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mortification would help very much, which you can read about here -
gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=13047443
gluttony is an inordinate desire for the pleasure connected with food or drink, and is a sensual sin(you desire it because of how it makes you feel) so then to combat it you need to deny your body those things it desires, although you want to start off smaller, so you don’t overwhelm yourself, and it’s best to seek advice from a well educated priest,
mortification is a virtue, and one which we are told to practice by Jesus and elsewhere in the bible -
“For if you live according to the flesh, you shall die: but if by the Spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live.” Romans 8:13
“Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, lust, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is the service of idols.” Colossians 3:5
“Always bearing about in our body the mortification of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our bodies.” 2 Corinthians 4:10
“And he said to all: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself(here “deny” refers to mortification, among other things), and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” Luke 9:23
i’m sure i don’t need to convince you, but this simply expresses the importance of mortification, and i’m sure you understand, since you see what a lack of such discipline results in.
temperance is the virtue opposite of gluttony, it is the virtue that moderates our desire for pleasure, and regulates our actions, and it is the virtue that is also very closely related to fortitude, fortitude is firmness of spirit. it is a steadiness of will in doing good in spite of difficulties faced in the performance of one’s duty…and so those are the two virtues you should study and practice and pray for in order to combat gluttony.
The important thing is to be patient with yourself, because overcoming any sin is a learning process, although that certainly does not mean to be lax in overcoming sin, or to be too easy on yourself when you fall, but it simply means that you should not get anxious or lose your peace because you cannot all at once overcome a sin, and in your case, with gluttony being the focus, that makes things a bit more tricky, and often confusing, because the thing of it is, we need food, and eating is a good thing, God wants you to eat, and even over-eating, to a point, is not sinful per-se, although it may be venially sinful, but that depends on 2 things - how often you do it, and what importance you put on the eating or drinking,
and even then, over-eating or drinking is not the only form of gluttony, Saint Thomas Aquinas tells us there are 5 forms of gluttony, which are - “too soon, too expensively, too much, too eagerly, too daintily.”
he also says that gluttony is generally a venial sin, which i’ve heard from other sources as well, who have said that gluttony is only rarely a mortal sin, and what would fall under mortal are things such as drinking to the point of drunkenness, gorging yourself and then vomiting so you can do it again, depriving your family by spending all your money on expensive foods, being willing to hurt others for the food you love(in one sense or another), making food your god, living for it, and being willing to offend God just to have the food you love…and other extreme cases along those lines,
but as for venial sins of gluttony, there is actually one main cause, and it’s not just about eating or drinking to excess, as i said, it’s simply about putting to much importance on food,
and so venial sins would be things like, being to fussy or picky with your food, such as the obsession of “it has to be just right” or if there’s something in the food you don’t like then you won’t touch it, or you will only eat particular things, and so on.
also being impatient with your food, like “i want what i want and i want it when i want it”, or, “i want it good and i want it now”, like eating when you want and not eating when everyone else does at the family table, or making your own food because you don’t like what mom(or whoever) is making,
well, those are just some examples, but the point is, gluttony has several forms, and is more often than not a venial sin…
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but remember, as i said, it becomes sinful when you put to much importance on food, there simply needs to be temperance, it’s ok to be a little picky, it’s ok to have things your way as long as it’s not effecting others uncharitably, and it’s ok to eat more than you should when it’s just a little snack or if it’s because someone offers it to you, there’s no need to be scrupulous about it, because the fact remains, we need food, and i think the important thing is not so much a case of how much we eat, but what importance we put on the eating, living to eat rather than eating to live.
(continued in next post)
