Attachment to sin

[houston1]

Regarding indulgences, what does it mean to have an “attachment to sin.” Can anyone give me examples or an explanation on this? In my case, I love to eat certain foods like chocolate and ice cream but I am careful to monitor the amount, etc. Is this an attachment to sin? Or, at what point does it become sinful? I think of food often but I try to resist obsessing about it (although I fail most times). It is a constant struggle to avoid thinking about food. Many times my mind will wander and I will start thinking about food. It this an “attachment to sin?” Let’s say I unintentionally start thinking about food during mass. Is this an “attachment to sin?”

Thanks for your help.

 

[spencer2]

attachment sounds like something that you just can’t live without.

 

[Trishie]

I guess I’d kind of wonder if something is missing in your diet that makes you crave food,
or if you’re unhappy and lonely. So I guess in the first instance I’d wonder if you need to eat more healthy food. Chocolate and ice-cream should be a minor part of your diet and your system may have become addicted to these not-so nutritional food…yes, I do know the value of the foods, but they still come low on the list of foods a healthy body should be eating.

It sounds as if you are trying to be moderate in eating these, but maybe not succeeding so well. They’re comfort foods of course, but that’s counter-productive, as they don’t give you balanced nutrition, so you can’t feel as wholesome and healthy and happy as you’d be more inclined to do with a balanced diet that contained a lot of vegetables and fruit. In the long run they’re not comfort foods. Maybe you can check out what you would do best to be eating. Not to do so can lead to chronic ill-health and even illness.

And I’d wonder if you need some medical tests to check your blood-sugar levels.
Maybe for the present you focus should be on researching better nutrition, and honoring the body God gave you by looking after it healthily, rather than worry about food attachment separate from the main problem you may have, proper care of yourself.

If I’m mistaken, please forgive…but these are the thoughts that came to me. The spiritual is often affected by the malaise of the body, so it’s possible your craving/thinking of food at inappropriate times, is (partly) due to a lack of balance in diet.

Do you think?

 

[Scoobyshme]

Regarding indulgences, what does it mean to have an “attachment to sin.” Can anyone give me examples or an explanation on this? In my case, I love to eat certain foods like chocolate and ice cream but I am careful to monitor the amount, etc. Is this an attachment to sin? Or, at what point does it become sinful? I think of food often but I try to resist obsessing about it (although I fail most times). It is a constant struggle to avoid thinking about food. Many times my mind will wander and I will start thinking about food. It this an “attachment to sin?” Let’s say I unintentionally start thinking about food during mass. Is this an “attachment to sin?”

Thanks for your help.

Here’s how God feels about attachment to sin:

Suppose a young man and woman were getting married. The ceremony gets to the place where they say the “I do’s.” The priest asks, “Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded spouse, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health…etc.?” He immediately says, “I do!” Then, he turns to the woman and asks, “Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, etc., etc.?” And she doesn’t say anything but has this far away look in her eyes like she’s daydreaming. The groom gently clears his throat and she comes out of it and says, “Oh, yes, of course!”

Later, as they’re in the limo heading toward the reception, he says, “Well, that was a wonderful wedding, but I noticed that you seemed distracted during the 'I do” part. What was that all about?"

She says, “Oh, don’t worry about that. We’re married and I’ll love you forever and be your wife. But at that moment, I was just thinking about my previous boyfriend and how good he and I were together. But that didn’t work out. I’m all yours now.”

How do you think that groom would feel?! That’s the same way God feels about attachment to sin.

 

[VetA]

Regarding indulgences, what does it mean to have an “attachment to sin.” Can anyone give me examples or an explanation on this? In my case, I love to eat certain foods like chocolate and ice cream but I am careful to monitor the amount, etc. Is this an attachment to sin? Or, at what point does it become sinful? I think of food often but I try to resist obsessing about it (although I fail most times). It is a constant struggle to avoid thinking about food. Many times my mind will wander and I will start thinking about food. It this an “attachment to sin?” Let’s say I unintentionally start thinking about food during mass. Is this an “attachment to sin?”

Thanks for your help.

[BIBLEDRB]Matthew 5:27-30[/BIBLEDRB]

 

[Sirach2]

Having an attachment to sin is not the same as an attaction to things which are an imperfection. Most of us could admit to some imperfections, that are not really a sin, but they do prevent our closer union with God. One saint explained it this way: if a sparrow is caught by a slight piece of string, it cannot fly away.

If we are seeking perfection, these strings need to be eliminated, and God will keep watch with inspirations as to what impedes our growth in love. This might be inordinate habits that are not sinfully offensive to God, but we really do not want to give them up. Procrastination is a good example. Rolling over in bed when the alarm rings and getting up at the last minute, rushing to get ready, impatient in traffic, etc.

