to embrace Christ in the sacraments if we do these things?