Now for those matters you wrote to me about:
‘It is a good thing for a man not to ‘touch’ a woman.’
Even so because of cases of immorality –
each man should have a wife for himself,
and each woman should have her own husband.
To the wife, a husband should give what is due
and likewise the wife to the husband.
The wife does not have authority over her own body
but the husband.
Likewise
the husband does not have authority over his own body
but the wife.
Do not deprive one another
except perhaps , consenting together, for a time
so that you may devote yourselves to prayer –
and be together again
so that Satan might not put you to the test
because of your lack of self-control
So I say this
as a concession
not as a command.
For I wish that all people
to be as myself.
But each has their own gift
from God,
one person this,
another person that.
Eternal Light, shine into our hearts,
Eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil,
Eternal Power, be our support,
Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance,
Eternal Pity, have mercy upon us;
that with all our heart and mind
and soul and strength we may seek thy face
and be brought by thine infinite mercy
to thy holy presence;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Alcuin (735-804)