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The sin of gluttony (or as it is also called gluttony) is a kind of addiction to excessive overeating of tasty food and drink, and is also one of the eight main addictions.
Why gluttony is a sin
Gluttony is considered one of the deadly sins. According to the definition of the church, sin is evil that has the property of gradually accumulating in souls. And when the cup is filled to the brim, it is clear that punishment comes. But this does not mean that God punishes people. It’s just that evil, like a boomerang, overtakes the sinner. Even ignorance of the law does not exempt a person from responsibility.
It’s difficult for us to understand now, but the Old Testament priests could beat a person to death for any of the seven deadly sins. Under the New Testament there were no such strictnesses in punishment. But this does not mean that the church is loyal to those who have violated the basic rules of life.
Gluttony is condemned in Christianity, and there are many reasons for this:
- The womb is what is inside the human body - the stomach, belly. Hence, gluttony in the literal sense is living to please your stomach. It is he who is the master, and the person serves him all his life and fulfills all, even sometimes absurd, whims. Consuming food and alcohol becomes a passion. And passion and suffering are essentially the same thing. And, of course, the soul is the last thing such a servant thinks about.
- Sin, like a disease, can infect other people. Therefore, if someone in a family is sick with gluttony, then all members are in danger. A mother who, from childhood, accustoms her children to overeating, prepares food that is harmful to the body, dooms them to suffer from excess weight. A drinking father can become a real threat to his loved ones.
- There is one more aspect. It is not without reason that our body is called the temple of the soul. If you understand the Divine nature of the body, then it becomes clear why it cannot be desecrated by alcohol, overeating, unhealthy foods, tobacco, and drugs. We have been given a great gift that people do not appreciate much more often than we think.
- Overeating indicates human greed and gluttony. If you remember buffet-style food, people there are ready to sweep everything off the tables, as if the end of the world is near.
- Most often, overeating, voluptuousness and alcohol consumption come at the expense of spiritual food. People cannot force themselves to fast, and fasting is a cleansing not only of the body, but also of the soul. The head is busy constantly scrolling through thoughts about ever new and more exquisite dishes, and not about service, the meaning of life, pure Divine love.
- Gluttony is also a lack of trust in God. Thoughts: “What if there isn’t enough for everyone? What if tomorrow everything we eat runs out?” – lead to constant stress and anxiety. God never leaves his followers without food.
- Another type of gluttony is when they start eating everything out of boredom, anxiety, irritability, or anger. It’s as if a person feeds these negative emotions with food. Although it is more logical in such situations to pray, be in nature, communicate with loved ones, and go to church.
What does gluttony lead to? To spiritual degradation, periodic depressive states, dissatisfaction with oneself, life and one’s body. From constant overload with food or alcohol, the body begins to malfunction, metabolism deteriorates, and problems with blood pressure appear. As a result, nothing good should be expected ahead.
Consequences for the human body and soul
You can learn about the consequences of excessive food consumption on human health from nutritionists. They warn that overeating can lead to obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, gastritis and many others.
If we talk about the consequences of excessive consumption of food for the soul of a Christian, then gluttony also has a destructive spiritual effect.
In the Mount Athos monastery of Dochiar (Greece) there is an image of a terrible plot: a fierce serpent swallows a monk. It serves as a reminder not only to the brethren of the monastery, but also to all believers, of the consequences of the sin of gluttony. Once upon a time there lived a monk in a monastery who secretly kept food in his cell and ate it at night. One day, other monks entered his cell and saw how a certain huge snake crawled out from under the bed and swallowed the monk before their eyes.
Gluttony is a violation of the second commandment: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image... thou shalt not bow down to them, nor serve them.” According to Saint Philaret of Moscow (1782-1867)
“Gluttony relates to idolatry because gluttons place sensual pleasure above all else, and therefore, the apostle says, that they have “God’s belly,” or, in other words, their belly is their idol (Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Philippians, 3:19)” .
Which saints to pray against gluttony
To free yourself from gluttony, you should practice abstinence in food, avoid sensuality and pray to the saints for help.
Meet the Heavenly Helpers you can ask for support:
- Saint John of Kronstadt, who became famous in earthly life as a preacher, church and public figure, and spiritual writer, said that excesses in food and drink remove Christian love from the heart and fill it with pride and voluptuousness.
- Saint Alexy, who lived in the 5th-6th centuries, was distinguished by piety and asceticism. He was of a noble family, but at the same time he lived on alms, constantly fasted, and spent most of his time in prayer.
- Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov especially singled out incontinence among all sins. It leads the body to laziness, heaviness, drowsiness, lethargy, daydreaming, absent-mindedness and distracts thoughts from God. He also condemned immoderate fasting. The saint called for constant, but reasonable, abstinence in food.
- Matrona of Moscow worked regularly during her lifetime - she received the sick and mourning, healed, helped with advice, and at night she prayed incessantly. Many prayers to Saint Matrona are not approved or approved by the church. People often pray to her in their own words, from the bottom of their hearts, and receive help and consolation.
The saint treated with enchanted water. A prayer addressed to Matronushka, recited over water, will help moderate gluttony and heal from obesity. You need to drink water immediately.
Meaning of sinful act
This kind of sinful addiction disfigures a person, because a belly heavy with food can plunge the mind into a dark slumber, and make it dull and lazy.
The person who is subject to this sin is not able to reason about the spiritual, and is also not able to deeply comprehend anything. His belly is a lead weight that pulls down the grounded soul, and at the same time such a person is especially sensitive to his weakness while saying a prayer service. Since the mind cannot penetrate the words of prayer, just as a dull knife blade cannot cut bread. That is, the passion for overeating carries with it a constant betrayal of one’s own prayer.