But suppose your attachment is sinful. These really need to go if you want to obtain the indulgence. Eating chocolate ice cream and enjoying it is not a sin. All foods, especially when we remember to eat with thanksgiving, are God’s gifts. If you eat a half-gallon in one sitting, well, there’s a problem. If you decide to indulge your craving instead of going to mass, for instance, you can see how this “attachment” would impede your real obligations.

Distractions are often God’s blessing to help us realize where our hearts are focusing. If you continuously think about food without really feeling hungry, then maybe this is an area that needs some correction before it spills over into gluttony. In prayer, the imagination often wanders, and it is good to catch oneself and see what it most often entertains. Most of the time, these are involuntary, unwilled, and it is a painful thing to endure them. Just keep an open eye and ask God to give you wisdom concerning them.

 

[houston1]

Thanks everyone for their replies. I really do limit the amount of chocolate and ice cream that I eat daily. Basically, I limit myself to roughly 1,600 calories of total food and drink per day. So, I am really eating because I am hungry. I do eat whole wheat most times when I eat bread and I eat grilled chicken, grilled fish and vegetables mostly when I go out to eat. Sometimes I do eat more indulgently though (especially when it comes to Mexican food!). My fixation with food is something that I do not want to have. I just wanted to know whether this is a sin, or, more specifically, an “attachment to sin.”

I wish that I could be like St. John the Baptist eating locusts in the wilderness. But, I admit that I will eat a 1/2 cup of ice cream or 150 calories of chocolate for a snack each day. I just wish I would be willing to give these things up for the sake of Jesus and just eat plain whole wheat bread or other bland things.

Does this make more sense? Any more thoughts on whether this is an “attachment to sin?” I would appreciate anyone who can share their experiences with me concerning giving things up for the Lord.

 

[beckycmarie]

How about some thoughts on detachment from sin? The following was posted a little while back on the blog, The Hermeneutic of Continuity:

Plenary Indulgences Not Impossible

Detachment from venial sin

The most problematic condition is:

*…] the complete exclusion of any attachment to any sin, even venial, *

This is not a new provision in the reform of Paul VI. Lepicier in his book Indulgences, their origin, nature and development reported a controversy which was widely current in his own time. Some theologians considered that the actual gaining a plenary indulgence was very rare.

…] whilst with regard to plenary Indulgences, they teach us in a dogmatical tone that exceedingly few are those who can gain it, and fewer still are those who actually do gain it - perhaps a holy nun in some remote corner of the world, or some saintly hermit dead to this life and its concupiscences. (page 341)

In countering this severe view of indulgences, Lepicier observed that falling into venial sin is not the same as having an affection for venial sin:

From the first no man, however holy, excepting Christ, and His Blessed Mother, can call himself free; but many should be, and in reality are, free from the second. How can we imagine faithful souls, that are anxious to please God, and daily seal this desire with the Bread of Life - and their generation, thank God, is not extinct - how can we imagine such as these to be wilfully attached to that which, though not causing eternal death, yet is infinitely injurious to the Divine Majesty? (page 343)

If there is any doubt about the more lenient view of “detachment from venial sin,” it is perhaps worth noting that this view was expressed in 1895 by a Roman professor of theology.

More recently, in the grant of an indulgence for the Year of the Eucharist, the Apostolic Penitentiary restated the conditions for gaining a plenary indulgence. However, when speaking of special conditions for those who are infirm, the official English translation reads:

…] as long as they are totally free from any desire to relapse into sin, as has been stated above.

We may treat the more “lenient” view as common teaching since the Church clearly intends to grant plenary indulgences that can be obtained by the faithful every day. It would not seem reasonable to do this if it were almost impossible to gain them in practice.

We may therefore encourage people to carry out the works prescribed for the gaining of a plenary indulgence (including, for many, a return to the sacrament of confession) without discouraging them by the rigorist opinion that a plenary indulgence can scarcely ever be gained in fact. It is also a good thing to pray before doing the indulgenced work, asking God to take away all affection for venial sin and conceiving in our hearts a hatred of any sin since all sins displease God who loves us so much.

 

[Sirach2]

…] as long as they are totally free from any desire to relapse into sin, as has been stated above.

We may treat the more “lenient” view as common teaching since the Church clearly intends to grant plenary indulgences that can be obtained by the faithful every day. It would not seem reasonable to do this if it were almost impossible to gain them in practice.

