Gluttony
v. temperance:
The
swine and the scales
By Susan Brinkmann
CS&T Correspondent
The Centers for Disease Control estimate that 64 percent of adults age
20 years or older are considered overweight or obese.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has found that approximately
14 million Americans — 7.4 percent of the population — meet
the diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse or alcoholism.
Those statistics alone are reason enough to take a long, hard look at
the sin of gluttony. Although there can be many underlying reasons for
over-indulging, gluttony is certainly a prime suspect.
This sin gets its start in a lack of appreciation for the gift of our
bodies and our health. As the Catechism explains, “Life and physical
health are precious gifts entrusted to us by God. We must take reasonable
care of them, taking into account the needs of others and the common good”
(CCC 2288).
Eating too much, drinking too much and taking too many drugs, all endanger
both ourselves and the security of our loved ones.
Consider the prevalence of the deadly diseases associated with obesity,
such as diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. Drunkenness is behind
a rash of ills, from domestic violence to drunk driving. How many people
have accidentally killed themselves by overdosing on narcotics, or even
just by taking too many drugs at the same time?
Those problems are closely associated with opulent societies such as our
own. “Certainly we must nourish our body to sustain our life and
health. But as a society becomes affluent, its desires go far beyond what
is necessary,” wrote the late theologian, Father John A. Hardon,
S. J.
Once we cross the line between what is necessary and what is unnecessary,
we’re beginning to “dance with the devil,” so to speak,
and entering into the realm of the sin of gluttony.
“Gluttony is the irrational desire for food and drink,” Father
Hardon writes. “It is irrational either in the quantity consumed,
or in the quality of what we eat and drink.”
Father Richard J. Rego, author of “A Contemporary Adult Guide to
Conscience for the Sacrament of Confession,” explains it a little
further.
“Excessive eating and drinking become sinful when [they] depart
… from ‘right reason.’ The desire for food and its pleasures
is, in itself, quite natural. … [But] when the inordinate desire
for the pleasure of food or drink is so intense that it results in damaging
one’s health, or becomes more important than obedience to God’s
laws, it is a mortal sin,” Father Rego says. “To the extent
that it is only an immoderate desire for the pleasure of food and drink,
it is a venial sin.”
Eating foods we know are harmful to our health is another sign that we
are drifting into that telltale lack of self-control so closely associated
with gluttony. That is especially true if we continue to eat those foods
after our doctor has advised against it.
The dangers hidden in the sin of gluttony are never so apparent as they
are in regard to alcohol. “Complete drunkenness, which takes away
the reason, is mortally sinful,” write the authors of “The
Seven Capital Sins.”
“Incomplete intoxication, when there is no grave disorder, may be
less grievous. The degree of the sin is in accord with the degree of the
disorder,” the authors state.
Even minor degrees of drunkenness are dangerous enough that most states
consider even modest blood-alcohol levels to be illegal. Drunk driving,
fighting, gambling and womanizing, are all vices that use alcohol for
fuel.
The Catechism says people who are drunk, and who endanger their own and
others’ safety on the road, the sea, or in the air, “incur
grave guilt” (CCC2290).
That is why we should take great care when serving alcohol to others,
and never go beyond what is considered legal and safe in our society.
Otherwise, we risk becoming a party to the sin of another.
The use of narcotic drugs is another area where the sin of gluttony can
become life-threatening.
“The use of drugs inflicts very grave danger on human health and
life. Their use, except on strict therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense,”
the Catechism states.
In a culture that glorifies the pleasures to be found in food, drink and
drugs, we need to develop a heightened sense of awareness about what —
and why — we’re imbibing.
As Mother Nadine explains in her book, “Bathe Seven Times,”
“There’s a big difference between what we need and what we
desire. I have found in my journey with the Lord there’s really
very little that we need, but there’s a lot that we desire, and
we see this a lot in eating and drinking.”
The operative word here is “necessary.” Mother Nadine refers
to St. Isidore, who said, “A gluttonous person is excessive in what,
when, how and how much one eats and drinks.”
We must develop an awareness of what and when we eat, in addition to how
much we eat. “How many times do we just eat and drink out of habit,
and aren’t even aware until the meal is over, and we say, ‘I’m
just stuffed,’” Mother Nadine writes. “We probably weren’t
even aware of what we were doing.”
Awareness, then, helps us to take note of when we’re eating or drinking
at the wrong time and in unnecessary quantities — but more importantly,
why we’re doing so.
“If we start overeating or overindulging, usually something is eating
at us,” Mother Nadine writes. “It could be loneliness, depression,
extreme stress, anxiety, or frustration.”
Those who have an active spiritual life know they can turn to God in prayer,
where He will reveal those motives, and give the grace we need to overcome
them.
When we don’t have such an active spiritual life, but are caught
up in the spirit of the world, we find the world puts a heavy emphasis
on the body, while almost totally neglecting the spirit.
“In the United States, there are more athletic clubs than retreat
houses,” Mother Nadine points out. She warns us to do everything
possible to resist the spirit of the world, and uses the following example
to emphasize the great difference this can make: “The world uses
the term ‘diet;’ the Church uses the term ‘fasting.’
“Both have a discipline, but the motives are quite different as
a rule,” she says. “Dieting is usually for myself; while fasting
is for God. Our motives make all the difference in the world.”
When we’re resisting over-indulgence for God’s sake, we can
count on His help. When we’re doing it for worldly reasons, we’re
on our own.
Contact Susan Brinkmann at fiat723@aol.com or (215) 965-4615.
