When the soul desires to seek after a variety of foods, then it is time to afflict it with bread and water that it may learn to be grateful for a mere morsel of bread. For satiety desires a variety of dishes, but hunger thinks itself happy to get its fill of nothing more than bread.
— Evagrius Ponticus, Evagrius Ponticus: The Praktikos & Chapters on Prayer
Category: FOOD
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One of the most famous sidetracks is pride. Having overcome an over-eating problem or a drinking problem or an addiction or bad habit of one sort or another, instead of being humbly thankful for one’s new life, the reformed person becomes puffed up at his or her success. In such cases, the person may be worse off than before, from a spiritual perspective. And this pride can take on a whole range of hues and tones so that it does not appear as pride, so that it seems to be nothing more than so-called self-esteam or a new passion to be better and better at fitness, or healthy eating or even preaching the evils of self indulgence. Pride hides behind many masks.
—Fr. Michael Gillis, A Small Affliction Born For God’s Sake -
People, who wish to discipline the sexual organs should avoid drinking those artificial concoctions which are called ‘aperitifs’ – presumably because they open a way to the stomach for the vast meal which is to follow. Not only are they harmful to our bodies, but their fraudulent and artificial character greatly offends the conscience wherein God dwells. For what does wine lack that we should sap its healthy vigor by adulterating it with a variety of condiments?
—St. Diadochos of Photiki -
“But remember this, whenever you begin to consider whether you may safely take one draught more, it is then high time to give over : let that be accounted a sign late enough to break off; for every reason to doubt is a sufficient reason to part the company.”
—Jeremy Taylor (1613–1667), On Christian Sobriety – Rules for obtaining temperance. -
When you reduce your possessions to a minimum, you have a clearer and better awareness of your desires. What are the things that are necessary and what are the things that you simply want? The line between these categories becomes clear, and it doesn’t apply only to objects. The same goes for our desire to eat. You can see what amounts of food are really necessary and the result is that you don’t eat more than you need to. Owning only the things that you need will hone your sense that this is enough for me, and you can be satisfied without having to eat huge amounts of food.
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Do not have any partiality, not only either for food and drink, for dress, for a spacious and richly decorated dwelling, for the luxurious furniture of your house, but not even for your health, do not even have the least partiality for your life, give up all your life to the Will of the Lord, saying: “for, to me to live—is Christ and to die—is gain.” [Philippians 1.21]. “He that hateth his life in this world, shall keep it unto life eternal.” [John 12.25] Attachment to the temporary life, to one’s own health, leads to many deviations from God’s Commandments, to the indulgence of the flesh, to breaking the fasts, to evading the conscientious fulfilment of the duties connected with our service, to despondency, impatience, irritability. Never sleep before saying evening prayers, lest your heart should become gross from ill-timed sleep, and lest the enemy should hinder it by a stony insensibility during prayer.
—St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ -
When we cannot be delivered from ourselves, we delight in devouring ourselves.
—Emil Cioran -
First of all we observe that they [the Fathers] ate and slept very little.
Mental Disorders & Spiritual Healing: Teachings from the Early Christian East
Jean-Claude Larchet
SO GOOD QUOTES 