We may therefore encourage people to carry out the works prescribed for the gaining of a plenary indulgence (including, for many, a return to the sacrament of confession) without discouraging them by the rigorist opinion that a plenary indulgence can scarcely ever be gained in fact. It is also a good thing to pray before doing the indulgenced work, asking God to take away all affection for venial sin and conceiving in our hearts a hatred of any sin since all sins displease God who loves us so much.

Excellent! Thank you so much, Becky!

 

[Sirach2]

Houston:

I wish that I could be like St. John the Baptist eating locusts in the wilderness. But, I admit that I will eat a 1/2 cup of ice cream or 150 calories of chocolate for a snack each day. I just wish I would be willing to give these things up for the sake of Jesus and just eat plain whole wheat bread or other bland things.

Wow, you are really disciplined. You remind me of someone who might be able to eat only one potato chip and stop there.

Why not consider what St. Therese did. Whatever was set before her at mealtime, she ate with thanks, not considering whether she liked it or not. It was written about her that nobody could figure out her favorite foods because she never gave expression to her likes or dislikes.

Being human, don’t we often go to a restaurant and complain that our food is not hot enough, too greasy, not seasoned sufficiently, stale coffee, etc., etc. We have very particular appetites for having things exactly as we wish. That would be a better thing to work on by way of mortification, the willingness to accept our food in all circumstances with equanimity. I’m afraid that a constant discipline of never eating a dessert will pave the way for overindulgence of sweets at a later time. It could be a temptation, but you alone know your own soul.

 

[JRKH]

Plenty of good responses already.
I will just add that the attachment to sin is the toughest thing to get past.
All we can do is to keep trying.
Be patient with yourself.

Pezce
James

 

[houston1]

How about some thoughts on detachment from sin? The following was posted a little while back on the blog, The Hermeneutic of Continuity:

beckycmarie,

thanks for this post. It is helpful and I will study it more.

 

[houston1]

Wow, you are really disciplined. You remind me of someone who might be able to eat only one potato chip and stop there.

Why not consider what St. Therese did. Whatever was set before her at mealtime, she ate with thanks, not considering whether she liked it or not. It was written about her that nobody could figure out her favorite foods because she never gave expression to her likes or dislikes.

Being human, don’t we often go to a restaurant and complain that our food is not hot enough, too greasy, not seasoned sufficiently, stale coffee, etc., etc. We have very particular appetites for having things exactly as we wish. That would be a better thing to work on by way of mortification, the willingness to accept our food in all circumstances with equanimity. I’m afraid that a constant discipline of never eating a dessert will pave the way for overindulgence of sweets at a later time. It could be a temptation, but you alone know your own soul.

Sirach2,

Thanks for your help. I started praying for St. Therese’s intercession on this. One thing I do face is that I have control over the food put before me. I’ll have to think of a way to deal with that. One thing I could do is let others pick the restaurant when we go out to eat and try to split entrees with others and let them pick the entree.

Also, I think I am fixated on maintaining a certain weight. Perhaps, I should “let go” of that and accept more calorie rich things if they are put in front of me. This will be hard to do because of my vanity.

Thanks again. Your post is really helpful.

 

[houston1]

Plenty of good responses already.
I will just add that the attachment to sin is the toughest thing to get past.
All we can do is to keep trying.
Be patient with yourself.

Pezce
James

James, thanks for your reply. Attachment to sin (and attachment to earthly goods) is really hard to overcome.

I am praying for you and all those who are posting.

 

[baltobetsy]

I think of food often but I try to resist obsessing about it (although I fail most times). It is a constant struggle to avoid thinking about food. Many times my mind will wander and I will start thinking about food. It this an “attachment to sin?” Let’s say I unintentionally start thinking about food during mass. Is this an “attachment to sin?”.

Also, I think I am fixated on maintaining a certain weight. Perhaps, I should “let go” of that and accept more calorie rich things if they are put in front of me. This will be hard to do because of my vanity.

It sounds as if you are thinking of food frequently because you are hungry. Perhaps the attachment you need to address is that to a certain weight, not to food. If you are properly nourished, you will maintain a healthy weight (not necessarily model-thin) and also not be hungry all the time. You seem to be very distracted by your hunger, and that keeps you from growing spiritually.

Betsy

 

[houston1]

It sounds as if you are thinking of food frequently because you are hungry. Perhaps the attachment you need to address is that to a certain weight, not to food. If you are properly nourished, you will maintain a healthy weight (not necessarily model-thin) and also not be hungry all the time. You seem to be very distracted by your hunger, and that keeps you from growing spiritually.

Betsy

Betsy,

Thanks for your thoughts. I think you may be right in my case. I will pray about this. I will pray for you, too.

 

[baltobetsy]

I will pray for you, too.

Thanks - I need it! :tiphat: