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2Bcatholic

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Hello everybody:

This is my first post so please be patient with me:🙂

I’ll try to make this short so here I go: I have had an eating disorder basically my entire life(anorexia & bulimia) and have been treated multiple times for it…After much prayer and work I am better but still have occassional bouts with the bulimia. My worry is that I could go to hell for what I feel is gluttony…I have talked to a couple of different priests and have been told different things. One priest said that I would not be living in sin because it is a mental illness but another priest told me that it would be at least a venial sin…I don’t know what to believe!!! Is it no sin, venial sin, mortal sin???
Does anybody have any thoughts about this???
Thanks for your response
 
2Bcatholic said:
Hello everybody:

This is my first post so please be patient with me:🙂

I’ll try to make this short so here I go: I have had an eating disorder basically my entire life(anorexia & bulimia) and have been treated multiple times for it…After much prayer and work I am better but still have occassional bouts with the bulimia. My worry is that I could go to hell for what I feel is gluttony…I have talked to a couple of different priests and have been told different things. One priest said that I would not be living in sin because it is a mental illness but another priest told me that it would be at least a venial sin…I don’t know what to believe!!! Is it no sin, venial sin, mortal sin???
Does anybody have any thoughts about this???
Thanks for your response
Click to expand...
If you knowingly mistreat your body, given to you by God, and which is a temple of the Holy Spirit, it is most certainly a sin. The level of sin may vary, but, rather, seek the Lord’s help, with all of your energy and will, to heal you of this illness.

We are all sinners, but we must not obsess with the sin, as that is our normal state. Better to plead with the Lord for help in avoiding the sin, in being healed of sin.

Christ’s peace be with you.
 
Anorexia and bulimia are very real and serious illnesses and notoriously difficult to treat successfully or eradicate totally, so firstly congratulations and praise God that you have gained a measure of control over yours - it takes much very hard work and courage as well.

As you have said, though, you have not totally eliminated the compulsions that are part of your illness. You of all people are probably aware of how strong and irrational the compulsions are. From what I know (admittedly little, I have my own problems food wise but bulimia isn’t one of them) your faculties for making a rational choice not to eat are seriously impaired at such times. Perhaps I may be misunderstanding, this is an issue that those who are treating you for the illness can advise you on if they haven’t already.

Since (if I understand correctly) the drive to overeat in your case comes from these serious and irrational compulsions, and not out of free choice but rather as a product of the illness, it would seem that your behaviour constitutes most likely no sin at all, and definitely at the very very worst be minor venial sin.

The priest who told you otherwise probably has no training as a counsellor or psychologist and certainly may lack an understanding of the nature of bulimia, so his advice isn’t to be taken as gospel.
 
A mortal sin must be done willfully under the knowledge that it is grave. The key word to this is willfully. Certainly a condition such as this is not desired and I am sure that you would be rid of it if you could. Bottom line is that it is not your fault since it is not done under free will so there is no sin in my opinion. This is a cross given to you by Our Lord for some higher good.
 
po18guy said:
If you knowingly mistreat your body, given to you by God, and which is a temple of the Holy Spirit, it is most certainly a sin. The level of sin may vary, but, rather, seek the Lord’s help, with all of your energy and will, to heal you of this illness.

We are all sinners, but we must not obsess with the sin, as that is our normal state. Better to plead with the Lord for help in avoiding the sin, in being healed of sin.

Christ’s peace be with you.
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Sounds good coming from someone who perhaps does not fight with a mental illness. With the OP it seems quite clear that the compulsion is not voluntary. You cannot just tell someone with a compulsion disorder not to obsess with the sin since that is what their disorder entails.

OP, you take this one step at a time. God does not hold anyone culpable for things beyond our control. Keep up the good work and you are in my prayers…teachccd
 
Thank you for the responses

Mental disorders are very hard to grasp and if the Eating disorder was as simple as just stopping I would have done that 24 years ago but it is a constant BATTLE (literally 24/7). I realize my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and don’t want to hurt it in anyway that’s why I struggle!!!

I view this disorder as a cross and while I hope I will be freed from it; if it could help bring me to salvation then I will gladly bare it.
 
