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.
"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?
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St John of the Cross, OCD - Doctor of the Church
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"A tree that is cultivated and guarded through the care of its owner produces its fruit at the expected time.
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St John of the Cross, OCD - Doctor of the Church
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"Whom do you seek, friend, if you seek not God? Seek him, find him, cleave to him; bind your will to his with bands of steel and you will live always at peace in this life and in the next."
St Alphonsus de Liguori
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