The Seven Deadly Sins

Sayings of the Fathers of the Church

Kevin M. Clarke

• Publisher: The Catholic University of America Press
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9780813230221
• Topic: Théologie et religion
• Subtopic: Théologie chrétienne

"Read this not just for intellectual enjoyment but to discover a centuries-old, proven path for conquering your worst sins" (Brandon Vogt, author of Why I Am Catholic ). Gluttony. Lust. Greed. Anger. Sloth. Envy. Pride. The capital vices are the gateway drugs to countless sins. But where did this tradition come from? Unsurprisingly, it can be traced back to the teachings of the Church Fathers, whose words—included in this book—answer such questions as: So how do the capital sins spawn other vices in the soul? How does one cultivate the virtues that heal the soul from those vices? How are gluttony and lust related? What role does almsgiving have in soothing the passion of anger? As the path of the book descends through the vices, the words of the Fathers will assist readers in being more realistic about the attacks upon the soul. Edifying and medicinal, each chapter begins with vice and ends with virtue, so one's path through the chapters represents a sort of ascent out of sin and on to the road to righteousness. The text gives special attention to the thoughts of Augustine of Hippo, Evagrius of Pontus, John Cassian, Gregory the Great, and Maximus the Confessor. "An illuminating survey of the Church Fathers' wisdom on the capital vices that have burdened us since time immemorial." —Curtis A.Martin, Founder and CEO of FOCUS "A wonderfully helpful compendium of insights and advice from the Church Fathers... You will be astonished at how relevant and applicable is this ancient wisdom to the life of the modern-day Christian. Highly recommended." —James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage

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Gluttony

Gluttony

1 The first conflict we must enter upon is that against gluttony, which we have explained as the pleasures of the palate. John Cassian, Institutes 5.3 (ACW 58)¹

2 From gluttony are propagated foolish mirth, scurrility, uncleanness, babbling, dullness of sense in understanding. Gregory the Great, Morals on the Book of Job, XXXI.45 (LF 31)

3 There is nothing worse than gluttony, nothing more degrading. It makes the mind dull; it renders the soul carnal; it blinds [its victims] and does not permit them to see. John Chrysostom, Commentary on John, Homily 45 (FOTC 33)²

4 Gluttony is also wont to exhort the conquered heart, as if with reason, when it says, God has created all things clean, in order to be eaten, and he who refuses to fill himself with food, what else does he do but gainsay the gift that has been granted him. Gregory the Great, Morals on the Book of Job, XXXI.45 (LF 31)

5 There is nothing wrong with eating—God forbid; the harmful thing is gluttony, stuffing yourself with food in excess of need, and ruining your stomach—something, after all, that destroys even the pleasure that comes from food. So, too, in like manner, there is nothing wrong with drinking in moderation, but rather with surrendering to drunkenness and losing control of your reasoning through excess. John Chrysostom, Homily 10.2 on Genesis (FOTC 74)

6 There are those who exult in the world, fattening their flesh on an extravagance of foods. They indulge themselves in other ways as well, yielding to unbridled impulses that lead to every form of immorality. But self-indulgence ends in punishment, bringing with it finally a cruel and inescapable penalty for love of the flesh. For “those who sow in the flesh will reap corruption from the flesh.”³ Cyril of Alexandria, Festal Letters, 25.1 (FOTC 127)

7 The Apostle also cries out: “Do not touch, nor taste, nor handle, things which must all perish”; for things which are for the body’s indulgence are also for its corruption. Thus he shows us that he has found the truth—not through bodily indulgence, but through elevation of soul and humility of heart—and he continues: “But our way of life is in heaven.”⁴ Ambrose of Milan, Death as a Good, 3.10 (FOTC 65)

8 He who lives according to God must seek those pleasures which are both necessary and natural, while those which are natural but not necessary he must relegate to second place and only indulge in them as permitted by the suitability of time, manner, and moderation. John Damascene, The Orthodox Faith, 2.13 (FOTC 37)

9 Question from a brother to an Old Man: “Clarify for me what the sign of gluttony is.” Response by John: “When you see your thought taking pleasure in a particular food and driving you to take your food before others do, or else taking pleasure in pulling this food toward yourself, this is gluttony. . . . Another sign of gluttony is when one desires food before the appropriate time, which must not be done, unless there is good reason to do so.” Barsanuphius and John, Letter 163 (FOTC 113)

10 The intemperance of the appetite is threefold: if you desire too avidly what is forbidden; if you seek too carefully what is not permitted, or even what is permitted, and have it prepared with special care and expense; if you do not observe the regular time for eating. Leander of Seville, The Training of Nuns and the Contempt of the World, 13 (4) (FOTC 62)

11 It is good, then, to abstain from superfluous food in due season, and to withdraw from the over-laden table, lest our self-indulgence in eating more than we need awaken the sin dormant in us. For the flesh, when it has battened upon delicacies, is irksome, and vigorously opposes the desires of the spirit. When it is weak, however, and unaided by overindulgence, it is forced to yield to the other. . . . Let evil, then, be idle in us, and all luxury in diet depart! Let fasting come in to us, with its temperance and hostility to all sin. Cyril of Alexandria, Festal Letters, 1.3–4 (FOTC 118)

