Choose a topic from Part 2B:
1. St. Paul (Rom. 13:13) gives the precept that we are notto engage "in rioting and drunkenness." Drunkenness is aspecies of the vice of gluttony. It is a manifest evil.
2. Drunkenness is a mortal sin in the person who willinglyand knowingly deprives himself of the use of reason by excessivedrinking. Reason is man's guide and control for the exercise ofvirtue and the avoiding of sin. Foolishly and unwarrantedly todeprive oneself of reason is therefore a serious fault.
3. Drunkenness is not the worst of sins, for it is acarnal sin, and hence is not so evil in itself as spiritualsins.
4. If a man becomes intoxicated without his fault, eitherbecause he does not know that what he drinks is intoxicating, orbecause he underestimates its strength, or because he is affectedby the drink in a manner unusual and unexpected, he is not guiltyof sin, and he is excused from the responsibility for anyregrettable conduct which results from his intoxication. If,however, a person becomes intoxicated by his own fault, he is atleast partially responsible for any evils that result from hisexcessive drinking, just as he is responsible for the intoxicationitself.
"A man should keep himself down, and not busy himself in mirabilibus super se."
St Philip Neri
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"The more you know and the better you understand, the more severely will you be judged, unless your life is also the more holy. Do not be proud, therefore, because of your learning or skill. Rather, fear because of the talent given you."
Thomas á Kempis
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"O Lord, my God, who will seek you with simple and pure love, and not find that you are all one can desire, for you show yourself first and go out to meet those who seek you?
"
St John of the Cross, OCD - Doctor of the Church
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