The art of Catholic drinking

One of the greatest things about being Catholic is the fact that we are ALLOWED to cut loose and have a good time every now and then. The Catholic calendar is chock full of saint's days and feast days in which Catholics are encouraged to celebrate life and the world around them.

If the celebration goes a little too far, we always have the sacrament of confession to fall back on to repent our excesses. Not that we should be needlessly reckless in our celebrations. The Catholic way it to find a solid middle ground between too much and nothing at all, celebrating life and God's gifts in the process.

The art of Catholic drinking is an excellent example of this:

The Lost Art of Catholic Drinking

Just what constitutes excess is for each person to judge for himself. However, we now approach the main difference between Catholic drinking and Protestant drinking. Protestant drinking tends to occur at one extreme or another: either way too much or none at all, with each being a reaction to the other. Some people, rightly fed up with the smug self-righteousness of teetotalers, drink to excess. And teetotalers, rightly appalled at the habits of habitual drunkards, practice strict abstinence. It seems to occur to neither side that their reaction is just that: a reaction, and not a solution. If they considered it a bit, they might see a third way that involves neither drunkenness nor abstinence, yet is consistent with healthy, honest, humane Christian living.

Here we encounter Catholic drinking. Catholic drinking is that third way, the way to engage in an ancient activity enjoyed by everyone from peasants to emperors to Jesus Himself. And again, it is not just about quantity. In fact, I think the chief element is conviviality. When friends get together for a drink, it may be to celebrate, or it may be to mourn. But it should always be to enjoy one another’s company. (Yes, there is a time and place for a solitary beer, but that is the exception.)

Avoid each extreme — that’s how you drink like a Catholic. This is the art of Catholic drinking. There are plenty of our brethren who consider drinking somehow immoral, and there are plenty of others who think drinking must end with great intoxication. But the balanced approach — the Catholic approach — means having a good time, a good laugh, sometime a good cry, but always with joy and gratitude for God’s generosity in giving us such wonders as beer and burgundy. Remember that, and the lost art of Catholic drinking may not remain lost.

Crisis


You don't have to be a teetotaler or a falling down drunk to follow the Church's teachings, in fact, a beloved bishop is known to have said, "From man’s sweat and God’s love, beer came into the world.”

God, I love being a Catholic. :w:

Well what about catholic... Smoking?
Less chances of death from catholic drinking binge.

Oh well T&C for using terrible terms shame on me

haha!!!

Thou shalt bust out the holy wine and partake in the fruits of the harvest....

I knew it was in the bible!!

Just ask a catholic...



S&F for the laugh

It's OK to drink, but it isn't OK to get drunk.
Being "Catholic" doesn't make it right.
Seems like warped interpretations of scripture to me.

When I was introduced to the Catholic religion after being Methodists and Baptist,I was like,whoo hoo liking this religion.
But,that was at a young age,in my teens.

But then it got me thinking,why would one religion allow drinking alcohol and not another?

So,down the rabbit hole I went,eyes wide open.
Religion is not good,believing in something on a higher plateau then us,not so bad.

Ephesians 5: 18 Neither be drunk with wine in which is debauchery, but be filled with The Spirit.

Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

Luke 1:15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.

Romans 13:13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.

1 Corinthians 5: 11 But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

Real christians are forbidden to be drunk on wine, but rather be filled with the Holy Spirit. Having a beer here or a glass of wine there is fine, but not getting falling down sloppy drunk. A man who likes to drink, does not like to think.

reply to post by lonewolf19792000

Real christians are forbidden to be drunk on wine, but rather be filled with the Holy Spirit. Having a beer here or a glass of wine there is fine, but not getting falling down sloppy drunk. A man who likes to drink, does not like to think.

What religious affiliation are you?
I'm in my forties and I claim none.
I guess we need to tell the hypocrites that I see all the time who go to church after they have been at the bar all night.
Or maybe the local church picnic where you can spin the wheel to win a case of beer.

Sorry,the sarcasm is heavy ,but the truth of it all is real.

Jolly good point and thread.

The only people I ever saw out-drinking the Catholics were the Communists.

Not that I'm surprised, they have even more reason to drown their sorrows.

Not that these ideologies mattered historically.

Water was often unsafe to drink, and it seems even the Puritans didn't drink too much of it.

The first campaigns against alcohol were apparently run from the ale-houses, and were strictly against spirits.

Anyway, there's still some great herbal Schnapps brewed by monks or according to their recipes, and it remains a great medicine.

reply to post by kdog1982


Keywords are real christians. I'm protestant, nondenominational but i go to a missionary baptist church and no i do not drink, nor do i smoke. I will occasionally have a beer in the summer when i want a malt beverage but i don't drink but maybe 1 in several months. I'm not a big fan of alcohol these days. When i was agnostic i drank so much i got alcohol poisoning because i drank a 5th of wild turkey so since that day most of the time even thinking about alcohol makes me want to yak.

reply to post by lonewolf19792000

I'm not a big fan of alcohol these days. When i was agnostic i drank so much i got alcohol poisoning because i drank a 5th of wild turkey so since that day most of the time even thinking about alcohol makes me want to yak.

