Gluttony is an oft-forgotten sin that many souls struggle with. Read this excerpt from Pope Saint Leo IX on the vice of gluttony and the virtue of moderation.
The vice of Gluttony then appears. His nature is very easy to recognize, for he is immensely fat. His face is framed by a triple chin, and his abdomen hangs over his belt. He breathes in a heavy and labored manner, and he sweats profusely. Remnants of food are visible on his clothing and countenance. He speaks thus to the soul:
O Soul, remember that it was God Himself who very graciously bestowed upon humankind the wonderful and magnificent gift of food! Moreover, He emphatically declared all foods to be clean, and to be freely consumed, as we read both in the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. Therefore, whosoever refuses this gift, or accepts it only stingily, is treating this great and holy offering with impious disdain! Let us, therefore, partake freely and without reserve. Eat and drink to your fill, my friend, for it is a gift from the Most High!
The virtue of Moderation arrives just as Gluttony concludes his speech. He is lean and light but muscular and healthy. His bearing and demeanor embody energy and strength. Speaking thus, he intelligently refutes Gluttony’s foolish advice:
O Gluttony, what you say is true, but only partially so. For God did indeed create food for human consumption, and He did declare all foods to be clean. But food serves the purpose of nourishing the body and sustaining life and should be used according to this purpose.
To exceed proper measure in anything, even a good thing, is a vice. And Scripture repeatedly warns us of the dangers and sinfulness of gluttony, which is nothing other than the consuming of anything beyond its proper measure.
Consider the cases of Sodom, which was obliterated by the infallible justice of the Lord. Now, amongst its numerous crimes and abominations, gluttony was counted as one of them. For we read in the prophet Ezekiel: “This was the iniquity of Sodom: pride, and stuffing themselves with food and excess, and sloth.”
To consume food with proper order and measure, one should approach it as a sick person takes his prescribed medicine. For a person who is ill takes what he needs of the appropriate medicine for the sake of his health and nothing more. He certainly does not seek to derive pleasure and gratification from it! Food, like medicine, if taken without measure and without regard to its proper purpose, ceases to be healthful and becomes harmful.
This does not mean, of course, that there may not be any pleasure at all in eating and drinking. But such pleasure is merely incidental to the objective of sustaining health, and not to be pursued as a goal in itself. Indeed, proper moderation actually serves to enhance one’s enjoyment in consuming God’s gifts of nourishment.
We hear our Savior Himself giving a clear and unequivocal admonition about the sin of overindulgence. “Beware,” He warns, “that your hearts are not rendered heavy with gluttony and drunkenness!” The apostle Saint Paul also reprimands those who make “the stomach their god.” He reminds us that “food is made for the stomach, and the stomach made for food. And God shall do away with both!” In saying this, he is saying that food serves the purpose of physical nourishment and sustenance in this present world rather than gratification. We should eat to live, not live to eat!
The virtue of moderation has been developed to maturity in those who eat to the point of sufficiency, not to complete satiety. Such people always leave the table still a little hungry rather than completely full. Another reliable sign of the presence of this virtue is when a person does not choose his food on the basis of what brings him sensory gratification but rather on the basis of what fulfills the needs of the body. Such a person will typically prefer simplicity over luxury, and what is natural and common over what is exotic and expensive.
O Soul, this is a good and salubrious practice, beneficial to the health of both the body and the soul!
ooo
This article is taken from a chapter in The Battle of Virtues and Vices by Pope Saint Leo IX which is available from TAN Books.
