GLUTTONY
The next officer on Satan's ship is Ensign Eatoomuch. He stands for gluttony — the fifth deadly sin. Gluttony means eating too much and drinking too much. A drunkard is a glutton as much as the one who overeats.
Napoleon during his Egyptian wars was riding beside his troops. Suddenly he stopped and stared, and he had good reason to stare. From a soldier's bayonet there hung a fat French sausage. "Why do you hang a sausage to your bayonet?" asked the emperor, not knowing whether to smile or scowl. The soldier answered, "That, sire, is for Philippe, the soldier behind me." At this there stepped from the ranks the fattest soldier in the army, a man easily the size of any three. He began his story, "Sire, I am Philippe. This being the holy season of Lent, I have sworn not to eat any meat until Easter. I have this sausage hung in front of my nose all day long to test my will power." Napoleon replied — and I want you to remember these words, "It is dangerous to test our will power. Under trial we usually find out how little we have." At the end of the campaign Napoleon sent for Philippe. "Did you keep your promise not to eat meat in Lent," he asked. The soldier humbly answered, "Sire, for a long time, for most of Lent in fact, I withstood the odor of that tempting French sausage hanging from the bayonet of the soldier in front of me. But one hot day I could hold off no longer and I ate it nibble by nibble as I marched along." "What day was that?" he was asked. Philippe blushed as he replied, "Sire, it was Good Friday."
In the matter of gluttony children do not have to worry too much. Children have to eat a lot to grow. But you should avoid extremes. The opposite to Ensign Eatoomuch is not Eatoolittle but Ensign Eatenuff. There are, however, one or two cases in which you may be tempted to gluttony. For example: eating meat on Friday. The Church has made it a law not to eat meat on Friday because our Lord died on Friday. She wants us to do penance on that day by not eating meat. Knowing this, if you eat meat on Friday, you are just as gluttonous as Philippe, the fat soldier. Remember, though, that if you forget it is Friday and think about it after you have eaten meat, that is no sin at all. There is another case in which you may be tempted to greediness in regard to food. We will say that there are four of you in the house. You look into the cupboard and see that there are only three pieces of cake. You know that if you grab your piece first your little brother will not get any. You look quickly over your shoulder. Nobody is coming. Swish, gulp, and grunt. The cake is gone. You had your piece of cake and little brother gets the crumbs. If you do that you are a glutton. If someone has to go without something how about letting it be you once in awhile. Greediness is not the thing for one who is trying to carve his soul into the image of his Emperor — Christ.
Source: Heavenwords, Imprimatur 1941
The next officer on Satan's ship is Ensign Eatoomuch. He stands for gluttony — the fifth deadly sin. Gluttony means eating too much and drinking too much. A drunkard is a glutton as much as the one who overeats.
Napoleon during his Egyptian wars was riding beside his troops. Suddenly he stopped and stared, and he had good reason to stare. From a soldier's bayonet there hung a fat French sausage. "Why do you hang a sausage to your bayonet?" asked the emperor, not knowing whether to smile or scowl. The soldier answered, "That, sire, is for Philippe, the soldier behind me." At this there stepped from the ranks the fattest soldier in the army, a man easily the size of any three. He began his story, "Sire, I am Philippe. This being the holy season of Lent, I have sworn not to eat any meat until Easter. I have this sausage hung in front of my nose all day long to test my will power." Napoleon replied — and I want you to remember these words, "It is dangerous to test our will power. Under trial we usually find out how little we have." At the end of the campaign Napoleon sent for Philippe. "Did you keep your promise not to eat meat in Lent," he asked. The soldier humbly answered, "Sire, for a long time, for most of Lent in fact, I withstood the odor of that tempting French sausage hanging from the bayonet of the soldier in front of me. But one hot day I could hold off no longer and I ate it nibble by nibble as I marched along." "What day was that?" he was asked. Philippe blushed as he replied, "Sire, it was Good Friday."
In the matter of gluttony children do not have to worry too much. Children have to eat a lot to grow. But you should avoid extremes. The opposite to Ensign Eatoomuch is not Eatoolittle but Ensign Eatenuff. There are, however, one or two cases in which you may be tempted to gluttony. For example: eating meat on Friday. The Church has made it a law not to eat meat on Friday because our Lord died on Friday. She wants us to do penance on that day by not eating meat. Knowing this, if you eat meat on Friday, you are just as gluttonous as Philippe, the fat soldier. Remember, though, that if you forget it is Friday and think about it after you have eaten meat, that is no sin at all. There is another case in which you may be tempted to greediness in regard to food. We will say that there are four of you in the house. You look into the cupboard and see that there are only three pieces of cake. You know that if you grab your piece first your little brother will not get any. You look quickly over your shoulder. Nobody is coming. Swish, gulp, and grunt. The cake is gone. You had your piece of cake and little brother gets the crumbs. If you do that you are a glutton. If someone has to go without something how about letting it be you once in awhile. Greediness is not the thing for one who is trying to carve his soul into the image of his Emperor — Christ.
Source: Heavenwords, Imprimatur 1941
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