In my homily this past weekend, I spoke about how Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden fell victim to all seven deadly sins.  They looked at the tree and saw it was “good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.” (Genesis 3:6)  During Lent, it is good for us to take a closer look at each of these sins and reflect on the virtue that can help us overcome the sin with which we struggle.

Beginning with the sins of the flesh and reflecting on tree, we see that it was good for food.  The first of these sins is gluttony.

“Gluttony is a disordered desire for or love of the pleasure of food and drink. It loves this pleasure for its own sake, and pursues this pleasure to excess, even to the detriment of health.”  (Adolfe Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life, 411).  Anything in life that we enjoy and that brings us some level of pleasure comes from the fact everything good comes from God.  Even good food and the tastes we enjoy come from God.  The issue comes when we fall in love with the creation and not the Creator.  When we fall in love with the pleasure of food and seek after it in this excessive way, we push God behind the food and believe the food is the ultimate end.  The food never satisfies us, which is why when we fall into the sin of gluttony, we keep eating something over and over again.  We are eating food that cannot satisfy our desire for pleasure.  Only God can do that. 

Gluttony can take on many forms. One example is eating when there is no need to eat, like compulsive snacking between meals.  It comes not out of being hungry but eating for the enjoyment and entertainment of the taste.  It is also gorging oneself on food or drink to the point of endangering health.  Notice that gluttony is not focused on what kind of food is eaten, but rather the practice of overindulging.  Eating one cookie is not necessarily bad but eating 10 cookies is gluttony.  Eating a piece of chicken is okay but eating a whole bucket from KFC can be gluttony.

Now that we know what gluttony is, how do we remedy it?  First, one should seek to eat and drink in moderation.  Sticking with appropriate portions is a must.  Saying grace before meals is also a good remedy.  By saying grace, we are recognizing that the food and drink we have come from God and we show gratitude to God for the blessing.  Another remedy is practicing mortification.  We practice this every Lent when we give up some kind of food.  Mortification to counter gluttony can also involve fasting or even occasional skipping of a meal (this should only be done if physical health allows after consult with a doctor).  All of these things can help us develop the virtue of temperance.  Temperance is the virtue of self-discipline and an ability to hold all things in moderation.  This virtue takes practicing self-denial and fasting over the course of time to help us overcome gluttony. 

It is important to remember as we go through each of these sins that it takes time to develop the opposing virtue to counter the sin.  It does not happen overnight nor by our own shear will-power.  We need the grace of God and strength of the Holy Spirit to overcome any sin.  If gluttony is a sin we struggle with, then put into practice the disciplines of temperance, for that is the virtue that will aid us to see only God can satisfy the pleasure we crave.