LMAO!!

Thats how i feel about rum

Gota love lifes little lessons eh...

Originally posted by lonewolf19792000
reply to post by kdog1982

 

Keywords are real christians. I'm protestant, nondenominational but i go to a missionary baptist church and no i do not drink, nor do i smoke. I will occasionally have a beer in the summer when i want a malt beverage but i don't drink but maybe 1 in several months. I'm not a big fan of alcohol these days. When i was agnostic i drank so much i got alcohol poisoning because i drank a 5th of wild turkey so since that day most of the time even thinking about alcohol makes me want to yak.

Totally understandable.You learn from your mistakes.
In my case,I don't.
My case is that I grew up in one of those beaver cleaver households,you know,those black and white tv shows were everything was perfect?
Yea,well,it wasn't ,but everyone pretended it was.

And good for you for standing up for your beliefs.
Sorry to say,but I'm one of those lost souls who only believes in himself ,his abilities and the friends and family around me.
We believe in each other and have a good ol' time in drinking and shooting .
Yee Haw!!!!!!
Seriously,running with a bunch of good ol' boy's who have my back.

Forgot to ask,,,,,,,,
did God or Jesus say you couldn't get drunk?
Or was it from the Bible.

Originally posted by lonewolf19792000
When i was agnostic i drank so much i got alcohol poisoning because i drank a 5th of wild turkey so since that day most of the time even thinking about alcohol makes me want to yak.

The Lord works in mysterious ways.

I think we all have to go through that some time in our lives to learn that overindulging can be dangerous.

The whole point of the article was that it is OK to drink, so long as we do it in moderation. The Biblical references you quoted stated it was wrong to be drunk (intoxicated) or to be a drunkard (an habitual drunk). One point most Biblical teetotalers forget is the fact that Christ's first public miracle was to turn water into wine for the party-goers at a wedding. If drinking is so evil, why use His power in such a way?

Obviously, intoxicating beverages are a gift from God. Like all of God's gifts, it can be abused and turned to evil ends if self control is not observed. Fact is; most people have a hard time exercising that self control, just as many do with sex. That doesn't mean that all drinking is evil or that it can never be used to serve good ends if used properly.

Sometimes it takes a night of overindulgence to force us to learn this lesson. Perhaps, in this case, the next morning we spend worshiping the porcelain idol has actually turned the previous night of drunk debauchery into a good thing as that is what it took to make us see the light about the consequences of overindulgence.

Originally posted by NoLoveInFear46and2
Well what about catholic... Smoking?
Less chances of death from catholic drinking binge.

Oh well T&C for using terrible terms shame on me

The teaching on smoking is pretty much the same.

I noted that the only reference to tobacco in an official document can be found in No. 2290 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “The virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess: the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco, or medicine.”

America Magazine

I'm not even sure if the practice of smoking even existed in Biblical times. I'm pretty sure its not mentioned anywhere in the Bible.


ETA: I was right, tobacco only existed in the Americas and was introduced to the Old World only after Columbus sailed.

On October 15, 1492, Christopher Columbus was offered dried tobacco leaves as a gift from the American Indians that he encountered.

Soon after, sailors brought tobacco back to Europe, and the plant was being grown all over Europe.

The major reason for tobacco's growing popularity in Europe was its supposed healing properties. Europeans believed that tobacco could cure almost anything, from bad breath to cancer!

In 1571, A Spanish doctor named Nicolas Monardes wrote a book about the history of medicinal plants of the new world. In this he claimed that tobacco could cure 36 health problems.

In 1588, A Virginian named Thomas Harriet promoted smoking tobacco as a viable way to get one's daily dose of tobacco. Unfortunately, he died of nose cancer (because it was popular then to breathe the smoke out through the nose).

History of Tobacco


Seeing as how the Catholic magesterium is set up, it would be extremely difficult to change the official Church teaching on tobacco. What would be considered as temperate or excessive use is left up to interpretation, especially with what is known of the health effects and addicting qualities of tobacco today.

Originally posted by Akragon
reply to post by lonewolf19792000

 

I'm not a big fan of alcohol these days. When i was agnostic i drank so much i got alcohol poisoning because i drank a 5th of wild turkey so since that day most of the time even thinking about alcohol makes me want to yak.

LMAO!!

Thats how i feel about rum

Gota love lifes little lessons eh...

Well when you drank so much you passed out for 2 days and "lose time", i imagine thats what being abducted by ET's must feel like.

A car in the wrong hands is more dangerous then a pack of cigs any day.
That moment you took to smoke a cig could have saved your life from a drunk driver.