Texts of strong Orthodox prayers against gluttony
To cope with overeating and cravings for alcohol, you need a great desire to overcome the attack, as well as willpower, help and support from loved ones. And most importantly, a powerful prayer for help addressed to the saints.
Secret
Secret prayer is intended for people who are immoderate in their diet. It is read after the prayer for eating.
“I also pray to You, Lord, deliver me from satiety and lust and grant me in peace of mind to reverently accept Your generous gifts, so that by eating them, I will receive strengthening of my mental and physical strength to serve You, Lord, in the short remainder of my life on earth "
Joanna
To overcome the excessive desires of the flesh, gluttony, they use the prayer of John of Kronstadt.
“Lord, our sweetest Heart, which never perishes, but abides in eternal life! Cleanse Your servant from the filth of gluttony, all flesh created and alien to Your Spirit, and grant him to know the sweetness of Your life-giving spiritual broth, which is Your Flesh and Blood and the Holy “Your living and active word.”
Saint Alexy
The next call addressed to the man of God Alexy will help to pacify worldly passions, remove attachments to material wealth, gluttony, and live in humility and harmony with oneself.
“Oh, servant of Christ, holy man of God Alexie! Look mercifully upon us, servant of God (names), and stretch out your honest hand to the Lord God in prayer, and ask us from Him for forgiveness of our sins, voluntary and involuntary, for a peaceful and Christian life death and a good answer at the Last Judgment of Christ. To her, saint of God, do not disgrace our trust, which we place in you, according to God and the Mother of God; but be our helper and protector for salvation; and through your prayers, having received grace and mercy from the Lord, let us glorify the love of mankind of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and your holy intercession, now and ever and unto the ages of ages.”
Saint Ignatius
A prayer addressed to Saint Ignatius (Ignatius Brianchaninov) will help clear the mind, cope with addictions to food, and give vigor and lightness to the body.
“Oh, great and wonderful servant of Christ, Holy Hierarch Father Ignatius! Mercifully accept our prayers, offered to you with love and gratitude! Hear us, orphan and helpless (names), who come to you with faith and love and your warm representation for us before the Throne of the Lord of Glory of those who ask. We know how much the prayer of the righteous can do, propitiating the Lord. From the years of infancy you have passionately loved the Lord and having desired to serve Him alone, you have imputed all the beauty of this world for nothing. You have denied yourself and taken up your cross; you have followed Christ. You chose the narrow and sorrowful path of monastic life by your own will, and on this path you acquired great virtues. With your writings, you filled the hearts of people with the deepest reverence and humility before the Almighty Creator; you filled the sinners who fell with your wise words in the consciousness of their insignificance and their sinfulness, in repentance You taught them to resort to God in wisdom and humility, encouraging them with trust in His mercy. You rejected none of those who came to you, but you were a loving father to all and a good shepherd. And now do not leave us, who fervently pray to you and ask for your help and intercession. Ask our humane-loving Lord for mental and physical health, confirm our faith, strengthen our strength, which is exhausted in the temptations and sorrows of this age, warm us with the fire of prayer and cool us. O thou of our hearts, help us, who have been purified by repentance, to receive the Christian end of this life and to the palace of Savior, adorned come together with all the elect and there together with you worship the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen".
Matrona of Moscow
A prayer addressed to the saint will help cleanse you of sins, including gluttony.
“Oh, blessed Matrona, with your soul in Heaven before the Throne of God, who rests with your body on earth and exudes various miracles from the grace given from above, look now with your merciful eye on the sinners, in sorrows, illnesses and sinful temptations, their days of waiting, comfort We, desperate ones, heal our fierce ailments, which God has allowed us through our sins, deliver us from many troubles and circumstances, beg our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive us all our sins, without mercy sins and sins, in which we are from our youth even to the present day and We have sinned for hours, so that through your prayers, having received grace and great mercy, we glorify in the Trinity the One God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen".
Reading rules
Excess weight often forces people to get rid of gluttony. But this is not the most important thing when turning to the saints. In the first place there should be a true desire to achieve harmony between soul and body.
- When reading a prayer, attention is very valuable. You cannot be distracted by extraneous thoughts.
- Hypocrisy must not be allowed during prayer and this holy act must not be turned into a habit. Hypocrisy lies in the fact that a person prays superficially, pronouncing the call with his lips, but without opening his heart. Such a prayer will be empty.
- A conversation with a saint must remain secret. Lighting candles, aromas of incense or other incense will help you get into the right frame of mind.
- Often those who pray expect instant results when turning to Heavenly helpers to get rid of gluttony. If no change occurs, then they give up the practice of prayer and continue to suffer. In fact, communication with Higher powers is not a temporary action, like, for example, taking pills. It should become a part of life, a need of the soul.
Not only prayers, but also the earthly life of the saints is an example for us in achieving a prudent attitude towards food and other material needs. Moderation in everything - from the expression of feelings and emotions to reasonable food consumption - makes our life easy and happy.
Comments from the priest on the topic
You can get rid of the sin of gluttony, stop depending on delicacies, and get enough of simple healthy food with the help of prayer. First you need to realize the sinfulness of your habits, what they can lead to. Then you should choose the saint who is closest in spirit to the others. For example, you were born on his day or named after him, during his lifetime he was engaged in a business close to you. If you can’t decide on your own, the priest in the church will help you.
You can also compose a prayer yourself. The main thing to remember is that it is pointless to ask a saint to rid you of your appetite or excess weight. We need to pray that the Lord will give us strength and patience to cope with the devilish temptation to eat tasty and plentiful food.
Physical labor, sports, any activity that burns calories and fat will help you become more balanced and fill your body with the hormone of happiness.