Learning
moderation for the sake of our souls
By NADIA POZO
CS&T Staff Writer
“Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which
endures to eternal life.” Jn 6:27
It’s hard, and no one is going to deny it.
Let’s just stop a minute, and reflect on our day: How many times
have we’ve been given the message through ads and commercials, radio
and tv shows, magazines and friends, to eat more, drink more, buy more,
have sex more — as if more of it will make us happier?
Bombarded with those constant messages, it’s no wonder that we see
gluttony rearing its ugly head in so many areas of our lives.
Think about it: How many times have we said we’re “stuffed,”
— sometimes to the point of feeling sick? How many times have we
spent the day miserable with a hangover from a night of too much drinking?
How many hours have we wasted away watching television or playing video
games, when we should have been taking care of other responsibilities,
or could have dedicated that time to God? How much time are we spending
thinking of sex? How much are we indulging in chocolate, sweets and other
cravings? How much money are we hoarding to gather up material things?
It’s not easy to get rid of gluttony in our lives, but it becomes
easier with awareness, and the tools God’s provides us.
Those powerful tools include virtues, prayer and action — all
of which will help us change our outlook and our attitude on life, so
we can start sharing more, loving more and serving more, all the while
eradicating gluttony from our lives.
Temperance
The virtue of temperance provides real freedom. Many think of it as a
restriction — especially a glutton — but if we understand
the virtue well, we’ll see it as an expression of true love.
“To live well is nothing other than to love God with all one’s
heart, with all one’s soul, and with all one’s efforts,”
St. Augustine tells us. “From this it comes about that love is kept
whole and uncorrupted [through temperance].”
Temperance does that by helping us to keep our focus on Christ, not ourselves.
It gives us self-control, so that we act out of love, not selfish impulses
or unbridled passions. Instead of being slaves to our bodies, as happens
to a glutton, we are able to enjoy the good things of life in their proper
— and noble — place, as God created them to be used.
Temperance is, simply, moderation. It helps us find the proper balance
between neglecting our bodies and giving them too much attention. The
Lord desires order in this area, because not properly caring for our physical
well-being affects our spiritual condition.
God created all things good — including our bodies and our need
to eat, drink and procreate. There is a proper time for everything, including
fasting and feasting. But too often we are pulled by our culture to focus
on the feasting — and feasting only to satisfy our temporal desires.
“Because of the strength of the pleasure-seeking emotions that spring
from human nature, and due to our weakness resulting from original sin,
these emotions easily make demands beyond the limits established by reason
and the law of God,” explains Dominican Father Paul A Duffner, director
of the Rosary Center, in an article he wrote on gluttony.
“For that reason God gives to one in the state of grace special
help of a higher order, the infused virtue of temperance and the corresponding
gift of the Holy Spirit,” Father Duffner says. “This elevates
one’s outlook and motivation from merely concern about the body
to concern about the soul, from a purely natural outlook, to one that
is supernatural.”
Prudence and fortitude
Prudence gives us the knowledge of how to act. It helps us to know what
to seek — that which is virtuous; and what to avoid — that
which is sinful. Prudence will give us the inner-strength to resist the
urge to overindulge, and helps us to choose wisely and in line with the
will of God.
It goes hand-in-hand with temperance and fortitude.
Fortitude is the gift of the courage necessary to “hang in there,”
no matter what. Letting go of the deeper reasons that lead us to overeat,
or do anything in excess, is hard — but God is asking us to let
go so He can heal us. For that, we need trust and faith. That’s
why another virtue God gives us is fortitude, to make it a bit easier
to let go.
“The gift of fortitude is extremely helpful as we put our wants
and desires to death,” Mother Nadine tells us in her book, “Bathe
Seven Times.”
“We need courage to do that,” she says. “It takes courage
to die daily to our wants and desires. ... [The Lord] is trying to set
us on the right path of what we should be hungering and thirsting for.
... In prayer, we can cast out the spirit of gluttony, because in prayer
God will feed us, He will nurture us, and He will satisfy us as He promised.”
Fortitude will give us the strength for mortification, self-denial and
fasting.
Prayer and fasting
We know we’re not going to get anywhere without constant recourse
to God through prayer. Fasting without praying is in vain. The only way
we can fast is by doing it for God. Fasting helps us practice self-control.
“If you do not learn to deny yourself, you can make no progress
in perfection,” noted St. John of the Cross.
Fasting helps us serve and love others, because it helps us learn to move
our focus from ourselves to others. It teaches us to rely on God for strength.
Fasting doesn’t mean only abstaining from food. There are a number
of things we can fast from.
First, we need to look at our lives and determine what we’re gluttonous
about. Say it’s television: We can fast from television once a week,
and spend that time visiting an elderly grandparent or visiting a nursing
home. Or what if we love shopping? We can fast from shopping one weekend,
and donate the money we would have spent to our favorite charity.
Practicing mortification also helps us along those same lines.
“When we practice mortification … the saints tell us to do
this in very small ways that are hidden, which will cut through our self-love
very quickly,” advises Mother Nadine. “For example, we can
take smaller portions. Who is going to know if we take one scoop of mashed
potatoes or two? Who is going to know, if we would really like to have
three scoops, but only take one?”
That goes for any number of things. Whether it’s not adding that
extra salt to our meal, or refraining from complaining about the weather,
we have to remember that in life we’re going to experience a certain
amount of discomfort, but by offering it up, we gain mastery over ourselves
and grow closer to God.
CS&T staff writer Nadia Pozo can be reached at npozo@adphila.org
or (215) 965-4614.