Choose a topic from Part 2B:
1. Gluttony is excess in eating and drinking. It is animmoderate indulgence in the delights of the palate. Gluttony istherefore inordinate, therefore unreasonable, therefore anevil.
2. Gluttony is usually not a serious sin, but it could besuch a sin. It would be a mortal sin in a person so given to thedelights of eating and drinking that he is ready to abandon virtue,and God himself, to obtain this pleasure.
3. Gluttony is a sin of the flesh, a carnal sin.Hence, in itself, it is not so great a sin as a spiritualsin or a sin of malice.
4. Gluttony denotes inordinate desire in eatingand drinking. It shows itself in the avidity with which a personindulges his appetite; in his love of delicate and expensive foods;in the importance he attaches to the discerning of fine qualitiesin foods, vintages, cookery; in voraciousness or greediness; ineating or drinking too much. St. Isidore (De Summ. Bon.ii) says that a gluttonous person is excessive in what, when,how, and how much he eats and drinks.
5. A capital sin is a source-sin; a spring, large orsmall, from whichflow many evil streams. Now gluttony leadsreadily to other sins, for it indulges pleasure of the flesh whichis the most alluring of all pleasures. Gluttony is, therefore, acapital sin.
6. Gluttony leads to inordinate fleshly delight, to dullness ofmind, to injudiciousness of speech, to levity of conduct, and touncleanness.
"Whoever wants to stand alone without the support of a master and guide will be like the tree that stands alone in a field without a proprietor. No matter how much the tree bears, passers-by will pick the fruit before it ripens.
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St John of the Cross, OCD - Doctor of the Church
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"As the flesh is nourished by food, so is man supported by prayers"
St Augustine
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"Lord, take from me everything that hinders me from going to You. give me all that will lead me to You. Take me from myself and give me to Yourself."
St Nicholas Flue
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