We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
Denying Our Appetites
FREE Catholic Classes
+J.M.J.+
by Monsignor Charles M. Mangan
©Catholic Online 2005
The practice of self-denial has long held a prominent place in Christianity. Believers have always been called to imitate the Crucified Savior by acts of mortification. Especially during Lent, penance is emphasized and takes its rightful place among the other two Lenten works: prayer and almsgiving.
Although self-denial is not solely connected to mortification of the palate, penitential practices often center around the appetite for food and drink.
Food and drink have been much abused by sectors of humanity for centuries, but our society seems to have taken the misuse to new extremes. Gluttony is often presented as harmless. Advertisers frequently proclaim that people must eat and drink a lot in order to be happy, well-liked, successful, etc. It's no exaggeration to say that, in some quarters, the operative norm is: The more you put away, the better.
Countering the notion of gluttony, the Church demands fasting and abstinence from meat on certain days during Lent. She also indicates that some penance should be performed on every Friday of the year.
The Cardinal Virtue of Temperance should always be fostered, regardless of the liturgical season. Those who strive to be disciples of Jesus are called at all times to be disciplined in food and beverage intake.
We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
Certainly, Temperance helps regulate the consumption of food and drink. But it is also concerned with "attachment" to these items; the Virtue of Temperance assists us in not becoming a slave to either.
Saint Joseph Cafasso (1811-1860) has a special meaning for those who are practicing temperance. This Italian priest, known for his exemplary holiness and outstanding discipline, served as the Rector of the Ecclesiastical College in Turin, Italy. In his dealings with the seminarians, he frequently exhorted them to be careful about how they approached the table.
The saintly cleric warned that overeating was not the only fault regarding food. He frequently mentioned the five failings of the table that need to be battled: eating infrequently, eating too quickly, eating too much, eating over-eagerly and eating over-deliberately.
In each case, food loses its proper place. The table either assumes a greater influence than it should have or it is nearly dismissed as being of little value.
A priest from the Archdiocese of Turin learned a valuable lesson about the proper place of food on one occasion in which he ate with Saint Joseph. That priest, known for his penchant, in his own words, "to pounce on the food and devour it with too much dispatch," was asked by the Saint if he remembered the five dangers regarding eating.
Without hesitation, the young priest rattled off the list.
He concluded, "Then I realized what I had been doing, blushed and profited by the lesson."
More than one spiritual writer has counseled that every meal should be an occasion of mortification: we should always leave the table a little hungry or thirsty. In this way, we not only share in the hunger and thirst of Christ on Calvary but also help prevent ourselves from becoming gluttons and drunkards.
God has associated pleasure with eating. The Eternal Son of the Father took part in banquets during his public ministry.
Yet, Lent reminds us of the necessity of self-denial. Any penance we do now by limiting our food and drink consumption gives us a new insight into the beauty of the same and their limitation in bestowing happiness.
All food and drink pale in comparison with our souls' delight: the Body and Blood of Christ. May our fasting, abstinence and new approach to food during these days of Lent help us to adore more intensely and love more ardently the Christ of the Eucharist who gave up His life for us.
We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
(Slightly adapted from an article that appeared in the Catholic Twin Circle on March 26, 1995 on page eighteen.)
Contact
Mary's Field
https://www.catholic.org
, VA
Monsignor Charles M. Mangan - Official, 390 66616-1125
fathermangan@catholic.org
Keywords
Mortification; Temperance
More Catholic PRWire
Showing 1 - 50 of 4,716
A Recession Antidote
Randy Hain
Monaco & The Vatican: Monaco's Grace Kelly Exhibit to Rome--A Review of Monegasque-Holy See Diplomatic History
Dna. Maria St. Catherine Sharpe, t.o.s.m., T.O.SS.T.
The Why of Jesus' Death: A Pauline Perspective
Jerom Paul
A Royal Betrayal: Catholic Monaco Liberalizes Abortion
Dna. Maria St.Catherine De Grace Sharpe, t.o.s.m., T.O.SS.T.
Embrace every moment as sacred time
Mary Regina Morrell
My Dad
JoMarie Grinkiewicz
Letting go is simple wisdom with divine potential
Mary Regina Morrell
Father Lombardi's Address on Catholic Media
Catholic Online
Pope's Words to Pontifical Latin American College
Catholic Online
Prelate: Genetics Needs a Conscience
Catholic Online
State Aid for Catholic Schools: Help or Hindrance?
Catholic Online
Scorsese Planning Movie on Japanese Martyrs
Catholic Online
2 Nuns Kidnapped in Kenya Set Free
Catholic Online
Holy See-Israel Negotiation Moves Forward
Catholic Online
Franchising to Evangelize
Catholic Online
Catholics Decry Anti-Christianity in Israel
Catholic Online
Pope and Gordon Brown Meet About Development Aid
Catholic Online
Pontiff Backs Latin America's Continental Mission
Catholic Online
Cardinal Warns Against Anti-Catholic Education
Catholic Online
Full Circle
Robert Gieb
Three words to a deeper faith
Paul Sposite
Relections for Lent 2009
chris anthony
Wisdom lies beyond the surface of life
Mary Regina Morrell
World Food Program Director on Lent
Catholic Online
Moral Clarity
DAN SHEA
Pope's Lenten Message for 2009
Catholic Online
A Prayer for Monaco: Remembering the Faith Legacy of Prince Rainier III & Princess Grace and Contemplating the Moral Challenges of Prince Albert II
Dna. Maria St. Catherine Sharpe
Keeping a Lid on Permissiveness
Sally Connolly
Glimpse of Me
Sarah Reinhard
The 3 stages of life
Michele Szekely
Sex and the Married Woman
Cheryl Dickow
A Catholic Woman Returns to the Church
Cheryl Dickow
Modernity & Morality
Dan Shea
Just a Minute
Sarah Reinhard
Catholic identity ... triumphant reemergence!
Hugh McNichol
Edging God Out
Paul Sposite
Burying a St. Joseph Statue
Cheryl Dickow
George Bush Speaks on Papal Visit
Catholic Online
Sometimes moving forward means moving the canoe
Mary Regina Morrell
Action Changes Things: Teaching our Kids about Community Service
Lisa Hendey
Easter... A Way of Life
Paul Spoisite
Papal initiative...peace and harmony!
Hugh McNichol
Proclaim the mysteries of the Resurrection!
Hugh McNichol
Jerusalem Patriarch's Easter Message
Catholic Online
Good Friday Sermon of Father Cantalamessa
Catholic Online
Papal Address at the End of the Way of the Cross
Catholic Online
Cardinal Zen's Meditations for Via Crucis
Catholic Online
Interview With Vatican Aide on Jewish-Catholic Relations
Catholic Online
Pope Benedict XVI On the Easter Triduum
Catholic Online
Holy Saturday...anticipation!
Hugh McNichol