Comments on: St. Thomas Aquinas And Gluttony

By: Reedski

Reedski — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 17:04:55 +0000

Thanks. I found this extremely informative. I have lost 53 lbs. through exercise and watching my food intake. It's taken me 1 year and 4 months so far and I still have at least 40 more lbs. to go. Every few months I need something new to encourage and strengthen me for this journey. I decided to try to ask a saint to intercede to God for me which led me here. St. Thomas Aquinas' 6 Methods of Gluttony will help me put my struggles, temptations, and desires for food in perspective. I haven't read about St. John Climacus yet but plan to next.

I was thinking perhaps what St. Thomas means when he speaks of studiose (eating too daintily) is perhaps not appreciating the food given to you and picking at it rather than relishing the goodness of this gift that God has provided. For me St. Teresa of Avila comes to mind. Bert Ghezzi writes of her in his book Miracles of the Saints: "This splendid woman was graced with heavenly ecstasies but never ceased to enjoy earthly creatures. 'I could be bribed with a sardine,' she once confessed...Once, a visitor was shocked to find the holy woman delightfully devouring a partridge someone had given her. Was this the way of the ascetic! What would people think? 'Let them think what they please,' said the saint, licking her fingers. 'There's a time for partridge and a time for penance.' "

My main problem is nimis- eating too much. I'm gettting better but I don't know if I'll ever be able to control it completely. I'm learning to pay attention to portion size. Of course, that means that I don't eat out at restaurants much and if I do I order healthy choices and ask for a take home container if the portions are too large.

By: Rach

Rach — Thu, 20 May 2010 17:32:38 +0000

I think eating to fervently would mean quickly but I think eating too eagerly would mean literally being eager to eat in general, when eating excites you more than almost anything else, by the time one is done with breakfast they’re already planning/looking forward to lunch, snacks, dinner, etc. and also it is said that one is “over eager” when they don’t think about things before jumping in, perhaps it means you see someone eating chocolate and you automatically want chocolate, or someone offers you a donut and even though ou’re dieting, or it is not benificial to your health you grab it anyways before thinking and scarf it down. Just a thought.

By: Raven

Raven — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 06:07:29 +0000

I found it interesting that you wrote, “Recognizing the proper hunger signals is a skill that few of us are taught”. I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that parents often make their kids eat their ENTIRE plate of food before they can have desert (“There are starving kids in Africa you know, so you better eat everything you put on your plate!”. I’m probably wrong, but when I watch my mom’s best friend feed her (chubby) kids, I can’t help but be sad for them. She makes them eat soooo much just so they can have their desert. The kids are definitely not learning how to recognize hunger nor “I’m full” signals. The more we desensitize ourselves to those signals, the harder it is for us to (re)learn them.

By: Mary Anne

Mary Anne — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 23:17:50 +0000

I think "too daintily" means "too picky." If you're too concerned about having the steak done exactly as medium rare as you want, or the fruit perfectly ripe yet perfectly fresh, or the toast exactly the right shade of tan, you're not really hungry.

If full stomach=pain then mine has never been full in 55 years, even though I prefer to eat two very large meals a day.