2Bcatholic said:
Hello everybody:

This is my first post so please be patient with me:🙂

I’ll try to make this short so here I go: I have had an eating disorder basically my entire life(anorexia & bulimia) and have been treated multiple times for it…After much prayer and work I am better but still have occassional bouts with the bulimia. My worry is that I could go to hell for what I feel is gluttony…I have talked to a couple of different priests and have been told different things. One priest said that I would not be living in sin because it is a mental illness but another priest told me that it would be at least a venial sin…I don’t know what to believe!!! Is it no sin, venial sin, mortal sin???
Does anybody have any thoughts about this???
Thanks for your response
Click to expand...
You have a biological disorder. That’s the problem. Let no one convince otherwise. Be careful who you listen to, and don’t take everyone’s advice to heart. Your condition is not your fault. Hang in there. I too have a condition beyond my control, which I’ve struggled with my entire life. 🙂
 
How do you know the difference between mortification that is pleasing to God and mistreatment of the body that is not?

If one fasts and they don’t have an eating disorder it could be pleasing to God but because I am prone to anorexia if I fast then it’s mistreatment??? WHY?

If I fast even though the world would say “You’re anorexic” couldn’t it still be pleasing to God if the intent is to mortify the body for spiritual growth?
 
You have a great priest and he’s right. The condition “is” out of your control even though you may not believe it. It’s caused by an unreasonable fear that you won’t be accepted by others unless you fit into a certain mold. God knows why you behave the way you do. He’s also aware of, and understanding of, the circumstances that have led you to behave so fearfully. Don’t you think he would be mean if he were to punish you for fear? Would you, yourself, punish someone for that? Surely you don’t think an intelligent person like God would be less reasonable than you, do you?

God designed you in a way that would enable you to fulfil the mold he needed you to be in, in order for you to appreciate and make use of specific spiritual gifts he wanted to bestow upon you. He could’ve given you a tougher challenge and thrown you in a country with little food, but instead he gave you a lighter one knowing you wouldn’t yet be ready for something really hard. He never gives challenges to people greater than what he figures they can handle.

Most parents, like God, give their kids challenges in order to teach them to become responsible adults. Those who don’t make it hard for their children to advance. Obviously God has special plans in mind for you too. He’s proud of not just you, but of everything he creates. He’s proud of his design of the beautiful flowers and trees, the sky, the animals, and even the beautiful and tasty food he created.

When you eat his food for no purpose other than to waste it in the toilet quickly afterward, or when you refuse it because you think skin and bones will make you attractive and popular with your friends, it hurts him that your desire to be accepted by them is more important to you than gratitude for his gifts. Instead of him supplying that food for you, he could’ve given it to a starving person who would’ve been ever so grateful.

When you learn to love and appreciate God for all of the things he has given to you and done for you, you will also learn to love yourself. At that time, acceptance of your friends won’t be so deadly important. You will then also realize that the reason he gave you this specific challenge was to help you learn how to be a " leader versus a follower".

Once you have learned that, he will give you another assignment he already has lined up for you.
 
2Bcatholic said:
How do you know the difference between mortification that is pleasing to God and mistreatment of the body that is not?

If one fasts and they don’t have an eating disorder it could be pleasing to God but because I am prone to anorexia if I fast then it’s mistreatment??? WHY?

If I fast even though the world would say “You’re anorexic” couldn’t it still be pleasing to God if the intent is to mortify the body for spiritual growth?
Click to expand...
No. You mustn’t deliberately fast, or perform any physical penance, to an extent which seriously impairs your health. One day of fasting per week won’t do so for a healthy person. Most can even handle two, and some even more.

An anorexic, though, as you must know, doesn’t have the luxury of sufficiently good mental and/or physical health, both of which are necessary if such is NOT to do damage. For this reason you need to be extremely careful with any restriction of food, even if you think it is aiding your spiritual growth.

The reason is that your body and mind are both God’s instruments and His gifts, and yours (the one or the other if not both) are almost certainly already in a weakened state such that any fasting at all, even that which you do under the infuence of the illness, could result in grave and permanent damage. At such a time you can NOT be doing any further fasting. And it shows great disrespect for Him, and no little spiritual immaturity, to deliberately risk damage to the mind and body He has given you in this way.

In fact numerous saints, such as Catherine of Siena, had to be dissuaded by their spiritual advisors from going overboard with fasting and other physical penances when these began to adversely affect their health.
 
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