12 Needless to say, we should not lean forward to get our helping first, under the impulse of gluttony, nor should we eagerly reach out too far, confessing lack of self-control by our fault. Neither should we, in the meantime, stand guard over our food like animals over their meat, nor indulge in too many dainties. Clement of Alexandria, Christ the Educator, 2.7.55 (FOTC 23)

13 As a sign that the flood had abated the dove is now bringing Back to the ark in her beak the budding green branch of an olive. For the raven, held captive by gluttony, clung to foul bodies, While the dove brought back the glad tidings of peace that was given.⁵

Prudentius, Scenes from Sacred History, 9–12 (FOTC 52)

14 Now, if abstinence is the mother of health, it is plain that eating to repletion is the mother of sickness and ill health, and brings forth diseases defying the skill of physicians themselves. And this is so, because pain in the feet, and headaches, and blindness, and pains in the hands, and trembling, and paralysis, and jaundice, and lingering burning fevers, and many others in addition to these (there is not time to run through them all), are not from abstinence and a life of self-denial, but have been caused by gluttony and satiety. John Chrysostom, Commentary on John, Homily 22 (FOTC 33)

15 Further, if you similarly wish to seek out the diseases of the soul which spring thence, you will see that greed, sloth, melancholy, laziness, licentiousness—in short, every kind of folly has its beginning from there. The souls addicted to delicate living become no better after banquets of this kind than asses that are torn asunder by wild beasts like these vices. John Chrysostom, Commentary on John, Homily 22 (FOTC 33)

16 Lust craves to be called satisfaction and abundance, but Thou indeed art fullness and the unceasing plenty of incorruptible sweetness.⁶ Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, 2.6.13 (FOTC 21)

17 To be sure, the necessities of life—I mean baths and banqueting—even if essential, nevertheless, if continually indulged in, make the body weak, but the soul’s instruction, however much it is prolonged, makes the soul which receives it so much the stronger. John Chrysostom, Commentary on John, Homily 18 (FOTC 33)

18 For surely it has to be feared lest perchance, once the wall of self-control has been broken down and license has been adopted, one might be sunk in the storm of gluttony and in the depths of excess and the shipwreck of chastity might follow in like manner. Origen, Commentary on Romans, 10.3.5 (FOTC 104)

19 This privilege, which Esau enjoyed by nature, he transferred to his brother, on account of his own lack of self-control. Whereas one lost even what was given him by nature, the other received as a bonus for himself what he did not get from nature. John Chrysostom, Homily 51.3 on Genesis (FOTC 87)

20 Struggle against gluttony as much as you can, and the Lord will assist you to understand and to do whatever is beneficial for you. “Be strong and bold” in the Lord.⁷ Barsanuphius and John, Letter 328 (FOTC 113)

21 There are some other men going about, as they say, pretending only to devote themselves to prayer and doing no work, and making piety a pretext for cowardice and a means of gaining a living, but not thinking rightly. . . . If they consider it a fine thing not to touch work, since they are striving after the same thing, who is the one feeding them? Some are making their idea, that it is necessary only to devote themselves to prayer and not to touch work at all, a pretext for laziness and gluttony.⁸ Cyril of Alexandria, Letter 83.7–8 (FOTC 77)

22 In general, all idolatry delights in feasting, gluttony, and the pleasures of both the belly and things that are below the belly. Jerome, Commentary on Galatians, 5:19–21 (FOTC 121)

23 Against the thoughts that stir up in us the desire to eat meat on a feast day and that advise us also to eat on account of the body’s illness: “And to the people say, ‘Purify yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat. . . . You shall not eat one day, not two, not five days, not ten days, and not twenty days. For a month of days you shall eat, until it [the meat] comes out of your nostrils. And it shall be nausea to you because you disobeyed the Lord, who is among you.’”⁹ Evagrius of Pontus, Antirrhetikos 1.3 (CSS 229)

24 They enjoyed what they had longed for, he is saying, and satisfied their gluttony; yet they paid the penalty for their greed. “Food was still in their mouths when God’s anger came upon them, and he slew some of their strongest and brought the elect of Israel up short”: though they had great experience of the divine power and yet did not believe God could supply food, he applied chastisement to teach that he was capable of doing both, providing good things and inflicting retribution.¹⁰ Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on Psalm 78, 10 (FOTC 102)

25 “So when Jesus perceived that they would come to take him by force and make him king, he fled again to the mountain.” Alas, how great is the tyranny of gluttony; how great the fickleness of their minds! No longer were they concerned about the breaking of the Sabbath, no longer were they consumed with zeal for the honor of God, but everything was cast to one side since their bellies had been filled. And so He was a prophet in their midst and they were going to choose Him king, but Christ fled. Why was that? To teach us to despise worldly honors and to show that He was in need of nothing belonging to earth. He who had chosen for Himself everything lowly—mother, home, city, rearing, and clothing—was not going to make a display of Himself afterwards by worl...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• List of Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1. Gluttony
• 2. Lust
• 3. Greed
• 4. Anger
• 5. Sloth
• 6. Envy and Sadness
• 7. Vainglory and Pride
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Scripture Index
• Subject Index