This is a fantastic overview of the virtue of chastity. You can read the entire document at the link found at the end of this quote…
In this regard, the Church must never lack the courage to proclaim the precious virtue of chastity, no matter how directly it contrasts with the prevailing mentality. Chastity should be presented as an authentic “ally of love,” not as its negation. Chastity, indeed, is the privileged path to learn to respect the individuality and dignity of others, without subordinating them to one’s own desires. Chastity teaches engaged couples the times and ways of true, gentle, and generous love, and prepares them for the authentic gift of self to be lived out during a lifetime of marriage. The virtue of chastity, therefore, should be explained in both its negative dimension, which requires each person to abstain from a disordered use of sexuality according to their state of life, as well as in its highly important positive dimension which entails freedom from the possession of another person – in physical, moral, and spiritual terms. This freedom, in the case of the call to marriage, is of fundamental importance in guiding and nourishing conjugal love, preserving it from any form of manipulation. Chastity ultimately teaches a person to be faithful to the truth of their love, in every state of life. For engaged couples, this means living chastity in continence, and, once married, living conjugal intimacy with moral rectitude.
Chastity lived in continence allows a relationship to mature gradually and thoroughly. Indeed, when, as often occurs, the sexual-genital dimension becomes the primary, if not exclusive, element holding a couple together, all other aspects inevitably fall into the background or are obscured, impeding the relationship from progressing. On the contrary, chastity lived in continence enables the engaged couple to get to know one another better. This is so because it prevents the relationship from becoming focused on the physical use of the other person, while also fostering deeper dialogue, more complete openness of the heart, and the emergence of all aspects of the personality – human, spiritual, intellectual, and emotional – so as to allow for true growth in relationship, personal communion, and the discovery of the other’s richness and limitations. Therein lies the true purpose of the period of engagement.
Even when addressing cohabiting couples, it is never useless to speak about the virtue of chastity. This virtue teaches every baptized person, in every condition of life, the correct use of sexuality, and for this reason, even in married life, chastity is extremely useful. As spouses, the importance of the values and awareness taught by the virtue of chastity emerges even more clearly: respect for other people; concern never to subject another to personal desires; patience and gentleness with one’s spouse in times of physical or spiritual difficulty; and, fortitude and self-dominance, which are required in moments of absence or illness, etc. In this context, the lived experience of Christian spouses can be useful to help explain the importance of the virtue of chastity within marriage and the family. – Catechumenal Pathways for Married Life #57
Small Catholic 